Tick, Tick . . . Boom! @ CHANCE THEATER
Martín Hernández – Stage Raw Director H. Adam Harris’ effective staging and an earnest ensemble offer a commendable production that does justice to Larson’s legacy. Read more…
Stage Raw
Here Comes the Night @ MOVING ARTS
Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre Bites Podcast 8.5 out of 10! Great Show! LA Theatre Bites Recommended! Listen here… F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw First produced last July for two nights only as part of the She Arts LA Festival, playwright Lisa Kenner Grissom’s two-hander, Here Comes the Night, has been restaged by Moving Arts with a … Read more
The Brothers Abelson Since 1946 @ ELECTRIC LODGE
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw There are apparent weaknesses in the play’s structure: The revelation of the shocking “secret” behind Isaac’s recent retirement is anticlimactic, while the family’s eleventh-hour emotional transition is a shade too pat. However, Danziger’s richly believable characters and crackling dialogue make up for those shortcomings. Read more…
Evanston Salt Costs Climbing @ ROGUE MACHINE THEATRE
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA I kept thinking during the performance what it must have been like for Guillermo Cienfuegos to read Will Arbery’s densely absurd yet hauntingly topical script for the first time. It would be hard to imagine the idea of directing such an idiosyncratic piece of theatrical indulgence could have been anything … Read more
Reproductive Rights Hanging in the Balance: Lisa Kenner Grissom’s “here comes the night”
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw “…any story about abortion is inherently political but I wanted to take a more nuanced approach. What interests me are the personal stories behind the topic — the points of view we don’t hear about in the news. Read more…
Topanga Actors Company presents: Farm Hall @ PROMENDADE PLAYHOUSE
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Though the current production, directed by Judith Hendra, comes to a meaningful climax, much else that comes before registers as a blueprint for the compelling drama this might have been. Read more…
Listing @ THEATRE 40
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw Listing, playwright Russell Brown’s world-premiere play at Theatre 40, starts with a strong foundation, but its intriguing premise is undone by a convoluted plot that hangs on too many disparate stories. Read more…
Ted Turner and the Last Roundup @ LONG BEACH PLAYHOUSE
Martín Hernández – Stage Raw Turner makes for an intriguing character, much like the fictitious media baron of Citizen Kane, one not to be revered so much as to serve as a case study for capitalist megalomania. Read more…
Home Alone-ly Hearts Club Band @ COLONY THEATRE
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA I don’t think any December I was in town since 2002 has gone by that these zany guys didn’t lift my spirits and ward off my usual sense of holiday humbuggery. Matt Walker and his willing disciples knock their performances into the stratosphere year after year, selling out every show … Read more
A Doll’s House, Part 2 @ BEVERLY HILLS PLAYHOUSE
F. Kathleen Foley – Stage Raw A Doll’s House, Part 2, Lucas Hnath’s brilliant 2017 play, picks up the fortunes of Nora and Torvald Helmer, the embattled married couple from Henrik Ibsen’s famous drama, A Doll’s House, some 15 years after Nora famously exits her marriage. Directed by Allen Barton, the second installment in The … Read more