Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly In concept, Stephen Sachs’ Dream Catcher at the Fountain Theatre is a timely play. Directed by Cameron Watson, it details a clash between a young engineer involved in designing a solar-energy plant that would help combat global warming, and a poorly educated Native American woman who objects to the project because it … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Many writers — including playwrights — seem to feel they can broaden the scope or deepen the penetration of their works by linking their efforts to major — often traumatic — events in the real world. When it works, the results can be gratifying. But unless the writer in question … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Singer, songwriter and Tony-nominated Broadway star, Sam Harris has enjoyed a vivid and successful career. His autobiography, “HAM: Slices of a Life” (published in January 2014 by Simon & Schuster), is a collection of personal essays that describe his conflicted early days growing up gay, musically gifted and ferociously ambitious … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw Those of us raised in Jewish families will recall (with a mix of fear and affection) that larger-than-life figure known as the Jewish Grandmother, a towering being known for her boundless love and her connection to a past now lost in the murky fogs of time. Read more… Now running through … Read more
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw Sometimes all a play really needs is two characters and some genuine emotion. Set in 1930s Berlin, playwright Janet Schlapkohl’s evocative two-hander tells of a pair of identical twin sisters (played by bona fide identical twins Elizabeth Hinkler and Emily Hinkler) beset by troubles as the Nazis rise in power … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw In Tom Cavanaugh’s implausible melodrama, the unsettled lives of a family of women grow more turbulent when their former breadwinner shows up after seven years in prison. Read more… Now running through February 28.
Jonas Schwartz – Arts In LA The concept framing Long Beach Opera’s Candide, of life as a first rehearsal, is apt. We’re given little stage direction and then blindly stumble through this world. So the title character—after discovering that life is tragic, cruel, and random—learns that the best one can do to survive is to find … Read more
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly Tony Abatemarco’s play Forever House, about a gay couple who purchase a home and then struggle to make a go of their partnership, is something of a hybrid. In some places it’s an airy situation comedy that drifts into horror-lite…… Read more… Lovell Estell III – Stage Raw For Jack and Ben (Michael Rubenstone, … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw …James Lecesne conjures up a community in his a guest production in a brief run at the Kirk Douglas after a successful New York run, winning this year’s United Solo Special Award. Read more… Now running through January 31.
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw …Will Eno’s acclaimed Thom Pain (based on nothing) arrives in Los Angeles after a decade of playing virtually everywhere else. Read more… Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Thom Pain is antagonistic toward his audience. He shouts at them, starts tangents that he suddenly drops, draws seemingly interminable pauses, and rambles on about stories that lead … Read more