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Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell
Photo by Ed Krieger

Dream Catcher

Karen Weinstein Theater February 7, 2016 Los Angeles,

“Dream Catcher,” the current offering at the Fountain Theatre, is a two-hander that sounds as though it will be a polemic. Roy (Brian Tichnell) is a solar power engineer with the opportunity of a ...

Bullets Over Broadway on tour

Karen Weinstein Theater January 9, 2016 Los Angeles,

“Bullets Over Broadway,” is a stage adaptation of Woody Allen’s 1994 movie. It hit the stage in 2014. Set in the 1920’s, the touring company’s stop at the splendidly over-the-top, art deco, Hollywood Pantages Theatre (opened in 1930) is a ...

The Christians

Karen Weinstein Theater December 23, 2015 Los Angeles,

Let me lay it on the table: the top critics have praised “The Christians.” Christopher Isherwood of the New York Times called it “a mesmerizing drama … a terrific play.” The LA Times’ critic, ...

L-R: Robert Beitzel, Will Tranfo and Melora Hardin

Appropriate

Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles,

Karen Weinstein Theater October 6, 2015 Los Angeles,

Families, families, families, love them or hate them, where would we be without them? Add death of a patriarch to the mix and you have a volatile substance, fodder for many a playwright and still the ...

These Paper Bullets

Karen Weinstein Theater September 23, 2015 Los Angeles,

Here is the recipe: one part ersatz Shakespeare, one part ersatz Beatles, one part fake British accents. Bake for almost two and a half hours. Will you like it? I suppose that’s a matter of taste. ...

The Princes of Kings Road

Karen Weinstein Theater September 21, 2015 Los Angeles,

Intense friendship derailed by jealousy and/or competition. It makes a good story. Most of us do not have to scratch very deeply to bring such a memory to mind. The two midcentury architectural icons, Rudolf Schindler and Richard ...

Gianni Schicchi & Pagliacci

Los Angeles Opera

Karen Weinstein Music September 14, 2015 CA,

For the opening of its 30th anniversary season, the LA Opera has turned to Hollywood for a 2 hour and 40 minute double bill: Woody Allen's production of "Gianni Schicchi" and Franco Zeffirelli's "Pagliacci." The Chandler was packed for opening ...

Bent, LA

Moisés Kaufman's fine revival of this tale of Nazi persecution of homosexuals is both entertaining and tragic.

Karen Weinstein Theater August 9, 2015 Los Angeles,

A play based on fact is a reflection of the time in which it is written as well as the time in which it is set. If revived, a further layer of dust accumulates. Martin Sherman’s “Bent” — a holocaust ...

From left, Kelley Dorney, Michael Spaziani and Jotape Lockwood in

Adam and Eve and Steve, LA

This funny, pleasantly melodic and wittily lyrical musical fits the bill for cheerful farce.

George Alexander Theater July 22, 2015 Los Angeles,

The elements of farce, according to theatrical canon, are absurd characters and situations, slapstick physical humor and shovelfuls of risqué banter and behavior. “Adam and Eve and Steve, A Musical Comedy” satisfy those criteria and then some. The five ...

Bad Jews, LA

If you can bear it, this 90-minute play is a crash-course in religious zealotry.

Karen Weinstein Theater June 29, 2015 Los Angeles,

"Oy, such a shreier," my immigrant grandfather would have said of Daphna Feygenbaum (Molly Ephraim), the lead in the Geffen Playhouse production of "Bad Jews.' "Vy vould you vant to spend the evening listening to such a voman?" Good question, ...