Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Shirl Hendryx’s play is set in an inn on a small Mediterranean island off the coast of Greece, where a group of movie-makers have gathered to prepare for a location shoot. Socially conscious American movie star Branson (Richard Chassler), who’s scheduled to head the cast, has insisted on the hiring … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA The newly formed Australian Theatre Company was launched April 23 (Shakespeare’s birthday) by producers Nick Hardcastle and Nate Jones, with the intention of creating opportunities for Australian actors, directors, and writers living in LA, and introducing the work of Australian writers to American audiences. (The company is quick to add that … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw It was probably historically inevitable that N. Richard Nash’s Broadway comedy The Rainmaker would have been turned into a musical by Nash, working with the creators of The Fantasticks, Harvey Schmidt (music) and Tom Jones (lyrics). Read more… Now running through June 15.
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Percy Grainger’s long one-act tells the neo-Chekhovian tale of an unusual father and son relationship. Theatre director Paul (Ilia Volok) last saw his father Vivien (Craig Braun) when he was only 10 years old. His only real memory of his Dad seems to be of the day the old man … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw In the 1974 Broadway comedy My Fat Friend, Lynn Redgrave played a zaftig young woman thrilled that a man has shown an interest in her. When he’s called away for a time, she resolves, with the help her friends, to lose weight, and heighten his interest in her by becoming thin … Read more
Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter Porgy and Bess (the lamentable and disingenuous branding title will not be employed again by this writer) is one of those incomparable works of art that necessarily is always somewhat imperfect in performance. It is too grand, too bold, and too low-down not to be. Read more… Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw “I guess all families have their ups and downs,” says Eleanor of Aquitaine in James Goldman’s perennially popular comedy drama about 12thcentury royals. But in most families, the ups and downs don’t come as fast and furiously as in this play, and certainly they’re never expressed quite so articulately, with … Read more
Pauline Adamek – ArtsbeatLA Four monologues written by diseuse Ruth Draper are brilliantly performed by Annette Bening as a 90-minute one act evening of entertainment. This new show at the Geffen begins nicely enough, with a couple of odd character pieces. The first is a slightly bizarre speech and movement class and lesson “in Greek … Read more
Neal Weaver – ArtsInLA Trey Nichols’ long one-act begins reasonably enough with two men, Eddie (Luke Baybak) and Moe (Tony Williams), arriving in the bleachers for a high-school football game in which their sons are playing. They talk about the beautiful fall weather, and reminisce about how long they’ve been coming to these games: six … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Tom Hartley’s comedy concerns teenager Miguel (Armando Broncas) who’s in deep denial about his homosexual feelings, ‘till his girlfriend Nuria (Catherine Mersereau) gives him a mysterious pair of sunglasses through which he can see the aura of those around him. Straights, it seems, have blue auras, while gays have red … Read more