Myron Meisel – Stage Raw Betty (Renee Ulloa-McDonald), “a nice girl”, sits on a bench, reading a book. She is approached by a figure in mime-like whiteface wearing dinner dress (Jeffrey Gardner), who asks her if she “has” the time. Read more… Margaret Gray – LA Times Charles A. Duncombe’s new play at City Garage, “Timepiece,” … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly In Serrano The Musical, book and lyrics writer Madeleine Sunshine plucks elements of Edmond Rostand’s iconic romance Cyrano de Bergerac and transposes them into a story set in New York City’s mob-infested Little Italy. Read more… Margaret Gray – LA Times Serrano the Musical,” in its world premiere at the Matrix Theatre, relocates “Cyrano … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times Remember the scene in “Gone With the Wind” when Scarlett fries latkes for a Hanukkah party at Tara? No? Right, there wasn’t such a scene. American Civil War sagas seldom reflect a Jewish perspective. Read more… Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man is reputed to be one of … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw John Cariani’s play is, in fact, a collection of nine short sketches, mostly duologues, and mostly comic with some serious overtones. Much of Cariani’s comedy is rooted in the notion of taking figures of speech literally. In “Her Heart,” a woman (Natalie Avital) had her heart broken by her recently … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times Henry Jaglom’s “Train to Zakopané,” premiering at the Edgemar Center for the Arts, is based on an incident in the life of his father: a rich, complex, heartbreaking story of doomed lovers in Poland between the wars.The script could stand a vigorous pruning, several performances are still wobbly and the … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times Would you believe that in the Broadway juggernaut “Kinky Boots,” which has just arrived at the Pantages Theatre, nobody even wears boots? Of course you wouldn’t. I’m kidding. The show, which won six Tonys last year, including awards for musical, choreography and score, fulfills half of the promise of its … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times If you weren’t already worried about the future, “Uploaded,” L.R. Gordon’s new play premiering at Rogue Machine, will give you specific reasons to fear the rise of the millennial generation. Read more… Now running through November 22.
Margaret Gray – LA Times Nothing in “Bronies: The Musical,” at the Third Street Theater, is as hard to credit as the existence of bronies: adult, primarily male fans of “My Little Pony.” Read more… Now running through November 2.
Margaret Gray – LA Times The Los Angeles Theatre Center is buzzing with “Encuentro 2014,” a month-long national theater festival organized by the Latino Theater Company, with a repertory of more than 15 productions from across the country. Among them is “Enrique’s Journey,” based on Sonia Nazario’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series, published in the Los Angeles … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Vince Melocchi’s provocative, long one-act hinges on the death in Afghanistan of a young recruit named Danny, who’s from a small Pennsylvania town. His fiancée Amy (Connor Kelly-Eiding), who works in a local donut shop, is trying to cope with her grief over his loss, but she’s also angry on … Read more