All Entries in the "Featured" Category
The Dramaturg: 5 Theater Things Currently Making Me Happy
I feel like I’ve been kind of a bummer so far here at Bitter Lemons. All I’ve done is complain and pick fights. So, I apologize. It’s February. There’s no good sports on. I get cranky. Forgive me. But it’s like 80 degrees in Santa Monica today and I’m feeling jovial, so let’s turn things [...]
McNulty Blames Jason Alexander for Reprise’s Woes
Chuck is on a freakin’ roll! No, seriously, the man deserves some props for laying down some recent honest albeit uncomfortable truths. First there is this article over at the LA Times on the crumbling of the Regional Theatre model. Now he’s calling out Jason Alexander for his lack of leadership and how it has [...]
Lost Moon Radio Rising
Ran into a couple of the Moon Units last night at the Hollywood Fringe Town Hall, producer Monica Milkitas, Actor writer rapper, Lauren Flans and Musical Maestro Rich Raumberg. Congrats to Lost Moon Radio for getting the gig of house band at the LA Weekly Awards, they are also gearing up for a new show, [...]
My night at the Edwardian Ball: Absinthe, Top Hats and a Guy Playing the Electric Shovel
Very fun evening at the beautiful Belasco Theatre last night. Thanks to Karin and the producers for allowing me to participate. Also got to hang with the gang from EyeSpyLA. You’re on the blogroll now people! The theme was everything Edward Gorey and though I’m not familiar with the artist as much as I’d like to [...]
Lenin visits Los Angeles
So I saw this at the corner of 4th and La Brea yesterday so I had to stop and snap a couple of photos. Now I’m pretty sure that’s Stalin’s Lenin’s head, right? But as I got closer and inquired of the passing pedestrians what the hell it was I discovered that it just recently went [...]
McNulty on the State of Regional Theatre
Very very interesting article from Chuck over at the LA Times, mostly focused on the effects of the economy on the quality of theatre around the regions. Check out the full article here. Chuck does some excellent work here starting with what he sees as the crux: The problem in a nutshell is this: Established theaters [...]
Latest BLIP: “Do the LA Weekly Awards Fairly Represent the best in Los Angeles Theatre?”
Being the equal opportunity offenders that we are – or supporters depending on how you’re looking at it – we have decided to put the LA Weekly Awards under the harsh light of scrutiny for the latest Bitter Lemons Interactive Poll (BLIP). Our last poll was this: And though it didn’t exactly bring out the [...]
Critique of the Week
I picked this one because I saw the show and I thought this review captured well what I experienced myself, though, admittedly, I experienced a little more profundity than this particular author did. Also, it was such a rare thing to see THR actually reviewing something in its own backyard (you are the HOLLYWOOD Reporter [...]
Critique of the Week – Runner Up
I picked this one because of its incredibly layered context. OSWALD: THE ACTUAL INTERROGATION Earnest Kearney – Working Author For nearly a decade and a half, tucked away between Franklin and Hollywood Blvd the Write Act Repertory Company has been the “little engine that could” of L.A. Theater, staging upwards of a hundred productions while [...]
Critique of the Week- Runner Runner Up
Bowing to the will of the people – or rather the LemonHead Nation – I’m going to add very brief descriptions of why I’ve chosen certain reviews for our “Critique of the Week” (COW) starting with this one. I picked this one because of its almost uncomfortably personal nature. BUDDHA: A FANTASTIC JOURNEY Clare Elfman – [...]
The Saturday Saying
“The problem in a nutshell is this: Established theaters have by and large grown larger, public funding has become a monumental challenge and artistic directors have moved in an increasingly commercial direction, adopting a bottom-line mentality that has put publicity and profitability over bold and substantive choices.” Charles McNulty – from his article “Regional theater’s [...]
The Friday Feature
Edwardian Ball, 2011, supposedly a nice primer for the event that’s happening this Sunday night.
First Hollywood Fringe Town Hall & Mixer Monday, Feb. 20, 7pm, at Open Fist
I will be there and so should you. I’ve been hearing that the applications have been pouring in for the Third Annual Hollywood Fringe Festival and this is a great opportunity to hear what it’s all about as well as meet some of the peeps who will be partaking. Here’s the info from Master Fringe [...]
Let’s Get “Edwardian”
I’ve always had a fascination with these things. Something akin to my fascination with the Rennaissance Faire. Sounded cool, different, but I sure wouldn’t want my friends to find out that I went. I finally went to a Renn Faire. Glad I did. Now we have the return of the “Edwardian Ball”. Never been to [...]
The “Clybourne” Supremacy
Was lucky enough to catch Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park at the Taper this week, this after seeing A Raisin in the Sun a couple of weeks ago at the Kirk Douglas. Thanks to the press folk over there for making it happen! The production of “Clybourne” is simply breathtaking. A Pulitzer well earned. The writing is so [...]
