Terry Morgan – Stage Raw There have already been films and other works of art concerning the “Me Too” movement, but No Place Like Gandersheim is the first play I can think of that talks about its aftermath. That isn’t even the main subject of the piece, which concerns the plight of a woman writer … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw What happens when ethnic identity stops being a gift and starts being a curse? In Nicholas Pilipal’s The Bottoming Process, a gay Filipino American man becomes so obsessed with how his Asian-ness —and his sexuality — is perceived that he torches a mutually loving relationship with someone who, it would … Read more
Dana Martin – Stage Raw Flaco Navaja is more than a badass salsa singer. Latino Theater Company, in association with Chicago’s UrbanTheater Company, presents the West Coast premiere of Evolution of a Sonero, a coming-of-age story written and dynamically performed by Navaja (with a libretto arranged by Carlos Cuevas) chronicling the evolution of Navaja’s life as an artist and human being. Read … Read more
Martίn Hernández – Stage Raw Updated from its original mid-1980s timeframe, playwright William Mastrosimone’s portrait of a militant environmental activist harbors anachronisms given the modern state of the movement. Streamlined from two acts to one, the truncated version attempts to cram Mastrosimone’s provocative message into a shortened format. The result is a thoughtful but scattershot … Read more
Martίn Hernández – Stage Raw. After actor-playwright Michael Shayan’s years of pestering his Iranian-Jewish immigrant mother Roya to tell her life story, she finally relented to being recorded. After a writing retreat exercise, he took his mother’s interview and his own imagination and melded them together to craft a compelling one-person show. Part stand-up comedy … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw. Show me a play about a working woman who pits her strength and smarts against predatory banks, and you’ll have me rooting for it, and her, from the start. Directed by Gregg T. Daniel, francisca da silveira’s can i touch it?, a rolling premiere at Rogue Machine, features all the ingredients … Read more
Terry Morgan – ArtsBeat LA, reviewed at Rubicon Theatre, January 2023. The first time I saw a play by Will Eno was about 15 years ago, by Circle X Theatre Company of The Flu Season. It was an excellent production in many ways, but there was one scene in which a character died, and instead of having … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw. In a world grown progressively more dystopian, the collectively created Whittier Boulevard seems apt indeed —even more so for people of a certain age. An ensemble piece from the Latino Theater Company, made resonant by stunning projections and a sonorous score and sound, it’s a stygian satire set in a … Read more
Katie Buenneke – Stage Raw. At moments, the play is an absolute delight. Melville seems born to play a Coward crank, and really shines in the role. Chalsma is charming, especially when Amanda is at her most flustered. Charles is also strong as Victor, a gentleman who reaches his breaking point as things cycle out … Read more
Socks Whitmore – Stage Raw. Like other Actors’ Gang productions, (Im)migrants of the State draws from a distinctly stylized form of physical theater, ranging from the comedic use of cardboard cutout props to the out-of-time, slow-motion dramatization of a gang jumping. The medium feels fitting for the project; the technical simplicity keeps the focus on … Read more