All Entries Tagged With: "la theatre review"
MILKMILKLEMONADE: 67% – Sweet
SWEET “MilkMilkLemonade” is a great stage production for those who enjoy letting their imaginations run wild and also for those who need help letting loose. Those feeling will subside, and you’ll be relieved you finished that chapter! Danielle Lee – Campus Circle BITTER The play is nothing if not edgy, perfect for the off-off-Broadway world [...]
A STRING OF PEARLS: 33% – Bitter
SWEET “A String of Pearls” is an ambitious play, but one the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre pulls off beautifully. Jackie Houchin – NoHoArtsDistrict BITTER This one just wasn’t my cup of tea… or favorite style of play. Sorry… non-linear offerings always trip me up a bit, and this one often missed its [...]
ALL MY SONS (RUSKIN GROUP THEATRE): 100% – Sweet
SWEET Director Edward Edwards does not attempt any revisionist flourishes in the current production of “Sons” at the Ruskin Group, but although his simple staging may seem somewhat tame at intervals, it has, on the whole, an emotional authenticity that honors the play’s timeless themes. F. Kathleen Foley – LA Times SWEET Trust me, there [...]
STILL STANDING: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Shyla Marlin’s new play sets forth a compelling premise in portraying the intersecting quests of two women to solidify their self-identities and familial roots. Director Nick Mills has assembled a solid cast to explore the sociological and psychological ramifications of Marlin’s intelligent themes. Yet the script is hampered by a choppy pseudo-cinematic quality and [...]
MY PENIS – IN AND OUT OF TROUBLE: 100% – Sweet
SWEET For fans of the one person memoir, MY PENIS – IN AND OUT OF TROUBLE is a breezy hour that touches on issues of import to us all- without getting preachy or mired in a self help, tell all, work through my issues trap that many solo performers face. Sacre has given himself the [...]
THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP: 100% – Sweet
SWEET There’s a mildness that prevents Lorre and Remington’s handling, played out on a set of black furniture adorably marked with chalk, from becoming an unfettered tour de force. (A few bald comic patches could use a directorial comb-over.) But the duo’s gentle playfulness has its own rewards — first and foremost, a chuckling sincerity. [...]
THE GOOD NEGRO: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Such a weighty matter could easily dip into the self-righteous, but what makes The Good Negro so compelling is it refrains from being preachy and gives us characters just as flawed as the historical ones from which Ms. Wilson obviously draws her inspiration. Rev. Lawrence, although committed to nonviolence and a noble cause, has [...]
PARASITE DRAG: 100% – Sweet
SWEET The final plot turn is raw and dirty. Notwithstanding the play’s bleak tapestry, Roberts instills plenty of comic relief into his writing. The characters are well sketched and without a trace or urbanity. David Fofi delivers spot-on direction and draws very good performances from his cast, particularly Nowicki, who artfully blends Southern charm and [...]
BECOMING NORMAN: 100% – Sweet
BITTERSWEET It’s an evident labor of love, and more power to Dixon for sharing it. Whether this virtual memoir achieves a broader reach is another matter. There are missed opportunities, as when Dixon remembers childhood dress-up without donning the skirt hanging upstage, and the literal recounting of conversations is at times like a self-realization exercise. [...]
“A willing participant in the great chicanery that is LA theater criticism” – David Jette
Chicanery: The act of deceiving. This is the sad state within which David Jette, playwright/director and once-critic at LA Theatre Review has found himself. He has come to the conclusion that Los Angeles Theatre Criticism is an “act of deception”. In a recent post entitled Why I Stopped Writing Theatre Reviews David has – with [...]
TOPDOG/UNDERDOG (LILLIAN PRODUCTION): 71% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET In an intimate space re-creating the size of the original off Broadway production, Martin Papazian’s direction doesn’t allow for a moment’s respite in the escalating chaos of jealousy and confusion. The ritualized partitioning of the room and the relationship between the two figures — one a former card shark haunted by death, the other [...]
JUST 45 MINUTES FROM BROADWAY (Extended Run): 60% – Sweet
SWEET Start with quite possibly the most gorgeous set ever designed for a 99-seat theater production, add to that an intelligent, witty script which reads like a 21st Century version of Kaufman and Ferber’s The Royal Family, cast it with some of L.A.’s finest stage and screen talent—and the result is Henry Jaglom’s Just 45 [...]
SHAKE: 67% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET The mystery comes in the reverse momentum. Told forward, it’s a soap opera — going back, a parlor game. We know this drama traces back to the fall of the towers, but when we get there, we realize Bill and Peggy’s relationship was already headed to destruction — 9/11 simply changed the route. More [...]
ELEVATOR: 86% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET The comically existential set-up is hardly new, but despite a series of sit-com-simple resolutions, Leoni, who also directs, invests the production with ample wit and high-gloss style. The excellent cast includes Alex Rogers, Mikie Beatty, Karlee Rigby and Rachael Page. Erica Katzin shines as a plus-size temp who is trying to figure out her [...]
NOT ABOUT HEROES: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Both actors achieve a credible resemblance to their originals. Mann possesses the cragginess of Sassoon, and Hardin’s center-parted hair imparts boyish charm and period flavor. In the last third of the play, dealing with Owen’s death under fire just seven days before the armistice was signed, Mann achieves a potent elegiac tone and genuine [...]
LADY LANCING, OR, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST: 100% – Sweet
BITTERSWEET It’s the rough edges of this production that keep that fun at bay. The play is, after all, a gentle comedy with farcical overtones. Here, the tone and pace turn those gentle qualities into a kind of sedative, under the ultralight touch of co-directors Douglas Leal and Derek Livingston. Notwithstanding some glaring instances of [...]
