Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Grey Gardens, based on the 1975 cult classic documentary, is a gem of a one-act musical. Unfortunately, there are two acts. In wanting to flesh out the characters who were captured in the film, book author Doug Wright, composer Scott Frankel, and lyricist Michael Korie focus the entire first act on … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Each year Ensemble Studio Theatre stages a festival of one-act plays written by participants in their writing workshop. Program B is one of three collections of plays available to view. Read more… Now running through July 31
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Lear is one of those roles used to chart an actor’s path in life: the young actor is Romeo, a bit later is Hamlet, and the older actor essays Prospero and Lear. Read more… Now running through August 14
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Church & State, Jason Odell Williams’ timely and aptly titled political drama, tells the story of a fictional Republican Senator from North Carolina, Charles Whitmore (Rob Nagle, at his splendid best) who suddenly begins to question much that he’s always believed in — namely, God and the Second Amendment. Read more… … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw It’s easy to love site specific theater —particularly one in which the setting essentially adds a character to the show itself. I’m thinking of recent shows like Flagship Theater’s SecondSkin, which was a ghost story staged on the beach outside the Annenberg Beach House, with ghostly figures emerging from the cascading … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Eccentricities of a Nightingale was Tennessee Williams’ 1951 rewrite of his earlier Summer and Smoke. It was supposedly his preferred version of the story, and one can see why. The main character of Alma is more clearly delineated, and the drama springs more from her choices than from fate. The current production … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Because of the confluence of events surrounding the American presidential election — including Donald Trump’s provocative and unconstitutional attempts to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., the mass shootings in Orlando, and the heated debate about how to deal with Muslim terrorists, Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning Disgraced seems even more relevant than … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw Most of American society tends to regard terrorism as a contemporary phenomenon, part of our unshakeable conviction in the uniqueness of our own experience. In fact, terrorism has been a constant in world politics since at least the French Revolution, inevitably perceived in terms ranging from ignoble to glorious. So … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw Australian Theatre Company, formed by local Aussie talent to showcase their national theater literature, returns to the Matrix after their successful 2014 debut, Holding the Man, with a double presentation (not in repertory) of two major opuses playing alternately through a four week run: Read more… Now running through July 2
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Mike Bartlett’s Bull, a loose companion piece to his play, Cock, is witty and devastating in its depiction of workplace cruelty. Although it can be hard to watch, Rogue Machine’s West Coast premiere is a terrific production, tightly directed by Jennifer Pollono and brilliantly acted by a superb ensemble. Read more… Now … Read more