ANN HEARN TOBOLOWSKY RAISES THE TEMPERATURE ON LOS ANGELES THEATER I have been following the work of extraordinary director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills for quite some…
KING LEAR, KING LEAR Gregory Mullavey stars in the Frog + Peach Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's King Lear through Feb. 18, 2024. Mr. Mullavey performs the iconic tragic charact…
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED WHEN BROADWAY WAS HIRED BY A TOILET COMPANY A few years back I discovered a fascinating theatrical vehicle referred to as the "industrial musical." These were musicals…
THE ACTORS' GANG PRESENTS YBOR CITY, A HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL NEW PLAY Ybor City tells the story of overworked Cuban cigar factory immigrants in 1931, who find themselves inspired by the spiri…
World premiere of Little Bear Ridge Road by Samuel D. Hunter and directed by Joe Mantello The Cast: Laurie Metcalf, Micah Stock, John Drea and Meighan Gerachis. June 13 " July 21, 2024Â in…
A TASTY SLICE OF 80s NOSTALGIA In the ever-evolving landscape of film-to-stage musical adaptations, the latest entrant Mystic Pizza emerges as a charming addition. Based on the eponymous 198…
ALIVE AND KICKING: MADDOW AND ZIMET AT PAC/NYC New York City, 1947: Julian Beck and Judith Molina found The Living Theatre, the oldest experimental group in the United States, giving life, w…
FROM NOTORIOUS TO VICTORIOUS Michelle Azar vividly invokes the spirit of famed jurist Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Rupert Holmes's one-woman show All Things Equal. As implied in the play's subtitl…
CULT OF LOVE TAKES YOU FROM "HO, HO, HO" TO "HOLY CHRIST!" The Dysfunctional Family, whether in a comedy or drama, is a staple of storytelling, from The Bible and Shakespeare to Netflix. We …
TINY LITTLE TOWN OPENS WITH A BANG, BUT GETS CORRUPTED BY INCOHESIVE STYLES Theatre Movement Bazaar's Tiny Little Town, a new musical comedy now playing at the Broadwater Main Stage, starts …
LEARNING ENGLISH IN IRAN IS TOUGH, BUT THIS PLAY WILL BE YOUR BAG, DAD Years ago, I ran a teambuilding class using improv games for an I.T. group. Despite the diversity of heritage and a…
PURE PLEASURE Acclaimed vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant brought nothing but pleasure to Sanders Theater in Cambridge last night, courtesy of Celebrity Series of Boston. From the moment she …
IRELAND'S GENTRY IS DISINTEGRATING IN FRIEL'S ARISTOCRATS, BUT SO IS THE DRAMA The mid-19th century, with its changing class dynamics, marked the decline of the power of aristocracy in Europ…
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER IT'S THE KING OF MUSICALS OR NOT; IT'S THE KING OF EXPERIENCES Endearing heroes and villains. Shakespeare and ancient myth. Coherent storytelling. Anthropomorphic j…
DANCE OF DESPAIR AND DESIRE Sir Matthew Bourne's Romeo and Juliet, which made its North American premiere at the Ahmanson last night, is a bonafide hit, redefining this classic ballet (based…
A TOOTHLESS POTUS Seven women propping up one man at The White House " that's the premise behind Selena Fillinger's POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to K…
A KINGDOM DIVIDED Sam (Uly Schlesinger) is a bright, articulate and sincere young man. But he is also nervous, sensitive and bitter. In fact, he has recently attempted suicide. Actress Ruby …
ALTERNATIVE FACTS This past weekend Desert Ensemble Theater kicked off 2024 with The Lifespan of a Fact, a poignant and funny play by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Jordan Farrell. Based…
THE JOINT IS, INDEED, JUMPIN' The musical revue Ain't Misbehavin' is a sizzling celebration of Fats Waller's music " songs that he made famous in a career that ranged from uptown clubs to do…
BILLIE'S LIFE WASN'T NO HOLIDAY The title actually says a lot. When a star as bright as Billie Holiday, the sultry jazz singer whose career lasted from 1929 to 1958, is performing at a bar a…
A MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING Â "When the curtain is down, and it's three minutes before the show, what're you wishing for?" playwright John Kolvenbach wondered as he wrote Stand Up If You're…
LET'S RAISE OUR GLASSES AND CHEER DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES There is an old Irish proverb that goes "A man takes a drink, the drink takes a drink, the drink takes the man." Based on a JP Miller…
A CASE FOR SEEING THIS PLAY Toward the end of A Case for the Existence of God (named Best Play of the 21"22 Season by the New York Drama Critics' Circle), I tried to recall what I had learne…
KOOZA RETURNS TO THE CITY OF ITS 2007 U.S. PREMIERE Circuses since the 19th century conjure up images of clowns, fire eaters, men walking on stilts and lion tamers with jungle felines jumpin…
A MATTRESS THAT REVIVES AND RENEWS When Encores! announced Once Upon a Mattress as part of their season's concert series reviving American musicals, my first thought: Does this nutty chestnu…