INVASION OF THE MINNESOTA NORMALS
Saturday, March 15th, 2008
The L.A. based Minnesota expatriates who brought us the over-the-top
craziness of Maxwell Anderson’s Bad Seed are back, with a quite different yet
equally laugh-inducing original, Jen Ellison’s Invasion Of The Minnesota
Normals. Set in the “innocent” Eisenhower-era 1950s, Invasion makes it clear
that the sometimes idealized golden years before Viet Nam and women’s lib
and school shootings and gay marriage were not so perfect after all.
(read more)
THE VIOLET HOUR
Friday, March 14th, 2008
Richard Greenberg’s The Violet Hour seems throughout Act 1 (at least
superficially) to be a light and semi-absurd (albeit very intelligent) comedy.
However with the blackout line which concludes the act, it transforms itself in
Act 2 into a far more provocative (and intellectually stimulating) drama. The
two acts together form a funny and thought-provoking evening of theater.
(read more)
JEKYLL & HYDE
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
What a difference a director makes! Cabrillo Music Theatre’s production of
Jekyll & Hyde towers over all others, including FCLO’s excellent revival just five
months ago, and the #1 reason can be summed up in a single name: Nick
DeGruccio. Following his brilliant direction of The Last Five Years, Beehive, and
Zanna Don’t (all of them cited on StageSceneLA’s Best Of The Year lists),
DeGruccio now does quite possibly his best work yet, taking a show which
detractors have called “bombastic” and “boring” and electrifying it, clarifying
its themes, heightening its drama, and above all making it human. These are
real people we are seeing on stage, from its trio of star roles (or should that be
quartet?) to even the bit players at The Red Rat, in St. Jude’s Hospital, or on
the streets of London.
(read more)
MY THING OF LOVE
Saturday, March 8th, 2008
If I simply tell you to go see My Thing Of Love, will that be endorsement enough for you? The reason I’m asking is that so much of the pleasure of watching Alexandra Gersten’s quirkily wonderful and unpredictable comedy (or is it a drama?) is in not knowing what’s going to happen. In fact, even a quick glance at the cast of characters midway through act one spoiled one of the surprises for me. So how about if I just say “Go” and end the review here?
(read more)
SEXY LAUNDRY
Thursday, March 6th, 2008
Frances Fisher gives the finest comedic performance by an actress you’re likely
to see all year and Paul Ben-Victor is her magnificent partner in laughter, rage,
tears, and romance in Michele Riml’s hilarious, moving, and very real Sexy
Laundry, now playing at the historic Hayworth Theatre. How’s that for a
reason to go see a play instead of staying home and watching TV?
(read more)
TINTYPES
Saturday, March 1st, 2008
On Broadway, Tintypes received three Tony nominations including Best Musical
of 1981, but it ran only 93 performances. Had Marsha Moode directed it, it
might very well have run 993 performances and won all those Tonys. That’s
how sensational Moode’s Tintypes “revisal,” the current production of the
Downey Civic Light opera, is. Moode, following numerous accomplishments as
DCLO’s director extraordinare, now has her biggest artistic success so far.
(read more)
BUS STOP
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
William Inge is perhaps best known for a pair of plays about life in the American
Midwest in the 1950s. Picnic tells of a frustrated small town girl who falls for a
handsome drifter. Its companion piece, Bus Stop, is about a naïve cowboy
who loses his head over a “chanteuse” with a past. Both became popular
films and gave blonde bombshells Kim Novak and Marilyn Monroe rare
chances to prove that they were actresses and not just glamour girls. Both
Picnic and Bus Stop continue to be favorites of community and regional
theaters, with the latter now getting a first-rate staging at the Rubicon in
Ventura.
(read more)
ALL SHOOK UP
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
If there were more justice in the world of Broadway theater, All Shook Up
would now be in its third year of playing there to standing ovations. It has a
clever and very funny book by Joe DiPietro. Ken Robertson and Sergio Trujillo
came up with a bunch of sensational dances. It featured a truly star-making
performance by Cheyenne Jackson and an equally stellar supporting cast.
Most notable of all, it was built around two dozen songs made famous by Elvis
Presley, in other words, some of the most recognizable, hummable hits ever on
a Broadway stage.
(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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