Stage Raw

BOXING LESSONS at The New American Theatre

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Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw The terminally damaged clan on display in John Bunzel’s dark comedy convincingly affirms that oft quoted adage of Tolstoy’s that “every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”. The play is set in a remote cabin in Puget Sound that was once the home of a famous author, … Read more

STEEL MAGNOLIAS at Actors’ Coop

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Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw Watching this excellent current revival of Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias at Actors Co-op, I was reminded yet again of the power of a strong ensemble. Solo shows and two-handers certainly have their place, but there is something about the interaction among a group of talented actors, where many things combine to become … Read more

THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE at 24th Street theatre

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Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Children’s author Kate DiCamillo won the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for fiction for The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, about a pretentious porcelain rabbit and the misadventures that befall him before he learns about humility and love.Read more… Now running through May 19

THE ELEPHANT MAN at El Portal Theatre

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Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw In the lobby of the theater in a plastic case, there is a life-size reproduction of the skeleton of Joseph Merrick, or “John” as he is referenced in the script for The Elephant Man. The night this reviewer attended, there was a small crowd gathered around it, staring in wonder … Read more

HAMLET at the New American Theatre

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Lovell Estell III — Stage Raw Shakespeare’s best plays are a rich source of complex, conflicted characters and readily lend themselves to creative, critical exploration or inspired adaptations. Of course, there are always risks when treading the path of the unconventional, but there are also creative successes. Director Matthew Leavitt’s updated take on the Bard’s … Read more

THE WOLVES – ECHO THEATER COMPANY at Atwater Village Theatre

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Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen “We are the Wolves. We are the Wolves,” a group of teenage girls chants, each repetition of the phrase growing in both volume and urgency. The Wolves are a high school indoor soccer team, and the subject of Sarah DeLappe’s play of the same name currently in its … Read more

PURE NATIVE at the Autry Museum of the American West

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Terry Morgan  –  Stage Raw  Theatrically, Los Angeles is blessed in many ways, and one of them is the presence of Native Voices at the Autry, the only Equity theatre company devoted exclusively to developing and producing new works from Native American, Alaska Native and First Nations playwrights. Their shows are often specific and insightful … Read more

NO PLACE TO BE SOMEBODY at Waco Theater Center

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Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Charles Gordone’s smoldering drama aptly encapsulates the protest, violence and tumultuous change seen in America’s urban cities in the 1960s. The play debuted off-Broadway in 1969, garnering Gordone a Pulitzer in 1970, the first win by an African-American playwright.Read more… Rob Stevens – Haines His Way Charles Gordone’s 1969 No … Read more