Rob Stevens – Haines His Way What I knew about the musical phenomenon of the 1990s known at the Boy Band Era would easily fit on the tiniest of post-it notes before I viewed Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. I knew Lance Bass and Joey Fatone were members of NSYNC only … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way How many ex-lovers have you had? Can you count them on the fingers of one hand? Or do you need your second hand? Add in your toes? Or do you need the help of an abacus? Or a calculator? Well, the title character of Emily Powers’s Sunday Night at Jane’s at … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes “busker” as chiefly British—a person who entertains in a public place for donations. The dictionary also defines “ball” as either a large formal gathering for social dancing or a very pleasant experience, a good time. Cassandra Moselle’s Buskers Ball at the Hollywood Fringe Festival seems to be … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way Playwright Ellen Thompson started having serious health problems in 2014 with chronic pain in her knees, nausea and vomiting. Chronic fatigue and anxiety followed. Six doctors in over 10 months could not diagnose her symptoms. Finally in late 2015 she was diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease. After treatments and … Read more
Tracey Paleo – BroadwayWorld In a word…Delicious. A Noise Within winds down its 2021-22 season with playwright Mary Zimmerman’s primal retelling of Ovid’s METAMORPHOSIS. It is nothing short of spectacular. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way In 1996, playwright/director Mary Zimmerman adapted some Greek myths from the classic poem Metamorphoses by Ovid. A full production was … Read more
Harker Jones – BroadwayWorld Relationships are complicated. And whether it’s marriage, friendship, or with your cat, they become exponentially more complicated when there are more than two people involved, which is what gay married thirtysomethings Josh (Noah Bridgestock) and Alex (James Hayden Rodriguez) discover through their open relationship when Josh breaks the cardinal sin of … Read more
Jonas Schwartz-Owen – Theatermania There’s a gargantuan myth surrounding the opening of Hadestown at the Ahmanson Theatre. Not the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, which this musical does borrow, but the legend of the juggernaut Broadway production that opened in April 2019. Arriving with 14 Tony nominations and eight awards in tow, the production almost dares … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Tea, the final installment in Velina Hasu Houston’s trilogy of plays about Japanese war brides, takes place, geographically speaking, in Junction City, a small town in the northeast stretch of Kansas. That’s close to where Houston, the daughter of a Japanese woman and an American GI of African American and … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way In 1879, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen shook up the theatrical world with his “feminist” play A Doll’s House. In 2017, up and coming young American playwright Lucas Hnath wrote a sequel, A Doll’s House, Part 2, that picked up the action 15 years later. Read more… Steven Leigh Morris – Stage Raw … Read more
Jonas Schwartz-Owen – Theatermania Lindsay Joelle’s dramedy Trayf transports audiences to the structured world of the Hasidim, whose strict laws and customs may be outside the understanding of even some Jewish audience members. Director Maggie Burrows, with deft stage direction and sets, visually conveys the danger, heartbreak, and wonderment found in exploring the secular world outside. Read more… … Read more