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Matinicus: The Story of Abigail BurgessReviewed by G. Bruce SmithChance TheaterThrough June 4RECOMMENDEDA delightful and entertaining evening of theater, here is also an example of good old-fashioned storytelling in the vein of Anne of Green Gables.This world premiere, one-woman show based on a true story, everything from the acting, directing and set, lighting and sound […]
Cat’s-PawReviewed by Martίn HernándezStephanie Feury Studio TheatreThrough May 21Updated from its original mid-1980s timeframe, playwright William Mastrosimone’s portrait of a militant environmental activist harbors anachronisms given the modern state of the movement. Streamlined from two acts to one, the truncated version attempts to cram Mastrosimone’s provocative message into a shortened format. The result is a […]
The Merchant of Venice (Annotated)Reviewed by Steven Leigh MorrisTheatre Dybbuk in partnership with the First Congregational Church of Los AngelesThrough May 21RECOMMENDEDSee Stage featureFirst Congregational church of Los Angeles, Shatto Chapel, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave., LA: Fri.-St., 8 pm; Sun., 7 pm; through May 21. https://merchant-annotated.eventbrite.com Two hours and 45 minutes, with one 15 minute intermission.
On This Side of the WorldReviewed by F. Kathleen FoleyEast West Players at the David Henry Hwang TheaterThrough June 14RECOMMENDED At the opening performance of On This Side of the World, Snehal Desai, producing artistic director of East West Players, gave a pre-show address about the legacy of the Little Tokyo-based theater, for almost 60 years the preeminent […]
Evolution of a SoneroReviewed by Dana MartinLatino Theater Company in association with UrbanTheater CompanyThrough May 28thRECOMMENDEDFlaco Navaja is more than a badass salsa singer. Latino Theater Company, in association with Chicago’s UrbanTheater Company, presents the West Coast premiere of Evolution of a Sonero, a coming-of-age story written and dynamically performed by Navaja (with a libretto arranged by Carlos Cuevas) chronicling the evolution […]
Chekhov in LoveReviewed by Julia Stier14-Forty and StudioThrough May 14Taking its name from the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, 14-Forty and Studio’s co-production, Chekhov in Love, is a journey through the work of another influential playwright. This time, it’s the work of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov that is taking center stage.Under the direction of Studio’s […]
A New BrainCelebration Theatre in association with the Los Angeles LGBT CenterReviewed by Taylor KassThrough June 24RECOMMENDEDWhen your brain is in trouble, what happens to everything that makes you, you? Composer William Finn wrote the semi-autobiographical musical A New Brain after an arteriovenous malformation in his brain landed him in the hospital and threatened to […]
AvaazReviewed by Martίn HernándezSouth Coast Repertory Through May 27RECOMMENDEDAfter actor-playwright Michael Shayan’s years of pestering his Iranian-Jewish immigrant mother Roya to tell her life story, she finally relented to being recorded. After a writing retreat exercise, he took his mother’s interview and his own imagination and melded them together to craft a compelling one-person show. […]
