LA Times

ICEBERGS at the Geffen Playhouse

by

Margaret Gray – LA Times During Alena Smith’s play “Icebergs,” in its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, thirtysomething screenwriter Calder (Nate Corddry) sets up an air mattress in his Silver Lake living room for a visiting friend. The mattress is the self-inflating kind, and after Calder plugs it in, he sits lost in thought, … Read more

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at the Pantages Theatre

by

Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw When a tale that features a botched sex-change operation, plenty of blow job references and raunchy audience interaction can fill the generally conservative Pantages, something special must be happening. The special thing is John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch….. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze … Read more

A TASTE OF HONEY at the Odyssey Theatre

by

Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw In 1958, 18-year old Shelagh Delaney saw a production of Terrence Rattigan’s play Variations on a Theme, and was appalled by what she saw. The play had a reputation for boldness in tackling hot-button issues — it dealt with homosexuality, promiscuity, and bisexuality — but in Delaney’s view it was … Read more

ALL THE WAY at South Coast Repertory

by

Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw Theatre based on the recreation of history can be frustrating. On the one hand, one never knows how much the facts have been altered to make it properly dramatic and entertaining, while on the other, there are often so many characters that one never really gets to know any of … Read more

NEXT TO NORMAL at The Pico Playhouse

by

Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical tackles a subject that many regarded as inimical to the musical format: mental illness and its effect on a family. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Next to Normal is a contemporary musical in many ways. First produced in 2008, its … Read more

D DEB DEBBIE DEBORAH at Theatre of NOTE

by

Margaret Gray – LA Times From the title of Jerry Lieblich’s play “D Deb Debbie Deborah,” I was ready for an exploration of the fluidity of identity, perhaps at different stages of a woman’s life. But in this West Coast premiere at Theatre of Note in Hollywood, the blurring of selfhood cuts a lot deeper than … Read more

AS STRAW BEFORE THE WIND at The Ruby Theatre at THE COMPLEX

by

Deborah Klugman – Capital & Main Most Americans have limited knowledge of the history and hardships of ethnic groups and nationalities outside their own (despite the best efforts of progressive educators in some of our urban schools to have it otherwise). With As Straw Before the Wind, Filipino-American playwright Felix Racelis aims to fill some of the … Read more

SPACE at the Stella Adler Mainstage

by

David C. Nichols – LA Times You are all amazing. You all have vast untapped potential. You all have a future.” With that mantra, so begins “Space” at Hollywood’s Stella Adler Theatre. Stefan Marks’ promising look at a man returning home from 30 years in a mental institution is still forming, but then, so is its … Read more

IN TRUMP WE TRUST at the Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre

by

Margaret Gray – LA Times The line between political reporting and parody is blurrier than ever these days, especially since Donald Trump launched his presidential run. It’s not always obvious whether a headline comes from the Los Angeles Times or the Onion. Read more… Now running through August 13

ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE at Pacific Resident Theatre

by

Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw Eccentricities of a Nightingale was Tennessee Williams’ 1951 rewrite of his earlier Summer and Smoke. It was supposedly his preferred version of the story, and one can see why. The main character of Alma is more clearly delineated, and the drama springs more from her choices than from fate. The current production … Read more