The Thursday Thought
Since we’ve been on a Dramaturg kick lately here at the Lemon, thought I’d offer this latest ditty. This motif has been jumping around Facebook and now there’s one for the Dramaturg. Eat your heart out, Dylan Southard!
2011 LA Weekly Award Nominations
Here they are LemonHeads! Woohoo! The LAWees! The LAWees! Hide your children, leash your dogs, ignore your cats! Although can someone explain to me the category “two person performance” and why it deserves distinction from any other kind of performance? Also why is “comedy performance” a distinct category from any other kind of performance? Shouldn’t [...]
The Dramaturg: The Devolution of the Modern Day Theatre Critic
None other than our esteemed editor Colin Mitchell weighed in this week on the subject of dramaturgy. Believe me, any time that dramaturgy is mentioned anywhere without someone making the “dramaturd” joke, it is a win. But if you’ll permit me a little point-counterpoint, I will say that before we start giving dramaturgy jobs away [...]
The Monday Moment
I know this isn’t going to be very PC, but I was never much of a fan of Whitney Houston’s music. Clearly she was a gifted singer, but her music just never did anything for me, and for me she was the one that started that hideous trend of souless vocal histrionics that still to [...]
The Saturday Saying (on a Monday)
“I’m going to open my review with some sage advice: Don’t drink anything before this show as there’s no intermission and you’ll likely wet your pants from all the gut-wrenching laughter. Also, (and this is for the ladies), plan to schedule a Botox injection to rid yourself of those new laugh lines you’ll have after [...]
Final Days for Latest BLIP: Do you need the choice for each Critique of the Week explained?
Okay we’re gonna close this bad boy down on Friday but wanted to give the LemonHead Nation a few more days to get their votes in. Here it is: It’s been a fairly small sampling so far, but it’s looking like the majority needs a little more clarity when it comes to our Critique of [...]
News Flash: Los Angeles Theatre is Alive and Well
Caught a few shows over the last couple weeks that I wanted to shout a little bit about. Really enjoyed A Raisin in the Sun courtesy of Ebony Rep with some well-deserved help from Center Theatre Group. Amazing to catch an American Classic given such an excellent production. Director Rashad never lets the melodramatic seams [...]
The Evolution of the Modern Day Theatre Critic: Dramaturgy
No, seriously, hang on for a second, this could work. But first I have to admit this isn’t exactly my original idea, actually I’m sure it’s been raised and dropped and explored on many different levels in many different places, but for me, it came out of a recent conversation with critic Sarah Taylor Ellis [...]
Critique of the Week
A RAISIN IN THE SUN & CLYBOURNE PARK Anthony Byrnes – Opening the Curtain Okay, what’s this whole Clybourne Park – A Raisin in the Sun connection at Center Theatre Group? Good question. Stick with me a minute because this gets a little tricky. A Raisin in the Sun is Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play revolving [...]
Houston, We Have a Problem! by Jay McAdams
The demons that plagued Whitney Houston have also got Los Angeles theatre by the throat! No, not the drugs. Drugs were just the medication chosen to numb her nonstop pain from this disease. I know this because I am a recovering patient, a carrier of this viral spiral downward. I am one who has suffered from wanting to [...]
Critique of the Week
ELEMENO PEA Bob Verini – Variety Molly Smith Metzler makes a minor contribution to American class warfare with “Elemeno Pea.” In a profanity-laden variation on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” she has a trio of proles suffer under the chaotic lifestyles of the rich and feckless, then strains after an eleventh hour stab at poignancy. [...]
A Santorum of Sentiment
The most expensive show produced in America, perhaps the world, is our presidential election cycle. This circus of well-orchestrated disorder amazes the dumb, but surprises nobody cynical enough to recognize it as theater. For cynicism, far from a social evil, now serves as a preventive to the mania infecting the body politic. This is the [...]
Harvey Perr’s Best of Los Angeles Theatre 2011
Some good stuff here, LemonHeads, from one of my favorite writers in Los Angeles, a man I once killed – Harvey Perr, theatre critic for Stage and Cinema. Just check out this tidbit and then go read the rest of it. You will not regret it. Agree or disagree with the man, he is an [...]
The Dramaturg: On Twitter, or The Marketing of Theater to Kittens
News broke last week that The Los Angeles Times will be severely curtailing their theater listings. Even amid the extended and by now predictable death throes of the newspaper industry and its arts coverage in particular, this most recent development seemed to really alarm people. This is because the aforementioned curtailing would include listings online. [...]
The Monday Moment (on a Tuesday)
For all you tree-huggin’, gun-hatin’ vegetarians out there, I give you – squirrel melts. I dare anyone to watch this thing to the end. Holy Bullwinkles!
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