THE POLITICS OF MARRIAGE Strong writing and performances outweigh a staging that plays it safe The worst that can be said of Ray Richmond‘s Another Distraction From the Epstein Files at Ba…
THE WAR THAT FOLLOWED HIM HOME Rather than celebrate a legend, Brian Rohan reveals the man still haunted by war At the outset of World War II, Jimmy Stewart (1908–1997) became the first ma…
LIFE IN A BLENDER A chaotic solo show anchored by an engaging performer. Kelly Mullis‘s solo show Army Brat at the Broadwater Second Stage carries a very accurate subtitle: “The Fever Dr…
BURNED BY AMBITION Sometimes the bravest artistic choice is asking for help. In Theft of Fire, Garrett Hildebrandt is presentable, well-spoken, talented, and smart. However, he’s not as ta…
FROM BARK TO HEART A barking-dog complaint grows into something far more interesting I have been a fan of Richard Lucas since I reviewed his short, humorous, autobiographical novel The Dog L…
ET TU, SHOESTRING? An ambitious historical comedy collapses under its own weight— but not without flashes of promise There are many different reasons for failure. All of them sting. The Fa…
UNDER PRESSURE Ann Noble directs Ann Loud in a nicely twisted mystery set in a multi-crew submersible some 30,000 deep. Ann Loud, who penned the script and plays all five characters, skillfu…
CALAMITY JANE MEETS LAS VEGAS A charming tribute delivers plenty of Doris Day favorites, even if the biography occasionally takes a back seat Day After Day (The Life and Music of Doris Day) …
GHOSTS WITH HEARTBEATS Jon Schnitzer finds warmth and wonder beneath the bumps in the night Something Spooky, written and performed by Jon Schnitzer, is more about heart than haunting. Yes, …
A COMMUNITY OF ONE Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer-winning drama finds theatrical poetry in loneliness and hope Primary Trust is the sort of play that reminds us why theater matters. I want to stat…
MAD SCIENCE, SANELY STAGED Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Cold War satire still packs a comic sting The Actors’ Gang has been a pillar of L.A. theater since 1988, when they burst onto the scene…
REACHING FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM Henry Ong’s final play transforms one man’s remarkable life into a timely cautionary tale Ascent is a small gem. It is not ostentatious enough to be affix…
LONG LIVE THE ABSURD Michael Michetti’s visually stunning staging transforms Ionesco’s meditation on death into a thing of eerie beauty It is rare, nowadays, when a play by the Romanian …
THE MINOTAUR IN THE MIRROR A powerful performance anchors a portrait that never fully reveals its subject The journey of Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré to the Odyssey Theatre in L.A. is both con…
A HYMN WITHOUT THE HALLELUJAH A polished, well-acted drama that never quite ignites Hymn by playwright Lolita Chakrabarti is a well-crafted piece, with detailed characters and dialogue that …
THE KISS OF DEATH A drama overloaded with “dots” that just don’t connect The Ruskin Group Theatre’s production of Stephen Fife’s Blue Kiss starts off with promise. Todd (Casey Morr…
KAFKA IN AMERICA— AND LOST AT SEA Striking visuals adrift in an overlong adaptation Who isn’t familiar with Franz Kafka (1883–1924), the tormented Czech writer? Or The Metamorphosis, K…
LOST IN TRANSLATION— AND INTENTION Pulitzer winner that provokes, puzzles, and occasionally frustrates. Is it a scream into a void or a play? English, by Sanaz Toossi, won the 2023 Pulitze…
FOUNDING FATHERS, FOUND WANTING A promising historical premise undone by uneven writing What Price Freedom, by Tony Blake, having its world premiere at Moving Arts Theatre, recounts one of t…
SUPERSTAR STILL RISES Nocturne Theatre's high-concept staging proves that even a familiar rock opera can still feel fresh, fierce, and electrifying First, a Biblical passage…"Jesus Christ …
CIVILITY ON THE BRINK OF CHAOS Jack Heller's polished production reveals Pinter's menace, even if it could use a bit more disorder First, a joke: "How many Harold Pinters does it take to cha…
A GENDER-FLUID RICHARD III ROOTED IN HISTORY AND PERFORMANCE TRADITION A commanding central performance anchors a sharp, theatrically confident staging The Tragedy of Richard the Third, Will…
MOZART MEETS THE FINAL FRONTIER Pacific Opera Project boldly goes where singspiel has gone before Begin with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 1789 complex and comic singspiel Die Entführung aus …
POETRY AS ACTIVISM, MEMORY, AND INVITATION A moving, participatory tribute to June Jordan that insists poetry still matters June Jordan was a seminal feminist poet and essayist who"beyond ge…
ZANDER RAPHAEL SPINS PUPPETRY INTO GOLD Gilded Spindle offers Shannon L. Reagan's retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin tale with a slight #MeToo twist. While the talents and artistry of Reagan, …