Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania The model for Bernard Weinraub’s play Above the Fold, premiering at the Pasadena Playhouse, is Tom Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize winner Bonfire of the Vanities. Though parallels can be seen between both works, the indictment of politicians, the press, and Caucasian and African-American leaders for instigating and celebritizing the racial divide, Weinraub’s work also maintains … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers The Olio Theatre Works is back with a new version of its all-time favorite production — one that OTW first produced 10 years ago. By adding music and lyrics to “Old Black Magic,” Terra Taylor-Knudson and Lauren Nave have turned their Voodoo comedy into a high-spirited “Haunted Musical.” (Get it? … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts in LA For this chamber musical, Shaun Davey and Richard Nelson have crafted Irish faux folk tunes that rely more on vocal brio than beauty. And let’s face it, the characters’ increasing insobriety lowers the bar on singing quality as the play’s Christmastime celebration progresses. But the adaptation of James Joyce’s … Read more
Neal Weaver – Arts In LA Prolific playwright Lucille Fletcher is best known for the suspense drama Sorry, Wrong Number—which began life as prizewinning 1948 radio play, starring Agnes Morehead, and in 1950 was made into a film noir that garnered an Oscar nomination for its star, Barbara Stanwyck. Fletcher’s Night Watch is also a suspense drama, in which … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts in LA The Light in the Piazza’s cross-cultural love story, in which red-state Americans fall victim to the allure of Florence circa the early 1950s, is musically alluring, although helmer Kent Nicholson eschews the glamorous spectacle that characterized Bartlett Sher’s Broadway original. With the NY chorus halved, and musical director Dennis … Read more
Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. Reaching back to its early years, the 34-year-old Victory Theatre Center is offering a new production of Kos Kostmayer’s On the Money, previously presented there in 1982. The play takes a stab at exploring certain themes still relevant in modern times, primarily the desperate challenges of many American citizens to make … Read more
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA Preposterously silly, Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan’s comes to Fullerton and Redondo Beach via 3-D Theatricals season opener. It is another hit in the theater company’s chain of musicals that last season included Shrek the Musical and Parade. In this one, Max Bialystock’s (Jay Brian Winnick) Broadway play, Funny Boy: A Musical Version … Read more
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Given the chance to embody John Merrick—aka ‘The Elephant Man’—on stage is probably something most actors would jump at with the same alacrity they would for the opportunity to tackle Hamlet or Richard III. It’s certainly a supremely challenging role, both physically and emotionally. For a highly limited run—only this weekend … Read more
Silent Auction Info – LADCC Awards Tip! Scroll down to see the latest additions to the silent auction! Silent Auction Prefer to support the Circle with a donation to our Silent Auction? (Think: tickets to your upcoming show or season; show memorabilia; a master class. Get creative! We can help with ideas.) Donors are thanked … Read more
Dany Margolies – Arts In LA Let’s say the police are after you, but you’re innocent, and they’re actually not police but enemy spies, and your only means of escape is to jump out of a window. But you’re actually an actor, and your window is a picture frame, and your show is filled with … Read more