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Theater Review: THE OTHER AMERICANS (World Premiere by John Leguizamo at Arena Stage in D.C.)
SEEN THROUGH A LATINO CONTEXT, THE OTHER AMERICANS IS A UNIVERSAL GLIMPSE INTO FAMLY TRAUMA The world premiere of John Leguizamo’s newest endeavor, The Other Americans, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, packs a hard punch in the gut while exploring familial dysfunction and immigrant survival. John Leguizamo (Nelson) and Luna Lauren Velez (Patti) Leguizamo stars as…
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Theater Review: GATZ (Elevator Repair Service at The Public)
GREAT F. SCOTT! Elevator Repair Service’s justifiably heralded Gatz returns to The Public, opening tonight for a final New York City encore, and it’s congenial, unforgettable theater. Directed by John Collins, this single 6 1/2-hour production (more than 8 hours with the breaks) terrorized me at first because I can’t sit still for such a long time,…
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Theater Review: BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL (National Tour)
TIME I’LL NEVER GET BACK Without hyperbole, I can say that Back to the Future is the worst musical I have ever seen. Any time I see a show that truly knocks it out of the park, it fills me with so much joy to be able to review it. Nothing quite compares to the…
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Theater Review: DRAGON LADY (Lesher Theatre, Walnut Creek)
DRAGON LADY ROARS AT CENTER REP Sara Porkalob’s solo tribute to her grandmother is both an astounding theatrical event and a master class in storytelling. Part biography, part autobiography, part cabaret musical, and part comedy, the show is a tour-de-force, on a sumptuous set by Randy Wong-Westbrooke. Dragon Lady runs at the beautiful Lesher Theatre in Walnut…
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Theater Review: PERICLES (Royal Shakespeare Company at Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier)
ROYAL SHAKESPEARE’S RADIANT PERICLES All the indicators promised that it’d be special: after a 30-year lull, England’s Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) entered a new and ongoing partnership. Part of this refreshed collaboration included bringing RSC’s production of Shakespeare’s seldom seen Pericles to Navy Pier. But it wasn’t until the first…
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Theater Review: DIVA THE PLAY (Zephyr Theatre)
MEMORIES OF CHERISHED TIMES As we age and our memories fade away, certain items from our lifetime can trigger both happy and unpleasant memories, making us feel in the moment without worrying about what we may have already forgotten. Thus, your life can become a joyous celebration of happy times filled with love and great…
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Theater Review: LEROY AND LUCY (World Premiere at Steppenwolf’s Ensemble Theater)
The devil’s voice is sweet to hear. — Stephen King, from the novel Needful Things Steppenwolf’s production of Leroy and Lucy by Ngozi Anyanwu is a seductive and life-affirming reimagining of the legend of Robert (Leroy) Johnson and his deal with the devil. Little is known about Robert Johnson’s life, largely because it was so…
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Theater Review: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (Palm Canyon Theater)
OOH LA LA FOR LA CAGE AUX FOLLES With songs by the incomparable Jerry Herman, bookwriter Harvey Fierstein once again broke ground after his Torch Song Trilogy with La Cage aux Folles. It was groundbreaking as the first Broadway musical to prominently feature a gay couple as main characters along with an ensemble of drag queens,…
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Theater Review: DOGS (Red Theater in Chicago)
HOT DOGS! Red Theater’s Take on Speed Eating is a Fast and Furious Glimpse into the Fascinating Sometimes you need to head in a different direction to uncover life’s true hidden treasures. The Edge Off Broadway, an unassuming theatrical venue just south of Bryn Mawr, harbors one such gem in Red Theater’s Dogs, which opened…
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Theater Review: THE GOLDEN GIRLS MEET THE SKOOBY DON’T GANG: THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED BUSH (Hell in a Handbag Productions at The Chopin Theatre)
THE SKOOBY ON HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THIS BUSH, OR SKOOBY DON’T GO? DEPENDS ON YOUR TASTE Hell in a Handbag Productions‘ world premiere of The Golden Girls Meet the Skooby Don’t Gang: The Mystery of the Haunted Bush promises a highly entertaining evening with drag, raunchy humor, and beloved characters young and old….
