Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This play, by writer-director Paul S. Flores, sets out to examine the life of Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S., but it’s also part of an attempt to stop gang violence. It examines, among other things, the role of placas in gang life. (“Placas” is barrio slang for body tattoos that … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Franz Altman (Michael Laskin), the protagonist of playwright Charles Dennis’s deft solo drama, is an elderly Viennese Jew born just before the turn of the 20th century. Now nearly 100 years old, he owns a second-hand store called King Solomon’s Treasures, located in mid-town Manhattan, circa 1990. Read more… Margaret Gray – … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Robert Lawrence Nelson’s melodrama about two lonely people finding a connection disappoints on almost all fronts. While the performances from the two leads — Julie Dolan as Samantha and Chad Addison as Toby — are solid, with both actors plumbing some complicated emotional depths, the production as a whole fails … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw The clash of values in playwright Bess Wohl’s disputatious two-hander takes place between Irene (Betty Gilpin), a chattering blonde tourist from Denver, and Manuel (Carlos Leal), a handsome Spaniard who’s ferried her back to his loft in Barcelona for wild, mutually satisfying sex. Read more… Dany Margolies – The Daily News … Read more
Bob Verini – Stage Raw In the vast scheme of Tennessee Williams’ long career, the 1978 Vieux Carré stands as one of his lesser plays, derivative and ill-shaped. Among the works of his final two decades, however, it’s one which can still credibly command a stage if given a vigorous and mature production. Read more… David C. … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Franz Altman (Michael Laskin), the protagonist of playwright Charles Dennis’s deft solo drama, is an elderly Viennese Jew born just before the turn of the 20th century. Now nearly 100 years old, he owns a second-hand store called King Solomon’s Treasures, located in mid-town Manhattan, circa 1990. Read more… Now running through … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Although Katori Hall’s play The Mountaintop is indeed more about Martin the man than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the historical figure, it still ends up as a worshipful hagiography. This is somewhat unfortunate, because although there is no lack of respectful examinations of the Civil Rights Movement icon, there are few … Read more
Bob Verini – Stage Raw Late in the second act (and third hour) of Ameryka, a world premiere presentation by Nancy Keystone’s Critical Mass Performing Group, a dapper gent played by Ray Ford steps up to bear witness to a gay bar encounter with Witold, a young native Pole. Read more… Now running through March 6.
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Kate Morgan Chadwick makes an arresting entrance as she slithers alluringly across the floor at Atwater Village Theatre, climbing onto the large white bed (Se Oh’s scenic design) that serves as the focus for Sheila Callaghan’s fiercely feminist one-act. Read more… Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA The central focus of Bed — Sheila Callaghan’s … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw Playwright Gabriel Rivas Gomez’s eccentric, uneven drama is loosely based on themes from Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Filtered through a prism of modern corporate capitalism, it’s a tale of American kindness — or more accurately, about the lack of it as far as poor immigrants and our underclass are concerned. Read more… … Read more