TAKING STEPS
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
British master of comedy Alan Ayckbourn turns his hand to farce in the hilarious Taking Steps, onstage now in an absolutely crackerjack production at South Coast Repertory.
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OF MICE AND MEN
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
From the first lines of dialog in the Paul Lazarus helmed production of Of Mice And Men, it is clear that this will not be your usual version of John Steinbeck’s novella/play. The characters speak with a Hispanic accent rather than the usual Okie twang, and they interject Spanish por Dios’s and de veras’s in their speech. Lennie and other Salinas Valley workers wearserapes instead of jackets. And Bruno Louchouarn’ original music is played on a Spanish guitar.
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RABBIT HOLE
Sunday, May 18th, 2008
David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is making its Orange County debut in an absolutely brilliant production by the award-winning Chance Theater. Spoilers abound in this review, so if you know nothing about Rabbit Hole’s plot, read no further. Simply pick up the phone or go online and make a reservation to see it. Rabbit Hole is the kind of play where the less you know about it, the more it will affect you, and affect you it will … deeply.
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THE BRAIN FROM PLANET X
Sunday, May 18th, 2008
If you’ve ever groaned through a 1950s Grade Z Hollywood sci fi flick, you are sure to enjoy Bruce Kimmel’s musical comedy spoof The Brain From Planet X.
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THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Friday, May 16th, 2008
Sixty-some years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie remains his most timeless work. With a production as fine as the one currently playing at Actors Co-op, it is hard to imagine a better or more rewarding evening of theater.
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TOOTH AND NAIL
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
The Elephant Theatre Company follows the outstanding Anything with an even better world premiere comedy, Gena Acosta’s absolutely fabulous Tooth And Nail.
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PIPPIN
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
East West Players has a long tradition of staging well known musicals which would normally feature “traditional” casting, shows like Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, and Sweeney Todd, and casting them with Asian actors who might under other circumstances be overlooked for the roles. This year, it’s Stephen (Wicked) Schwartz whose work is center stage, and the results are, as might be expected from EWP’s sterling track record, sensational.
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A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS
Sunday, May 11th, 2008
Playwright Thomas Gibbons completes his trilogy about black/white relations in the United States with A House With No Walls, the latest production of the Robey Theatre Company. The Robey, which was named after the great African American actor/singer/civil rights pioneer Paul Robeson, dedicates itself to producing plays about the African American experience. A House With No Walls fulfills the Robey’s mission with an engrossing drama which spans over 200 years and features black and white characters with a wide range of political points of view. It is likely that virtually everyone in the audience will identify with at least one of the people on stage. That Thomas Gibbons happens to be white is merely a footnote, so authentic and well-written are his characters.
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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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