Neal Weaver – Stage Raw In her intriguing solo-drama, writer-performer Stacie Chaiken plays archeologist Sally Jenkins, who specializes in the study of ancient DNA. As she says, “It’s easy to extract the whole gene from soft tissue, but there is never soft tissue in ancient burials. I’ve managed to replicate the material I need from … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Ruby Rae Spiegel’s Dry Land succeeds on multiple levels: first, as a dark comedy, second, as a graphic portrayal of the process of a self-administered abortion, and last and most particularly, as a sharp and illuminating character study. This West Coast premiere by the Echo Theatre Company is entertaining and assured and … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw The shadow of Eugene O’Neill looms large over the plot and writing of playwright Chris Collins’ angry family drama. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, as Collins lays the sadness and rage on so thick that Long Day’s Journey almost seems like a situation comedy in comparison. Read more… Now running through May … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw Although it’s dangerous to impose our own political leanings on works of the past, Moliere’s 1662 sex farce could in many ways be considered a bona fide feminist tract. Read more… Now running through May 7.
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In 1833, African-American actor Ira Aldridge became the first man of color ever to play Othello on the London stage, replacing the acclaimed English tragedian Edmund Kean after Kean became ill. This was, not-coincidentally, the same year that a momentous bill abolishing slavery was being debated in British Parliament; it would go into force … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Janet Valdez Cole’s semi-autobiographical musical, co-written with solo performer Deedee O’Malley, is a fun romp that traces the trials and tribulations of an aspiring actress. Read more… Now running through April 24.
Bob Verini – Stage Raw One might have expected that accomplished actor but novice playwright Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Batman v Superman) would be more adept at creating characters for The Revisionist than knowing what to do with them. Read more… Now running through April 17.
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw When critic Walter Kerr reviewed the musical Zorba, he observed that it was the only musical he’d ever seen where he actively hated the chorus. This show, with book, music and lyrics by Molly Bell, is an intimate musical so it has no chorus, but the characters are, if not hateful, … Read more
Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw In the pantheon of African-American playwrights, the name Charles Gordone isn’t as well-known as others like Lorraine Hansberry or August Wilson. But he was the first black playwright to receive a Pulitzer Prize, and this 1969 drama was the first off-Broadway play to receive the award. Read more… Now running … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Writer/solo performer Barbara Tarbuck has titled her vibrant one-act Stopping By, a phrase that calls to mind Robert Frost’s iconic poem, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, with its meditation (as I interpret it anyway) on human mortality. Read more… Now running through April 13.