A PLAYWRIGHT REBORN For some uncanny reason, sometimes you walk into a theatre filled with anticipation. Perhaps this occurred at the Mint Theatre because they were excavating a buried theat…
KOREAN BROADWAY (SORT OF) Hero: The Musical starts off with a bang. Literally. Several loud gunshots tear holes into the front curtain, which cinematically transforms into a stellar …
WHAT ARE ANY OF US BUT A COLLECTION OF STORIES? Collaboraction's 1001 spins the audience into a delightful vertigo. This whirling postmodern adaptation of The Arabian Nights collapses time a…
FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO WATCH The rumblings of the elevated train beside Steep Theatre are chillingly atmospheric for the Midwest premiere of Simon Stephens' Pornography. After all, this colle…
THE BITTERER, THE BETTER There are two brands of Charles Busch plays: the ones he stars in, which are filled with campy homoeroticism and often performed in downtown theatre dives, and the o…
THE ZOMBIE JOE AESTHETIC With each new production, inch by inch, layer by layer, we get closer and closer to tasting the artichoke heart of Zombie Joe. It is not a question anymore of which …
THEATER OF GOOD INTENTIONS No matter how worthy Civilian is, with its interviews of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, one cannot call this play effective theatre. There have been…
THE MANY FACES OF VIVIEN LEIGH The one woman play Vivien, presented by Rogue Machine at Theatre Theater, is a stunning showcase of two talents, both of which make this a recommended outing: …
TOO MANY STONES, NOT ENOUGH POCKETS Marie Jones's Stones In His Pockets is one of those plays that separate the boys from the men. Fifteen characters that range in age, gender, accent, a…
A MEETING OF THE MINDS Mark St. Germain based his play Freud's Last Session on a book by Armand M. Nicholi, Jr. entitled The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, S…
THIS BEAU IS JEST FINE Do you ever just want to go home, eat your mother's comforting chicken soup, put on your oldest fuzzy slippers and find some old-fashioned comedy on AMC? Well, you'll …
SEVEN GUITARS HITS A POWERFUL CHORD Late playwright August Wilson’s reputed knack for capturing time, place, and character crystallizes unforgettably in the Marin Theatre Company’…
CARLO COLLODI'S CLASSIC TALE COMES TO LIFE At the heart of Chicago's Navy Pier lies the stunning Chicago Shakespeare Theater. On a recent Wednesday morning, this 500-seat space was packed wi…
IN THE BEGINNING, IT WAS EVEN GREASIER Apparently Los Angeles is not the only city prone to over-praise its local theater. American Theater Company's The Original Grease has been receiving c…
AN OUNCE OF MISSTEPS IS WORTH THIS POUND OF FLESH Before you run off to see The Porters of Hellsgate production of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice " and I surely hope that you d…
NOTHING FEEDS YOUR HEART LIKE A GOOD STORY Truth be told, The Last Act of Lilka Kadison chronicles an entirely conventional story " but Lookingglass Theatre's production elevates this histor…
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY Occasionally, I attend theater with no intention of reviewing a show, but afterwards my spirit is so refreshed by an uplifting and inspiring experience that an urgent p…
I HAD A GAY OLD TIME A letter to Sandra Bernhard: Dear Sandy: Oh my God, it thrilled me to no end when I was assigned to review your latest show at REDCAT: Sandra Bernhard: I Love Being Me, …
STEPPENWOLF PROVES ITS WORTHY REPUTATION Will Eno's Middletown suggests that life is a black hole; there will always be a gulf between reality and our perception of it, between our desire fo…
NO TROUBLE HERE Although the run of Pacific Opera Project's Trouble in Tahiti was two days long, I had to check out this new company whose mission it is to use local talent and bring afforda…
DOG GONE Having immersed myself in forty Fringe shows this year, I have become highly suspect of those shows that bounce from Fringe to Fringe across the land, cross-promoting like oversexed…
WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT? At the top of Melissa James Gibson's This, five urbanite thirty-somethings take part in an innocent parlor game that inadvertently goes awry for one of them: an unsusp…
A SHOWCASE FOR ORSON WELLES PROVES DIFFICULT TO REVIVE Whitmore Eclectic, a non-profit theatre company now in its second season, brings us a presentation of the tricky Moby Dick Rehearsed, O…
NEVER FORGET Writer/performer Tom Dugan's solo show Nazi Hunter " Simon Wiesenthal capitalizes on the strengths of the famous Nazi hunter " his resilience, tenacity and humor " but largely o…
THE FANTASY FIZZLES Since 1933, Pageant of the Masters has been a Southern California must-see for tourists and locals alike. The professionalism with which they stage tableaux vivants (l…