“Fifteen years ago I killed my sister.” This shocking line opens Nocturne by Adam Rapp, an acclaimed play that first debuted in New York in 2001. Now being presented by the Triptych Theatre Company in a guest production at the VS. Theatre in Los Angeles, this beautifully written solo performance explores the unrelenting nature of … More Theater Review: Triptych Theatre Company’s Nocturne
What happens when someone or something suddenly throws the belief system you have held your entire life into question? The Cake, a play by Bekah Brunstetter currently in its world premiere at the Echo Theater Company in Los Angeles, is a thoughtful and heartfelt examination of conservative values in increasingly liberal times, all hinging around … More Theater Review: Echo Theater Company’s The Cake
In the home where Giovanni Adams grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, sex was never a dirty word. After all, his mother worked with the youth population and often brought home t-shirts warning against the dangers of chlamydia as souvenirs of sorts for her sons. But the concept of love was approached in a different way … More Theater Review: Love is a Dirty Word by Tilted Field and VS. Theatre Company
How much of the human experience is determined by the era you are born into? In The Pride, a play by Alexi Kaye Campbell currently in its Los Angeles premiere at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, one storyline takes place in 1958 and another in 2008. Both follow a core trio of … More Theater Review: The Pride at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
She’s a quantum physicist, he’s a beekeeper. They meet at a barbecue. It’s a tale as old as time…but, what exactly is the meaning of time? Constellations, a play by Nick Payne currently in its Los Angeles premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, is an ambitious look at the infinite paths every relationship can take. Told … More Theater Review: Constellations at the Geffen Playhouse
Think about the foursome of teenage crime solvers from Scooby Doo. Now, think about what it might be like if something horrible happened to Scooby (I am truly sorry for leading you down this path) and the group fell apart as a result, only to be forced to reunite 20 years later to finally avenge … More Theater Review: The Solve It! Squad Returns by the Tin Can Brothers
Most people are familiar with The Breakfast Club, the classic 1985 John Hughes film about five students—a brain, an athlete, a princess, a basket case, and a criminal—who are forced to spend a Saturday together in detention. In The Last Breakfast Club, a new musical parody playing at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles, … More Theater Review: The Last Breakfast Club at Rockwell Table & Stage
These days, it seems like nearly every musical was adapted from a movie. Some of my favorite stage musicals began their lives as films—Once, Legally Blonde, and Thoroughly Modern Millie come to mind. Sometimes, however, you can’t help but wonder—why that movie? Dogfight, based on the 1991 movie of the same name with music and lyrics … More Theater Review: Dogfight at After Hours Theatre Company
Before Hamilton came along, there was another modern musical that took the world by storm, achieving rare crossover appeal with both theater and mainstream audiences and earning a place in the pop culture zeitgeist. That musical was The Book of Mormon, which premiered on Broadway in 2011, is still playing to sold-out New York audiences … More Theater Review: The Book of Mormon at the Pantages
Every family has its secrets, and in an uncertain political climate, precarious situations and relationships that have held on by a thread for years can quickly become threatened. Species Native to California, a new play by Dorothy Fortenberry currently being presented by the IAMA Theatre Company at the Atwater Village Theatre, takes a comedic yet … More Theater Review: IAMA Theatre Company’s Species Native to California
ON STAGE & SCREEN 