LemonMeter
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AT THE FLASH: 100% – SWEET
SWEET This is a show that makes its point with humor but also searing and [...] -
MAHMOUD: 83% – SWEET
SWEET The freshest and funniest material — aided by Davis’ smart and brisk staging — [...] -
FOOL FOR LOVE (T.U. STUDIOS): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Chad Doreck and Lauren Plaxco deeply and thoroughly inhabit the unhinged yearning and raw [...] -
COOPERSTOWN: 87% – SWEET
BITTERSWEET Director Darryl Johnson seems to hope we’ll sail over these logical gaps on the [...] -
THE FANTASTICK (SOUTH COAST REP): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Purists may howl — I noted scattered walkouts at intermission — but that’s their [...] -
DYING CITY: 93% – SWEET
SWEET Directed by Michael Peretzian and starring Laurie Okin and Burt Grinstead, the production serves [...] - More from LemonMeter
Ponderings
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Bitter Lemons’ Critics Panel Set for Hollywood Fringe
We’re getting back to basics this year, LemonHeads, a topic right in our wheelhouse: The [...] -
Lee Melville: RIP
As many of you probably know by now, Lee Melville, longtime LA Theater Icon, founder [...] -
Dramaturgy Case Study: The Secret of Monkey Island
Fairly early on in the computer game The Secret of Monkey Island, our hero, the [...] -
Why I’m Tired of Being an (Asian) Actor
No, not me. I’m about as Asian as Haggis. No, I’m talking about actor Alexis [...] -
New App Highlights Shakespeare’s Sonnets
It’s called The Sonnet Project created by NY Shakespeare Exhcange and you can get it for [...] -
Critique of the Week
As usual, Tony is laser sharp with his assessment of a show. I saw this [...] - More from Ponderings
Other Recent Articles
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OPENING NIGHT (THEATRE 40): 93% – SWEET
SWEET The entire fiasco offers an evening of laughter throughout, and all of the actors prove their comedic talent. Former Canadian actor Bruce Gray directs. Carol Kaufman Segal – Reviewplays SWEET The show beamed with brilliance… from the direction, acting, and writing. Even the set decorators were deserving of applause, proving yet again, what Theatre [...]
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THE CRUCIBLE (ANTAEUS): 95% – SWEET
BITTERSWEET As for the differing styles of delivery, it’s a brave theatrical device, but it was used for one of the few plays I know that doesn’t need deconstructionist staging. It’s like chipping away at some of the marble on Michelangelo’s David to display it in a smaller museum. Yes, there were moments that I [...]
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Carlie & Doni Hit the Road – The College Tour
Hailed as “L.A.’s BEST comedians” by LA Magazine Carlie & Doni detour from their college tour to bring their latest not to be missed musical/comedy act to Santa Monica Playhouse. The irreverent duo whose show, “Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner present Carlie and Doni help Save the Playhouse” played to a sell-out crowd in March [...]
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Extended! The World Premiere of Lisa Phillips Visca’s Raise Me Up
“An unforgettable love story with humor and heart.” – Martin Short “A warm-hearted romance … possesses an engagingly old-fashioned mood that feels as timeless as romance itself.” –LA Weekly Do you believe in love at first sight? soul mates? eternal love? By the time the final curtain falls, you’ll believe. A true story about a “moonstruck” couple’s forbidden love, [...]
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CHESS (EAST WEST PLAYERS): 60% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET There’s much more to say about this vivid production, but its best left to experience yourself. There are things here and there that were different from previous productions of the show (“Someone Else’s Story” and “Pity the Child” are both moved to the first act, albeit fairly effectively) and the love story needed a [...]
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LA STAGE DAY Arrives This Saturday, May 18th, 9am-5:30pm
I cannot attend as I have fatherly duties, but it looks like an interesting gathering. Here’s all the poop: Join us for LA STAGE Day — a day-long community event for the greater Los Angeles performing arts community: performers, designers, administrators, leaders, students, supporters, vendors, and patrons. Generously hosted by California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) [...]
