THE BUNGLER

posted on April 9th, 2012 at 8:43 PM by Steven Stanley


When you hear the name Moliere, it’s likely that The Bungler, one of the 17th Century playwright’s earliest comedies, will not make the list of titles coming to mind. Still, if A Noise Within’s production of this little-known gem is any indication, The Bungler (aka L’Etourdi) is one of the French master’s funniest confections—or so it would seem as conceived by director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott.anselm
(read more)

posted in Comedy, Pasadena, WOW!

THE PRIDE

posted on April 8th, 2012 at 8:52 PM by Steven Stanley


Playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell puts a personal face on Contemporary Gay History in his provocative, daringly constructed, thought-provoking, occasionally hilarious, and profoundly impactful The Pride, the latest offering by San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre, and one of its very best.
(read more)

posted in Drama, San Diego County, WOW!

SPRING AWAKENING

posted on April 7th, 2012 at 1:04 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Theatre Out brings Broadway’s Spring Awakening to Orange County in a down-to-basics staging that retains much of the musical’s power and entertainment value despite the absence of several key elements that helped make the original New York production such a smash.
(read more)

posted in Musical, Orange County, Recommended

LAURA

posted on April 6th, 2012 at 3:32 PM by Steven Stanley


“Laura is the face in the misty light, footsteps that you hear down the hall, the laugh that floats on a summer night that you can never quite recall…”

Anyone familiar with the mid-20th Century Hit Parade will surely recall the David Raskin/Johnny Mercer song standard “Laura” and its many covers by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, and the majority of film buffs will likely have seen the 1944 Otto Preminger film noir classic of the same name, starring Dana Andrews as a detective investigating the murder of a beautiful, successful ad executive (portrayed in flashbacks by Gene Tierney) and based on a novel by Vera Caspary.
(read more)

posted in Drama, West Side/Beverly HIlls, WOW!

WORST AUDITION EVER

posted on April 4th, 2012 at 12:17 AM by Steven Stanley


Actors give stand-up comics a run for their money in Worst Audition Ever, now back for more laughs at Silver Lake’s Cavern Club, downstairs from Casita Del Campo Restaurant.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, Los Angeles, WOW!

1969: A FANTASTICAL ODYSSEY THROUGH THE AMERICAN MINDSCAPE

posted on April 2nd, 2012 at 5:08 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Ovation Award winner Damon Chua takes audiences on an LSD trip through the year 1969 in his ambitious new play 1969: A Fantastical Odyssey Through The American Mindscape, and though he may have bitten of more than any play or playwright can chew, some particularly fine performances and what could well be the year’s most exciting video design make this a psychedelic voyage that adventurous theatergoers may want to take a chance on.
(read more)

posted in Comedy-Drama, Los Angeles, Recommended

DEATHTRAP

posted on April 2nd, 2012 at 5:02 PM by Steven Stanley


Ira Levin’s spine-tingling thriller Deathtrap is back, and while it’s not in fact “the first Los Angeles production in 20 years” as proclaimed in press materials (San Pedro’s Little Fish Theatre revived it terrifically in 2009), its arrival at the Davidson/Valentini Theatre is exciting news indeed, particularly since the Ken Sawyer-directed production is a prime example of L.A. theater at its all-around finest.
(read more)

posted in Comedy-Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

posted on April 2nd, 2012 at 4:54 PM by Steven Stanley


The word dysfunctional may not have been bandied about in the early 1910s when Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night takes place, nor in the early ‘40s when it was completed, nor even in the middle of the Eisenhower ‘50s when it was published posthumously and made its Broadway debut. Still, if anyone understood dysfunctional families, or at least one dysfunctional family in particular, it was O’Neill, as Actors Co-op’s powerful 21st Century revival makes amply clear.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

Next PagePrevious Page