How did Angeles Stage mark its first birthday? Via UNCLE VANYA, DRIVE MY CAR

Plus a merry but muddled ‘Windsor’ at the Theatricum, ‘King James’ and two new musicals on opposite poles of the gender discussion. Don Shirley – Angeles Stage Angeles Stage first appeared a year ago, as masked audiences were beginning to return to LA stages in person, after more than a year of mostly virtual-only activity. … Read more

ARCHDUKE at the Mark Taper Forum

Erin Conley – OnStage Most people know about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the event historically seen as the inciting incident of World War I. But what do we really know about the assassins? In Archduke, a new play by Rajiv Joseph currently making its world premiere at Center Theatre Group’s Mark … Read more

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES at the Hudson Theatre

Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Titles don’t always alert you to what plays are about, but with Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, the appellation is pretty much on the mark. Divided into eight scenes, this 75 minute one-act revolves around the relationship between two grievously wounded individuals. Kayleen (Sara Rae Foster) and Doug (Jeff Ward) … Read more

GUARDS AT THE TAJ at the Geffen Playhouse

Dany Margolies  –  Arts In LA It cannot be said that Rajiv Joseph’s West Coast premiere Guards at the Taj is entertaining. Neither is it cheering, inspiring nor pleasantly distracting. But it thoroughly provokes thoughts and emotions like few other “entertainments” do. Read more… Now running through November 15.

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES at the Garage Theatre

Shirle Gottlieb – Gazettes.com If you’ve ever seen anything written by Rajiv Joseph, you know that this brilliant young playwright is fascinated by the concept of why things happen. In other words, why do different people do what they do? In each work, he courageously explores a different facet of human behavior by slowly peeling … Read more

MR. WOLF at South Coast Repertory

Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw The things that are good about Rajiv Joseph’s new play Mr. Wolf outweigh the things that are misguided, enough that one hopes the author will use this world premiere to tighten the play’s focus and deepen its impact. The current production at South Coast Repertory benefits from an excellent cast and a … Read more