Review: CYRANO DE BERGERAC at Pasadena Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - September 21, 2024
Martin Crimp’s free adaptation – first staged in 2019 with James McAvoy in the title role - is as urgent and beguiling as it is contemporary, a classic with a fiery heart and not an inch of dustiness or quaintness. In the revival directed by Mike Donahue at the Pasadena Playhouse, CYRANO bursts wit...
Review: THE POLYCULE: A COMEDY OF MANNERS at Loft Ensemble
by Harker Jones - September 19, 2024
A little more nuance to both the characters and the script would have given the show more weight. As it is, it’s quite broad, which, yes, is part of the point, but that point would be sharper if it were toned down a bit....
Review: DRAGON LADY at Geffen Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - September 18, 2024
In its L.A. premiere at the Geffen Playhouse directed by Andrew Russell, DRAGON LADY is every inch an homage to Maria Sr., who died in 2022, but also to resilience. Watching Porkalob crawl inside the skins these two little boys who are playing the part of super heroes ... is to take a wicked cool jo...
Review: PASCAL & JULIEN at 24th Street Theatre
by Amanda Callas - September 09, 2024
Pascal & Julien is the US premiere of a magical play about childhood and friendship at the award-winning 24th Street Theatre in West Adams running through October 27th. Written by Australian playwright Daniel Keene, Pascal & Julien is the tale of two quirky, annoying loners who discover the tender ...
Review: TH IR DS at Zephyr Theatre
by Amanda Callas - September 11, 2024
TH IR DS is the world premiere of a new dystopian drama, a messy play with a lot of interesting things on its mind. ...
Review: 3 FACES OF STEVE: SONDHEIM IN CONCERT at Odyssey Theatre
by Amanda Callas - September 08, 2024
Memorable, entertaining and show-stopping, 3 Faces of Steve is a special treat to be savored. The lavish, luxurious operatic voices and powerhouse emotive performances of Angelina Réaux, Michael Sokol and Bernardo Bermudez shine in the intimate, warm space of the Odyssey....
Review: MEMNON at The Getty Villa
by Andrew Child - September 07, 2024
Though the language is easy to imagine as the foundation for a more ostentatious spectacle, the sweeping narration is deftly relayed by a mighty fistful of actors and a polished trio of dancers in a way that allows grand battles and weighty sociopolitical musings to service the intrinsic poetry of t...
Review: THE BROTHERS SIZE at Geffen Playhouse
by Evan Henerson - August 28, 2024
THE BROTHERS SIZE, a heart-rending, music-suffused three-hander exploring the strength and limits of fraternal bonds, is being staged in the Geffen’s smaller Audrey Skirball Kenis Theatre, where it fits beautifully....