NYMPHONY IN 12D

posted on May 24th, 2008 at 9:31 PM by Steven Stanley

NOT RECOMMENDED

Apartment 12-D tenant Brick Wilson (Rusty Hamrick) is the biggest up-and-coming opera singer in the Ansonia Hotel, which isn’t saying much.  His best role so far has been that of the bearded lady in a zarzuela. Brick is frequently visited by a beauteous (though occasionally invisible) nymph (Beth Whitney), whose mission is to inspire him to greatness. Unfortunately for the nymph, Brick is gay, so her beauteousness is pretty much lost on him.
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posted in Comedy, Los Angeles, Not Recommended

BOISE U.S.A.

posted on May 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
The 1950s are often thought of as “happy days” for the U.S., yet a closer look reveals a not so happy picture for many Americans of the era.  Segregation was the law in the once Confederate South, liberal minded Americans were being branded Communists by Senator Joe McCarthy and his ilk, and in Boise, Idaho, another albeit less famous witch-hunt was underway.
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posted in Drama, Los Angeles, Recommended

OF MICE AND MEN

posted on May 20th, 2008 at 9:15 PM by Steven Stanley


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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posted in Drama, Pasadena, WOW!

RABBIT HOLE

posted on May 18th, 2008 at 9:11 PM by Steven Stanley


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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posted in Drama, Orange County, WOW!

THE BRAIN FROM PLANET X

posted on May 18th, 2008 at 9:03 PM by Steven Stanley


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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posted in Musical, Orange County, WOW!

HILLARY AGONISTES

posted on May 17th, 2008 at 9:01 PM by Steven Stanley

NOT RECOMMENDED

The year is 2009, Hillary Clinton is our President, and 65,000,000 people have disappeared across the world.  “Who are these people who would just disappear without their clothes?” wonders Hillary. And who (or what) is behind this phenomenon?  Is it terrorists? Aliens?  The Rapture?  Female Chief of Staff Morag advises (in a Scottish brogue), “Aliens is the way to go on this.  It defuses the Rapture scenario.  Some people can’t bear the stigma that the Lord has passed them over. You have to leave them something to believe in.  Certainty soothes.”
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posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, Not Recommended

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

posted on May 16th, 2008 at 8:57 PM by Steven Stanley


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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posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

TOOTH AND NAIL

posted on May 15th, 2008 at 8:52 PM by Steven Stanley


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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posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

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