TWELFTH NIGHT
Saturday, August 1st, 2009RECOMMENDED
The Classical Theatre Lab has returned to West Hollywood for their third consecutive summer of Shakespeare In The Parks with a well-acted and directed production of Twelfth Night Or What You Will.
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DOG SEES GOD
Sunday, July 26th, 2009RECOMMENDED
Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead imagines the lives of a group of high schoolers suspiciously similar to teenage versions of Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. Though legal considerations require a “has not been authorized or approved in any manner by the Charles M. Schultz Estate” disclaimer, fans of the comic strip will recognize CB (whose pet beagle has just been put down for rabies, though not before tearing to shreds “a little yellow bird who used to hang around”), Beethoven (a sensitive i.e. gay piano prodigy), Tricia (née Patricia formerly Patty, of the Peppermint variety) and her best friend Marcy (who used to spell her name with an –ie), Matt (a once dirt-cloud-plagued kid turned tough guy germo-homophobe), and Van (a stoner currently mourning the death-by-fire of his beloved blanket). CB’s sister and Van’s (neither of whom are referred to by name) complete the gang.
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BACH AT LEIPZIG
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
The year is 1722 and some of the finest musicians of the age have descended on Leipzig, Germany, in hopes of succeeding Johann Kuhnau as organist of the Thomaskirche. Since no early 18th Century musician can achieve success without the patronage of the nobility or the church, a post like Kuhnau’s is one worth fighting for, even if this means lying, scheming, and double-crossing to obtain it.
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APARTMENT 6 & 9
Sunday, June 14th, 2009RECOMMENDED
Apartment 6 & 9 is a pair of one-act comedies (All Aboard The Marriage Hearse and Stay Over) which showcase Matt Morillo’s talents as a writer/director, his gift for intelligent dialog, and his insights into the many ways that “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.”
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THE SOMETHING-NOTHING
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Fielding Edlow’s The Something-Nothing is a hilarious, biting, highly original look at a 20something love triangle in pre-9/11 New York City.
AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRAND BOEUF
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
The Laguna Playhouse serves up a tangy comedic soufflé in the West Coast Premiere of An Empty Plate In The Café Du Grand Boeuf—with a surprise “be careful what you wish for” dénouement worthy of O Henry.
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THE MUSCLES IN OUR TOES
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
The last time there was a 20th high school reunion at the El Portal Forum Theatre, the returning grads were a quartet of 60s-hits-singing housewives who called themselves The Marvelous Wonderettes. In Stephen Belber’s just opened The Muscles In Our Toes, the returnees are four male buddies and the music providing a soundtrack to their reunion is performed by Culture Club, Eurythmics, and other 1980s icons. Whereas The Marvelous Wonderettes was light and fluffy fun, The Muscles In Our Toes makes for far darker fare, at times shocking, but often hilarious in its own edgy way.
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BABYLON HEIGHTS
Thursday, May 28th, 2009NOT RECOMMENDED
WARNING: Language in this play and in my review is rated NC-17.
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