RANSOM, TEXAS
Sunday, January 11th, 2015RECOMMENDED
San Francisco’s Virago Theatre Company has come south to offer L.A. its production of William Bivins’ edgy psychological thriller Ransom, Texas, and there is much to recommend in it, particularly Dixon Phillips’ intensely raw lead performance, though Phillips’ costar’s vaguely non-native accent makes it hard to buy the pair as a West Texas father and son.
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BLONDE POISON
Sunday, January 11th, 2015
Salome Jens gives an absolutely riveting performance as Stella Goldschlag, the Berliner whose collaboration with the Gestapo sent thousands of her fellow German Jews to the death camps, in the American Premiere of Gail Louw’s Blonde Poison, now playing at Beverly Hills’ Theatre 40.
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WIT
Monday, January 5th, 2015Too much meddling with a Pulitzer Prize winner, along with an otherwise effective Kelly Carlton’s unwillingness to “go all the way,” make Stage Against The Machine’s revival of Margaret Edson’s Wit a no-go despite co-director Carlton’s often quite moving work as Vivian Bearing PhD and a couple of terrific supporting turns.
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THE PENIS CHRONICLES
Sunday, January 4th, 2015RECOMMENDED
The eight largely unrelated monologs about sex and love (from a male point of view) that comprise The Penis Chronicles: Every Man’s Journey make Tom Yewell’s World Premiere drama seem at times more acting class showcase than full-fledged play. Still, there are enough fine performances in its mostly well-written one-man playlets to make The Penis Chronicles worth a look-see by those who don’t mind its lack of character interaction or cohesive storyline.
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TRAIN TO ZAKOPANÉ: A TRUE STORY OF HATE AND LOVE
Friday, December 19th, 2014NOT RECOMMENDED
The story Henry Jaglom has to tell is a compelling one and the lead actors who bring his star-crossed lovers to life do powerful work. Still, clunky dialog, uneven supporting performances, and problematic set and costume designs make Train To Zakopané: A True Story Of Hate And Love rather a tough go, even for those like this reviewer with a fascination for Europe in the first half of the 20th century.
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FLARE PATH
Wednesday, November 26th, 2014
A dashing English WWII fighter pilot. A handsome Hollywood film star. The pilot’s actress wife who loves them both. Could any triangle be more ripe for romantic drama than the threesome at the heart of Terence Rattigan’s 1942 stage hit Flare Path, rescued from obscurity by a 2011 West End revival and now being given a spiffy, seven-decades-awaited Los Angeles Premiere by Beverly Hills’ Theatre 40?
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a SILVER LINING
Wednesday, November 19th, 2014
Anyone with a yen for interactive theater at its time-travelingest need only head on over to L.A.’s downtown Arts District this week for as unique a theatrical adventure as you’re likely to experience any time soon in a Silver Lining (the uncapitalized “a” is part of its title), the latest from A Working Theatre.
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TAKARAZUKA!!!
Friday, November 14th, 2014
The women are gorgeous and the men … Well, the men are women—and every bit as stunning to look at—in Takarazuka, the all-female Japanese musical revue that is the setting for Susan Soon He Stanton’s fascinating new behind-the-scenes play-with-music Takarazuka!!!, now getting its West Coast Premiere at East West Players.
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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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