Edward Hong – The Nerds Of Color There are many exciting elements at play with the west coast premiere of Angelica Chéri’s ‘Berta, Berta’ at the Echo Theater Company with a talented cast and director. But while there is no doubt that the commitment from the actors are sublime, the plot machinations involving supernatural elements … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA As Stephen Laughton’s play flips in a dizzying timewarp back and forth from the year the lovers meet to the year their relationship crumbles due to the increasingly more frightening cultural winds of recent times, we are whisked along on their difficult ride. Read more… Edward Hong – The Nerds … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Babe, Jessica Goldberg’s incisive, skillfully wrought play about sexual harassment (and what should or should not be deemed politically correct), is so titled because, in the course of the narrative, it’s applied, rather casually, to Abigail (Julie Dretzin), one of the playwright’s four exceedingly well-drawn characters. Read more… Katie Buenneke – Theatre … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Caring for an infant is an important part of life, yet its difficulties are rarely depicted in the arts. While there is no lack of stories about pregnancy and birth, once the child is born, the drama seems to be considered less interesting. Playwright Molly Smith Metzler begs to differ…….Read … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Americans in the U.S. have struggled with a cultural divide for decades — right from the beginning, it can be argued. The Founding Fathers, deists and 18th century rationalists, made separation of Church and State a fundamental principle of our government and their lives, while more traditional classes of people, especially … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Blueberry Toast may not feature a knockout script, but it sure packs a punch when inimitable performer Jacqueline Wright, at her manic and brilliant best, takes on one of the lead roles. Read more… Now running through October 23
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Not all sociopaths reach for a gun. Some people appear normal until one day an event triggers their rage and they go off the deep end. A few of these individuals turn violent, but others, like Tracy (Rebecca Gray), the loose-lipped but (deceptively) harmless-looking woman at the core of Erik … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Ruby Rae Spiegel’s Dry Land succeeds on multiple levels: first, as a dark comedy, second, as a graphic portrayal of the process of a self-administered abortion, and last and most particularly, as a sharp and illuminating character study. This West Coast premiere by the Echo Theatre Company is entertaining and assured and … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Kate Morgan Chadwick makes an arresting entrance as she slithers alluringly across the floor at Atwater Village Theatre, climbing onto the large white bed (Se Oh’s scenic design) that serves as the focus for Sheila Callaghan’s fiercely feminist one-act. Read more… Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA The central focus of Bed — Sheila Callaghan’s … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw In a dramatic about-face, playwright Tommy Smith on Wednesday abruptly retracted allegations that Echo Theater Company had “stolen” his short play Ghost Light, which had starred Deborah Puette and opened August 5 to rave notices. The production was the playwright’s third collaboration with Echo artistic director Chris Fields, whose stagings of … Read more