The language, though a lot to process, drives this stage adaptation of the author's novel set in the African Congo.Actors' Gang stalwart Brian T. Finney invites us to once again venture deep…
The musical about a drag queen and a shoe factory owner has songs by theater newcomer Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, who makes rookie mistakes.NEW YORK — Let the record s…
Critic's Notebook: The theatrical legend majestically illuminates the gaps in budding playwright Jesse Eisenberg's 'The Revisionist,' a precious gift to an emerging talent.NEW YORK — O…
LA Times review of "Lucky Guy"
The late author magnificently conjures the era of tabloid news wars, with a winning ensemble led by Tom Hanks in his Broadway debut.NEW YORK — In the program for "Lucky Guy," the play …
In his Tony-winning 'History Boys' turn, the late actor spoke an eternal truth about the meeting of minds. His companionable spirit will be missed.Richard Griffiths was an actor of enormous …
Critic's Notebook: The dramatist who used to regularly scorch the stage with complex stories has let his anti-P.C. rage blunt his work.
Jennifer Haley's new drama, at the Douglas, surfs a part of the Web where fantasy threatens to bleed into reality. It's a gripping piece, terrifically performed. In the musical "Avenue Q," t…
Ken LaZebnik's drama at the Fountain Theatre presents a couple with autism, and the value of the play's advocacy shouldn't be underestimated. Cormac is a law-school-bound young man living in…
Matthew Arkin makes the audience feel for the morbidly obese, grieving and suicidal Charlie in Samuel D. Hunter's funny, angry and moving play.The spectacle of Charlie digging into a family-…
The English actress visits L.A. in her Tony-nominated role in 'End of the Rainbow.' Playing the star is draining, but, the actress says, 'I've always had stamina.'For movie musical lovers in…
This faux-Edwardian musical has its charms, but its animating force is Jefferson Mays as a series of doomed, oblivious aristocrats.SAN DIEGO— All the buzz about "A Gentleman's Guide to…
Nina Raine's play, in a David Cromer-directed production at Mark Taper Forum, is noisy but has quiet emotion from Susan Pourfar and Russell Harvard.In the intellectually raucous British hous…
The former heavyweight champion proves to be a riveting stage presence with compelling stories to tell, some of which may be more true than others, however.If there was one ring in the world…
Gary Lennon's twisted comedy, produced by the Echo Theater Company at Stage 52, follows the turmoil of three brothers heading toward a sibling standoff in New York's Hell's Kitchen.So you th…
Critic's Notebook: Disturbing actions can awake an audience's empathy, but lines blur if events tip into a mere celebration of destruction.In one of the most infamous scenes in modern drama,…
The 'louder, larger, longer' edict of so many musicals is vividly at work in 'Jekyll & Hyde' at the Pantages, though Deborah Cox and Constantine Maroulis stand out.Hollywood Boulevard is hom…
In another of Tarell Alvin McCraney's 'Brother/Sister Plays,' a free-spirited young man is pulled between two very different paths.— "The Brothers Size," now at the Old Globe, is part …
Critic's Notebook: The Los Angeles stage legend is sharing his wisdom at USC. Not happy with the commercial aspects of today's scene, he wants to groom a new, passionate generation.Founder o…
The talented cast is far too good for the contrived, superficial moments in Joanna Murray-Smith's new work at the Geffen Playhouse.An appealing and capable cast keeps the flicker of hope ali…
David Henry Hwang's cross-cultural comedy of ideas, now playing at South Coast Repertory, shows how words, manners and mores can get lost in translation.Words aren't the only thing that gets…
The group is shown as a hard-driving cover band working to hit it big in the promising but ultimately disappointing musical at the Ahmanson.To all those graying rockers turned middle-class p…
Amy Herzog's '4000 Miles,' directed by Mark Rucker, is a coming-of-age drama that finds laughter in cockeyed yet utterly believable detail.SAN FRANCISCO — Amy Herzog, a breath of fresh…
'Ganesh Versus the Third Reich,' now at Freud Playhouse, tells a captivating tale of the Indian deity descending to reclaim the swastika from the Nazis.Many of the elements that make up "Gan…
Director Nicholas Martin's sure hand, handsome production and stellar cast make the revival of George Bernard Shaw's classic play a triumph from start to finish.SAN DIEGO — For some th…