Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Performer Chuma Gault is at the top of his form in The Gun Show, a play by EM Lewis that deals with Americans and their guns. An unpredictable work that stealthily gathers steam, it begins with a discourse on the national gun debate and gradually evolves into a personal account of … Read more
Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly A common habit by drama critics is to compare and contrast a new adaptation of an old work with or against that old work, which would seem a reasonable approach. But not in the case of poet-performer-playwright Luis Alfaro. Alfaro’s work, whether the solo autobiographical performance St. Jude, presented last … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Ken Levine, who wrote the new play A or B?, has spent decades in television, writing, producing and consulting, mostly on sitcoms. His credits include the iconic M*A*S*H, where he was head writer. M*A*S*H was smart, entertaining and told Americans a thing or two about who we are. Read more… Now running through November … Read more
Bob Verini – Stage Raw Rockwell Table and Stage, in Los Feliz, has long been the local locus of the interactive/immersive restaurant/musical. That means you eat and drink while the action is taking place all around you, and a pop diva is as likely to belt her showcase number in your lap, breathing on your … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA Diane Paulus’ circus-themed Pippin revival is every bit as good as you’ve heard, and then some. It invests the famously thin libretto (crafted by Roger O. Hirson in 1972) with so much conviction, and so bathes it in an overlay of gorgeous lighting (many thanks, Kenneth Posner), acrobatics, juggling, and gymnastics, … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw The name Johan Nestroy looms large in German-language theatre, but it probably doesn’t mean much to American theatre-goers, though perhaps it should: One of his plays, Einen Jux will er sich machen (He Wants to Go on a Spree), provided the basic plot for Thornton Wilder’s The Merchant of Yonkers, later developed … Read more
Steven Leigh Morris – Stage Raw Oh my — all that talk of “honor” that runs through Shakespeare’s political tragedy. Brutus (Rachel Gonzalez) murders Caesar (Vance Valencia ) because the leader stands poised to become emperor, which Brutus has concluded is bad for Rome. (“If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus is a mighty play in many ways but it also meanders a bit and staying fully focused can be a challenge. Read more… Now running through November 23.
Margaret Gray – LA Times Nothing in “Bronies: The Musical,” at the Third Street Theater, is as hard to credit as the existence of bronies: adult, primarily male fans of “My Little Pony.” Read more… Now running through November 2.
Margaret Gray – LA Times The Los Angeles Theatre Center is buzzing with “Encuentro 2014,” a month-long national theater festival organized by the Latino Theater Company, with a repertory of more than 15 productions from across the country. Among them is “Enrique’s Journey,” based on Sonia Nazario’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series, published in the Los Angeles … Read more