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TRUE WEST (STAGES OF GRAY): 33% – BITTER
BITTER However, I felt this project was just too ambitious for this new theater company. I want a large stage for Shepard’s plays; there exhausting and I feel you need the space between the actors and the audience. Gray tried to use too different casts one with a traditional approach and one group more edgy. [...]
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RICHARD III (ZOMBIE JOE’S): 75% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre, is a small black box theater but they can put on Shakespeare with the best of them. Spencer Cotter – The_Detective BITTERSWEET The basics are there, but if you aren’t familiar with the story and the relationships, it isn’t always easy to distinguish one character from another. This can be [...]
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THE SIZE OF PIKE (MOVING ARTS): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Boys will be boys and men will be men, though the distinction between the two is more likely one of personal income rather than emotional maturity. Or so it is with the three middle-aged children (Dennis Delsing, Jon Amirkhan and Gregg Christie) who explore their frayed adult bonds in this engaging revival of playwright [...]
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The 11 Rules for Having a Good Time at the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival
Some have referred to me as “Fringe Obsessed”. I believe that’s a new mental disorder recently added to the DSM III – or whatever they are calling it now – and to be honest I fully embrace the description. “But why?” You may ask, “Why be Fringe Obsessed, when so much of the work is [...]
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THE WOMEN (THEATRE WEST): 88% – SWEET
SWEET The women created by Clare Boothe Luce may have been born a century or more ago, but her comedy classic remains as sharply-clawed and freshly-mascaraed as if it had been written just last week. Those requiring proof positive of the above need only check out the entertaining revival confectioned by The Women Of Theatre [...]
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THE MATCHMAKER (ACTORS CO-OP): 100% – SWEET
SWEET With a whopping cast of 14 nutty actors darting on and off the stage, there are many belly laughs, and countless twists n’ turns to follow. Pat Taylor – Tolucan Times SWEET In a season that has included a brilliantly reconceived The World Goes Round and superbly acted revivals of Agatha Christie’s And Then [...]
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Writer for National Review Destroys Annoying Audience Member’s Cell Phone During Live Performance
Saw this great story on the LAist wire. Kevin Williamson, writer for the National Review and other publications, just couldn’t take it any longer and finally grabbed some chick’s cell phone and tossed it into oblivion. I know the feeling, Kevin. As do most of you reading this. It’s is still astonishing to me that [...]
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THE NORTH PLAN: 67% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET The North Plan written by Jason Wells and directed by David Fofi presented by Elephant Theatre Company in its Los Angeles Premiere is a fast-paced, overlapping dialogue, prodigious show with wonderful performances by an astonishing cast who will have you on the edge of your seat! And the ending will have you begging for [...]
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Top Hollywood voiceover artist Bill Ratner’s new solo show Bobbywood at the Fringe –
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOBBYWOOD: THE LONGEST DEATH SCENE a theatrical performance in the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival written and performed by renowned Hollywood voiceover artist Bill Ratner. • Selected BEST OF HOLLYWOOD FRINGE 2012 for Voices in my Head • Eight-time winner: The Moth Story Slams • HUFFINGTON POST: “More than just the premier voiceover talent in Hollywood today, Ratner writes with [...]
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Zenith’s “The Devil and Billy Markham” at the Hollywood Fringe
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY, 2013 Contact: Aaron Lyons 310-902-3142 Email: aarontlyons@gmail.com ZENITH ENSEMBLE PRESENTS SHEL SILVERSTEIN’S THE DEVIL AND BILLY MARKHAM AS PART OF THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL – JUNE 2013 WHAT: THE DEVIL AND BILLY MARKHAM WHO: ZENITH ENSEMBLE WHERE: 3 Clubs Bar, 1123 Vine St Hollywood, CA 90038. WHEN: Sun June 9, 6:45p [...]
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Ebony Cabaret at the Fringe
Desiree Parkman/DP Productions in Association with Three Clubs present Ebony Cabaret joins lineup of Hollywood Fringe Festival! “Ebony Cabaret Adds Flair to L.A. Theatre” Kelly Hawkins / News4usonline “Perhaps the one thing that stands out most is the high- quality level of talent.” Jay Jackson/lajazz.com The minute you walk in the joint, you will be [...]
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