LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES at Antaeus Theatre Company

Jenny Lower – Stage Raw Antaeus announced Christopher Hampton’s 1987 adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses as the debut of its current season all the way back in June. The director’s note in the program discusses how this pre-revolutionary tale of French aristocratic depravity speaks to our era of the one percent.Read more… Erin Conley – On Stage … Read more

BRIGHT STAR at the Ahmanson Theatre

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze “Bright Star” is a fairly new musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. It had a life on Broadway last year and has arrived at L.A.’s Ahmanson Theatre.Read more… Jonas Schwartz –  TheaterMania Bright Star has so many winning attributes that one can easily forget its shortcomings and simply enjoy … Read more

WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN at Boston Court Performing Arts Center

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Some people go through life with their heart on their sleeve, while others are much more guarded, desperate to protect their hearts from being broken. In With Love and a Major Organ, a whimsical, poignant play by Julia Lederer currently in its west coast premiere at Boston Court Performing … Read more

A TALE OF TWO CITIES at A Noise Within

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens has been a staple of western literature since its publication in 1859, and has been adapted many times over—as movies, television mini-series, radio shows, a short-lived Broadway musical, … Read more

HAMILTON at the Pantages Theatre

Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen So much has been written about Hamilton since its debut two and a half years ago. This musical, which has won just about every award it was eligible for including the Best Musical Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, has embedded itself in the pop culture zeitgeist more … Read more

AS YOU LIKE IT at Antaeus Theatre Company

Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw  One of the reasons for the continued popularity of Shakespeare’s work over the centuries is how unusually open it is to reinterpretation — directors or actors can use it as a lens with which to focus anew on some aspect of the world.Read more… Erin Conley – On Stage & … Read more

THE CAKE – Echo Theatre Company at Atwater Village Theatre

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

CONSTELLATIONS at the Geffen Playhouse

Jonas Schwartz –  TheaterMania Constellations, the character piece by Nick Payne that is now playing in a new production at the Geffen Playhouse, requires a talented cast to succeed. The expansive themes of love in an ever-expanding cosmos, the jarring sequencing of the moments, and their repetition could turn audiences off quickly.  Read more… Erin … Read more

DOGFIGHT at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Rob Stevens – Haines His Way The composing team of Benji Pasek and Justin Paul are very hot right now having just won an Academy Award for their song in the film La La Land. Read more… Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw This new musical, with book by Peter Duchan and music and lyrics by the team … Read more