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 Holiday gatherings frequently serve as framework for plays about dysfunctional families, and Thanksgiving, written by Tiffany Cascio and directed by Kitty Lindsay, is one of them. Although not nearly as clever as it tries to be, it features several choice roles for women, a few good laugh lines and, in the case … Read more
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
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw It’s kind of amazing that a major play by Lorraine Hansberry is just having its Los Angeles premiere now. Perhaps the tide of criticism that caused the play to close after one month on Broadway in 1970 tainted its reputation in some way, or its need for a 24-member cast … Read more
Neal Weaver – Arts In LA In the 1940s and 50s, British playwright Terrence Rattigan was considered an important playwright, scoring successes in both England and the U.S. with The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version, Separate Tables, and other works. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way “Loneliness is a terrible thing, don’t you agree.” That sentiment is … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way Playwright Nicky Silver has written over a dozen plays which have mostly been produced off-Broadway and at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. South Coast Repertory produced his Pterodactyls and Raised in Captivity in the early 1990s. Read more… Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw Nicky Silver’s mordant comedy revisits the familiar … 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
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way I have always been a proponent of good political theatre, not agitprop theatre such as written by Italian playwright Dario Fo. I prefer political writing that is more balanced like the great teleplays that David E. Kelley wrote for L.A. Law…Read more… Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Chilean playwright Guillermo … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania It is one of the age-old theater questions: Can a performance rise the level of a so-so script, adding depth missing from the dialogue and characterizations? Broadway actor Matt McGrath proves the answer can be yes in The Legend of Georgia McBride, a comedy, now playing at the Geffen, about drag queens in … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw An obscure warehouse in Washington, D.C. is the headquarters of a shadowy organization that claims to be devoted to the preservation of the planet. The leader and mastermind of the group is the flamboyant and self-dramatizing Victor (Sean McHugh). Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way Playwright William Mastrosimone is … Read more