At first blush, the shipbuilding industry does not seem the most obvious topic for a musical. The Last Ship, an original musical with music and lyrics by Sting and a new book by Lorne Campbell, opened this week at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles with some of the problems you might expect given the … More Theater Review: The Last Ship at the Ahmanson Theatre
When playwright Heidi Schreck was in high school, she traveled the country participating in Constitutional debate competitions. It was primarily a scheme cooked up by her mother to pay for college tuition with prize money (it worked), and she became an expert at defending or opposing various amendments to panels of judges that almost always … More Theater Review: What the Constitution Means to Me at the Mark Taper Forum
In his sixth one-man show, Tony winner John Leguizamo is back on stage with Latin History for Morons, a timely and engaging piece that is part comedy special, part solo revue, and part poignant academic lesson. Opening this week at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre after a successful Broadway run, the show was inspired by Leguizamo’s … More Theater Review: Latin History for Morons at the Ahmanson Theatre
The tone for the farce that is The Play That Goes Wrong is set long before the curtain rises. Frazzled cast members wander the audience, asking questions such as if anyone has a dog they can borrow for the second act, as others attempt to fix the constantly malfunctioning set. An audience member is even brought … More Theater Review: The Play That Goes Wrong at the Ahmanson Theatre
Those of us who frequent the theater do not need to be convinced of this art form’s importance. But there are some stories that really drive this home, emphasizing the true power of theater, particularly when the world wants to prevent a story from being told. Indecent, a play by Pulitzer-winner Paula Vogel that debuted … More Theater Review: Indecent at the Ahmanson Theatre
When playwright Lucas Hnath (A Doll’s House, Part Two, The Christians) was in college, his mother, Dana Higginbotham, went through a traumatizing ordeal. Dana struggled to speak about this painful experience with her son, so he eventually had fellow theater creator and collaborator Steve Cosson interview her about it. Hnath then adapted these interviews to … More Theater Review: Dana H. at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre
Most people hear the term “falsetto” and think of the vocal technique used by male singers to sing notes above their natural range, often resulting in a sound that is strikingly high and, in a sense, untraditional. It is not very obvious why the musical Falsettos, which opened last night at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson … More Theater Review: Falsettos at the Ahmanson Theatre
Lackawanna Blues, Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s autobiographical solo show, has been on quite a journey since it first premiered at the Public Theater in New York in 2001. After that first production, which won a special citation Obie Award, it played at multiple regional theaters across the United States before being adapted into an HBO movie in 2005. … More Theater Review: Lackawanna Blues at the Mark Taper Forum
There are no carriages turning into pumpkins to be seen in Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, an enchanting, contemporary ballet currently being presented by New Adventures at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Instead, this interpretation of the classic fairy tale takes place over a backdrop of a city in turmoil at the height of … More Theater Review: Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella at the Ahmanson Theatre
What does ‘starting over’ really mean if you’re stuck in the same self-destructive behavior patterns? In Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of Linda Vista, a new play by Tracy Letts that opened this week at Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, a middle-aged man attempts to figure out what options remain for him in … More Theater Review: Linda Vista at the Mark Taper Forum
ON STAGE & SCREEN 