All stories by F. Kathleen Foley on BroadwayStars

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Review: 'Boxing Lessons' delivers mayhem and plot twists in a one-two punch by F. Kathleen Foley

John Bunzel may be a veteran film and television writer, but he has never wandered far from his roots in the theater, where he has been plying his trade for more than 30 years. Anyone who ha…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:05AM
Wednesday, May 15, 2019

New in L.A. theater: Arthur Miller, Lucas Hnath and Lauren Yee by F. Kathleen Foley

The scales are balanced between the straightforward and the offbeat in the 99-Seat Beat, our weekly recommendations for Southern California’s small stages. Arthur Miller’s “The Price�…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:36PM
Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Review: Julia Sweeney is 'Older & Wider' and really, really (really) funny by F. Kathleen Foley

Julia Sweeney is no stranger to the solo show. "God Said, ‘Ha!’” from 1996 recounted her brother’s struggle with terminal cancer as well as her own diagnosis, just weeks before his d…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:52PM
Monday, May 6, 2019

Review: Martin McDonagh's 'Cripple of Inishmaan,' still hoping for a Hollywood ending by F. Kathleen Foley

Martin McDonagh, the celebrated playwright who also found big-screen success with “In Bruges” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” began his career penning bleak Irish dr…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:29PM
Sunday, May 5, 2019

Review: In ‘The End of Sex,’ a fed-up wife takes a fierce, funny stand by F. Kathleen Foley

“The End of Sex,” a new play by Gay Walch at the Big Victory Theatre, commences with the kind of wink-wink, nudge-nudge sexual innuendo that could have been lifted from an episode of “…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:48AM
Friday, April 12, 2019

When a trip to Hawaii isn't paradise: Playwrights’ Arena's ‘Southernmost’ by F. Kathleen Foley

The locale of “Southernmost,” presented by Playwrights’ Arena in Atwater Village, is as compelling as any character in Mary Lyon Kamitaki’s entertaining but limited new play. Naalehu…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:35PM

L.A. theater: ‘Everything Is Illuminated,’ ‘Lost Virginity Tour’ and more by F. Kathleen Foley

Journeys into the past is the common theme on the 99-Seat Beat, our weekly look at Southern California’s small-theater scene. Reminiscences — comical and poignant — drive “The Lost V…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Saturday, March 30, 2019

Review: Despite what you may expect, 'Friends With Guns' aims neither left nor right by F. Kathleen Foley

Many are likely to misconstrue Stephanie Alison Walker’s new play “Friends With Guns” as a forceful defense of gun ownership. They couldn’t be more wrong. Second Amendment issues are…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:05PM
Friday, March 22, 2019

Review: Part black, part white. It’s a hip-hop group divided after a police shooting in ‘Hype Man’ by F. Kathleen Foley

“Hype Man,” the third in Idris Goodwin’s series of hip-hop “break beat” plays, is an audacious choice for the Fountain Theatre. Let’s face it, most stage audiences do not appear …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:35PM
Friday, March 15, 2019

‘Friends With Guns,’ cruel girls in ‘The Wolves’ and other picks from L.A’s small stages by F. Kathleen Foley

When it comes to communication, humans can have dangerously selective hearing, as demonstrated this week in the 99-Seat Beat, our look at L.A.’s small-theater scene. Sarah DeLappe’s Puli…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Review: Low-tech magic buoys ‘The Old Man and the Moon’ at the Wallis by F. Kathleen Foley

Fairy-tale nuts will get a huge kick out of “The Old Man and the Old Moon,” a Pigpen Theatre Co. production now in a limited run at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM
Friday, March 8, 2019

Review: Oscar Wilde, the David Hare way, in 'Judas Kiss' at Boston Court Pasadena by F. Kathleen Foley

An intellectual’s intellectual, playwright David Hare specializes in a kind of theatrical exegesis, exploring the philosophical motivations behind immensely complicated characters. No exce…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:50PM
Friday, February 15, 2019

The 99-Seat Beat: Pageant coaches, ‘post-truth’ Othello and Jason Alexander in the director’s seat by F. Kathleen Foley

“Born to Win,” a riotous farce set in the dog-eat-dog world of child beauty pageants, and “The Joy Wheel” a broadly humorous take on a marriage in crisis, lead offerings from L.A.’…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, February 1, 2019

The 99-Seat Beat: A black ‘Antigone,’ classic August Wilson and an Actors’ Gang ‘Anarchist’ by F. Kathleen Foley

A radically revisionist “Antigone” made in the Black Lives Matter era seems the ideal vehicle to launch us into Black History Month and lead our weekly look at L.A.’s theater scene. Ot…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, January 18, 2019

The 99 Seat Beat: A trans family play, a chaplain with secrets and love on the rocks by F. Kathleen Foley

