SEXY AND SWEET NUITS Since the creation of the Company Preljocaj in 1984, Angelin Preljocaj has become an international superstar; some refer to the French-born Albanian choreographer as the…
ITHACA John Perrin Flynn and Brenda Davidson’s production of Penelope is so vivid that it’s hard for me to imagine the play in any other presentation " even though I’ve rec…
A BUTTERFLY WITHOUT WINGS Madama Butterfly (1904) is understandably one of the most popular operas in the world. Not only does it boast a tragic story that is incredibly moving, but the dram…
COMFORT CANCER Steven Dierkes has written the play one thinks of writing after a friend gets a brain tumor. Like a character in Land Line, I once was a guy who talked long-distance day a…
IMPORTANCE AND FRIVOLITY Radically altering the circumstances of a revered text is the prerogative of any new production. It’s one of the methods theater reserves to drag fusty old…
EVOLUTION OFÂ REVOLUTION IN THIS JUST-SO STORY Trap Door's Regarding the Just shakes the dust off of Camus' 1949 play, Les Justes, about Russian socialists who assassinate a Grand Duke at …
WE DELIGHT IN THE BEAUTY OF THE BUTTERFLY For those who saw the visually striking production of San Francisco Opera's The Magic Flute (2012), designed by the ceramic artist and sculptor Jun …
A BUFFALO NEVER THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION The dialogue you will hear and the people you will meet in Aurora Theatre's production of David Mamet's American Buffalo have both become hallmarks…
LOST Lost Moon Radio’s new Hollywood Fringe Festival show is by far the least impressive Lost Moon outing I’ve seen. A departure from their usual late-night free-form radio s…
PERHAPS THE POPE WAS BORED TO DEATH The Ahmanson stage is awash with white-haired old men in long sweeping gowns. No, it's not the old folks' home production of Priscilla Queen of the De…
FANTASTICKS ON THE FRINGE With the original opening in 1959 and running an astounding 42 years, The Fantasticks is a veritable classic amongst the repertoire of musical theater. By way o…
THE PRODUCTION RUNS LIKE CLOCKWORK, BUT SOME MAY SEE IT AS A WASTE OF TIME Much mastery of theatrical craft is on display in Alan Ayckbourn's staging of his play Time of My Life, which is pa…
WHEN A BELT DOESN'T HOLD UP AN ACT There was a time when American cabaret singers simply sang songs"no social commentary, no motifs, and no directors were necessary because the audience was …
THE RISE AND FALL OF A TRANSFERRED PRODUCTION When it was originally presented at Sacred Fools, Vanessa Claire Stewart’s play had a subtitle (The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keato…
MTG BRINGS ANGELS TO LOS ANGELES The angels of concert-staged-reading productions come winging into town this week with a production of City of Angels, the 1989 musical spoof and homage to h…
AFRICAN MYTH ON THE BAYOU An atmosphere of mythic mystery suffuses Tarrell Alvin McCraney's compelling drama about family, sacrifice, and deceit. Awash with undercurrents of melancholy a…
A FEMINIST FANTASY SOAKED IN WHIMSY In Lifeline Theatre's semi-delightful 150-minute romp, the war between the sexes is replaced by a war against sexism. The latest adaptation from this lite…
A THREE-HOUR HOME RUN Clearly and cleanly, tried and true director/choreographer Kevin Bellie trusts the heart out of Adler and Ross' 1952 Broadway classic. Damn Yankees, Light Opera Works' …
BRIGHT LIGHTS ON A DIM HORIZON Two hit men wait in a shitty Vegas motel for the boss to give them a goddamn call. One of ‘em (Leon Russom) is an all-business, no-shit guy on the ve…
HARDLY THE ANIMAL IT WANTS TO BE Life comes to this new chamber musical, but only in the center of the second act, giving a hint of what the creators intended. Unfortunately, the flimsy prem…
THE HEROINE MIGHT… BUT THIS OPERA WILL NEVER DIE When the theater lights fade to darkness at the War Memorial Opera House, the first notes of La Traviata will introduce a somber musical th…
HEARKENING BACK TO HAPPY HARMONIES Too sweet to be termed a blast from the past, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre's latest reclamation brings back, with all their pep, pizzazz and patriotism, the…
TECHNICOLOR TURNCOAT It's like one of the Great Plagues of Egypt:Â Every so often, some producer decides to dust off another production of this old Andrew Lloyd Webber chestnut, and cast …
AN ACTOR WITH A NORMAL HEART I met Eric Lange in 1996 when I was producing The Normal Heart. I'll never forget that charming, at-ease magnetism he had walking into the audition room, and I k…
HALF AND HALF Kim Wall delivers a brilliant performance as Barry, an aging municipal employee, in Alan Ayckbourn's Arrivals and Departures, part of the Brits Off-Broadway Festival at 59E59 T…