Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review Any time someone translates a novel to the stage, there is risk involved. The depth of interior monologue, the detail of setting and character, the convolutions of plot and emotion, even the poetry of language used to provide all of this, are all limited by the confines of … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Big Night is one of those sitcom-like stage comedies that tries super hard to tackle big themes but trips on the very glibness it purports to satirize. Read more… Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw Big Night is a play with aspirations bigger than it can deliver on. The new work by playwright Paul … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Trish Harnetiaux’s bizarre dark comedy, three slightly mad scientists find themselves stranded in an entirely white room. They are Mr. Paine (Chris Gardner), Jennings (Sarah Lily), and Mrs. White (Sierra Marcks). Read more… Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review As Trish Harnetiaux’s “Welcome to the White Room” began, in … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson – San Gabriel Valley Tribune A musical format which has become extremely popular, particularly in smaller venues, involves taking popular music from a particular genre and a particular time period and building a storyline around what is essentially a nostalgic concert. Read more… Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Directed by Robert Marra at … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Born in 1915, Sister Rosetta Tharpe has been called the godmother of rock & roll for her profound influence on a legion of famous vocalists, including Elvis Presley, Tina Turner and Johnny Cash (who noted in his induction speech into the Hall of Fame that she was his favorite singer). Read … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw In playwright Arun Lakra’s quick-witted, if perhaps overly cerebral piece, it isn’t a rabbit’s foot or a four-leaf clover that makes someone lucky — it’s genetic predisposition. Or perhaps it’s an evolutionary adaptation that allows people to peer into the future, quantum physics-style, and somehow bring about their future happiness.Read … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson – The Daily Breeze Perhaps the two greatest dangers in producing an original work of theater is either directing your own performance or directing your own play. In either case, the absolutely necessary second opinion — the critique needed to make sure the thing is the best it can be — is … Read more
Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw Fans of the fourth wall — that imaginary wall separating performers from their audience — should steer clear of Lauren Yee’s new play King of the Yees, now playing at the Kirk Douglas in Culver City. But for more adventurous folks, those willing to throw caution (and conventional theatrical tradition) to … Read more
Hoyt Hilsman – Huffington Post In the finest tradition of the theatrical two-hander, British playwright Simon Stephens (adapter of the Tony-award winning Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night) has imagined a random encounter between a forty-something eccentric woman and a very ordinary seventy-five year old butcher. Read more… Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly British playwright Simon … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw It’s hard to imagine a more far-fetched plot than the one that animates this zany musical by Lynn Ahren (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music), based on The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Michael Butterworth. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way Lucky Stiff is a … Read more