Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania Grey Gardens, based on the 1975 cult classic documentary, is a gem of a one-act musical. Unfortunately, there are two acts. In wanting to flesh out the characters who were captured in the film, book author Doug Wright, composer Scott Frankel, and lyricist Michael Korie focus the entire first act on … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Stories like this have been told before, many in exactly this way, where a nay-saying parent and a self-doubting inner voice cannot stem the creative force of an artist who soars above them to shape an art form. Read more… Les Spindle – Edge on the Net The genres of … Read more
Terry Morgan – Stage Raw Eccentricities of a Nightingale was Tennessee Williams’ 1951 rewrite of his earlier Summer and Smoke. It was supposedly his preferred version of the story, and one can see why. The main character of Alma is more clearly delineated, and the drama springs more from her choices than from fate. The current production … Read more
Neal Weaver – Stage Raw Because of the confluence of events surrounding the American presidential election — including Donald Trump’s provocative and unconstitutional attempts to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., the mass shootings in Orlando, and the heated debate about how to deal with Muslim terrorists, Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning Disgraced seems even more relevant than … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Three great characters of classic dramatic literature don’t exactly appear in Christopher Durang’s tender comedy “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” But they inspire the personalities and circumstances of the play, and show us what’s in a name, in this production from Long Beach’s International City Theatre. Read more… … Read more
Myron Meisel – Stage Raw Moments before heading out to witness Alan Mandell’s staging of Endgame at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, just before sundown, I lit my first yahrtzeit candle to commemorate the first anniversary on the ancient lunar calendar of the death of my father. Leaving it to burn in my absence permitted me to approach Samuel Beckett’s … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Lee Blessing’s 1987 play “A Walk in the Woods” makes two points. In war, there is no winning, says Blessing. And in life, each of us chooses whether to live in hope or to live without it. Read more… Now running through May 22.
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Ultra-prolific English playwright Alan Ayckbourn has a silly side. But his characters very much seem like real-life people, even while their circumstances are comically heightened or even outrageous. Read more… Now running through May 21.
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze Tradition is a cornerstone of civilization. It tells us what our forebears have found essential to life, lets us know what’s expected of us and gives us a framework for raising our children. But if our children never tried something new, we’d still be living in caves. … Read more
Dany Margolies – The Daily Breeze One actor dropped his moustache, another dropped his lines. It doesn’t matter whether these were opening-night fumbles or thoroughly rehearsed comedy bits. In Around the World in 80 Days at Long Beach Playhouse, they only add to the fun. Read more… Now running through May 7.