Paul Myrvold's Theatre Notes

Last October, after having endured fully a half-a-year of no live, in-the-house theatre, I was offered the opportunity to review a real, in-person show at something called Dugan’s Backyard Playhouse. The excellent actor-playwright, Tom Duggan (Wiesenthal, Tell Him It’s Jackie, Oscar to Oscar and Frederick Douglass- In the Shadow of Slavery), intrigued me with the … Continue reading “The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln” at Dugan’s Backyard Playhouse

West Coast Jewish Theatre’s ambitious fund raising extravaganza, Magical Musical Mystery Follies, is loaded with a range of talent, some superb and some so so. The show clocks in at two hours. For streaming audiences. I would recommend taking a break half-way through. The amiable Howard Teichman serves double duty as jokemeister as well as … Continue reading “Magical Musical Mystery Follies” at West Coast Jewish Theatre

To borrow from Gabriel García Márquez, we are in the Theatre in the Time of Covid 19. Theatre companies have gone under, their venues have been repurposed or destroyed and yet…and yet, as we continue to still mask up and hunker down, there is theatre to be had. I am a prolific reviewer having reviewed … Continue reading “Revenge” at The Group Rep

As we pass the anniversary of live theatre shut-down, it is good to know that some theatre companies, those who haven’t lost their leases and gone out of business, are still producing theatrical events. It was half a year before I was able to cast off my grim lethargy and experience a new production streamed … Continue reading “This Bitter Earth” at The Road Theatre Company

With my computer ready to begin the process of writing commentary on Anna LaMadrid’s new play, The Oxy Complex, I paused to google for information. The title of the show tends to be misleading. It is easy to mistake the infamous narcotic drug, Oxycontin, for the hormonal drug Oxytocin. Oxytocin is a drug that is … Continue reading “The Oxy Complex” at IAMA Theatre Company

Anyone But Me, written and performed by Sheila Carrasco, vividly presents a dozen or so characters, from a newborn baby girl, to an elderly, kvetching theatregoer chatting in the “intermission.” At the top of the show, Ms. Carrasco holds sway as a perky, fast-talking receptionist at some corporate entity, who is desperate to make it … Continue reading “Anyone But Me” at IAMA Theatre Company

A little while ago I received a book in the mail, a volume of poems by Dennis Collins Johnson. As many of you may know, my usual beat is that of a theatre critic, now hampered by the corona virus. But long, long ago in an obscure Northern California town, I wrote op-eds for a … Continue reading The Poetry of Dennis Collins Johnson

Not long after my beloved and I arrived in Manhattan to begin a theatre career, we started to explore the city. We had miraculously secured a third floor studio apartment with a patio situated above the second floor apartment below us. It was snug, we loved it, and it was a half a block off … Continue reading “Art” at International City Theatre

The Covid 19 era of streaming new plays comes of age with Jake Broder’s scintillating new play, UnRavelled, presented by Global Brain Health Institute, based at the University of California, San Francisco; and Trinity College Dublin, at the University of Dublin, Ireland. The play is inspired by the true story of Canadian painter, Anne Adams … Continue reading “UnRavelled” sponsored by the Global Brain Health Institute

I like to listen to stories. For decades now, it has been my routine to go for long walks, usually in the evening, while listening to books or pod casts. At first, I used a Sony Walkman; now it’s my phone. I have eclectic tastes in literature. I love Dickens; I like thrillers written by … Continue reading “Extinction,” “Life on Paper,” and “The Thanksgiving Play” at LA Theatre Works