The consequences of imperfect communication — say, a conversation among strangers at a roadside bar or the strained discussions between a husband and wife at a crossroads in their marriage…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, December 21, 2018

Review: Did Carlos Santana ever imagine this? The Troubies get raucous with 'Santana Claus' by F. Kathleen Foley

It’s increasingly hard to write a review about the Troubadour Theater Company without sounding like a gushing fangirl. The group’s Christmas offering, “The Year Without a Santana Claus…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, December 7, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: For holiday laughs and human kindness, head for L.A.'s small stages by F. Kathleen Foley

At this time of year, tradition reigns supreme. The focus this week in our small-theater roundup is on long-running seasonal shows — two broadly comic, one reverent — that have loyal fan…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Thursday, November 15, 2018

Review: Paul Rodriguez anchors a surrealist ‘Steambath’ at Odyssey Theatre by F. Kathleen Foley

It’s about time somebody revisited Bruce Jay Friedman’s “Steambath.” First produced off-Broadway in 1970 and recycled as a television film in ’73, the play was hailed as a piquant …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM
Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Review: In Circle X's 'Hole in the Sky,' one disaster gets averted while another unfolds onstage by F. Kathleen Foley

Ah, the perils and pleasures of live theater. Director Kate Jopson’s al fresco production of Octavio Solis’ “Hole in the Sky” was to premiere at the Courtship Ranch, a working ranch …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:00PM
Friday, August 10, 2018

Love screwball comedies? Theatre 40 has a bada-bing 'Screwball Comedy' for you by F. Kathleen Foley

Believed to be one of Canada’s most-produced playwrights, Norm Foster has written dozens of plays over more than three decades. “Screwball Comedy,” now in its U.S. premiere at Theatre …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, June 22, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: 'Slaughter City,' '39 Steps' and more by F. Kathleen Foley

We may be heading into a bit of a summer slowdown, but shows are still opening in L.A.’s small theaters. Our picks this week: Coeurage Theatre’s “Slaughter City,” Whitefire’s “Th…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Tuesday, June 12, 2018

'Hostage' at the Skylight Theatre: a shattering slice of the Iranian crisis by F. Kathleen Foley

Michelle Kholos Brooks’ play “Hostage” at the Skylight Theatre revisits the Iranian hostage crisis almost 40 years after the fact. Based on real-life characters, Brooks’ new drama is…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:25PM
Thursday, May 31, 2018

A splendid 'Beauty and the Beast' proves why Casa 0101 deserves a fairy-tale ending by F. Kathleen Foley

Casa 0101 in Boyle Heights is waging a fundraising battle to keep its doors open. Judging by its splendid “Beauty and the Beast” running through June, it would be a tragedy for the neigh…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:40PM
Friday, May 25, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: An immersive stage adaptation of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by F. Kathleen Foley

This week's picks from L.A.'s small-theater scene: After Hours Theatre Company's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Skylight Theatre's Iran-set ""Hostage," IAMA's "Cult of Love" and  Theatr…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, April 27, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: 'ICE," 'Noises Off,' 'Bad Jews' and more by F. Kathleen Foley

This week in L.A.'s small-theater scene: A food truck at Dodger Stadium is at the center of the immigration-themed 'ICE' at 24th Street Theatre. Also: "For the Love Of (Or, the Roller Derby …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, March 30, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: Neil Simon, family dysfunction, one-woman shows and more by F. Kathleen Foley

This week on the small-theater scene: Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" in Burbank, the new play "Damaged Furniture" in Sherman Oaks, the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival in Veni…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, March 23, 2018

In 'Pigs and Chickens,' the IT department needs a help desk of its own by F. Kathleen Foley

Dedicated to producing new works, Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles has nurtured a mixed blessing in “Pigs and Chickens,” Marek Glinski’s premiere at the company’s Atwater Village …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Tuesday, March 20, 2018

With heart and humanity, this 'Raisin in the Sun' still hits home by F. Kathleen Foley

The current production at A Noise Within is a chance to experience a near-optimum staging of an American classic.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:40PM
Friday, March 2, 2018

The 99-Seat Beat: Del Shores, Molière and 'A Raisin in the Sun' by F. Kathleen Foley

This week's  small-theater round-up includes Celebration Theatre's "Six Characters in Search of a Play," City Garage's "The School for Wives," Little Victory's "Unemployed Elephants" and A …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, February 23, 2018

Onstage, this 'Nice Fish' is an acquired taste by F. Kathleen Foley

From all outward indications, “Nice Fish,” an Interact Theatre Company production at the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, should be a keeper. The elegantly simple situation — two guy…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:40PM
Friday, February 16, 2018

Shakespeare purists may flinch, but this shortened 'Henry V' is a rousing ride by F. Kathleen Foley

A Noise Within has taken some liberties with the text, and if you can get past that, you'll find a breathless theatrical experience full of thrills and chills.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards