Nathan Englander's short story, "The Twenty-Seventh Man," from his debut collection, "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges," is so impeccably pulled off, so beautifully composed in the spirit …
Arthur Miller's "The Price" is an old-fashioned play that takes a fair amount of time to get going, but when it does " midway through the second act " it explodes with the thunderous moral i…
Seismic tremors have been rocking the Los Angeles theater community after a proposal was floated by the Actors' Equity Assn. regarding the 99-Seat Plan. A bureaucratic process is underway th…
It has become something of a commonplace since Hamlet first uttered the precept that the purpose of acting is "to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature."
Seated in the living room of his newly built architectural jewel of a home in Westwood, Alan Mandell had a confession to make.
The decrepit state of Tommy's room, with its piles of rubbish and mildewy towels thrown all over the place, is a mirror into his life. Estranged from his wife, he has been renting a room in …
Darrell Hammond is dressed sharply in all black for "The Darrell Hammond Project," the world-premiere stage adaptation of his recovery memoir, "God, If You're Not Up There …" It's not exac…
It's hard to imagine Culture Clash's "Chavez Ravine: An L.A. Revival" receiving a more handsome production than the one directed by Lisa Peterson at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, a retooled vers…
No one would accuse Conor McPherson of going soft. As Ireland's preeminent playwright, he is renowned for his bruising, binge-drinking, invective-spewing immorality tales.
Now 80, Dame Edna's alter ego Barry Humphries has decided to bring her theatrical globe-trotting to an end with 'Dame Edna's Glorious Goodbye: The Farewell Tour,' which began two years ago i…
The delightful British theater troupe Kneehigh keeps finding ways of demonstrating that whimsicality on stage is perfectly compatible with emotional grace.
Dame Edna, the imperious suburban Melbourne, Australia, hausfrau with the purple wig and lacerating tongue, has never seen any connection between winning friends and influencing people.
There's no shortage of acting in the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie." Accents are adorned like fake noses, illnesses resemble those found in 19th century…
Theater critic Charles McNulty sits down with Barry Humphries, now launching the American leg of Dame Edna's farewell tour
Barry Humphries sat at a table overlooking the pool of his Beverly Hills hotel and blew his nose. He had just arrived from his home in London and was suffering with a common cold " something…
Now that screen technology has overrun our lives, it makes sense that the Wooster Group would take a break from its multimedia revels and turn to the austere Shakers for inspiration.
"Silent Witnesses," a modest and compassionate solo work written and performed by Stephanie Satie at the Odyssey Theatre, is based on interviews and conversations with child survivors of the…
In his most recent book, "The Meaning of Human Existence," Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson challenges the humanities to stop being in effect so darn man-crazy.
The year isn't exactly ending on a high note. Rage over racial injustice, shocking reports of U.S. torture and the promise of even more governmental gridlock in 2015.
Here is Charles McNulty's look at the best of 2014 in theater in Southern California and beyond.
When Angela Lansbury takes the stage as Madame Arcati, the lovably outlandish medium in Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit," a supernatural charge is instantly detectable. This five-time Tony winn…
The words "political drama" may evoke finger-pointing lectures to some, but the subtlest works of dramatic literature have a political dimension, and the most enduring political dramas have …
Still wondering what to get your theater-obsessed nearest and dearest? Theater critic Charles McNulty shares his gift ideas for those with the right kind of histrionic nature.
A conversation with Dame Angela on her legendary career and return to the stage with "Blithe Spirit"
As gracious and unpretentious as her Brentwood home, Angela Lansbury radiated hospitality as she ushered me into her living room, where her honorary Oscar sits as casually as a figurine plac…