Neal Weaver – Stage Raw We have all heard horrendous tales of the hardships and uncertainties facing the undocumented struggling to cope with our fractured immigration system, but that knowledge is pretty abstract compared to the grueling realities of being there. Actor/writer/poet Alex Alpharaoh has been there, for thirty-odd maddening and painful years, and he shares the … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Playwright Chuck Faerber looks with a satiric, goofy and sometimes jaundiced eye at what he calls “the real American religion: sports.” In this series of comic sketches, he casts a wide net, examining the players, the coaches, the TV commentators and producers, the Ku Klux Klan —and Condoleezza Rice. Read … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This show is advertised as a one-woman show, but in this case the woman is a guy: Jimmy Fowlie (Go-Go Boy Interrupted), who modestly lists himself in the program as “Co-writer/Star.” The piece purports to be the one-woman show performed by Mia Dolan, the heroine of the movie Lala Land. (I … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Anna (Marie Fahlgren) is a dancer and choreographer who not only walks in her sleep — she also dances. She has fled from her former lover, who seems to be stalking her, to strike out on her own. Read more… Now running through July 30
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw At the height of the Vietnam War, Paul Krassner, editor of The Realist, a periodical with anarchist leanings, sent a copy of his notorious “Fuck Communism” poster to Senator Bob Dole. In response, he received a reply saying, “Thank you for your suggestion. You can be sure It will receive serious … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw In this 1921 play, the Sicilian Nobel Prize-winning playwright Luigi Pirandello employed meta-theatrics to examine his favorite themes: the differences between perceptions and reality. Read more… Now running through July 22
Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Constellations, the character piece by Nick Payne that is now playing in a new production at the Geffen Playhouse, requires a talented cast to succeed. The expansive themes of love in an ever-expanding cosmos, the jarring sequencing of the moments, and their repetition could turn audiences off quickly. Read more… Erin … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way The composing team of Benji Pasek and Justin Paul are very hot right now having just won an Academy Award for their song in the film La La Land. Read more… Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This new musical, with book by Peter Duchan and music and lyrics by the team … Read more
Neal Weaver – Arts In LA In the 1940s and 50s, British playwright Terrence Rattigan was considered an important playwright, scoring successes in both England and the U.S. with The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version, Separate Tables, and other works. Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way “Loneliness is a terrible thing, don’t you agree.” That sentiment is … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This long one-act by Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party) is a musical update of Arthur Schnitzler’s 1900 play La Ronde which, shocking for its time, featured 10 interconnected sexual encounters. The structure and the characters’ names are Schnitzler’s, though the Young Thing has been transformed from female to male … Read more