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Theater Review: THE ORPHANS’ REVENGE (The Group Rep at Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood)
TIED TO THE RAILROAD TRACKS OF A SILLY MELODRAMA, OR CUTE CAN ONLY GO SO FAR Popular during the Victorian era in England, a melodrama is a sensationally overly dramatic piece with lots of comedy, especially when the exaggerated characters (the ingénue, handsome leading man, older wiser woman, and dastardly villain) break the fourth wall…
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Theater Review: INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP (North Coast Repertory Theatre)
INCIDENT AT NORTH COAST REP IS ANOTHER IN A LINE OF HITS THAT NEED NO HELP Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a nostalgic domestic comedy drama now on view in an illuminating and highly entertaining production at North Coast Rep. Written by Katie Forgette, and first staged five years ago, it now…
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Theater Review: FALLEN ANGELS (Aurora Theatre in Berkeley)
COWARD’S ANGELS ARE A LAUGH RIOT Almost one hundred years after its somewhat scandalous debut, Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels is enjoying a revival at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre, where it runs through November 17. Michael Barrett Austin & Kina Kantor The British playwright is enjoying a revival of his own in the Bay Area, with a…
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Theater Review: THE GULF – AN ELEGY (New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco)
EXPLORING THE GULF IN A RELATIONSHIP New Conservatory Theater is premiering in it’s West Coast debut, Audrey Cefaly’s 2017 play The Gulf – An Elegy. This intense one-act two-hander traces the seemingly laid back relationship between two women: Betty (Lauren Domingo) and Kendra (Amy Meyers). They’re spending a lazy afternoon on a small fishing boat…
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Theater Review: THE PIANO LESSON (A Noise Within)
A WELL-PLAYED PIANO Though the surface plot of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson is fairly simple ’” an estranged brother and sister argue over whether to sell or keep a beautiful piano that has been in the family for generations – that simplicity is very deceptive. For the piano is not only a valuable instrument…
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Theater Review: PRU PAYNE (SpeakEasy Stage Company at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston)
MEMORY AS AN ACT OF LOVE The East Coast premiere of playwright Steven Drukman’s snappy and cleverly written Pru Payne is movingly brought to the stage under SpeakEasy Stage founder Paul Daigneault’s direction. A top-notch cast gives voice to Drukman’s script, led by the especially impressive Karen MacDonald in the demanding role of Pru, a…
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Theater Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Antaeus Theatre Company in Glendale)
WICKEDLY WITTY WILDE Sometimes you just need to take refuge from the contemporary world with a classic play. And when it’s delivered as delightfully and professionally as Antaeus Theatre Company’s season opener, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, rejoice and feel the load lifting off your shoulders, if only for two-plus hours. While the…
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Theater Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (Oasis and Ray of Light Theatre at Oasis Nightclub)
HOT PATOOTIE, BLESS MY SOUL, I REALLY LOVE THIS ROCKY SHOW If you’re a veteran fan of the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Ray of Light‘s production at the ever-fabulous Oasis Nightclub takes it not so much to another level as another dimension. If you’re a virgin (at least if only a virgin to…
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Theater Review: I’LL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY (NEO Ensemble Theatre at The Loft Ensemble Theatre)
A BUMPY RIDE INTO THE AFTERLIFE Like many small, non-profit theatre groups, NEO Ensemble Theatre is nomadic by nature, moving from theater to theater to present modern, socially relevant plays or offering online programming on a pay-what-you-want basis. Their latest, staged in-person production is the world premiere of Michael Merton’s dark comedy I’ll Be With…
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Theater Review: THE CIVIL TWILIGHT (Broadwater Studio Theatre in Hollywood)
CIVIL UNREST When I walked into the very small and incredibly intimate Broadwater Studio Theatre, I immediately thought about Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love, about a couple of loners looking to connect, given the small, Western-style motel room designed by Joel Daavid. But the world premiere of Shem Bitterman‘s The Civil Twilight, directed with emotional…
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