David C. Nichols

THE SEXUAL LIFE OF SAVAGES at the Beverly Hills Playhouse

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David C. Nichols – LA Times In its basic contours and execution, Ian MacAllister-McDonald’s “The Sexual Life of Savages” at the Beverly Hills Playhouse is an edgy dramedy of postmillennial eroticism that certainly keeps us watching. Read more… Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter A couple planning on romance is instead waylaid by argument, a fundamental … Read more

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum

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David C. Nichols – LA Times Whatever the course, the end is the renown in “All’s Well That Ends Well” in Topanga Canyon. Although it has some stylistic quirks and still-refining aspects, this affable, accessible revival of the Bard’s rambling comic study of class distinctions, romantic ambition and hard-earned wisdom is a representative outing for … Read more

ABBAMEMNON at the Falcon Theatre

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David C. Nichols – LA Times Aeschylus meets Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid in “ABBAMEMNON,” the latest deconstruction from Troubadour Theater Company. The classic Greek playwright, Swedish pop group and incomparable troupe may never be quite the same again, and neither will audiences. Read more… Steven Leigh Morris  – LA Weekly There are no sly topical winks … Read more

STONEFACE at the Pasadena Playhouse

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Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter If one cares about the movies, and about comedy (and what can life be without them?), the soul of Buster Keaton (played here by French Stewart) needs must be spliced into one’s DNA. One cannot help but feel proprietary about one’s personal relationship to the bottomlessly expressive, impassive Keaton, … Read more

FLOWER DUET at the NoHo Senior Arts Colony

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David C. Nichols – LA Times The title of “Flower Duet,” in its West Coast premiere at the Road Theatre on Magnolia, refers to Leo Delibes’ celebrated “Lakmé” air for soprano and mezzo. It is being rehearsed by two Vermont-based frenemies, for a mutual friends’ wedding, though the musical component is at best a device. … Read more

SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS at the Laguna Playhouse

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Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA A special sort of magic occurs when a celebrated and much-loved star takes on a role in live theater. Such is the atmosphere at Laguna Playhouse’s current offering, starring Leslie Caron and the multi-talented David Engel. The two-person vehicle sets up a sure-fire storyline. Lily, a former teacher and … Read more

PRAY TO BALL at the Skylight Theatre

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David C. Nichols – LA Times Highly promising talent bounces through “Pray to Ball” at the Skylight Theatre. Amir Abdullah’s tersely entertaining examination of Islam, college basketball and friendship has some new-play issues, but it’s undeniably heartfelt and thought-provoking. Played out on the wood-paneled span of designer Jeff McLaughlin’s marvelous set, “Ball” follows two lifelong … Read more

THE LION IN WINTER at the Colony Theatre

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Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw “I guess all families have their ups and downs,” says Eleanor of Aquitaine in James Goldman’s perennially popular comedy drama about 12thcentury royals. But in most families, the ups and downs don’t come as fast and furiously as in this play, and certainly they’re never expressed quite so articulately, with … Read more

TIME AND THE CONWAYS at the Old Globe Theatre

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David C. Nichols – LA Times Social commentary, familial relationships and quantum theory collide in “Time and the Conways” at the Old Globe, and the results are as formidable as they are engrossing. If any doubts remained that J.B. Priestley was one of the most insightful British dramatists of the 20th century, this translucent revival of … Read more