All Entries Tagged With: "les spindle"
NEIGHBORS: A PLAY WITH CARTOONS: 100% – Sweet
SWEET The Brooklyn-based playwright, precocious at 26, now works in Berlin on a project about black soldiers stationed in Germany. Every element of his vivacious play is fresh, alive, and communicates. It’s wildly intelligent, unafraid, and wickedly funny. Debra Levine – Arts Meme SWEET Jacobs-Jenkins has written a play that is heartfelt, ambitious, angry, outrageous [...]
CHESS IN CONCERT: 100% – Sweet
SWEET I’ve attended many concert and staged readings of musicals in Los Angeles and most tend to be simple presentations, on book at music stands, with little or no additional production elements. CHESS in Concert at Musical Theatre of Los Angeles has elevated the concert reading convention to new heights, with a lush 9-piece orchestra, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
MASTER CLASS: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Ellen Geer has mastered wide-ranging roles during her decades as artistic director and frequent actor at this charming hillside venue. Yet, in her portrayal of Maria Callas (1923–77) during the retirement years of the egocentric Greek opera diva, the term “chameleon” has never seemed a more apt summation of Geer’s talents. Inhabiting this challenging [...]
HELLO, DOLLY!: 100% – Sweet
SWEET The reason turns out to be a simple one. Major CLOs rent most of their sets, and there hasn’t been a Dolly set available for rent—at least not until 3D Theatricals decided to create one from scratch. The resulting scenic design, a gorgeous watercolor-toned storybook creation by the eminent John Iacovelli, may well lead [...]
![[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 [...]
THE WHO’S TOMMY: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Up front disclosure: I am not a child of the sixties and seventies, nor am I a fan of the ear-splitting music of that period. However (long pregnant pause), the quality of the Chance Theater’s production of “The Who’s Tommy” was so outstanding, it completely blew me away! Shirle Gottlieb – Stagehappenings SWEET The [...]
1776: 100% – Sweet
SWEET And if the tone seems a bit self-congratulatory or historically reductive for some tastes, credit director Nick DeGruccio’s impeccable production and a flawless ensemble for so ably selling Stone’s long-winded book and Edward’s mostly undistinguished songs. Bill Raden – LA Weekly SWEET Opening less than a week past Independence Day, this powerful revisit to [...]
THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE: 100% – Sweet
SWEET This kind of theatrical blood sport won’t be for everyone. (Pity the crew assigned to clean up the mess after each performance.) But if a flincher like me found himself tittering with open eyes, maybe you’ll be tickled by McDonagh’s malign mirth as well. Charles McNulty – LA Times SWEET Playwright Martin McDonagh taps [...]
IN THE HEIGHTS: 88% – Sweet
SWEET This Tony-winning musical makes its L.A. bow in an exhilarating touring edition that pulsates with showstopping song-and-dance numbers while raising one’s spirits with its funny and poignant characters, coping with the challenges of life in the barrio of New York’s Washington Heights. Les Spindle – Backstage BITTER The resolutions to almost all these tangles [...]
OKLAHOMA!: 75% – Sweet – UPDATED
BITTERSWEET The eager cast members are generally at their best in bringing out the boisterous humor of the characters without resorting to overkill. Where the production is less successful is unfortunately in its most crucial area. Under Greg Haake’s music direction, the unidentified instrumental sounds emanating from backstage lack the breadth and heft required to [...]
OPUS: 80% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Levy and his accomplished cast almost manage to sell Hollinger’s unnecessary excursions into overwrought soap, particularly in the final scene. It’s the smaller moments that compel, creating an intimacy that make “Opus” a stylish midsummer date night. Charlotte Stoudt – LA Times SWEET The world of classical chamber music easily evokes images of grace [...]
THE JESUS HICKEY: 75% – Sweet
SWEET Yankee, also directing, keeps this Katselas Theatre Company production moving on Jeff McLaughlin’s set, a living room that goes from threadbare to posh as Agnes’ gift brings in the dough. Stylistically, the play — like its Irish accents — wanders a bit, starting out at the kitchen sink and spinning into broader comedy. TV [...]
YELLOW: 100% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET The seriousness bubbling under all of Del Shores’ campy southern Gothic farces takes center stage in his latest play “Yellow,” as personal catastrophe pulls a family out of its complacency. Shores might’ve been wiser to hand off helming chores to someone inclined to trim the fat and steer clear of bathos. Its roughness and [...]
