Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Oscar Wilde’s satire of English upper-class society has solemn and feminist undertones to it, making a precursor of the “dramedy of manners.” After all, it was first performed in 1893 at London’s Haymarket Theatre. The titular “Woman of No Importance” turns out to be a survivalist who suffered scandal, estrangement … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw Trey Parker is best known for being one half of the duo who created the irreverent animated TV show South Park. He and Matt Stone also recently earned Tony Awards for their smash-hit musical The Book of Mormon. Working solo, Parker’s hysterically funny western spoof Cannibal! The Musical is an appealing mash-up of Mormon and South Park, … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Itamar Moses’ Completeness is chockfull of discourse about protein processes and algorithmic probabilities, and if, like myself, you’re not of a scientific bent, you could drift off amidst the disquisition and the theory. Chances are you won’t, however. As directed by Matt Pfeiffer, VS. Theatre’s current production is so smart and the ensemble … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw This play, written and directed by Javier Antonio Gonzalez, and presented as part of the Encuentro 2014 Festival, is set on a more or less bare stage, with two colorful grids painted on the floor. On the back wall and in the wings hang a multitude of costumes, and several … Read more
Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw Directed by Daniel Jáquez, Mariana Carreño King’s uneven one-act tells of a young woman who marries for love, only to grapple with loneliness and disappointment a few years later when her husband turns cold and withdrawn. It’s a common experience, surely as old as marriage itself, but it’s depicted with enough … Read more
David C. Nichols – Stage Raw It’s hard to imagine a more theatrically idiosyncratic or versatile double bill than Henry Purcell’s 17th century English baroque landmark and Béla Bartók’s nightmarish 20th century Hungarian tone poem. Read more… Now running through November 15.
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw A spoiler and an alert: I’m going to gush, and you should rush, as only two performances remain of one of the year’s most remarkable and exciting productions, Agua a Cucharadas, a Spanish translation of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes, making its Los Angeles debut after … Read more
Pauline Adamek – Stage Raw These are exciting times for Catholics worldwide. Ever since their current religious leader, his Holiness Pope Francis was appointed last year, he has been making headlines for his lenient doctrines and humanitarian proclamations, ushering in a new era for this notoriously hard-line religion. Read more… Now running through November 17.
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw Set entirely in the confines of the office of the British Consul in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the first day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Zealot, by the well-established and prolific Theresa Rebeck (Seminar, Mauritius, Bad Dates, Spike Heels), cannot avoid being a presumptuous play, satirizing and exposing obtuse Western perceptions that … Read more
Bob Verini – Stage Raw Rockwell Table and Stage, in Los Feliz, has long been the local locus of the interactive/immersive restaurant/musical. That means you eat and drink while the action is taking place all around you, and a pop diva is as likely to belt her showcase number in your lap, breathing on your … Read more