CROWNS
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009RECOMMENDED
The all-around stupendous performances of its seven stars are the best reason to see Crowns at the Pasadena Playhouse. Six of the country’s most talented African American singer-actresses and one equally gifted singer-actor do powerful work in Regina Taylor’s musical adaptation of Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry’s eponymous book about church women and their beloved hats.
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ECSTASY: THE MUSICAL
Sunday, June 7th, 2009RECOMMENDED
“There was a girl who went to college. She was plain and shy. She was a stranger to love’s passion. She had a secret admiration for a certain guy, and she was ready for some action. One day she stumbled on a groovy place I’d like to share, where you can do whatever pleases. Ecstasy’s the name and I can take you there. It’s gonna bring you to your knees-es.”
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42nd STREET
Friday, May 29th, 2009RECOMMENDED
It’s always a pleasure to see a Downey Civic Light Opera production. I don’t know of another L.A. area CLO with Downey’s hometown feel. Downey residents have come to know DCLO’s resident cast of musical theater stars including Bill Lewis, Charlotte Carpenter, Ed Krieger, Ann Peck McBride, and Glenn Edward, all of whom have done show after show under the direction of Marsha Moode, DCLO’s Executive Producer extraordinaire. Downey CLO concludes its 2008-2009 season with the ever popular 42nd Street, which just happens to star all of the above regulars under Moode’s as always inventive direction.
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THE REHEARSAL
Sunday, May 10th, 2009RECOMMENDED
The French, They Are A Funny Race, or so goes the title of a 1955 Preston Sturges comedy. Not having seen that film, I’m not quite sure which “funny” its title refers to—“funny-amusing” or “funny-peculiar.” In Jean Anouilh’s The Rehearsal, it’s quite clearly a good deal of both.
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APPLE
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009RECOMMENDED
Theatre 40 offers its subscribers something out of the ordinary in their latest production, the Los Angeles premiere of Vern Thiessen’s Apple. Far more “theatrical” than their customary bill of fare, and rated R for liberal use of the “F” word, Apple is the kind of drama that could easily have become a “Disease Play Of The Week” if not for its unusual structure/staging and a trio of accomplished performances.
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EMILIE
Sunday, April 26th, 2009RECOMMENDED
When South Coast Repertory announced the world premiere of Emilie—La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life At The Petit Théâtre At Cirey Tonight, I had two thoughts. The first was, “What a long title for a play!” and the second was, “Who the heck is Emilie?” Doubtless for those with an inability to remember long titles, SCR’s webside has redubbed Lauren Gunderson’s play a short but sweet Emelie. As for Emilie du Châtelet, a quick Wikipedia search reveals the following: Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, marquise du Châtelet (December 17, 1706 – September 10, 1749) was a French mathematician, physicist, and author during the Age of Enlightenment.
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TUNA DOES VEGAS
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009RECOMMENDED
Joe Sears and Jaston Williams are back with the fourth installment of what till now has been the Tuna Trilogy. Since the folks in Tuna, Texas have already seen and done just about everything they can in the third-smallest town in the Lone Star State, Tuna Does Vegas sends a dozen or so of them off to Sin City. Though the fish-out-of-water concept doesn’t play out quite as well or as hilariously as one might have wished, there are still plenty of laughs and, as always, the pleasure of watching two very talented actors embody close to a dozen characters each, all the while making almost inhumanly quick costume changes just out of our line of sight.
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THE DEVIL WITH BOOBS
Friday, April 17th, 2009RECOMMENDED
Open Fist Theatre Company’s West Coast Premiere of Dario Fo’s The Devil With Boobs is the kind of show that most people will either love or hate. I ended up pretty much in the middle. While I absolutely loved the performances, and found the show gorgeous to look at, I must confess to not having “gotten” Fo’s mishmash of styles, his nonstop use of vulgarity, and what seems often to be the antithesis of sophistication.
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