BEDROOM FARCE: 67% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Director Ron Bottitta wisely keeps this soufflé in period, abetted by designers Kathi O’Donohue (lighting), Kathryn Poppen (costumes) and Bill Froggatt (sound). His players form a first-rate ensemble, the odd dialect glitch or overstressed beat trivial when set beside such unified light-comic style. The play remains middlebrow boulevard fare, albeit written by a master [...]
FABRIC: 100% – Sweet
SWEET A strong ensemble effort, with some stellar performances in the way of multiple roles. Feodor Chin’s military clad Thai politician with distinct and despicable mannerisms and a depth of emotion from Jolene Sarah Kwang-Ai Kim (Jaidee), Jully Lee(Lampha) and Jennifer Chang (Rotchana). Within Mr. Ong’s story are moral issues of how we treat people [...]
PROCREATION: 33% – Bitter – UPDATED
BITTER My theater companion said afterward that he kept waiting for the large cast to break out into a musical number. I was just hoping that the humor would kick into a higher gear. But whatever the expectation, “Procreation” fails to deliver. Charles McNulty – LA Times SWEET Tanner’s satire of behaviors roasts not so [...]
PLAY DATES: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Wolfson’s dialogue is on par with the best sketch and sitcom writing, which means plenty of cozy pop culture references cushioning a Big Lesson. When the subject’s love, no matter how much the ending resembles an episode of Friends, most audiences will relate. Kurt Boetcher’s efficient set deserves mention, a very funny Brian Monahan [...]
![[title of show] (Celebration Theatre): 92% – Sweet – UPDATED](http://bitter-lemons.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/titleofshow-150x150.jpg)
[title of show] (Celebration Theatre): 92% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Now, mind you, the characters’ sexuality is never a hindrance to the evening, as it is all done in fun and in fairness to everyone. The American Theatre has not been particularly homophobic, or racist, or even sexist, for some decades. And as the show is playful in the extreme, running a tad over [...]
![Jason Adams, as Tom, performs during Overtone Industries' Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands takes place inside of a former car dealership in Culver City. (Christina House / For The Times)]](http://bitter-lemons.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/54793967.jpg.scaled1000-150x150.jpg)
SONGS AND DANCES OF IMAGINARY LANDS: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Of note are the performances of MJ Silva as Curf on Oldie Mountain, Michael Harris as the University of Alaska counselor, and Silvie Zamora, whose intense physicality throughout the show was a pleasure to behold. You will certainly walk out of the show dazed by its transformative ability, with your own precious favorites lingering [...]
Unifying LA theatre through Twitter: #LAThtr
L.A. isn’t a theatre town. L.A. has too much of a sprawl for real community. Reviewers don’t go to our shows. Where’s Theatre Row? They’re as familiar as knock-knock jokes: the excuses, the realities, the rants, the obstacles. The “beating down” of L.A. theatre that I’ve heard since moving here eight years ago. A conversation [...]
THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING: 100% – Sweet
SWEET In fact, the entire presentation has subtle jabs at some of today’s often narrow views on sexuality and relationships. Richard Tatum directs with bouncy aplomb and his actors react with equal enthusiasm, placing this show high up on anybody’s “must see” list. The sets are great, the costumes are – well, they are there [...]
LEIRIS/PICASSO: 50% – Bittersweet – UPDATED
BITTER Brimmer Street’s stated mission is, “…to develop original theatre artists whose work challenges established forms and expectations…” Yet LEIRIS/PICASSO challenges no established forms, and the only expectations it challenges are those of it’s audience to experience a fresh evening of entertainment. Merely throwing artists, trust fund babes, resistance fighters, and a Nazi into the [...]
3 TRUTHS: 100% – Sweet
SWEET The result occasionally sprawls into incoherence. In contrast to the action-packed first act, the second-act characters “lecture” from behind podiums, augmenting the play’s innate didacticism. And a subplot about immigration rights seems shoehorned into the piece at the last moment. As is typical with Cornerstone productions, the enormous cast is comprised mostly of amateurs. [...]
FOUR PLACES: 100% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET The manner in which Drake tells this story — blending humor and stark ugliness, while exploring themes of sibling rivalry, marital infidelity and even euthanasia — is thoroughly engaging and held in sharp balance by director Robin Larsen. The characters are fully fleshed out, both in the writing and the performances, as disturbing for [...]
Critique of the Week – Runner Up
U.S.S PINAFORE Review by Joel Elkins – LA Theatre Review I was curious to find out if a takeoff on Gilbert & Sullivan set in outer space dubbed U.S.S. Pinafore could ever be as clever as its premise or its title. The adaptation by Jon Mullich (who also directed) is indeed clever, although admittedly, the [...]
U.S.S. PINAFORE: 100% – Sweet
BITTERSWEET The transference of Gilbert and Sullivan’s social satire into a few quips on our pop culture feels like a reduction of scale, but nothing compared to the reduction served up in the tinny soundtrack. Delivering the goods with confident glee, this excellent ensemble deserves better. In fact, this would be a sinking ship were [...]
SUPERNOVA: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Director Lindsay Allbaugh’s fantastic ensemble sells us on each individual scene, even if the play as a whole doesn’t add up to more then some well-acted catharses. Kelly Elizabeth and Joe Wiebe join in for the furious climax as two fellow high schoolers who bear witness to what even the adamantly optimistic Mabel admits [...]