Gil Kaan - Page 50

For theatre aficionados of a razor-sharp, witty script performed by a spot-on bi-lingual-ish cast; run over to East West Players for their stunning production of David Henry Hwang's CHINGLISH. Jeff Liu directs his talented ensemble at a fast, but smooth and steady pace wringing all the possible laughs and heartstring tugs from Hwang's script.

What do you get when you combine two already proven, successful musicals- The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hedwig and the Angry Inch? THE EXPERIMENT - A ROCKIN' FRANK + WIGHEAD INSANE CABARET, the current extremely entertaining mash-up from the brilliantly creative minds of Creating Arts Studios. Cleverly written by Todd Martens and assuredly co-directed by Shannon Sukovaty and Lee Marshall.

EST/LA's world premiere of playwright Tom Lazarus' THE PRINCES OF KINGS ROAD succeeds as an involving, albeit slow moving, character study of three very interesting characters. John Nielsen easily evokes all of Schindler's various emotions and attributes, bottled up and rejuvenated. Ray Xifo deftly telegraphs Neutra's total joy in re-uniting with his old friend. Heather Robinson adeptly portrays the many sides of Nurse Rothstein.

The world premiere of WHEN STARS ALIGN possesses and blends together all the ingredients of a perfect time at the theatre - a brilliant cast; a formidable director; a solid, realistic script flowing at a comfortable, steady pace; and top-notched production elements. Then intermission interrupts.

In FROM HER EYES ONLY, multi-hyphenate Derek Jeremiah Reid revels with his charismatic stage presence and characterization of famed James Bond novelist Ian Fleming. Reid commands the stage with his effective scripted emoting and his quick-witted improv-ed one-liners. Reid begins his show most promisingly with his Fleming delivering the pre-show instructions. Very clever.

The world premiere of Emmy-winning writer Peter Lefcourt 's CAFE SOCIETY deserves credit for attempting a hostage situation as a satisfying sitcom dramedy. A frequent collaborator, Terri Hanauer directs her game cast of seven. Kudos to Yee Eun Nam for her novel, innovative projection design utilizing the two huge menu boards as video screenshots of various text messages, incoming Caller IDs, web searches and TV news programs.

On August 18th, The Stupid Songs Troupe wowed the packed house of the Rockwell Table & Stage with their fast-paced 70-minutes of 18 non-stop songs of high hilarity and witty, hysterical lyrics. Director Keri Safran begins the fun with 'Stupid Gold,' her re-written lyrics to the tune of 'Xanadu.' Backed by twelve of her enthusiastic troupe-mates, this opener sets the audience up for the lofty amusement that follows.

In GOD'S MAN IN TEXAS, multi-hyphenate David Rambo has written a very smart and involving script on the inner workings of a successful Baptist church empire.  Rambo also quite ably directs his trio of highly skilled actors in a firmly-reined, tight, well-crafted production. All three actors adeptly give their respective roles the distinct qualities essential to the believability and realism of their characters.

GROUNDLINGS RED LIGHT DISTRICT, most assuredly continues The Groundling's well-earned reputation of being one of the funniest improvisational and sketch comedy troupes in Los Angeles, if not the entire United States. Ably directed by Karen Maruyama, the evening features the talented Groundling members Mikey Day, Allison Dunbar, Andrew Friedman, Kevin Kirkpatrick, and Michael Naughton.

In NO HOMO, playwright Brandon Baruch has written a very funny, smart and realistic script on the perceived misconceptions of Ash and Luke's relationship.  Their respective siblings and their friends think the two admittedly hetero guys really cohabitate as lovers and not just roommates. Jessica Hanna directs her talented cast at a fairly rapid pace keeping the laughs coming in between the many realistic but involving conflicts.

The West Coast Premiere of The Ben Hecht Show, ably directed by Dennis Zacek, showcases the charismatic performance of James Sherman in the titular role. In The Ben Hecht Show, playwright Sherman has written many a witty line ('She didn't have any anti-Semitic germs.') and dropped many a famous name (Moss Hart, Leonard Bernstein, Paul Muni, Stella Adler, Edward G. Robinson, Sidney Lumet, to name a few).

Ruskin Group Theatre's world premiere of Sneaky Ole Time makes for a delightful, easy-breezy, light-hearted two hours filled with clever songs by Grammy-winning writer Paul Overstreet and solid performances by its cast of nine triple-threats.  Michael Myers directs his talented ensemble at a steady, easy-going pace.  Providing strong musical support, musical director Cliff Wagner leads the nicely laid-back Halfway Home House Band.

Rob Mersola has written a wonderfully witty, realistic, totally shocking 'family drama' in the world premiere of his Luka's Room. Two major surprises in plot you will not see coming. But after theses 'surprises,' you realize Mersola has previously set up the plot points to make total sense. A brilliant script delivered beautifully by a exceptional cast, excitingly directed by Joshua Bitton at an intense, high-energy fast clip.

If, for some inexplicable reason one didn't know, the world premiere of Citizen: An American Lyric  will make it a point to educate you that racism exists. The multi-awarding winning book of poetry of the same name by Claudia Rankine, on which Stephen Sachs has adapted, will reinforce the many instances that black people deal with racism from their white counterparts. Citizen, ably directed by Shirley Jo Finney, succeeds more as a poetic performance art piece than an actual scripted play.

Hollywood Bowl succeeds again with their most entertaining, head-shakingly pun-ny, visually stimulating production of Monty Python's Spamalot. Director BT McNicholl keeps his talented cast soft-shoe-ing, high kicking, horse-riding, sword lifting and just laugh-inducing at a steady, 'can't catch my breath from laughing' pace.

The talented five-member cast, directed by Alan Shearman, certainly must be commended on their commitment and enthusiasm as they interact with the audience as second-rate circus artists and plow through their intentionally bad vaudeville routines. Just as a clown must know the correct techniques to pratfall or look ridiculous, best acts hit their intended, targeted reactions of laughter and applause when the audience's allowed to realize the good, solid techniques behind these really bad circus feats.

Couerage Theatre Company mounts a fine-tuned production of Failure: A Love Story, playwright Philip Dawkins' fresh, unique take on a ill-fated family in the early 1900s. Michael Matthews smoothly directs and inventively stages his large talented, triple-threat cast as they sing, dance and act out this saga of the Failure family, with seemingly more deaths than the Kennedy clan has endured.

The best scripted comedy drag troupe in Los Angeles, Chico's Angels lives up to its stellar reputation with Chico's Angels 3: Chicas in Chains. From the crazy, lightning-quick minds of Kurt Koehler and Kay Sedia, Chico's Angels' third episode mashes up high school mean girls with tough prison bitches.

The west coast premiere of Aditi Brennan Kapil's Shiv receives a simply gorgeous mounting at the Theatre @ Boston Court. Amazing just how far, with the proper elements, your imagination will allow you to go.

Sandra Tsing Loh grabs her predominantly female audience by the hair (and their accompanying males by their balls) as she commandeers all in her hilarious 70-minute non-stop, continuous stream of consciousness on menopause, better known as The Bitch is Back: An All-Too Intimate Conversation.