POWER & LIGHT @ THEATRE 40
Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move POWER & LIGHT juxtaposes a slow, sepia-toned, horse-and-buggy era with an evocative, kinetic future envisioned by Thomas Alva Edison and Nicola Tesla. Read more…
Million Dollar Quartet @ THE CARPENTER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix Regardless, all of these performers’ sheer talent and enthusiasm make every song a joy to experience. Continuing through this weekend and next only, “Million Dollar Quartet” is a must-see musical with a “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and then some. Read more…
‘Ham,’ meet “Hedley.’ Plus plays looking forward, plays looking back
Don Shirley – Angeles Stage Ham,’ meet ‘Hedley.’ Plus plays looking forward, plays looking back. Also includes comments on Dinner with Friends, Kairos, High Maintenance, Could I Have This Dance?, Funny Girl, Into the Breeches, Power & Light, Stalin’s Master Class. Read more…
High Maintenance @ THE ROAD THEATRE
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw The subject of machines replacing human workers has been with us for a long time, and yet it never seems to stop being relevant. The latest iteration of this technological topic involves the proliferation of artificial intelligence to create cheap art or articles (expect theater reviews from AI soon – … Read more
Ensemble Theatre Company : The Lehman Trilogy @ THE NEW VIC
Philip Brandes – Stage Raw Amid the fine production values, watching the three actors’ energetic, at times acrobatic, often hilarious and always moving performances is to experience live theater at its spellbinding best. Read more…
Funny Girl @ AHMANSON THEATRE
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA So what makes this old funny girl funnier than ever before? Simply put, Katerina McCrimmon is absolutely the best Fanny Brice I’ve ever seen—and I’m old enough to have seen the original star-making turn by Babs herself before the film version cleaned her up a tad. Evoking Edith Piaf with … Read more
Just for Us @ MARK TAPER FORUM
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Alex Edelman possesses one of the most distinct and unique voices to emerge on the scene since the late Robin Williams. Last November in the special engagement in the shuttered Mark Taper Forum, Edelman’s hilarious and perfectly timed Obie-winning Just for Us became the recipient of my annual TicketHolder Solo … Read more
Tiny Beautiful Things @ CHANCE THEATER
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix The writing throughout is also beautifully literary, especially moving toward the end when a character (portrayed by an emotive Lamer) writes in list form about losing his son to a drunk driver. Sugar answers in an equally compelling way, addressing each item on the list with passionate sagacity. Patrick … Read more
Prelude To A Kiss, The Musical @ SOUTH COAST REPERTORY
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Craig Lucas’s play Prelude to a Kiss is a fairy tale about the nature of true love and the insignificance of physical beauty. Now, Lucas, along with co-lyricist Sean Hartley and composer and co-lyricist Daniel Messé, has created a musicalized version that is making its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, … Read more
A Froggy Becomes @ OPEN FIST THEATRE COMPANY
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Lordie, I needed this. Unlike so many new plays these days, the world premiere of Becky Wahlstrom’s delightfully silly A Froggy Becomes from Open Fist doesn’t bombard us with weighty reminders of the massive trials and insurmountable inequities plaguing our fuckedup world, yet it still manages to covertly have something … Read more