Bob Verini – Arts In LA 3D Theatricals has been pulling off ambitious offerings in its spacious Plummer Auditorium digs in Fullerton. I wasn’t able to catch 2013’s acclaimed Parade, though early this year I thoroughly enjoyed a fresh and clever The Producers. The Dawsons—the family who are the 3 D’s—seem to be smart, well-funded, and committed … Read more
Bob Verini – Variety Stars are called stars because they shine brighter than anyone else. Every time Chazz Palminteri sashays into “Unorganized Crime” as Gotham mob scion Sal Sicuso, cool and sardonic, seething with banked menace, you can’t take your eyes off him. It’s a supporting role, but he’s more than enough reason to travel to Hollywood’s … Read more
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA A special sort of magic occurs when a celebrated and much-loved star takes on a role in live theater. Such is the atmosphere at Laguna Playhouse’s current offering, starring Leslie Caron and the multi-talented David Engel. The two-person vehicle sets up a sure-fire storyline. Lily, a former teacher and … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Percy Grainger’s long one-act tells the neo-Chekhovian tale of an unusual father and son relationship. Theatre director Paul (Ilia Volok) last saw his father Vivien (Craig Braun) when he was only 10 years old. His only real memory of his Dad seems to be of the day the old man … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly If you’re not much on abstract theory when it comes to interpreting architecture as art, chances are you’ll find Oren Safdie’s False Solution slow-going stuff. A student of architecture before becoming a playwright, Safdie – son of famed architect Moshe Safdie, who designed L.A.’s Skirball Cultural Center – integrates high-toned analytical jargon into … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times Son of Semele Ensemble has selected two startlingly different short plays for “Woman Parts,” a double bill planned, according to the program, as a corrective to the underrepresentation of women in the theater. The first offering, “Sex & God,” by the Scottish playwright Linda McLean, weaves together melancholy monologues by … Read more
Dany Margolies – Arts In LA If you have never seen a musical and hoped you never would, perhaps it’s time to venture into the world of The Drowsy Chaperone, a charmer of nonstop pep. If, however, you are mad for musicals and not only spot the tropes but also relish them, this luscious spoof is … Read more
David C. Nichols – LA Times Highly promising talent bounces through “Pray to Ball” at the Skylight Theatre. Amir Abdullah’s tersely entertaining examination of Islam, college basketball and friendship has some new-play issues, but it’s undeniably heartfelt and thought-provoking. Played out on the wood-paneled span of designer Jeff McLaughlin’s marvelous set, “Ball” follows two lifelong … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw In 1981, a musical adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber of British poet T. S. Eliot’s collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats took London’s West End by storm. Cats was immediately transferred Stateside, where the Tony Award-winning musical still holds the record for being the second longest-running show in Broadway history. Read more… Jonas Schwartz … Read more
Sharon Perlmutter – Talkin’ Broadway I confess that a quick look at Esther Vilar’s Wikipedia page gave me a bit of insight into the production of Sjalusi (or Jealousy, or, perhaps Celos), having its U.S. premiere in a very brief run at [Inside] the Ford. Vilar is best known for a book entitled “The Manipulated Man,” in which she … Read more