Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen How is it possible that a musical based on a book written nearly 40 years ago feels more timely than ever today? The tour of the Tony-winning Broadway revival of The Color Purple just opened at the Pantages Theatre, and its messages of female empowerment in the face of … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld Puppets and monsters and freaks, oh my. Shoreside has an abundance of them in WOOD BOY DOG FISH and they don’t play well together at all… The story is a spin on Pinocchio but it in no way resembles the Disney fairy tale most people are familiar with so don’t bring … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld A gaunt Leon Russom conjures up more pathos than normal as the aged Prospero in the Porters of Hellsgate’s production of THE TEMPEST. Whether it is due to the fact that the actor has been battling pneumonia, which took him out of the show opening weekend mid-performance, or that his interpretation of the … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times In one of the most entertaining numbers in the musical “School of Rock,” which opened Thursday at the Hollywood Pantages theater, a substitute teacher rallies his 10-year-old students to “stick it to the man” by ignoring their stuffy prep-school curriculum and forming a rock band. It’s fun to watch the … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main ICE, Leon Martell’s family friendly play, takes place in 1988 and follows the misadventures of two undocumented immigrants: Chepe (Jesús Castaños-Chima), an avid baseball fan who dreams of making a fortune selling gourmet tacos; and his cousin Nacho (Tony Dúran), whom the beleaguered Chepe summons from Mexico to assist … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld Somewhere in a cheap hotel in Chicago, circa late 1930s, three women are singing the blues. Two have been around the block and seen it all. One is woefully wise beyond her years. All have been burned by the flames of desire and lovers who have done them wrong.Read more… Deborah … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld The air between the words is so thick you could cut it with a knife in Daniel Talbott‘s shadowy play about three siblings attempting to survive their dysfunctional family. Each is broken in his or her own way and, as the hairball unravels, the audience must piece together their fragmented story over … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorldThis adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy has been reconceptualized to connect with the modern day #MeToo movement by offering an alternative explanation for one of its leading character’s actions. It is built on the notion that all of the women are victims of sexual abuse – most specifically, Lady Macbeth – who, … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld In The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a young hotel manager optimistically states, in the face of every disaster: “In India we have a saying, ‘Everything will be alright in the end. So if it’s not alright, it is not yet the end.’ ” It’s the same idea Shakespeare’s heroine touts in … Read more
Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld Playwright Wendy Graf is best known for her uniquely dramatic works such as PLEASE DON’T ASK ABOUT BECKET, ALL AMERICAN GIRL, and NO WORD IN GUYANESE FOR ME. But, in her latest world premiere, UNEMPLOYED ELEPHANTS – A LOVE STORY, she takes a lighter – and more formulaic – approach to her subject.Read … Read more