SOUTH PACIFIC: 100% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET But this “South Pacific” is to be treasured above all for Cusack, whose interpretation of her character’s embarrassment of Rodgers & Hammerstein riches is so stunningly suffused with heart that it was as if I were hearing the songs for the first time. Nellie vainly tries to “wash that man right outta” her hair, [...]
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 [...]
BOOM: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Apocalypse comes with a personals-ad twist in “boom.” Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s dark satire about sex, fish and the end of the world gets a valiant Los Angeles premiere by Furious Theatre Company. David C. Nichols – LA Times SWEET The mood and situation quickly darken, as the nonsexual relationship deteriorates, but there is always [...]
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 [...]
CANNED HAM: 67% – Sweet
SWEET The title of Tom Judson’s autobiographical solo show might lead one to anticipate self-indulgent shenanigans, but in Judson’s refreshingly unpretentious string of anecdotes, this New York–born performer proves to be an ingratiating and captivating storyteller. Actor-singer-musician-songwriter Judson has experienced unorthodox career paths, and he wastes no time in sharing his remarkable adventures with us—some [...]
PALOMINO: 89% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET As it happens, Kieren tries to get Edward, who has a connection to Vallie, interested in publishing his tell-all diaries. This coincidence enables Cale to take his theme of the bartering of love in a more generous direction. The outcome is far from inevitable, but Cale’s initial conceit sparks enough fascination to sustain our [...]
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING: 86% – Sweet – UPDATED
BITTERSWEET The situation is winning, but if it weren’t for such standout numbers as “A Secretary Is Not a Toy,” “I Believe in You” and “Brotherhood of Man,” the plot — a succession of sketches, really — would seem interminable. Music director Darryl Archibald and his soaring orchestra are forever rescuing the work from its [...]
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WAY: 100% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Though a bit long and unfocused at the end, The Twentieth Century Way is fascinating, insightful, and wonderfully free from cheap posturing. Jacobson’s sure-footed romp through the idiocies of public morals crusades and homophobic bigotry is free from the tiresome self-pitying anger that infests so much else in current gay-themed material. There is enormous [...]
THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE, THE MUSICAL: 88% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Musical director Gregory Nabours works expertly with the strong cast, as he does with his skilled musicians, to create a production of immense scale in this tiny venue. Scenic designer Kurt Boetcher offers just enough set to suggest the slum conditions but stays out of the way of the actorsm and it’s all nicely [...]
SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE: 80% Sweet – UPDATED
BITTER You might wanna see something else. Cynthia Citron – LA Examiner SWEET Exciting, imaginative, gripping, and musically adventurous—See What I Wanna See is all this and more. With Henning at the helm and a cast and band more than up to the task, this is innovative, modern musical theater at its best. Steven Stanley [...]
THE BOYS IN THE BAND: 80% Sweet – UPDATED
BITTER What a shame that in this play’s first revival in L.A. in many years, its incisive themes—and its all-important time setting—are clumsily obscured. Director Jason Crain’s nebulously depicted milieu robs this seminal work of its intrinsic historical context. Adding to the disappointments is an uneven ensemble effort. The subtext of Crowley’s dialogue is frequently [...]
JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS: 86% Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living Paris” is an action-packed, two-hour musical featuring world-class songs from celebrated singer and songwriter Jacques Brel. It allows audiences to fully experience the incredible range of emotion onstage while sitting in their seats. Liana Aghajanian – Glendale News Press SWEET With master director Jon Lawrence Rivera [...]
SURVIVAL EXERCISE: 75% Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Nevertheless, director Duane Daniels and his very sharp cast employ exemplary stagecraft to work minor miracles with problematic material, whether machine-gunning their way through corporate-speak banalities (accompanied with nonsensical chalkboard diagrams), or delivering amusingly quirky line readings that enliven abstract characters and dialogue. A particularly inspired staging moment brings visual coherence to an otherwise [...]
BUFFALO HOLE: 67% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET If it sometimes seems that Reichel has assembled as many improbable elements as possible, neglecting to shape them into a credible, coherent whole, Zeke Rettman provides impeccable direction while an able cast acts the piece with demented zest on Danny Cistone’s cluttered, ramshackle house-trailer set. Neal Weaver – LA Weekly BITTER Why any of [...]