Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Back in the 1950s, a famous novel-turned-play-turned-film asked whether nature or nurture made little Rhoda Penmark a Bad Seed. Now Lolita Chakrabarti’s Hymn asks a related question: does having your father in your life lead you down the right path or not? Read more… Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix … Read more
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix A new commissioned play by Matthew Salazar-Thompson that recently premiered at North Coast Rep, “The Maltese Falcon” sends up Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel while remaining faithful to its story — perhaps a little too faithful, hence the play’s more than two-hour run time. Read more…
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw The superb actors, many of whom have been with the Latino Theater Company for years, deliver on all levels, from the funny to the devastating. The ease of their long association is apparent in director José Luis Valenzuela’s staging, which establishes an authentic family dynamic of liveliness, humor, and … Read more
Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive In “Master Harold”…and the Boys, which was set in 1950 and written circa 1982 when apartheid was still enforced in South Africa, playwright Athol Fugard seems to have dramatized Frantz Fanon’s theories about the psychological impact of racism and colonialism on the human mind. Through action, dialogue and character, Fugard, … Read more
Anita W. Harris – Long Beach Post Long Beach Playhouse executive director Madison Mooney recently said that “Harvey” is just the sort of play we need right now. And she’s right. If you are among those trading your smartphone for a flip phone, resisting ChatGPT and wondering where common decency went, “Harvey” is all that … Read more
Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix The 4,000-year-old epic tale of Gilgamesh was brought to life last weekend in the form of a lush opera five years in the making. With culturally inflected orchestral music, a rich libretto in English and Akkadian, and an astounding cast of vocalists and dancers, “Gilgamesh: The Opera” mesmerized and … Read more
Edward Hong – The Nerds Of Color Though Kim’s Convenience, now having its run at Center Theatre Group, is enjoyable in its many funny and touching moments, Ins Choi’s 2011 play is very much outdated in its necessity to showcase Korean identity & culture that is completely catered to white people. Despite a well rounded … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA Arthur Miller often tackles the universal themes of morality vs. what his great classic’s everyman anti-hero Joe Keller calls “practicality,” but this time out the author leaves just a tad room for his audience to discover things for ourselves without incessant preaching about how dastardly our world operates. Read more… … Read more
Anita W. Harris – Long Beach Post The first play of International City Theatre’s new season — “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” by Joe DiPietro with music by Jimmy Roberts — is an unexpected blast. Funny, sometimes poignant and filled with lively singing by a talented cast of four accompanied by on-stage piano … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Julia Child’s charismatic personality is explored in Claudia Shear’s new play The Recipe, a comedy with too few laughs and too few fresh insights into the life of the iconic chef. Lisa Peterson helms a breezy production that keeps the action moving, but her direction of its lead ultimately sinks it. … Read more