THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM (ROGUE MACHINE): 91% – SWEET

Tim Cummings and Lisa Pelikan in “The New Electric Ballroom” at Theatre/Theater. Credit: John Flynn.

SWEET
The somber vaudevilles his characters compulsively return to aren’t always easy to follow, but the emotion behind their theatrical expression is made crystal clear in this haunting production.
Charles McNulty – LA Times

SWEET
These characters make a thoroughly engaging impression, performances are top-flight, and Leigh Allen’s lighting design and John Perrin Flynn’s direction are wonderful.
Lovell Estell III – LA Weekly

SWEET
Walsh’s play is an elegiac tale of sexual frustration and blighted lives, relieved only by the lyrical, eloquent language in the prose arias and the rich local color. Director John Perrin Flynn has cast the play beautifully; all four performances are terrific.
Neal Weaver – Backstage

BITTERSWEET
This is a very good play with some excellent performances. In the end, though, I’m not sure how I actually felt about it. I was transfixed rather than moved. The Rogue Machine has done well by Enda Walsh, and 2012 will likely bring them more accolades, but I wanted to love this much more than I did.
Samuel Bernstein – Stage and Cinema

BITTERSWEET
Critics have waxed eloquent about previous productions of The New Electric Ballroom, and my best guess is that Rogue Machine will score numerous raves for this latest staging of Walsh’s surreal fairy tale. If you’re anything like this reviewer, however, The New Electric Ballroom will probably not be your Irish cup of tea.
Steven Stanley – StageSceneLA

SWEET
The entire production is extraordinarily funny and viscerally sad.
Dale Reynolds – Stagehappenings

SWEET
The new production of this play by Rogue Machine continues the company’s long streak of excellence, highlighted by a quartet of accomplished performers under John Perrin Flynn’s superb direction.
Terry Morgan – LAist

SWEET
If you enjoy great theatre, THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM by Enda Walsh is a not-to-be-missed, must-see play, but I do not recommend it.
Harvey Sid Fisher – Hollywood Today

BITTERSWEET
Recent Tony Award winner for his book of Best Musical “Once,” playwright Enda Walsh has “The New Electric Ballroom” mounted by Rogue Machine with both on and off results.
Gil Kaan – Culture Spot LA

SWEET
Words have rarely gushed from actors’ mouth in such volume or intensity, nor are the spaces between the words usually so telling.
Adam Leipzig – Cultural Weekly

SWEET
It is a flawless work of art, in my estimation, riveting from first moment to last.
Andrea Kittelson – LA Examiner

SWEET
It takes a bit to get into the rhythm of Enda Walsh’s unusual play, as well as some effort to decipher the thick Irish brogue that flavors the women’s ranting, but once you do, The New Electric Ballroom certainly has its rewards. There are several moments of laugh-out-loud humor, all the more hilarious from their unexpected nature.
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA

SWEET
Director Flynn sculpts the play’s amorphous essences into an event that makes emotional and metaphysical sense.
Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly

SWEET
Though this highly unconventional play won’t be everyone’s cup of Irish tea, Rogue Machine provides a superbly nuanced production of a highly challenging work.
Les Spindle – Frontiers

SWEET
But this dense, talky seriocomedy is peppered with wit and originality.
Jordan Young – LA Examiner

SWEET
The New Electric Ballroom is wonderfully theatrical, creating a kind of sensual experience of pain/pleasure one is unlikely to forget – ever.
Don Grigware – Grigware Blogspot

THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM
Rogue Machine
At Theatre/Theater
5041 Pico Blvd., LA
Sat., 5 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; Mon., 8 p.m.
EXTENDED THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2, 2012
Tickets: (855) 585-5185; $30