COFFEE WILL MAKE YOU BLACK
Friday, April 18th, 2008
Coffee Will Make You Black may seem at first an odd choice for the Celebration, L.A.’s professional theater representing the gay and lesbian community. None of its 18 characters are gay men, and of its many female characters, only a handful may (or then again may not) be lesbian. Hopefully this will not be a turnoff to the Celebration’s loyal core audience, for Coffee Will Make You Black is a joyous, engaging, and laugh-out-loud uproarious celebration of the birth of African American identity in the late 1960s.
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THE CONCEPT OF REMAINDERS
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Richard Martin Hirsch proves himself not only prolific (4 plays produced locally in the last two years) but versatile par excellence with his latest (and best) work. After The Quality Of Light (a May-September romance set in France), Atonement (an engrossing character study of a Jewish writer in crisis), and this winter’s The Monkey Jar (a “from today’s headlines” drama about a child accused of threatening his teacher with a handgun), Hirsch now turns his considerable talents to comedy with a sexy adult concoction entitled The Concept Of Remainders.
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CELL PHONE FUNERAL
Friday, April 11th, 2008RECOMMENDED
WeHo gay boy Zackery has just accidentally run over a fellow WeHoian named Patrick—twice, and confesses to his best bar buddy Barry that he feels “kinda bad” about killing the stranger, who like Zackery was out cruising for sex. Meanwhile, 3000 miles away, Patrick’s alcoholic muumuu-wearing mother is given the bad news by her surviving son Marcus. In a “Mom always liked you best” moment, Mother tells Marcus, “Don’t take this personally. I love you both equally, but he was my favorite.” She decides to fly west to arrange his funeral. “But you hate to fly,” protests Marcus. “I’ll fly,” insists Mom. “He’s my only son.”
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ONE NIGHT STANDS
Sunday, April 6th, 2008RECOMMENDED
One Night Stands, The Sex Comedies began as the second half of a program of one acts last June. Nearly a year later it continues in expanded form as a sort of “late night” entry playing during “prime time” hours (sans the two musicals which completed the original program).
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THE NERD
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
Rick Steadman, aka The Nerd, is the guest from hell who comes and stays and stays and stays…in Larry Shue’s hilarious comedy, The Nerd. Shue only wrote two plays (The Nerd and The Foreigner) in a life cut far too short, but they are both comic gems which assure his legacy. There is hardly a theater company (regional, community, or school) that hasn’t presented at least one of them, and with good reason. They are funny, outrageous, absurd delights, and Shue’s The Nerd is now getting an almost perfect production at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse.
DON JUAN
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
I have a confession. I’d much rather see a comedy by Molière than one by William Shakespeare. I think it’s mostly the language. Since Molière is usually translated from 17th century French into modern English, his plays feel contemporary, even when set hundreds of years ago. I felt so last June when I saw The Imaginary Invalid at ACT in San Francisco and I felt so again last night watching Don Juan at A Noise Within, Glendale’s diamond of a classical theater company.
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THE HISTORY OF BOWLING
Monday, March 24th, 2008RECOMMENDED
You know you’re in for something different at the theater when a quartet of
pom-pom bearing cheerleaders provide the pre-show announcements … as a
cheer. Follow that with a leading man who’s a real-life quadriplegic (Danny
Murphy of Farrely Brothers movies fame) and a quirky girl meets older boy plot
and you have The History Of Bowling, now playing at the NoHo Arts Center.
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SECRETS OF THE TRADE
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
Though the coming out/coming of age story has been told time and again, it
is one that bears retelling, especially when told as freshly and smartly as
Jonathan Tolins does it in Secrets Of The Trade, now playing at the Black
Dahlia Theatre. Tolins’ play is, as well, a perfect example of why L.A. theater,
especially theater of the “waiver” variety, can hold its head high and proud
amidst any theatrical community. It is no wonder that Tony-winning multiple-
Broadway-shows-to-his-credit John Glover has chosen to appear in a tiny
theater on Pico Blvd. A production as fine as this one gives Glover a role he
was, as they say, born to play and surrounds him with talent worthy of any
Broadway stage.
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Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
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