Annette Bening's reverential treatment of the pioneering monologuist challenges viewers to laugh at tiresome women from a bygone era.
Karen WeinsteinTheaterCA,
Ruth Draper is not a household word for you? Well, you are forgiven. She was born in 1884 and performed monologues through the early 1950s. The grayest of the gray-haired in the audience may recall a moment or two of ...
One of Noël Coward's last works gets a proper, acerbic revival at Pasadena Playhouse.
George AlexanderTheaterCA,
The old adage — “never tell your best friend anything you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to know” — is the armature of Noel Coward’s “A Song At Twilight,” one of the last plays he wrote (1966) before his death ...
This engaging new production sees Donizetti's heroine from a feminist perspective: a woman driven mad by the shackles of her status.
Karen WeinsteinMusicCA,
For a fully satisfying combination of classical music and contemporary theater, the current LA Opera production of "Lucia di Lammermoor" is not to be missed. I shamelessly like my opera grand with voices to die for, singers who can act, ...
Karen WeinsteinTheaterCA,
Asher Lev (Jason Karasev) is the son of an Hasidic couple, Rivheh (Anna Khaja) and Aryeh (Joel Polis). How you feel about "my Name is Asher Lev" may have as much to do with how you feel about proselytizing, ultra ...
Jordan RiefeFeaturesCA,
Winding up a yearlong celebration of Benjamin Britten’s centennial, L.A. Opera presents the composer’s most ambitious opera, "Billy Budd," featuring definitive staging by Francesca Zambello from her 1995 Covent Garden production. It stars Liam Bonner in the lead role, and is conducted by the company’s own James Conlon, with ...
Jordan RiefeFeaturesCA,
The "Frasier" alum was nominated in 2013 for his performance as Vanya in the play and returns to direct the show's L.A. run at the Mark Taper Forum through March 9.
In an era where actors seem to be ...
Karen WeinsteinTheaterCA,
It is not possible to write a review of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" without invoking the ghost of Anton Chekhov. Lest one be tempted, within the program playwright Christopher Durang provides ...
Created and Directed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas
Karen WeinsteinTheaterLos Angeles,
Warning to all you parents of teenage boys, take them to see "Stomp" at your peril. No broom, trash can, or paint can, no piece of wooden furniture, no household object capable of emitting a sound by being hit, scraped, ...
Karen WeinsteinTheaterLos Angeles,
Heads up, serious theatergoers who are not looking for something frothy and easy for the holiday season. "The Steward of Christendom" at the Taper has plenty to sink your teeth into. There is nothing easy about it: Start with its being about ...
Directed and choreographed with a new scenario by Matthew Bourne
Karen WeinsteinDanceLos Angeles,
Traditionalists, you probably will not be overjoyed at Matthew Bourne’s reworking of the classic “Sleeping Beauty.” The rest of us, however, are in for a real treat. From interpretation to technique, Act I and Act II are about as good ...
