ArtsBeat LA

Anything Goes, CTG/Ahmanson Theater

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Anything Goes by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse; revised by Howard Lindsay andRussel Crouse; reworked by librettist John Weidman andTimothy Crouse. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA Wall-to-wall hit tunes, ear-to-ear grin all night long F U N ! –  Cole Porter’s timeless classic musical theatre masterpiece, Anything Goes, has set sail at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in a new Broadway revival and continues through January 6, 2013. The fluffy, madcap and … Read more

Intimate Apparel, Pasadena Playhouse

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Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA A persuasive melodrama, Intimate Apparel is perhaps Lynn Nottage’s best known play, although she won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Ruined in 2009. Written and first staged at Center Stage in Baltimore almost ten years ago, Intimate Apparel has a pleasing contemporary relevance. Although Nottage’sdrama is set in New York City in 1905, in the love letter romance … Read more

Godspell Jr., Eclectic Company Theatre

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Godspell Jr. by John Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA There’s nothing quite like the pure spirit and shining, happy faces of talented young teens and kids. Provided with a suitable vehicle, namely Godspell, Jr., the vibrant energy of this mostly female, mostly eight-grader cast of eight kids provides a great night of musical entertainment.  Fittingly, the … Read more

Seminar, Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre

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Seminar by Theresa Rebeck. Hoyt Hilsman – The Huffington Post Plays about writers and writing present major challenges for both audiences and playwrights. Because writing is such an internal process, full of grinding frustration and occasional exhilaration, it is a tough subject to portray on stage. Playwright and film/TV writer Theresa Rebeck makes a valiant but flawed assault on … Read more

Krapp’s Last Tape, CTG at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

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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, Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum

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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

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Astra Dance Company

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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

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Geffen Playhouse

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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

Justin Love, Celebration Theatre

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Justin Love — Book by Patricia Cotter and David Elzer, Story byDavid Elzer and Bret Calder, Music by Lori Scarlett and David Manning, Lyrics by Lori Scarlett. Sharon Perlmutter – TalkinBroadway.com Justin Love gives an old plot a modern twist, shines it up with with a bright and upbeat score, adds genuinely clever dialogue and lyrics, and wraps it all up in a Hollywood that only exists in fairy … Read more

The Book of Mormon, Pantages Theatre

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The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez andMatt Stone. David C. Nichols – Backstage With a subversive chortle and a heart bigger than the Great Salt Lake, The Book of Mormon hits Los Angeles and triumphantly becomes the hottest attraction in town. The joyous West Coast premiere of Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone’s Tony-winning gusher doesn’t just meet expectations; it … Read more