BOB’S HOLIDAY OFFICE PARTY
Thursday, December 13th, 2007RECOMMENDED
Bob’s Holiday Office Party is an outrageously fun and funny 80 minutes of very non-
conventional Christmas hijinks, though probably not for everyone’s tastes. For the
uninitiated, the following paragraphs will serve as a preview of Bob’s R-rated
humor. But beware. Spoilers abound!
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HERO
Sunday, December 9th, 2007RECOMMENDED
Luis Alfaro’s Hero, directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, is an intelligent and funny
comedy about a returned Iraq war vet and his L.A. based family. (Hero is both
the title of the play and our the name of one of the protagonists, though both
are used ironically.)
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Saturday, December 8th, 2007
The universality of A Christmas Carol has never been more evident than in the
Celebration Theatre’s fabulous new GAY adaptation of the Charles Dickens
classic. There have been numerous previous adaptations of ACC for “niche”
audiences. An imdb search turns up The Muppet Christmas Carol, Mickey
(Mouse)’s Christmas Carol, Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol, An All Dogs Christmas
Carol, a Diva’s Christmas Carol, A Flintstones Christmas Carol, Skinflint: A Country
Christmas Carol, Bugs Bunny’s Christmas Carol, A Carol Christmas (with Tori
Spelling as Carol), The Jetsons Christmas Carol, Brer Rabbit’s Christmas Carol, and
A Sesame Street Christmas Carol. Now, at last, the gay community has a
Christmas Carol it can call its own.
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A TUNA CHRISTMAS
Friday, December 7th, 2007
Earlier this year, Jaston Williams and Joe Sears brought the two dozen or so Tuna,
Texas denizens they created to La Mirada, in a big theater production of
Greater Tuna, which scored both of them Ovation Best Actor nominations.
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THE DESK SET
Saturday, November 24th, 2007William Marchant’s The Desk Set is an entertaining 1955 Broadway comedy which
revolves around one of the 50s’ biggest fears. No, not fear of communism or of
nuclear war, but rather the fear of the machine replacing man at the workplace.
Here, the machine is a gigantic (especially by today’s standards) computer called
E.M.M.A.R.A.C, nicknamed “Emmy,” and the workplace is the Reference
Department of IBC, a large radio and television broadcasting company in
midtown Manhattan.
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YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Kaufman and Hart’s 1930s You Can’t Take It With You is probably my all-time
favorite comedy classic, and any chance to see a production of it is one I can’t
pass up. In years past I’ve seen excellent revivals by (among others) the Colony,
Actors Co-Op, and the Geffen, and I’ve watched the video of the 1983 Broadway
revival more times than I can count. I even got to fulfill an actor’s dream by
portraying Mr. Kolenkhov at the Center Theater in Whittier earlier this year. Thus,
you can imagine what a treat it was for me to see the Rubicon Theatre
Company’s production of this screwball gem.
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ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE
Friday, November 16th, 2007NOT RECOMMENDED
Imagine a play without a plot or assigned speaking roles. Imagine a script which
does not specify particular locations, simply lines of spoken dialog which the
director can assign to whichever actor he chooses and scenes which take place
wherever the director’s imagination take him. Imagine this kind of play and
you’ve got British playwright Martin Crimp’s Attempts on her Life, the first joint
undertaking of Chris Covics’ Unknown Theater and Bart DeLorenzo’s Evidence
Room.
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TONIGHT AT 8:30 PARTS 1 & 2
Sunday, November 11th, 2007
Q: Where can you see 4 dozen of the finest actors in the country performing live and
on stage 8 one-act plays by legendary playwright/song writer Noel Coward?
A: At Antaeus Company’s twin productions of Tonight At 8:30 Parts 1 and 2.
(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.
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