This is an unusual article for Theatre Notes, a sight dedicated to commentary on current theatrical enterprises opening in theatres across Greater Los Angeles, Orange County, and beyond. Because of its short run of four performances over two weekends, some of my readers might appreciate a heads up on a show with a short run … Continue reading A Theatre Notes Heads Up! “Doris and Me” at Sierra Madre Playhouse
Under the direction of José Luis Valenzuela, Latino Theater Company resident playwright Evelina Fernández’ new work, The Mother of Henry, is a complex concoction that can bemuse an audience at first with its stylistic, choreographed set changes, some broadly played characters, and a tall, angel-winged guitarist (Robert J. Revell) who expertly plays and sings some … Continue reading “The Mother of Henry” at Latino Theater Company
Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, now in production at Odyssey Theatre, has a structure that has been compared to Rashomon, in that certain events are experienced by three characters whose memories of those events are, of course, unique to them while overlapping in some details. Emotional memories are another story. In the 1970s in various locations … Continue reading “Faith Healer” at Odyssey Theatre
Roald Dahl, one of the very best of Twentieth Century writers, is well known for such ever-popular children’s stories as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and, of course, Matilda. He also wrote thrillers and chillers. One of his short stories, which I read as a teenager, The Visitor, appeared in … Continue reading “Matilda, the Musical” at 5 Star Theatricals
With its couches, arm chairs, lounges and table lamps, the cozy transformation of the theatre into a “speak-easy” makes the space seem more like an intellectual soirée than a bar, even though there is a bartender in the form Bruce Dickinson dispensing beer and wine at the top of the stairs. The arrangement is a … Continue reading “What Matters Now?/!” at Open Fist Theatre Company
Just to put it out there before going any further, the Echo Theater Company’s production of Sarah DeLappe’s play, The Wolves, is a terrific, thrilling, moving, exciting, amazing theatrical work, directed by Alana Dietze, and performed by nine young women at the top of their game. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Wolves is the intimate … Continue reading “The Wolves” at The Echo Theater Company
The world premiere of Stephanie Alison Walker’s new play, Friends With Guns, now in production at The Road Theatre Company, could not be timelier. With the horror of the latest mass murder in New Zealand reverberating around the globe, the issues on the subject of gun laws, gun ownership, and gun proliferation are once more … Continue reading “Friends With Guns” at The Road Theatre Company
