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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

Despite social advances, it is still difficult to be gay, or to be other in so many well-known ways. For writer-actor Ryan J. Haddad in his play Hi, Are You Single?, there is an additional challenge; he has the debilitating condition known as cerebral palsy. To the sound of loud music and enthusiastic applause, Mr. … Continue reading “Hi, Are You Single?” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in association with IAMA Theatre Company

In a small empty theatre of the sort that would be familiar to dedicated Los Angeles theatre-goers, writer/actor Tom DeTrinis fires up a solo performance of extraordinary power and range. The breathless press release calls Making Friends “gaytastic,” which it certainly is. From first moment to last, Tom DeTrinis is balls-to-the-wall out there, as he … Continue reading “Making Friends” at IAMA Theatre Company

As we close in on the 2020 presidential campaign, International City Theatre in Long Beach offers up a streaming version of Sean Devine’s political drama, Daisy, a searing evocation of the 1964 presidential campaign and the creation of the most famous television advertisement ever shown, “Daisy.” Those of us of a certain age will always … Continue reading “Daisy” at International City Theatre

Somewhere in my dim, dusty path, a professor in the drama department said something like “all that is needed for a play is a plank, an actor, and an audience.” I know that it is true. During the student rebellions of the 1960s, a group of us did protest performances on the street, or on … Continue reading “Tell Him It’s Jackie” at Dugan’s Backyard Playhouse

When I was offered the chance to review Fountain Theatre’s streaming revival of The Ballad of Emmett Till, written by Ifa Bayeza and directed by Shirley Jo Finney, I jumped at the chance, stirred myself from pandemic lethargy, and set up to view the show on my Macintosh computer. Soon the cast, led by the … Continue reading “The Ballad of Emmett Till” at the Fountain Theatre