TOP GIRLS


English playwright Caryl Churchill examines what it takes to be a “top girl” in the dog-eat-dog world we call business in her challenging, thought-provoking 1982 drama Top Girls, the terrific latest from The Antaeus Company and a tailor-made showcase for a baker’s dozen of L.A.’s finest working actresses.
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THE FOREIGNER


A shy, repressed Englishman with the personality of a wet noodle discovers his own inner greatness by pretending not to speak a word of his native tongue in Larry Shue’s The Foreigner, not only one of the 20th Century’s funniest plays, but one of the century’s truly great comedies, one whose revival by Crown City Theatre Company will leave you delirious with laughter and brimming with joy.
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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE


One of this century’s most entertaining and original new musicals, William Finn’s 2005 Broadway smash The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, returns to delight L.A. audiences in a fabulous 99-seat production at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre, one which features an all-around brilliant cast under the inspired direction of Kristin Towers-Rowles
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THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, CHARLES DICKENS AND COUNT LEO TOLSTOY: DISCORD

NOT RECOMMENDED

Three superb performances, a snazzy design package, a delightful opening sequence, and then a whole lot of speechifying add up to a less than compelling ninety minutes as the NoHo Arts Center presents the World Premiere engagement of Scott Carter’s The Gospel According To Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens And Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord.
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TRUDY AND MAX IN LOVE


A pair of writers meet cute in a “writers’ room” only to fall impossibly in love in Zoe Kazan’s heartbreakingly funny Trudy And Max In Love, now getting its World Premiere at South Coast Repertory.
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MOM’S GIFT


A ghost who can be seen by only a single living soul. An angel who must accomplish a mission before being given his or her wings. Playwright Phil Olson merges two tried-and-true genres to give L.A. audiences his latest, Mom’s Gift, a sort of Topper-meets-It’s A Wonderful Life dramedy that proves a crowd-pleaser in its World Premiere engagement for The Group Rep at North Hollywood’s Lonny Chapman Theatre.
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MERRY F***IN’ CHRISTMAS, Y’ALL

RECOMMENDED
A number of jarring tonal shifts and some underdeveloped characters don’t stop Merry F***in’ Christmas Y’All, the latest from Eclectic Company Theatre, from being a laugh-getter for those who don’t mind more than a bit of raunch in their holiday entertainment.
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DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY CHRISTMAS


The spirit of the smash Fox sitcom Married With Children lives on in Dysfunctional Family Christmas, now getting its World Premiere at North Hollywood’s newly rechristened BrickHouse Theatre, and if Paul Storiale’s first original holiday comedy is still rough around the edges, topnotch performances and non-stop laughs make it a nontraditional December treat.
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