PASSION PLAY
Friday, February 14th, 2014
Sarah Ruhl examines how a centuries-old theatrical tradition and the folks who take part in the spectacle year after year are affected by the epoch in which they create this annual event in Passion Play, and before you jump to the conclusion that such heavy subject matter might prove too weighty to be entertaining, remember that it’s Tony-nominated Ruhl we’re talking about.
(read more)
NIGHT WATCH
Saturday, February 8th, 2014
What’s an insomnia-plagued Manhattan matron to do when she catches sight of a dead body inside the abandoned building across the street from her elegant apartment but scream, scream, and scream some more … and then call the cops? And what’s a concerned husband to do when the police investigation turns up no corpse, no fingerprints, no sign of anyone’s having entered the neighboring flat but suggest that his apparently delusional wife seek psychiatric help? And what’s an audience to do while watching Lucille Fletcher’s Night Watch but sit back and enjoy this takeoff on Gaslight, one whose surprise twist ending I’m absolutely itching to reveal here … but won’t.
(read more)
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, CHARLES DICKENS AND COUNT LEO TOLSTOY: DISCORD
Saturday, February 1st, 2014NOT RECOMMENDED
Three superb performances, a snazzy design package, a delightful opening sequence, and then a whole lot of speechifying add up to a less than compelling ninety minutes as the NoHo Arts Center presents the World Premiere engagement of Scott Carter’s The Gospel According To Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens And Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord.
(read more)
AN IDEAL HUSBAND
Sunday, January 19th, 2014
Classical theater fans impatient for the start of A Noise Within’s Spring 2014 season need head a mere five minutes east of ANW’s Pasadena digs to catch Sierra Madre Playhouse’s 2014 opener, an impeccably staged and acted revival of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband.
(read more)
DAY TRADER
Saturday, January 18th, 2014
Expect the unexpected, and then some, in Eric Rudnick’s edgy, twist-filled Day Trader, thrillingly staged and terrifically acted in its World Premiere production at the Bootleg Theatre.
(read more)
TRUDY AND MAX IN LOVE
Tuesday, January 14th, 2014
A pair of writers meet cute in a “writers’ room” only to fall impossibly in love in Zoe Kazan’s heartbreakingly funny Trudy And Max In Love, now getting its World Premiere at South Coast Repertory.
(read more)
DALLAS NON-STOP
Thursday, November 28th, 2013
The age-old tale of a small-town girl with big-city dreams gets retold with Filipino tang in Boni B. Alvarez’s bittersweet romcom Dallas Non-Stop, the crowd-pleasing latest from Playwrights’ Arena.
(read more)
4000 MILES
Thursday, November 7th, 2013
When was the last time you saw a comedy in which an elderly female character wasn’t made the butt of the joke? When was the last time you saw an intergenerational relationship depicted in all its potential richness? When was the last time you saw a family drama that managed to grip you without resorting to soap opera melodramatics?
(read more)
Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
COPYRIGHT 2025 STEVEN STANLEY :: DESIGN BY