This theological meet-up between an ailing Sigmund Freud and author C.S. Lewis at the Broad Stage sticks mostly to the surface.Sigmund Freud considered religion a mass delusion, a sort of gr…
The Stephen Adly Guirgis play at the South Coast Repertory showcases raw authenticity as it weaves the story of an ex-addict stumbling along the path of recovery."The Mother… With the…
Cheek by Jowl's touring production of John Ford's " 'Tis Pity" stirs up the theatricality to a dizzying degree, but remains compulsively, if scandalously, watchable.Before Quentin Tarantino,…
At the Broad Stage, a production gives a fair glimpse of a Shakespeare frolic's glories, both outlandish and refined.Shakespeare throws caution to the wind in "Cymbeline," a late romance so …
The year was enriched by lively pairings of plays and interpreters. Beckett and Chekhov come off especially well, with recent writers Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bruce Norris doing nicely too.…
Cutting remarks meet tender familiarity in the Mark Taper Forum's production of Jon Robin Baitz's crackling play.If like me you come from a mixed family, meaning there are conservative Repub…
The Oscar winner's mere presence throws off the play's balance, not that the adoring audience would have noticed. But the actor's scattershot approach is distracting as well.NEW YORK —…
For a satisfying alternative to the standard theatrical holiday fare look no further than 'A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!' and 'Coney Island Christmas.'Christmas obviously isn't for …
The playwrights' portrayal — as an actor — of the character George's nature in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' is a stunning achievement.NEW YORK — Tracy Letts has his ha…
An hours-long retelling of Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby,' 'Gatz' is ably served by the innovative cast and crew of Elevator Repair Service."Gatz," Elevator Repair Service's celebration of …
The Broadway play starring Norbert Leo Butz as a New York banker who absconds with millions from his job and returns to Cincinnati to help his middle-class family goes to extremes with chara…
The Flaming Lips-inspired score is the highlight of the literary-challenged 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots' at La Jolla Playhouse.LA JOLLA — Futuristic theatrical effects are deploye…
The fresh-faced approach to 'Hamlet' by the Shakespeare's Globe may not bring on the tears, but a good time is had by all at the Broad Stage.Tired of the pomp and circumstance of costume dra…
At 85, the singer fully grasps life's meaning and channels it through songs we know but have never before heard like this.Legend has it that Juan Ponce de León set off for the New World i…
Lynn Nottage's 'Intimate Apparel,' at Pasadena Playhouse with Vanessa Williams ('Soul Food'), is a portrait of a black seamstress working in obscurity in 1905.Artists come in many varieties.…
Michael Golamco's glossily directed play revolves around a gloomy video game designer living with his dead wife's computerized ghost. Will his mood ever lift?Gather round, 21st century drama…
Finally, L.A. gets a look at a play by the much-talked-about Tarell Alvin McCraney: his expressionistic tale of a young woman with choices to make.Beyond the fact that it is sensational, the…
'You Can't Take It With You,' by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, gets a labored staging by Antaeus Company.The bohemian Sycamore family of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's Pulitzer Prize-w…
As President Obama and Mitt Romney debate Monday, theatrical presentation will be scrutinized. But personalities should lead to ideas.The final presidential debate between President Obama an…
Theresa Rebeck's 'Seminar,' starring Jeff Goldblum at the Ahmanson Theatre, is entertaining in its details and dynamics, but the story and sitcom humor falter.Masochism is the chief prerequi…
The Actors' Gang's staging captures the silliness of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy. The problem remains the dizzying plot.Let's congratulate the Actors' Gang for at least bringing some …
John Hurt eloquently stars in Samuel Beckett's 'Krapp's Last Tape' at Kirk Douglas Theatre in a production directed by Michael Colgan.With his shock of silver-gray hair, his face etched by t…
Visually, this telling of Sarah Ruhl's rethought Orpheus tale is a stunner. The whimsy, though, is overplayed."Eurydice," Sarah Ruhl's playful retelling of the Orpheus myth from a female per…
Lynn Nottage takes a fictional look at a real actress, providing a view into the sisterhood of African American women as they face a world skewed against them.Theresa Harris was an African A…
The latest revival of David Mamet's 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' at the La Jolla Playhouse, is a tense and well-paced production thanks to the strong cast.As long as America is America, land of op…