While researching for this article, I discovered that Joe Orton’s life is an emotional conundrum. How a talented working class boy achieves a modicum of theatrical success with a couple of well regarded plays ends up bludgeoned to death at the age of thirty-four by his long time lover and collaborator, Kenneth Halliwell, in their … Continue reading “Loot” at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
One of the most absorbing, original, and inventive shows now playing in the Hollywood Fringe Festival must be The Puckwit Gang’s In Conclusion, which is so much more than the conventional courtroom drama hinted at in the title. Those aware of early Twentieth Century crime will suss out a connection to a famous murder and … Continue reading “In Conclusion” at Hollywood Fringe
Two years ago, I saw playwright Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 at South Coast Rep and wrote at that time that the playwright had “picked up the threads left behind by Ibsen and created an exquisitely compelling extension of Ibsen’s story.” It was an audacious enterprise, utterly fascinating and went on to earn … Continue reading “Dana H.” at Kirk Douglas Theatre
“Truth or illusion, George; you don’t know the difference,” brays Martha in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. The shadow land between the two is a human constant and has been a theme in drama from the beginning. Oedipus fails to perceive his culpability, even though it is right there in front of him. … Continue reading “M. Butterfly” at South Coast Repertory”
Based on Bronco Billy, Clint Eastwood’s 1980 film, Bronco Billy: The Musical is a classic, out-and-out old fashioned musical comedy crafted to delight an audience with great singing, vigorous dancing, hilarious oddball characters, and a romantic through-line with complications that lead to a crowd pleasing finale. The year is 1979 and Bronco Billy’s Wild West … Continue reading “Bronco Billy: The Musical” at Skylight Theatre Company
As we approach the end of the epic, multi-year extravaganza of HBO’s Game of Thrones, what fan of the show wouldn’t be intrigued to find a musical parody called Shame of Thrones: The Musical opening at Whitefire Theatre? I certainly was, and booked tickets for the opening performance. Back from a successful run off-Broadway, it … Continue reading “Shame of Thrones: The Musical” at The Whitefire Theatre
Unquestionably one of the greatest American playwrights of the Twentieth Century, the prolific Arthur Miller had his finger on the heartbeat of everyday Americans and the tenor of his times, whether in The Crucible, which held the mirror up to the witch hunt of the House Un-American Activities Committee and Senator Joe McCarthy by setting … Continue reading “The Price” at International City Theatre
Anna in the Tropics, the 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Nilo Cruz, is classic in its theme, structure, and action. Like Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, it can easily be called a modern tragedy, sown through with moments of comedy and heated romance. Frankly, as my better half and I strolled to the … Continue reading “Anna in the Tropics” at Open Fist Theatre Company
I sit here frowning. How to approach a critical response to such a work as the theatrical adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment? As a novel, I slogged through it as a teenager, grasping some of it, confounded by the rest. What is the difficulty? It is emotionally stressful, with its depiction of grinding … Continue reading “Crime and Punishment” at Edgemar Center for the Arts
In the cabin of a well-known writer, family members gather to deal with all the stuff accumulated by the great man, as well as the ramifications of his apparent suicide. Set in Washington State’s scenic San Juan Islands, the first to arrive is daughter Judy (Eve Danzeisen), who, as the lights go up, discovers a … Continue reading “Boxing Lessons” at The New American Theatre
