ORSON’S SHADOW
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
The year is 1960. The place is Dublin, Ireland, more specifically the Gaiety Theatre,
where renowned film critic Kenneth Tynan has just arrived on a mission. He plans
to ask Orson Welles of Citizen Kane fame to direct “the greatest actor in the
English language” in a production of Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. The actor in
question is, of course Lawrence Olivier, fresh from his stage and screen triumph in
The Entertainer. There is one hitch to Tynan’s plan, however, and that is Welles’
belief that “Olivier destroyed me in Hollywood in 1948.”
(read more)
RAY CHARLES LIVE
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
Combining the appeal of the Oscar-winning hit film Ray with the dynamic live
theater format of Jersey Boys, the Pasadena Playhouse has a surefire hit on its
hands with Ray Charles Live!, written by Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Sheldon
Epps, and featuring over two dozen hits made famous by the man of soul himself.
(read more)
CANNED PEACHES IN SYRUP
Thursday, October 11th, 2007
Seeing a show at the Furious Theatre in Pasadena is a virtual guarantee of a
brilliantly acted and staged production. Dámaso Rodriguez and his furiously
fearless band of thespians invariably pick edgy and topical pieces of writing
which they bring to vivid life upstairs at the Pasadena Playhouse, and Canned
Peaches in Syrup is no exception. Set in the not so distant future, in a world
where food and water are so scarce that half the remaining inhabitants of our
planet have turned to cannibalism to survive, Canned Peaches is, as they say,
as topical as today’s headlines. It’s also an outrageously funny comedy, and a
love story a la Romeo and Juliet to boot.
(read more)
MATTER OF HONOR
Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
Near the beginning of Michael J. Chepiga’s Matter of Honor, the audience at
the Pasadena Playhouse is plunged into darkness. We hear a loud noise, like a
powerful echoing drumbeat, then a series of cries. A beating is taking place. We
know from that moment that we are in for a theatrical experience very much
out of ordinary.
(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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