Tony Frankel

PAST TO THE FUTURE To be honest, I was not a fan of Rogue Artist Ensemble’s Hyperbole at [inside] The Ford last year. Their current work, D Is for Dog, clearly elucidates what was lacking in that production (and, indeed, much of American Theatre): compelling storytelling. When the venerable company’s use of modern technology (digital…

ENTERTAINING, BUT HARDLY INTRUSIVE When Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to an “interloper” in his writings, it was most assuredly with a negative connotation, for in the 1800s an interloper was one who selfishly intruded on others for the purposes of rank, privilege or money. The interlopers of Gary Lennon’s world premiere play at the Bootleg…

THERE’S LIFE IN THE OLD BOY YET I couldn’t think of a better way to pop my Hollywood Fringe Festival cherry than with Steve Ochs and his solo outing, Life in the Middle Ages, which has rightfully extended its run. This show is a perfect example of why the Fringe is so important: in the…

WHO’S CHEATING WHOM? The spookiest image of Death (with a capital “D”) is that of a tall, hooded, scythe-carrying figure. It merely points with bony finger towards that ultimate location to which we are all headed: the end of life. The aspect that makes this sinister figure all the more terrifying is that it doesn’t…

THE BEGINNING AND THE END Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years is contextually brilliant: it is a two-character musical that starts at the end of a five year relationship for the woman, but at the beginning for the man. Her songs go backward in time and his forward. In the middle of the 85…

WHAT THE FUNK? When giving feedback at High School theatre competitions, adjudicators are reminded to encourage, not discourage young performers: negative criticism, however accurate, may dampen the spirit of gung-ho newcomers to the theatre. It is the judge’s task to support thespian tenderfoots by accentuating the positive, lest they become dismayed and give up on…

IT’S NOT THE SIZE OF THE PLAY THAT MATTERS Say what you will about Voice Lessons, Justin Tanner’s shockingly uproarious one-act play, now receiving an encore presentation at Sacred Fools Theatre, but you will never forget that you attended it. Still emblazoned in my hippocampus is Tanner’s 1994 hit, Â Pot Mom, which remains one of the…

A CRITIC WHO RHYMES? IT’S A SIGN OF GOOD TIMES. I tell you, there’s no place that I’d rather be in, than a theatre where actors become Jacobean. A classical company, Antaeus by name, has created a show that begs nationwide fame. Penned by John Marston in 1604, The Malcontent proves to be all but…

THE WILD, WILD BRECHTIAN WEST The Chinese Massacre (Annotated), Tom Jacobson’s rousing new play, is like a fun day at Disneyland. Jacobson chronicles the 1871 lynching of 18 Chinese men by a mixed-race mob, historically considered to be Los Angeles’ first race riot. Actors break the fourth wall by expounding on exposition and commentating on…