409 stories by "Lemonmeter"
BITTERSWEET When one of LA's top fashion designers writes and directs a play set at an elegant showbiz party, you know the costumes are going to be divine. But if only the number of laughs a…
SWEET This production, which features Broadway veteran and multiple Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub, Adams’ real-life husband, in the role of Willie, Winnie’s there-but-not-there life …
SWEET The ensemble numbers are precisely choreographed by Director Michael Arden and Choreographer Spencer Liff; the signing never gets in the way, and each cast member is vitally utilized l…
SWEET Joseph captures the highs and lows of this unique three-way love affair, its laughter and tears, its joys and sorrows. He's greatly aided by the sure-handed direction of Jennifer Chang…
BITTERSWEET Showing O'Neill working on a play years after neurological disease forced him to quit writing, and misstating the nature of a major character's death are among the historical ina…
SWEET It’s enjoyable enough, dominated by the vibrant presence of L. Scott Caldwell as the ex-wife who has returned from transformational adventures in California to become AtlantaR…
SWEET In the end, this "Buried Child," then, produced 35 years after the play won Shepard his only Pulitzer Prize, is the prolific playwright at his very best: naked, robust, and oh, so true…
BITTERSWEET Conviction is a two-edged sword. On the upside, it can be belief in a person or purpose that warrants a positive reaction. In Carey Crim's drama "Conviction" now at Ventura's Rub…
BITTERSWEET And while Peebler and his muscular ensemble prove expert at seductively selling Cain's quasi-historical premise, his audience-flattering allusions and lively turns of phrase, it …
BITTERSWEET I wish I could report that the acting was equal to the scenic imagination. This still strikes me as a production that doesn’t have all that much faith in Shakespeare’…
SWEET A Tony-winning 2002 musical based on the 1967 Julie Andrews film of the same name, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” is a smorgasbord of giddy fluff. Director Danny Michaels’…
SWEET More Louisa May than Lena, the affectionate send-up Women recasts Alcott's Civil War"era novel of feminine blossoming (as told by Gillian Armstrong’s unapologetically saccharine …
BITTERSWEET I teetered early on the verge of boredom, staved off by the fine production until the last twenty minutes, the end a foregone conclusion in a play that just wouldn't stop chatter…
SWEET It's such a confident company that there are very few showboats. Long-form improvisation allows the inspiration of the moment " requires it " to drive the story; a couple months…
BITTERSWEET Under Scott Zigler's crisply slick direction, the production features a dynamic cast and design team that would be hard to better. And even though Mamet has created Susan as far …
BITTERSWEET Twice or three times in ninety minutes, arresting images are allowed to loiter unto dissipation. There is less of permanence in this production than of stasis. Perhaps its primar…
BITTER The problem is that while "to cheat or not to cheat" may be a theme that transcends time and place, these particular characters and the dialogue they employ do not. Their small-talk p…
SWEET Creator Cindy Shapiro has fashioned a vibrant and exciting rock-opera from this richly romantic source material, investing her book, music and lyrics with a magical blend of timeless a…
SWEET Zimmerman's direction is fast and furious, which ideal for a piece like this as the one-liners just keep flying. Most all of them hit their intended targets. No subject is safe " socia…
SWEET What the script lacks in surprises, it makes up for in its nuanced, beautifully written portrait of Biddle, an inestimable gift to an actor, and one that the wonderful Abatemarco, unde…
SWEET Despite its flaws, Bulrusher is a reminder that while more than half a century has passed, race relations have remained strained even six decades later. Bulrusher reads fortunes. If sh…
SWEET I saw one of the most powerful, raw, awesome and tragically-moving performances in memory. Oh, my, it really shook me up. Jay Weston – Huffington Post SWEET The effect is an emot…
SWEET Director Randall Arney deftly captures every nuance in the relationships and their unfolding. He keeps the comedy flowing, the realizations only gradually emerging. And he has assemble…
SWEET It's full of dynamic characters going through interesting changes, and they say funny and moving things all the time; the emotional flow is well-ordered and effective. Exciting images,…
BITTERSWEET As the cast takes turns revealing their little secrets, and I must admit there are a few doozies, I said, "Self this is one screwed-up bunch" but in reality, nothing new or unexp…
