Edward Hong – The Nerds Of Color Despite a mighty and delightful ensemble cast, the Play On Shakespeare‘s modern verse translation of William Shakespeare‘s Pericles at Boston Court Pasadena is a bit of a head-scratcher. By attempting to fuse modern dialogue with Shakespearean language, it creates an off-putting rhythm that isn’t helped by the direction’s contrived ‘play within a play’ … Read more
Dana Martin – Stage Raw Under the clean and precise direction and music direction of Damien Lorton, this Sweeney Todd feels larger than life in the intimate theater. Read more…
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw There’s an inherent problem with Love, Loss and What I Wore, currently playing at Sawyer’s Playhouse in North Hollywood. The show assumes women have a near-fetishistic preoccupation with their clothing — the perfect blouse, the slinky skirt, the knee-high boots that tie the whole look together. Read more…
Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive In his 1960 play “Waiting in the Wings,” Coward bravely took aim at the one foe no human can overcome: Death. In addition, the bold British bard dared tackle another thing avoided like the plague by our youth obsessed culture but which anyone who lives out his/her natural life … Read more
Elaine Mura – Splash Magazines Delightfully directed by Jacobs, THE GREAT CLOWN BANK SHOW features a cast of 12, including Ringmaster Hank Jacobs, Gary Greedy (Matthew Goodrich) and Glenda Greedy (Clara York), the founders of the bank, and their sons Gus (Davis Barber) and Glenn (Kevin Brennan). Several talented circus specialists – aerialist (Avery … Read more
Martín Hernández – Stage Raw Teenagers Hagler and Scheppner make a sparkling couple, their commitment to the dialogue, coupled with a youthful exuberance, belying the fate of their characters. Read more… Elaine Mura – Splash Magazines The entire cast sweeps the cobwebs from this Shakespearean classic and makes it exciting and understandable to the … Read more
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw More than four decades after its premiere, Phantom of the Opera remains one of the greatest of theatrical experiences. This touring production honors that legacy, reminding us why the masked and pitiable Phantom continues to haunt the Paris Opera House — and our imaginations. Read more…
Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic pirate novel Treasure Island is absolutely good fun. Audiences today are used to watching action stories on screens, but beholding the WGTB troupers leap off of the page onto the stage to enact duels, chases, pistol, musket and cannon … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA A provocative character study that unfortunately offers little to learn or ponder beyond the tragic realization of what a sad life one broken person has lived. While Rachel Sorsa’s powerhouse performance and Elina de Santos’ clear, symbiotic direction make it a compelling watch, the unrelenting hopelessness of the script … Read more
Terry Morgan – ArtsBeatLA The world seems to be suffering an empathy shortage lately, or at the very least the lack of that quality in our current leaders. Worse, there is an impression in some parts of society that empathy is simply another word for weakness: they don’t have it, they don’t want it, … Read more