Mad Women by John Fleck and Catch 23: Broken Negatives by Karen Finley Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers It all happened twenty-two years ago, but people are still buzzing about the notorious case of the “NEA 4.” To be more precise: Due to pressure in 1990 from Jesse Helms, Dana Rohrabacher, and the religious-right, grants already given to Karen Finley, John … Read more
Fraternity by Jeff Stetson. Pauline Adamek – LA Weekly Jeff Stetson’s all-male political drama Fraternity, written 25 years ago, has a prescient power to it. Set in Birmingham, Ala., the storyline presents a prosperous group of black men, members of a private gentleman’s club, and the tragic history that shaped each of their lives. A shocking bombing of the … Read more
Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Samuel Beckett’s melancholy one man, one act play is being performed superbly by John Hurt in his first appearance on a Los Angeles stage, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, in a production imported from the Gate Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Much like Clint Eastwood waited until he was sufficiently old and grizzled enough to play the … Read more
November by David Mamet. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA David Mamet’s grubby and farcical political play November, now playing at the Mark Taper Forum Downtown, is a riot of foul language and racial epithets, all tumbling from the mouth of the President of the United States, as daffily portrayed by Ed Begley Jr. Read more… David C. Nichols – Backstage It’s a week before Election … Read more
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA.com Apparently this Shakespeareplay doesn’t need to be performed on the steps of a real-life city hall to impress. Here, a chamber version captures the story’s expanse while feeling immediate, near, and unfortunately modern. Add in the casting of women in traditionally male roles, modern-day business attire, and non-declamatory performances, … Read more
Cymbeline by William Shakespeare. Terry Morgan – LAist.com There are two primary reasons Shakespeare lovers should go see the new production of Cymbeline at A Noise Within. The first is that the play is rarely produced, and here’s an opportunity to experience it as done by one of the best classics-based theatre companies in town. The second reason is that one will … Read more
Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall. Sharon Perlmutter – TalkinBroadway.com I’ve been waiting for a Los Angeles production of Joe Penhall’s Blue/Orange ever since it won a bunch of awards in London back in 2000-2001. It’s a dark little piece about race, the human condition, degrees of insanity, and the way our own perceptions and biases influence our reality. Sort of an Oleanna by … Read more
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari presented by Astra Dance Company. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Astra Dance Company has interpreted the twisted, sinister plot and expressionistic style of the 1920s silent horror film classic to produce a gorgeous if disquieting acrobatic ballet. A breathtakingly talented troupe of 17 neoclassical dancers, contortionists and circus artists emote and perform the melodramatic … Read more
8, the Play by Dustin Lance Black. Shirle Gottlieb, Gazette Newspapers What a gorgeous building! We’ve lived in Long Beach since we were teenagers, and this is the first time we ever set foot in the Scottish Rite Building, located at 855 Elm Ave. As for the lavish 700-seat Ernest Borgnine Theatre within it… we didn’t even know it existed. … Read more
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage. Terry Morgan – LAist.com Lynn Nottage’s play, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, is more intriguing as a concept than a reality. It looks at the marginalization of African-American actors in the twentieth century, an undeniably interesting subject, but then stumbles in multiple ways. The fault, unfortunately, is … Read more