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
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Playwright Ira Levin’s Deathtrap became the longest-running thriller in Broadway history, playing for nearly four years — topped only by the London production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, which seems destined to run forever. And Levin’s other works are not to be sneezed at: they include such trifles as Rosemary’s Baby, A Kiss Before Dying, The … Read more
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA A chilling stage adaptation of Orwell’s novel 1984 is now playing at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica through February 6. This adaptation, written and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, highlights today’s serious issues of state-sponsored surveillance, identity and intrusions into our privacy. Read more… Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Another day, … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw The charm of Sandra Tsing Loh — or of any successful comedian and satirist for that matter — lies in the ability to transform commonplace yet intensely private experiences into performance material that is entertaining, enlightening and, for some viewers perhaps, cathartic. Read more… Now running through January 24.
Les Spindle – Edge on the Net Writer-director Woody Allen’s memorable 1994 film comedy“Bullets Over Broadway” served up a touch of vintage Billy Wilder (a la “Some Like It Hot” and “One, Two, Three”) driven by Allen’s trademark genius for mixing a farcical story with darker elements and trenchant humor. Read more… Margaret Gray – LA … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw The talented Troubadour Theatre Company once again presents their annual holiday-themed show featuring their signature brand of madcap nonsense. Their tried-and-tested formula: Take a Christmas story, add some pop songs and send it up. Read more… Now running through January 17.