PACK UP THE MOON
Tuesday, July 16th, 2013NOT RECOMMENDED
A gay couple still dealing with the sudden crib death of their adopted child decide a year later to become parents again—this time through surrogacy. Could there be a more current, hot-button topic for a world premiere play?
If only Christina Cigala’s Pack Up The Moon lived up to that promise.
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THE BONEYARD AND TALISMAN
Friday, June 28th, 2013NOT RECOMMENDED
There’s no L.A. actress whose work I enjoy seeing more than Elephant Theatre Company’s Kate Huffman. Elephant artistic director David Fofi is one of the consistently finest directors in town. Timothy McNeil’s Supernova was singled out for a Scenie as one of The Twelve Best Plays Of The Year and McNeil’s performance in The Little Flower Of East Orange won him a Best Lead Actor Scenie. That’s why it’s disappointing to report that their latest collaboration as star, director, and writer/star of the pair of one-acts entitled The Boneyard and Talisman ended up not this reviewer’s cup of tea despite three excellent performances and Fofi’s sharp direction.
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NATALIE PORTMAN THE MUSICAL
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013NOT RECOMMENDED
Natalie Portman The Musical has arrived at the Hollywood Fringe Festival following last year’s successful run (and return engagement) at Chromolume Theatre At The Attic in what appears to be a considerably stripped-down-for-The-Fringe production.
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WHAT THE BUTLER SAW
Saturday, May 4th, 2013NOT RECOMMENDED
The late great Joe Orton wrote three of 20th Century England’s most outrageously funny, audacious, and sexually provocative screwball farces, though you’d hardly know it from the misguided revival of 1969’s What The Butler Saw now playing at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre under Ben Lupejkis’ direction.
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THE GIFT
Friday, February 8th, 2013NOT RECOMMENDED
Fine performances, impressive design elements, and an absolutely stunning action sequence prove insufficient reasons for this reviewer to recommend a trip to the Geffen Playhouse for the American Premiere of Joanna Murray-Smith’s highly problematic dark comedy The Gift.
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THEIR EYES SAW RAIN
Monday, January 7th, 2013NOT RECOMMENDED
“Bang! Thunder kicks. Rain falls. Incessant. In the small town of Castle. There is indolence and apathy. Three brothers make it their mission to keep from being washed away.”
If the above publicity blurb seems frustratingly abstruse, West Liang’s World Premiere drama Their Eyes Saw Rain does little to clarify the confusion despite the best efforts of all concerned.
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THE MORINI STRAD
Monday, November 19th, 2012NOT RECOMMENDED
As any Colony Theatre regular can tell you, Burbank’s premier regional theater has had crowd-pleasing hit after hit with its series of “odd couple” two-character plays, from Rounding Third to Trying to Educating Rita to Visiting Mr. Green to Grace & Glorie to Shooting Star to Old Wicked Songs. That’s why, as a longtime Colony fan who loved each and every one of this magnificent seven, it pains me to report that their latest two-hander, The Morini Strad, failed to capture or hold my attention despite the best efforts of all concerned.
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THE RED ROOM
Monday, October 1st, 2012NOT RECOMMENDED
Memories of the past haunt the present of a once successful Hollywood mogul, his tormented wife, and their three adult sons in Christopher Knopf’s frustratingly abstruse The Red Room, now getting its World Premiere at North Hollywood’s NoHo Arts Center.
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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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