Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Reefer Madness, The Musical has risen from the grave in the city where it first slayed for over 18 record-breaking months. Director and choreographer Spencer Liff and a stellar cast make this revival at the Reefer Den in Hollywood a winner, delivering an intoxicating high as potent as the original. Read … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw As with the staging of any classic, Misalliance comes with its particular set of challenges —notably, rising above the period conventions, literary language, and, in Shaw’s case, a plethora of lengthy monologues that deal with a host of paradoxes about love, gender roles, the freedom of women, parents and children, … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw The power of the storytelling ignites in the performances of Robledo as an angry and impassioned Don Jesus, Monte Escalante as a magical teller of fortunes who can straddle life and death, Brown as the sly, sensual Bethena and Guerra as the German-Jewish professor who sponsors Juventino, having himself survived … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In American Mariachi, José Cruz González’s new play directed by José Luis Valenzuela, a group of Mexican American women rebel against the macho mindset of their husbands and fathers when they strive to form a mariachi band, an enterprise traditionally reserved for men. Read more… Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre … Read more
Philip Brandes – Stage Raw Weaving personal history, original songs, and abundant humor, the show explores the confusion, frustrations, and unexpected joys in raising a child on the autism spectrum. Read more…
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw The subject of machines replacing human workers has been with us for a long time, and yet it never seems to stop being relevant. The latest iteration of this technological topic involves the proliferation of artificial intelligence to create cheap art or articles (expect theater reviews from AI soon – … Read more
Philip Brandes – Stage Raw Amid the fine production values, watching the three actors’ energetic, at times acrobatic, often hilarious and always moving performances is to experience live theater at its spellbinding best. Read more…
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania One of the Good Ones, now making it world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse, employs the tropes of many mid-20th-century stage comedies to explore the generation gap, cultural identity, and nationalism in the Latiné community. Conventional yet charming, this play by Gloria Calderón Kellett reveals the universality of familial strife. Read … Read more
Martίn Hernández – Stage Raw Seventy years after its first iteration as a television play, Reginald Rose’s work – originally titled Twelve Angry Men – remains a pungent critique of racism and xenophobia. Sherman L. Sergel adapted the teleplay for the stage in 1955 and Rose did the screenplay for the classic 1957 film featuring … Read more
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA A little judicious tweaking and Juan Jose Alfonso’s Middle of the World could be something quite special. In the meantime, the performances of the two leading actors are alone worthy of attention. Read more… Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Playwright Juan Jose Alfonso’s Middle of the World skillfully encapsulates the … Read more