Patrick Chavis

LOVE AND INFORMATION at Antaeus Theatre Company

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Katie Buenneke – Theatre Digest. Through some unlucky combination of script, direction, cast, set design, and video design, this felt more like sitting through a scene study class than a professional play. Somehow, I hadn’t seen a play by Caryl Churchill before, but I’m in no rush to see another. Read more… Patrick Chavis – LA … Read more

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at A Noise Within

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Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw. I must start this review by confessing that this production of Much Ado About Nothing is a victim of my own expectations. Much Ado is my favorite Shakespearean text, and I’ve always respected the craft A Noise Within puts into their productions of the classics. I expected to love this show — but sadly, … Read more

tick, tick, Boom! at International City Theatre

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Dana Martin – Stage Raw. Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical rock musical tick, tick…Boom! opens the 2023 season at Long Beach International City Theatre. The production is earnest but struggles to find synthesis… Ernesto Figueroa’s Jon is charming and gently guides the musical’s throughline, sometimes struggling to find the character’s emotional range. Samantha M. Lawrence is a versatile performer, … Read more

THE LITTLE FOXES at South Coast Repertory

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Patrick Chavis – The Orange Curtain Review. Little Foxes is an older play from the 1930s written by Lillian Hellman, a famous Broadway playwright. It’s wonderful we still have new productions of these old classics. Are some of the ideas dated — most definitely. But they provide us access to the time and the mindset of … Read more

THE FIRST DEEP BREATH at Geffen Playhouse

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Terry Morgan – ArtsBeat LA. Plays in which family secrets are tragically revealed are nothing new – Oedipus and his mom were shocking audiences back as far as 429 BCE. In the U.S., the 500 lb. gorilla of this genre would be Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, and the most influential of recent plays of … Read more

APPROPRIATE at South Coast Repertory

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Patrick Chavis – The Orange Curtain Review. So many powerful stories have been and will continue to be told around the subject of family. What family means in different cultures differs to various degrees, but family is also a universal concept that ties humanity together. It’s in our books. It’s on our TVs. In that … Read more

THE DRY YEARS at Ghost Road Theatre Company

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Steven Leigh Morris – Stage Raw. There’s so much to recommend in Christine Breihan’s staging of John Guerra’s play, even though the work feels in need of one more pass to address some dramaturgical clutter. Let’s start with the almost gothic beauty of a rural, drought-plagued California valley that has the mythology of the Wild … Read more

RIDE THE CYCLONE at Chance Theater

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Patrick Chavis – Orange Curtain Review. Ironically, this might be the happiest story about death I have ever seen. The Chance Theater has transformed its stage area to look like some haunted carnival that time has forgotten in the middle of the county. To further the illusion, the show tickets look like tickets you would … Read more

MISERY at Maverick Theatre Company

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Patrick Chavis – The Orange Curtain Review. Stephen King is one of today’s most prolific and successful horror writers. His influence on pop culture, film, television, and even theatre, is undeniable regardless of whether you enjoy his work. Despite a vast catalog of work, Misery stands out as a high watermark in suspense and drama. Misery is not a … Read more