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The 7 Stages of Grieving Reviewed by Deborah Klugman The Skylight Theatre Through November 24 In the 24 years since it premiered in Brisbane, Australia, The 7 Stages of Grieving has evolved into a modern Australian classic. Written by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman, both of Aboriginal extraction, it’s an hour-long one-woman show that speaks […]
The Double V Reviewed by Deborah Klugman The Matrix Theatre Through November 24 So entrenched was systemic racism in the U.S. in the early 1940s that patriotic African-Americans were turned away when they sought to fight for their country at the onset of World War II.Directed by Michael Arabian at the Matrix Theater, Carole Eglash-Kosoff’s […]
1984 Reviewed by Deborah Klugman The Actors’ Gang Through December 7 When George Orwell wrote 1984, he was responding to the totalitarian movements that swept Germany and Russia under Hitler and Stalin respectively. Published in 1949, the book was intended as a caution to those who mistakenly kept faith in the promise of Soviet communism. The […]
The New One Reviewed by Stephen Fife Center Theatre Group Through November 24 RECOMMENDED On the opening night of the Los Angeles production of his one-man show, Mirk Birbiglia peered out from behind the stage curtain, then walked out onstage. “Is this supposed to be opening night?” he asked. Several heads in the audience nodded. “I […]
Constantinople Reviewed by Stephen Fife Vista Players Through November 2 Aram Kouyoumdjian’s Constantinople, currently receiving its world premiere at the Secret Rose in a production directed by the playwright, is the kind of earnest, socially conscious play that might have been hailed by critics in the 1950s. Documenting the suffering of urban Armenians in the […]
Between Riverside and Crazy Reviewed by Deborah Klugman The Fountain Theatre Through December 15 Stephen Adly Guirgis draws his characters — addicts, ex-cons and others who might generously be characterized as imperfect citizens — from the edges of polite society. Vivid communicators, often given to erratic behavior, they are inclined to be voluble and to […]
Red Thread Reviewed by Stephen Fife Atlas Obscura Through November 10 RECOMMENDED The pleasure of seeing Red Thread, Siegfried Tieber’s theatrical exploration of chance and chaos, begins with its venue, the Paul Kaufmann Gallery in DTLA. There is mystery and something special from the get-go, as audience members enter through an alley and walk through […]
Charlotte Stay Close Reviewed by Dana Martin EST/LA Extended through November 3Playwright Christine Hamilton-Schmidt knows that familial relationships die hard despite imposed distance or inherent dysfunction. Charlotte Stay Close finds a young woman navigating repressed family dysfunction in the final days of her life. The production, in its world premiere at EST/LA, struggles to find the intended […]
