Martín Hernández – Stage Raw “. . . an epic fantasy that plays more like a movie – the finale even bodes potential for a sequel – than a theater piece.” Read more… Harker Jones – BroadwayWorld The historic El Portal Theater in North Hollywood is an underrated gem, offering up revivals and world … Read more
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw Director Michael Rothhaar’s staging of the play, now at Pacific Resident Theater, started out as a workshop before being incorporated into the company’s regular season. From Taubert Nadalini’s rudimentary set to Michael Franco’s flat lighting, the production still seems a bit unfinished, but while the execution is uneven, … Read more
Elaine Mura – Splash Magazines Smoothly helmed by Noah Blake with an eye to creating a campy description of a Hollywood that never existed but was lionized in multiple films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, A KILLER NIGHT IN STUDIO CITY achieves its goal of entertaining and amusing the observer. Read more… Ed … Read more
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw Existence provides ample opportunity for two gifted actors to shine. Veteran director John Perrin Flynn, the former artistic director of Rogue Machine, stages the proceeding with an emotional simplicity that makes the most of his material’s limitations. Read more… Ed Rampell – Hollywood Progressive This is an excellent character … Read more
Elaine Mura – Splash Magazines Luis Valenzuela helmed the production with authenticity and artistry as the story reached its tragic conclusion. Projected subtitles assisted in understanding English and Spanish – as well as Nahuatl – but it is likely that the audience would have followed the story even without translation, so powerful were the multiple … Read more
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