What Opa Did @ THEATRE 40
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw At a time when families hide in their homes for fear of being deported—or worse — the parallels to Franciosa’s timely play are obvious. Read more…
F. Kathleen Foley
Stereophonic @ HOLLYWOOD PANTAGES
Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre Bites Podcast 9.1 out of 10! Exceptional Show! Listen here… Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA This is a brave and decidedly rule-breaking work that, thanks to the stark vision of director Daniel Aukin, often reminded me of being smackdab in the middle of a living Ingrid Bergman movie. His purposefully … Read more
Frost My Life @ WISTERIA THEATRE
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw The oddly abbreviated musical numbers are drowned out by a blaring sound mix — otherwise, Takeshita’s staging is brisk and an ebullient cast, which includes Donnie Riddle and Kolt Atchley, commits fully to the material, however flawed. Read more…
Table 17 @ GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw And granted, Rishawn has impressively perfect abs, but why, in one scene, is he wearing an open shirt with his six-pack visibly oiled? It’s a meretricious visual that comes at the expense of the character and indicates deeper problems with the staging, which too often panders for laughs. Read … Read more
Pointy Scissors @ THEATRE WEST
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw Playwright Clara Rodriguez certainly doesn’t hold back in Pointy Scissors, now having its world premiere at Theatre West. Rapid-fire in pace and convoluted, the play is a farce in the truest sense of the word. Read more…
Bluebeard’s Castle @ THE ODYSSEY THEATRE
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw Mark Guirguis’s clever scenic features a series of flats that pivots to reveal the castle’s various rooms. Leigh Allen’s lighting design is effectively murky, sometimes to a fault. However, it is Rubalsky’s magnificent sound design, all creaks and moans and things that go bump in the night, that is … Read more
JaJa’s African Hairbraiding @ MARK TAPER FORUM
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw This production offers a radiant counterpoint to America’s cruel climate of xenophobia—a vivid reminder of the rich gifts that immigrants have always contributed to this nation’s story. Read more…
My Dad’s Kid @ BEVERLY HILLS PLAYHOUSE
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw Director Allen Barton, who is also credited as dramaturge, delivers a competent staging. However, a dramaturge’s mandate is to help synthesize existing material, and in this, Barton fails. Read more…
Into the Woods @ WISTERIA THEATER
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw It’s not all techno razzle-dazzle, though. Staging a musical this long and complicated is challenging, but Hade sturdily structures the mechanism with few creaking nuts and bolts. Read more… Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre Bites Podcast 9 out of 10! Exceptional Show! LA Theatre Bites Recommended! Listen here…
THE WOOLGATHERER @ THE VICTORY THEATRE CENTER
Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move I’m not sure why Antonio Jaramillo chose THE WOOL GATHERER as the vehicle to showcase himself and his real life partner Ashley Alvarez. But it sure did bring me back to all the worst things about the 1970s. Sure, it’s a love story. But there is so much … Read more