Tracey Paleo – Gia On The Move “How to Ruin a Relationship in One Easy Step,” is a definitive alternate title for, THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, a smart, little 80-minute, light drama written by Samuel Balm, directed by Darko Tresnjak, currently at the Geffen Playhouse, Gil Cates Theater. And I say “light” because it’s not a … Read more
Terry Morgan – ArtsBeatLA The first time I encountered Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, I identified strongly with the title character, both with his frustrations and what he thought of as the tragedy of his life. As I got older, however, and saw many more productions of the play, I began to recognize that many of Vanya’s … Read more
Rob Stevens – Haines His Way Cameron Watson has directed with pinpoint clarity and permits his actors to live and breathe their dialogue. Brenneman commands the stage from the opening moments to the closing. Her Bella is an enigma that will never really be solved. Keith matches her scene by scene. They truly form a … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw “I very much wanted to like Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, but even Pablo Escobar could tell that this package is suspiciously light.” Read more… Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Children shouldn’t play with dead things. But it’s a warning that four high school teens of a banished school club … Read more
Harker Jones – BroadwayWorld The most Fractured of Fairy Tales, “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” is the tonic we all need right now. Read more… Katie Buenneke – Theater Digest Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Ahmanson [LA]. When this show is good, it’s great, and has some of the most side-splitting comedic moments I’ve experienced … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw For some unknown reason, Southern California is having a little theater horror boom at the moment, with at least four shows playing concurrently – Beetlejuice, Exorcistic, The Ants and Misery. As a horror fan, I intend to see them all. I previously expressed my disappointment with The Ants in my … Read more
Martίn Hernández – Stage Raw Director Nike Doukas adds a three-piece combo and rocking beat to Shakespeare’s tale of magic, revenge, and love in a production that is part musical, part radio play, and all fun. Rather than a set that depicts the play’s island motif, Doukas and scenic designer Angela Balogh Calin strategically place … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Horror is not a genre that has traditionally worked well in theater. There are certainly some outliers such as The Woman in Black, but overall spooky fare is thin on the ground, theatrically speaking. Thus when I read that the Geffen Playhouse was producing a “horror play” called The Ants … Read more
Jonas Schwartz – Theatermania Power is an illusion in Will Power’s startling play Fetch Clay, Make Man, now running at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. All the characters believe they have control of their destinies, but each is desperate to break free from someone’s influence — even Muhammad Ali, marvelously played by Ray … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw There have already been films and other works of art concerning the “Me Too” movement, but No Place Like Gandersheim is the first play I can think of that talks about its aftermath. That isn’t even the main subject of the piece, which concerns the plight of a woman writer … Read more