Melinda Schupmann

THE WHIPPING MAN at South Coast Repertory

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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

RACE at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

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Steven Leigh Morris  – LA Weekly David Mamet’s play Race, about a rich, white guy seeking a law firm to defend him from accusations of raping a black woman, ought to feel ripped from the headlines — even though it premiered on Broadway nearly five years ago. Read more… Melinda Schupmann – Showmag A David Mamet play … Read more

TRYING at International City Theatre

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Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA A theatrical reminiscence by Joanna McClelland Glass about a time when she served as secretary to Judge Francis Biddle gets a standout production at International City Theatre. Its casting choices—Tony Abatemarco playing Biddle, Paige Lindsey White as his assistant Sarah “with an h”—make the very literate and demanding script a thoughtful … Read more

BUDDY – THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY at the Laguna Playhouse

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Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA With gusto, this musical taps into the rock ’n’ roll’ 50s and examines the backstory of this seminal artist. Like the legends of James Dean and others who died tragically and very young, Buddy Holly’s has achieved almost mythic proportions. Read more… Now playing through August 10.

SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS at the Laguna Playhouse

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Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA A special sort of magic occurs when a celebrated and much-loved star takes on a role in live theater. Such is the atmosphere at Laguna Playhouse’s current offering, starring Leslie Caron and the multi-talented David Engel. The two-person vehicle sets up a sure-fire storyline. Lily, a former teacher and … Read more

MAN IN A CASE at the Broad Stage

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Hoyt Hilsman  –  Huffington Post Even in this subdued and somber rendering of a pair of Chekhov stories, Mikhail Baryshnikov and his creative partners from the Big Dance Theater display a magical grace and style that transcends the bleakness of Chekhov’s tales. Big Dance Theater directors Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, who also adapted the … Read more

S’WONDERFUL at Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts

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Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Papers As you take your seat in the Carpenter Center, the first thing you notice is the curtain has been raised. The bare stage is dark and there is no scenery — only a grand piano, plus empty chairs and music stands silhouetted against a royal blue backlight. Then the musicians … Read more

LYSISTRATA JONES at the Chance Theater

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Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA When Aristophanes penned Lysistrata in 411 BC, he could hardly have imagined that his play would have spawned the many innovative modifications that have taken place over the centuries. The concept is irresistible: A group of women band together and withhold sex from their menfolk until the men have taken … Read more

THE PRODUCERS at Plummer Auditorium

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Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA Preposterously silly, Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan’s  comes to Fullerton and Redondo Beach via 3-D Theatricals season opener. It is another hit in the theater company’s chain of musicals that last season included Shrek the Musical and Parade. In this one, Max Bialystock’s (Jay Brian Winnick) Broadway play, Funny Boy: A Musical Version … Read more