Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In 1960, Edward Albee and Harold Pinter were young playwrights whose work challenged theatrical convention and the expectations of critics and audiences. Both Albee’s brief two-hander, Fam and Yam, and Pinter’s lengthier one-act, The Dumb Waiter, received English language premieres that year — Albee’s at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway and Pinter’s at … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Back in the ’60s, Andy Warhol was quoted as saying, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” — but his own fame clearly outpaced that prediction. He’s been the subject of films and books, and now playwright Vince Melocchi has crafted a play about the artist before … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw One of the hallowed maxims of writing teachers everywhere is: “Show, don’t tell.” Simply put, the actual experience of a thing is much more effective than simply hearing about it. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule (Swimming to Cambodia comes to mind), but it’s a solid one to follow … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze How can people be rhinoceroses? Ask that in the literal and figurative senses and you have Eugene Ionesco’s 1959 landmark play, “Rhinoceros.” Read more… Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw It’s difficult to imagine a timelier and more fitting play for the “Make America Great Again,” era than Eugène Ionesco’s … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Dramatically, antiheroes are more interesting to write about and portray than standard heroes because they combine the most compelling aspects of both hero and villain. Eugene O’Neill knew this well, and populated his plays with a parade of sympathetic ne’er-do-wells, from Jamie in Long Day’s Journey into Night to the entire cast … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Eccentricities of a Nightingale was Tennessee Williams’ 1951 rewrite of his earlier Summer and Smoke. It was supposedly his preferred version of the story, and one can see why. The main character of Alma is more clearly delineated, and the drama springs more from her choices than from fate. The current production … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw This amusing one-act by the late playwright John Mortimer is a genial, slight piece and touchingly old fashioned. You just don’t really see this sort of play anymore: an intimate two-hander involving a pair of fellows who sort of banter and bluster with each other. Read more… Now running through November … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw “There’s a danger with one-man shows. What if you don’t like the performer? You’re screwed.” I’m paraphrasing, but this is a sentiment that Orson Bean articulates early into his own one-man show. The ironic implications just hang in the air, unanswered. Before and after this line, however, Bean’s efforts indicate … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw I Like Mondays. What is nicer than a Monday night show? If I were a theater producer I would always slip a Monday night performance into the schedule, just on principle. For one thing, all the critics will come, as they really won’t have anything else to do that night, except … Read more
Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly Actor-playwright Keith Stevenson is one lucky fellow, having a top-flight ensemble to write comedies for; and having a director, Guillermo Cienfuegos, with such a sympathetic comprehension of the strands threaded through his humor; and, to top it all, being able to act in a pivotal role in his own plays. … Read more