Les Spindle

PICK OF THE VINE at Little Fish Theatre

by

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Little Fish Theater’s annual short-play festival “Pick of the Vine” this year features nine plays touching on the theme “Secrets We Keep.” Bringing meaning and polish to the plays are a uniformly firm feel even though various directors are involved, crisp designs and solid acting.Read more… Now running through … Read more

DEAR WORLD at the Valley Performing Arts Center, Cal State Northridge

by

Les Spindle –  Edge on the Net The rarely revived musical “Dear World” is by legendary composer-lyricist Jerry Herman (“Mame,” “Hello. Dolly!” “La Cage Aux Folles”) and his two “Mame” collaborators: co-librettists Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Read more…

BEAUTIFUL at the Pantages Theatre

by

Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Stories like this have been told before, many in exactly this way, where a nay-saying parent and a self-doubting inner voice cannot stem the creative force of an artist who soars above them to shape an art form. Read more… Les Spindle – Edge on the Net The genres of … Read more

THE FANTASTICKS at Crown City Theatre

by

Les Spindle –  Frontiers L.A. Known as the world’s longest-running musical (Off-Broadway from 1960-2002), this fanciful fable by composer Harvey Schmidt and librettist Tom Jones is largely consider a gem. Now running through June 5 is widely considered a gem. Alternating whimsy, Shakespearean-flavored romance, slapstick and slightly darker elements, the simple love story has a classical feel.  Read … Read more

ELECTRICITY at Two Roads Theatre

by

Neal Weaver  – Stage Raw Gary (playwright Terry Ray) and Brad (Kevin Scott Allen) are sort of a gay odd couple. Gary is a 28-year-old gay virgin, nerdy and prim, who thinks his homosexuality is a deep dark secret, though everyone at his school refers to him as gay Gary. Read more… Les Spindle – Frontiers … Read more

SUMMER AND SMOKE at the Actors Co-op

by

David C. Nichols – LA Times Summer and Smoke” may stand a little higher in the Tennessee Williams canon after you see an exceptional Actors Co-op revival of the 1947 drama, one of the best offerings in the company’s storied history. Read more… Les Spindle –  Frontiers L.A. Tennessee Williams’ sultry and thought-provoking 1947 drama, strongly … Read more

SEX WITH STRANGERS at the Geffen Playhouse

by

Margaret Gray – LA Times It could be the setup for a Harlequin romance: A beautiful novelist curls on a couch in a bed-and-breakfast in rural Michigan, proofreading a manuscript, completely alone. Heavy snow has deterred other guests, and even the proprietor has been called away on family business. Read more… Jonas Schwartz –  Theatermania Laura … Read more

CONNECT at Theatre 68

by

Pauline Adamek  – Stage Raw Robert Lawrence Nelson’s melodrama about two lonely people finding a connection disappoints on almost all fronts. While the performances from the two leads — Julie Dolan as Samantha and Chad Addison as Toby — are solid, with both actors plumbing some complicated emotional depths, the production as a whole fails … Read more