The Old Man and the PoolReviewed by Katie BuennekeMark Taper ForumThrough August 28RECOMMENDEDMike Birbiglia is not dead. But you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise while watching his show that’s currently playing at the Taper. Yes, he’s standing in front of you, performing a comedy set, but the way he talks about his health, you […]

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Lavender MenReviewed by Iris MannSkylight Theatre Company/Playwrights’ ArenaThrough Sept. 4RECOMMENDEDPlaywright Roger Q. Mason has fashioned a highly entertaining, controversial, and often “over the top” work that upends conventional teachings about the American icon, Abraham Lincoln (Pete Ploszek). Mason also plays Taffeta, the flamboyant narrator of the piece, who self describes as “a fabulous queer creation […]

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Beach PeopleReviewed by Martίn HernándezCity GarageThru September 11RECOMMENDEDPlaywright Charles A. Duncombe’s farce on the absurdities of life, love, and oil spills, directed by Frédérique Michel, also serves as a wry skewering of celebrity culture, vapid consumerism, and the super-rich — ironically set in a locale that tends to hold those elements as virtues rather than […]

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The Cripple of InishmaanReviewed by Taylor KassLong Beach PlayhouseThrough Aug. 20RECOMMENDEDNews travels fast in a small town — and so does gossip, misinformation, and a white lie that snowballs out of control. On the tiny island village of Inishmaan, Billy Claven (Dylan La Rocque), or “Cripple Billy,” as his neighbors insist on calling him, has […]

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Trouble the Water Reviewed by Amanda L. AndreiWill Geer Theatrical BotanicumThru Oct. 2RECOMMENDEDAmidst the screeching cicadas and shady oak trees, Theatricum Botanicum transforms into an epic stretch of nearly 80 years in South Carolina and Washington D.C. in the world premiere of Trouble the Water, inspired by the true and little-known story of Robert Smalls, […]

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Freestyle Love Supreme Reviewed by Julia StierPasadena Playhouse Through August 7 RECOMMENDEDIt seems as though everything Lin-Manuel Miranda touches turns to gold.And that holds true for Freestyle Love Supreme – now playing at the Pasadena Playhouse. Recipient of a 2020 Special Tony Award, this completely improvised show was conceived by Anthony Veneziale, and created by […]

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Green Day’s American IdiotReviewed by Dana MartinChance TheaterThrough August 14RECOMMENDEDThis is calling out to Idiot America: Chance Theater would like to offer a healthy, full-throated Fuck You to the American Establishment with their latest production, Green Day’s American Idiot (music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong, book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer) — an angsty pop-punk-protest […]

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If I ForgetReviewed by Deborah KlugmanThe Fountain TheatreThru September 9RECOMMENDEDPlays about fractious families may be common but toss politics and the Holocaust into the mix and you’ll have an intriguing drama.Steven Levenson’s If I Forget takes place in an upper middle-class home in Washington DC, circa the year 2000. The central character, Michael Fischer (Leo […]

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Mrs. Krishnan’s PartyReviewed by Socks WhitmoreThe Edye at Broad StageThru July 24 RECOMMENDEDIt’s a rare treat in Los Angeles to experience theater from across the globe, and this month, a special immersive experience has flown in from New Zealand; Mrs. Krishnan’s Party, a production of Indian Ink Theater Company, which has brought its boxes of […]

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The Knight of the Burning PestleReviewed by Martίn HernándezIndependent Shakespeare CompanyThrough July 31RECOMMENDEDAs a revered fictitious theater company begins its latest opus — another hackneyed romance for the upper classes —the work gets hijacked by two longtime patrons. Insistent that the actors stage a parallel piece extolling the virtues of workers like themselves, the noisy […]

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