Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In Gary Lennon’s regrettably overwritten comedy, directed by Wilson Milam, Elizabeth Regen plays Eve, a fierce and fiery drama queen searching desperately for love on the streets and in the bars of NYC’s Lower East Side. Read more… Now running through July 12.
Les Spindle – Edge on the Net June was busting out all over on the first of the month at the popular Sterling’s Upstairs supper club at the Federal bar and restaurant in North Hollywood. In fact, the “busting out” included some earthquake tremors right in the middle the show, but the devoted performers carried … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Backyard wrestling – the emulation of the aggressive antics of professional wrestlers by ordinary folk – serves as the point of departure for Mickey Birnbaum’s funny, frenzied, probing play, Backyard. It begins with two teenagers, Chuck (Ian Bamberg) and Ray (Adan Rocha), meeting in Chuck’s backyard to work out a series … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray has exerted a powerful fascination for both the general public and later generations of artists, ever since it was written in 1890. Its publication was controversial, and, even in a heavily censored version, it was widely condemned on moral grounds. But scandal has never been … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA Steven Drukman’s Death of the Author is, hands down, one of the very best plays of the year. A mystery wrapped within a psychological portrait gallery within a stinging critique of academic politics, it satisfies on every level during its completely gripping 90 minutes. Angelenos lucky enough to catch it at … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA Oscar Wilde’s Lady Bracknell put it this way: “Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.” Wilde clearly intended this to be fatuous nonsense, and a dig at the intellectual pretensions of the upper middle class. But Frank, the hero of this Willy Russell play, … Read more
Bob Verini – Stage Raw South Coast Repertory’s Tartuffe is something to witness, in every sense of the phrase. Audacious and thought-provoking, maddening and enlightening by turns, it’s a worthy addition to the venerable company’s anniversary celebration in its categorical refusal to follow a conventional pathway to the classic that kicked off SCR operations a half-century ago. Read … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Theatre West’s “Writers in Rep” program provides a great opportunity for playwrights, giving two new plays a repertory slot in the season. These are coveted full productions that spotlight new works. Unfortunately, one of these plays, Charlie Mount’s Against The Wall, a comedy about comedians, doesn’t fulfill its humorous promise. I … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA Rogue Machine has turned itself into the go-to organization for provocative two-handers. If Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries lacks the dread of 2011’s Blackbird or the contemporary relevance of 2013’s Dying City, this production, directed by Larissa Kokernot, demonstrates anew the Pico Boulevard company’s knack for finding something precious in the confrontation of one … Read more
Dany Margolies – Arts In LA This Agatha Christie play might be a classic murder mystery, but the legendary author underpins the script with her perceptiveness about human behavior. As directed by George Kondreck, Kentwood Players’ production, pretty much finds the undercurrents. They flow while the characters spend a long weekend in 1948 at an … Read more