Bob Verini – Arts In LA “So that’s where American Idol contestants go to die: non-Equity tours and Indian casinos.” So sniffed my companion as we approached the Pantages Theatre and its proud marquee announcement of Ace Young (seventh place, Season V) and Diana DeGarmo (second place, Season III) in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The skepticism … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray has exerted a powerful fascination for both the general public and later generations of artists, ever since it was written in 1890. Its publication was controversial, and, even in a heavily censored version, it was widely condemned on moral grounds. But scandal has never been … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA Steven Drukman’s Death of the Author is, hands down, one of the very best plays of the year. A mystery wrapped within a psychological portrait gallery within a stinging critique of academic politics, it satisfies on every level during its completely gripping 90 minutes. Angelenos lucky enough to catch it at … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA Oscar Wilde’s Lady Bracknell put it this way: “Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.” Wilde clearly intended this to be fatuous nonsense, and a dig at the intellectual pretensions of the upper middle class. But Frank, the hero of this Willy Russell play, … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA Rogue Machine has turned itself into the go-to organization for provocative two-handers. If Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries lacks the dread of 2011’s Blackbird or the contemporary relevance of 2013’s Dying City, this production, directed by Larissa Kokernot, demonstrates anew the Pico Boulevard company’s knack for finding something precious in the confrontation of one … Read more
Dany Margolies – Arts In LA This Agatha Christie play might be a classic murder mystery, but the legendary author underpins the script with her perceptiveness about human behavior. As directed by George Kondreck, Kentwood Players’ production, pretty much finds the undercurrents. They flow while the characters spend a long weekend in 1948 at an … Read more
Dany Margolies – Arts In LA Late in their lives, a man and woman meet cute at a New Jersey dog park. He’s an easygoing, teasing but overly friendly chap. She’s a dignified, pretty but fearful gal. “Oh, no,” one thinks. “Don’t let this oil-and-water twosome end up together. They’ll make each other miserable.” Read more… … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA The newly formed Australian Theatre Company was launched April 23 (Shakespeare’s birthday) by producers Nick Hardcastle and Nate Jones, with the intention of creating opportunities for Australian actors, directors, and writers living in LA, and introducing the work of Australian writers to American audiences. (The company is quick to add that … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA Kimber Lee’s different words for the same thing, directed by Neel Keller, seems intended as an Our Townfor our time. Like the Thornton Wilder classic, it takes a cross-section of a little burg to investigate themes of love, death, and community, though Lee’s strategy is more tightly focused on a single … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA 3D Theatricals has been pulling off ambitious offerings in its spacious Plummer Auditorium digs in Fullerton. I wasn’t able to catch 2013’s acclaimed Parade, though early this year I thoroughly enjoyed a fresh and clever The Producers. The Dawsons—the family who are the 3 D’s—seem to be smart, well-funded, and committed … Read more