THE 39 STEPS at the Torrance Theatre Company

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Richard Hannay is world-weary. At 37 years old, returning to prewar London after traveling, he fears there’s nothing left of life. Suddenly remembering the one place that could brighten his outlook, he dashes out — and heads to the theater. Read more… Now running through April 17.

DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY at the Little Fish Theatre

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze As we reminisce over the decades, uptight manners seem to have been the hallmark of the 1950s. They’re parodied quite a bit in the theater, for example in playwright Rich Orloff’s look back from the 1990s, “Domestic Tranquility.” Read more… Now running through April 2.

THE MYSTERY OF LOVE AND SEX at the Mark Taper Forum

Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw The sneaky, overworked phrase “friends with benefits” takes on new meaning in this watery comedy by Bathsheba Doran. Read more… Dany Margolies – L.A. Daily News Family has not changed since ancient times. Our perceptions of family have. Playwright Bathsheba Doran seems to celebrate this in her play “The Mystery … Read more

WEST SIDE STORY at Musical Theatre West

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze The curtain rises to reveal a New York stoop, as the overture blossoms into an iconic score and eight young men in jeans and tennies burst into a dance of seething frustration and endless energy. Unmistakably, this is “West Side Story.” Read more… Now running through February 28.

CLOSER THAN EVER at International City Theatre

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze The musical revue “Closer Than Ever” makes a lovely evening for folks who don’t want to be asked to dig into the meaning of songs, who prefer messages told simply. The music, too, though it has more than a few tinges of dissonance, doesn’t tax the listener. Read more… … Read more

BARCELONA at the Geffen Playhouse

Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw The clash of values in playwright Bess Wohl’s disputatious two-hander takes place between Irene (Betty Gilpin), a chattering blonde tourist from Denver, and Manuel (Carlos Leal), a handsome Spaniard who’s ferried her back to his loft in Barcelona for wild, mutually satisfying sex. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily News … Read more

AN ACT OF GOD at the Ahmanson Theatre

Jonas Schwartz –  TheaterMania God has returned to earth and borrowed Sean Hayes’ body to impart wisdom to the audience at the Ahmanson Theatre and deliver an updated 10 Commandments for the new millennium. Playwright David Javerbaum hilariously skewers humanity’s assumptions about God’s purpose using the popular TV comedian Hayes as a perfect vessel. Read more… Deborah Klugman … Read more

THE NERD at the Norris Theatre

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze For a fun evening with more than a few laughs, “The Nerd” hits the spot, playing through January at the Norris Theatre on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Though written in the early 1980s, Larry Shue’s comedy hasn’t aged badly, except for an era-specific reference or two. That’s because Shue’s … Read more

VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE at the Torrance Theatre Company

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Three of the four names in the title of Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” sound familiar, right? The three are characters in classic Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s plays. Spike? Not so much. Read more… Now running through February 14.