Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. There’s a hint of Gone With the Wind and a touch of vintage nighttime soap opera, merged with appealing musical interludes, in this ambitious stage adaptation of Carole Eglash-Kosoff‘s sprawling historical novel. Read more… Now running through Oct. 4.
Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. This offbeat autobiographical piece by writer-director-performer Dr. Merle Conscious Soden, subtitled Homeless to Hollywood, makes up for lapses in technical polish with sly humor, heart and sincerity. Read more… Now running through September 19.
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA Media exposure to the tumult in evangelical mega-churches brought about by the clash of money, power, and ego makes David Rambo’s 1999 cautionary tale a familiar story to modern audiences. The examination of faith, conscience, and ambition is great fodder for drama. Read more… Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. Writer-director … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw I listen to a lot of country music (Charlie Louvin on the turntable at the moment), though for the most part I cannot abide what plays under that pretense on the radio. Most of that seems irretrievably suburban, though one imagines that’s what become of most of the actual countryside … Read more
Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. Rob Mersola‘s dicey new comedy Luka’s Room benefits from the efforts of a splendid ensemble cast under the crisp direction of Joshua Bitton. Read more… Myron Meisel – Stage Raw His father’s finances suddenly gone south (or perhaps merely hidden during the pendancy of his most recent divorce), 19 year old Luka … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Arts In LA Bent, playwright Martin Sherman’s revelatory 1979 play about the gay experience in Nazi concentration camps, receives an arresting production at the Mark Taper Forum. Moisés Kaufman’s direction and his stellar cast will leave audiences breathless. Read more… Jenny Lower – LA Weekly It’s difficult and rare to come across stories … Read more
Les Spindle – Edge on the Net Prolific Chicago-based playwright, Phillip Dawkins, is back. When his riveting ensemble drama “The Homosexuals” was presented at L.A.’ s Celebration Theater in 2013, it certainly whetted one’s appetite to view more of his work. In a staging by L.A.’s Coeurage Theatre Company, Dawkins’ zany seriocomic reverie, “Failure: A Love … Read more
Les Spindle – Edge on the Net Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Pulitzer-winning 1943 musical “Oklahoma!” sparkles anew in Cabrillo Music Theatre’s exuberantly entertaining revisit to the Broadway classic. Read more… Margaret Gray – LA Times The first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, “Oklahoma!,” which debuted in 1943, is often credited with reinventing musical theater — … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Arts In LA Todd Almond’s libretto for the musical Girlfriend is as honest as a John Hughes gay musical would have been—if John Hughes had written a gay musical. Using Matthew Sweet’s 1990s Alternative Rock album of the same name as it’s framework, this story captures the anticipation and titillation that sets … Read more
Les Spindle – Edge on the Net As if on cue, following the recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Marriage Equality, and Wayne Moore’s exuberant musical spoof “Adam & Eve and Steve: The Musical”floats into the L.A. theater arena at precisely the right moment. Parlaying the age-old Biblical story of Adam and Eve into a … Read more