Dany Margolies – The Daily News If you had a perfectly happy childhood with ideal parents, good for you. Tennessee Williams did not, and this led to some of literature’s most-affecting, most-enduring plays. Many in his audiences didn’t, either, and that’s why we keep coming back to his classics, particularly “The Glass Menagerie.” Indeed, its … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review With its provocative title, “Nude/Naked,” Lightning Rod Theater’s premiere production at the in Hollywood, may at first seem to be something prurient. What fascinates more than anything else is how much it is not, at least not if you’re really listening. Now running through February 17
Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review Going to see “Titanic” at Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater in Claremont was something I approached with trepidation. Thought the music was written by Maury Yeston, whose work I have always liked, and the book by Peter Stone, and its storyline was based completely on actual people, which I … Read more
Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Two immigrant families, one Mexican and one Japanese-American, have lived peacefully as neighbors on a ranch in the Santa Clara Valley for years, working together in the fields. The oldest children from each family have even fallen in love with each other—and then Pearl Harbor happens, and soon … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson – Stage Struck Review There is a certain fascination in the fact that two theaters in Pasadena are featuring plays based on looking sideways at a Shakespearean works. At Boston Court, a new play looks at “The Merchant of Venice” from the Jewish perspective. At A Noise Within it’s the now-classic “Rosencrantz … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson – Stage Struck Review When news the Tony-winning “Dear Evan Hansen” was headed for L.A. on its first national tour, a dash for tickets seeming mildly reminiscent of the “Hamilton” frenzy began. Erin Conley – On Stage and Screen There have been plenty of musicals about complicated, grieving families over the years, … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review Boston Court Pasadena’s Co-Artistic Director Jessica Kubzansky loves Shakespeare. That I know. She has directed insightful productions of the Bard’s work at several venues, and in her “RII” at BC she pared one play down to great effect, allowing more focus on essential and timeless themes in a … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review Of all of Oscar Wilde’s creations, the overall theme of “A Picture of Dorian Gray” has most become a part of the English language. Rob Stevens – Haines His Way In his program notes for the current A Noise Within’s production of his adaptation of A Picture of Dorian … Read more
Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen Three “sandwich artists” with very different lives walk into a franchise. What happens? Unfortunately the answer is…not much. American Hero, a play by Bess Wohl currently being presented by the IAMA Theatre Company in a guest production at the Pasadena Playhouse, is a comedy about working class America, … Read more
Frances Baum Nicholson –The Stage Struck Review It is quite remarkable how many times the Victor Hugo novel, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” has been dramatized, in film, on television, and on the stage. Now running through September 22