Dany Margolies – Arts In LA The iconic musical Hair embodied the 1960s and that decade’s make love, not war, philosophy. A Chorus Line epitomized the 1970s and that decade’s obsession with self-analysis. What musical best represents the 1980s? Perhaps it’s Cats. Read more… Now running through May 10.
Bob Verini – Stage Raw Talk about your call of the wild! The atavistic urge – the impulse to fall in with nature in its most primitive state – is an old standby in drama and literature, and it’s now being applied to strong effect in My Barking Dog, Eric Coble’s startling two-hander at the Theatre @ … Read more
Bob Verini – Arts In LA The inciting incident of The Power of Duff, Stephen Belber’s new play at the Geffen, occurs early. Local Rochester, N.Y. news anchor Charlie Duff (Josh Stamberg)—having lost his wife to divorce, his son to resentment, and now his long-estranged dad to death—closes a broadcast with a spontaneous, brief “rest-in-peace” prayer. … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Being told “I love you” is nice. But there are more effective ways of expressing love. The characters at the heart of “The Curious Savage” — at Torrance Theatre Co. through April 19 — clearly know this. They, however, are locked up in a sanitarium. Read more… Now running through … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze The rarely revived “Mame” is running at Kentwood Players’ Westchester Playhouse through April 18, and that alone should evoke gratitude. But only the memorably joyous melodies of Jerry Herman’s score, the set, and very few competent performances keep this production from verging on the disastrous. Read more… Now running through … Read more
David C. Nichols – LA Times The fluff and fold of old-school boulevard comedy typifies “Washer/Dryer” at East West Players. Indeed, playwright Nandita Shenoy’s study of intercultural newlyweds attempting to co-habit in a New York City co-op is an amiable throwback to the days when “Barefoot in the Park” played the Great White Way. Read more… … Read more
Dany Margolies – Arts In LA This Conor McPherson script fits squarely within his oeuvre—of poetic plays about souls seeking human connection in the midst of supernatural forces. However, unlike other Los Angeles productions of his works—including the Geffen Playhouse’s The Seafarer in 2009 and Geffen’s The Weir in 2000—this version lacks a feeling of something deeper and more … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly A fugue, in music, is a melody repeated in complex patterns. In psychiatry, it’s a dissociative state of mind. Playwright Tommy Smith infuses both meanings into his ambitious new play, Fugue. Read more… Dany Margolies – Arts In LA This show has quite the pedigree. Its playwright, Tommy Smith, wrote last year’s … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times Enter Laughing,” Carl Reiner’s semi-autobiographical 1958 novel, has had nearly as varied a career as its author. Playwright Joseph Stein (“Fiddler on the Roof”) turned it into a Broadway play (1963), a film (1967), a Broadway musical that famously flopped (1976) and then, with director Stuart Ross, a successful off-Broadway … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Mr. Parliament has forgotten his 32nd wedding anniversary. Big oops? Perhaps not. His faux pas allows his wife the chance for growth and happiness in Norm Foster’s comedy “Mrs. Parliament’s Night Out” —Read more… Now running through February 12.