TRACERS
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
With over 4000 Americans killed in Iraq since the United States declared its “war on terror” in the Middle East, now seems a particularly appropriate time to remember the Vietnam War and its more than 47,000 American casualties (not to mention the over 300,000 wounded in action).
THE BLOWIN OF BAILE GALL
Sunday, June 1st, 2008
Ronan Noone’s The Blowin Of Baile Gall deals with racism and xenophobia in Ireland, but it could just as easily be set anyplace in the United States where people frustrated with their own failures and inadequacies find it necessary to stereotype and demonize those who are “the other.” It could be about African Americans angry at Korean grocers taking over businesses in “their” neighborhoods, or Latinos detesting the gentrification of their neighborhoods by upscale gays, or Caucasians complaining about “illegal immigrants.” Sound familiar?
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BOISE U.S.A.
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008RECOMMENDED
The 1950s are often thought of as “happy days” for the U.S., yet a closer look reveals a not so happy picture for many Americans of the era. Segregation was the law in the once Confederate South, liberal minded Americans were being branded Communists by Senator Joe McCarthy and his ilk, and in Boise, Idaho, another albeit less famous witch-hunt was underway.
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OF MICE AND MEN
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
From the first lines of dialog in the Paul Lazarus helmed production of Of Mice And Men, it is clear that this will not be your usual version of John Steinbeck’s novella/play. The characters speak with a Hispanic accent rather than the usual Okie twang, and they interject Spanish por Dios’s and de veras’s in their speech. Lennie and other Salinas Valley workers wearserapes instead of jackets. And Bruno Louchouarn’ original music is played on a Spanish guitar.
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RABBIT HOLE
Sunday, May 18th, 2008
David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is making its Orange County debut in an absolutely brilliant production by the award-winning Chance Theater. Spoilers abound in this review, so if you know nothing about Rabbit Hole’s plot, read no further. Simply pick up the phone or go online and make a reservation to see it. Rabbit Hole is the kind of play where the less you know about it, the more it will affect you, and affect you it will … deeply.
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THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Friday, May 16th, 2008
Sixty-some years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie remains his most timeless work. With a production as fine as the one currently playing at Actors Co-op, it is hard to imagine a better or more rewarding evening of theater.
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A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS
Sunday, May 11th, 2008
Playwright Thomas Gibbons completes his trilogy about black/white relations in the United States with A House With No Walls, the latest production of the Robey Theatre Company. The Robey, which was named after the great African American actor/singer/civil rights pioneer Paul Robeson, dedicates itself to producing plays about the African American experience. A House With No Walls fulfills the Robey’s mission with an engrossing drama which spans over 200 years and features black and white characters with a wide range of political points of view. It is likely that virtually everyone in the audience will identify with at least one of the people on stage. That Thomas Gibbons happens to be white is merely a footnote, so authentic and well-written are his characters.
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THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
Glendale’s A Noise Within (“California’s Classical Theatre Company”) is about the closest thing Los Angeles has to an “artists in residence” repertory ensemble, which for theatergoers means that each of their superb productions is likely to feature many of the same gifted actors who’ve delivered memorable performances in years past. For the resident artists, it means a kind of job security which is almost non-existent in L.A. theater, plus a chance to perform some of the greatest roles ever written, in works by Shakespeare and Racine and Moliere and Shaw and Miller and Foote and, in the current production of The Night Of The Iguana, by Tennessee Williams.
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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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