Dany Margolies

Encounter, East West Players in association with Navarasa Dance Theatre, David Henry Hwang Theater

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Encounter  by Aparna Sindhoor, Anil Natyaveda, and S M Raju. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA The wisdom of the adage “Show, don’t tell” quickly becomes apparent in this dance-theater piece. And symbolic “showing” can be even more evocative than realism, which may explain why the storytelling here leaves the viewer shattered. In a universal tale about shortsighted despotism and evilly … Read more

Euripides’ Helen, Getty Villa

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Euripides’ Helen, by adapted by Nick Salamone. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA Nick Salamone is most gracious in crediting Euripides as the writer here, merely listing himself as adaptor. He has riffed on the Greek tragicomedy original, working with historical plot and characters but blending in elements of Hollywood movie musicals and characters from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Read more… Pauline Adamek – LA … Read more

Natalie Portman, the Musical!, The Attic

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Natalie Portman, the Musical!  Book and lyrics by Brittany Garms, music by Frankie Marrone and Tara Pitt. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA “What were they thinking?”That’s the polite form of the question critics ask rhetorically when theater productions don’t work. Fortunately regarding this production, the answer is apparent from start to finish. Unfortunately another question hangs over it. “What’s missing?” we wonder. What is … Read more

Collected Stories, Odyssey Theatre

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Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. Dany Margolies, ArtsInLA The quality of this production is undoubtable. Much thought and skill and time have gone into the onstage product. But whether director Terri Hanauer and her duet of fine actors ring all the possible tones in Donald Margulies’s script is another think. Read more…

Ghost Writer, International City Theatre

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Ghost Writer by Michael Hollinger. Shirl Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers When the news got out several months ago, a big smile crept across my face.  International City Theatre is planning to produce the West Coast premiere of GhostWriter by playwright Michael Hollinger.” Having seen the Fountain Theatre’soutstanding production of Opus, which was extended several times; I was anxious to experience another work by its … Read more

The Return to Morality, The Production Company at Lex Theatre

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The Return to Morality by Jamie Pachino. Dany Margolies – ArtsinLA Playwright Jamie Pachinotwists our knickers for us while we watch a college professor­–turned–bestselling author foist and get foisted. Said author’s new book, intended as satire in its propagandizing of militant far-right ideas, becomes the flashpoint that incites the people it satirizes to commit destruction and murder. Too … Read more

Red, Donmar Warehouse at Mark Taper Forum

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Red by John Logan. Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA It’s refreshing to experience a play about ideas, and not simply character or story. John Logan’s incendiary play Red is a two-character bio-drama about abstract expressionist fine artist Mark Rothko in conversation with his young assistant.  Read more… Dany Margolies – ArtsinLA No question, Alfred Molina is otherworldly brilliant here, playing mid-century American painter Mark Rothko … Read more

The Government Inspector, Theatre@Boston Court & Furious Theatre Company

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The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol. Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA It’s petty to complain that the clever lines are so plentiful that we don’t have a moment to reflect on them, that the sight gags are too numerous to take in fully, and that the actors are so adept and in sync with [Stefan] Novinski’svision that we sometimes … Read more

The Irish Curse, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

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The Irish Curse by Martin Casella. Bob Verini – ArtsInLA As a dramatic event, Martin Casella’s The Irish Curse is a complete and utter contrivance. But within its rickety structure are some pungent, surprising observations on character delivered with a good deal of sincerity, and that’s not nothing.  Read more…

Macbeth, The Antaeus Company

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Macbeth by Shakespeare. Dany Margolies – ArtsinLA Are we, as an educated audience, expected to know exactly when Macbeth “turns”— when the pathologically evil ambition overtakes his soul? Or must the change in him be left open to interpretation? The answer may determine which cast to see in this double-cast production of Shakespeare’s “Scottish play,” illuminatingly directed by Jessica Kubzansky.  Read … Read more