All Entries Tagged With: "beverly cohn"
I’M NOT RAPPAPORT (WEST COAST JEWISH THEATRE): 90% – SWEET
BITTERSWEET The play, like its central characters, was showing its age. Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly SWEET In a tribute both to Herb Gardner’s brilliant play which, through his comically sharp dialogue, explores a myriad of social issues, especially the challenge of aging and dodging adult children who think they have your best interests [...]
THE GIFT: 55% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER An appealing and capable cast keeps the flicker of hope alive that Joanna Murray-Smith’s play “The Gift” will be worth our time despite the mounting evidence to the contrary. But by the end of this 90-minute comedy even the actors seem done in by the effort of sustaining the illusion that there’s something important [...]
CONEY ISLAND CHRISTMAS: 79% – SWEET
SWEET As with many gifts, the wrapping isn’t much to speak of, in this case a weak framing narrative taken from a Grace Paley short story. But what’s inside – not one but two kid pageants superbly staged by Bart DeLorenzo, and a pan-denominational message – is a jewel to be cherished. Bob Verini – [...]
BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK: 73% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark” would rather be antic than preachy. This is a reasonable if not an entirely necessary trade-off. But Lathan fills out the human dimension of a character Nottage clearly loves too much to weep over. Charles McNulty – LA Times BITTERSWEET The evening at the Geffen is overall something [...]
COLLECTED STORIES (ODYSSEY THEATRE): 82% – SWEET
SWEET The lives of writers are notoriously difficult to dramatize, but Margulies pulls it off persuasively, showing the two women at work, which leads to their growing intimacy. Director Terri Hanauer elicits fine performances from her cast and expertly calibrates the shifts in the women’s ever-changing relationship. Neal Weaver – Backstage SWEET Directed by Terri [...]
SWEET THURSDAY (PACIFIC RESIDENT): 29% – BITTER
BITTER What results is an attenuated hodge-podge with scene after scene — including several inadequately rendered musical numbers — that do little to further the action. F. Kathleen Foley – LA Times SWEET Robb Derringer and Matt McKenzie (who also directs) have beautifully adapted novelist John Steinbeck’s sequel to Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, into a [...]
MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION: 70% – BITTERSWEET
BITTERSWEET The cast members are clearly enjoying themselves, but with a fair number of duds among the verbal warheads, hilarity is not always mutually assured. Philip Brandes – LA Times BITTERSWEET If a play is going to traffic in cartoons, as this one does, they really need to keep bouncing off the walls — so [...]
THE IRISH CURSE: 85% – SWEET
SWEET “Curse” may be a play about insecurity, but director Andrew Barnicle’s staging has real confidence; tonally, it’s near faultless. The interplay among the men is fast and funny, with Pacheco quietly anchoring the outsized performances of his secular mates. Charlotte Stoudt – LA Times BITTERSWEET Casella’s an assured writer, and the piece gets a [...]
SIDEWAYS: THE PLAY: 92% – SWEET
SWEET Adapted by Rex Pickett from his novel (which also spawned the 2004 hit movie), their oenophilial odyssey makes an enjoyable if at times leisurely debut in its stage incarnation at Ruskin Group Theatre. Philip Brandes – LA Times BITTERSWEET In this intimate world premiere, we have a fun time swilling with the errant boys [...]
THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE: 94% – SWEET
SWEET That’s par for the course of the rarefied ability and captivating story that Golabek shares with us. It makes her unforgettable tribute an undiluted privilege to witness. David C. Nichols – LA Times BITTERSWEET The Pianist of Willesden Lane features world-class piano playing, a moving story, a performer who has mastered the art of [...]
THE CONVERT: 89% – SWEET
SWEET The devastating clash between Western culture and religion and African tradition and spirituality is at the heart of this masterful new work. Director Emily Mann has mounted a production that’s as compelling as it is gorgeous. Jennie Webb – Backstage SWEET Brought to life by Emily Mann’s subtle direction, a splendid set by Daniel [...]
GOOD PEOPLE (GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE): 96% – SWEET
SWEET Although Kaczmarek is the shining star of the show, she isn’t the only standout in the L.A. production of Good People. The sets, by designer Craig Siebels, are stunning, changing from a back alley to a kitchen to a church hall to a suburban mansion. And Marylouise Burke is an inveterate scene-stealer as Dottie, [...]
WHY WE HAVE A BODY: 44% – BITTER
SWEET As a director, Tanna has done a great job of moving the play along and getting excellent performances out of her talented ensemble cast. Irene Rubaum-Keller – Huffington Post BITTERSWEET Chafee has a knack for creating engagingly oddball characters and finding the humor in their eccentricities, but her disjointed narrative sometimes makes “Body” seem [...]
NEW JERUSALEM: 57% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER Breathing life into those ideas, however, requires performers who understand them. Setting aside flubbed lines, cadences and delivery frequently do not reflect a good handle on their meaning. Instead, emotional peaks arrive at arbitrary overacted moments, with insignificant sound and fury. Philip Brandes – LA Times BITTERSWEET Ives strives to make the theological debate [...]
THE LONESOME WEST (RUSKIN GROUP): 50% – BITTER
BITTER It’s a delicious premise, but McDonagh hasn’t delivered on it. Unlike “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” with its ruthless efficiency, “West” suffers from lazy storytelling. The intimate space at the Ruskin is ideal for this claustrophobic tale, yet no amount of careful scene work by director Mike Reilly can disguise McDonagh’s shoddy construction. Charlotte Stoudt [...]
AWAKE IN A WORLD THAT ENCOURAGES SLEEP: 100% – SWEET
SWEET Although sometimes outlandish in how it delivers its message, this cracked polemic’s originality and full-throttle attack are unmistakable. David C. Nichols – Backstage SWEET But on the stage, “Awake,” starring Barry with Joseph Culp (Don Draper’s surly father in those stylish “Mad Men” flashbacks) and the lovely Tacey Adams, is a masterpiece of comic [...]
RED HOT PATRIOT: THE KICK-ASS WIT OF MOLLY IVINS: 65% – BITTERSWEET
BITTERSWEET Kathleen Turner, who portrays Ivins in “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins,” which opened Wednesday at the Geffen Playhouse, can’t quite duplicate the light East Texas drawl. (Turner’s signature husky tone sounds as though she’s been treating a sore throat by gargling with bourbon.) But the veteran actress has that same [...]
JANE FONDA IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION: 66% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET Be ready to shred a few tears near the end of this effective, makes-you-think hour-and-45-minute show. Gil Kaan – Culture Spot LA BITTERSWEET This is why the topic of Jastrow’s play, co-directed by Michelle Danner, is so hypnotic — more so than the play itself, or this production of it. Steven Leigh Morris – [...]
THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM (INTERNATIONAL CITY THEATRE): 90% – SWEET
SWEET The Disney charade doesn’t fool anyone, however, as the PG-13 content arouses giggles and gasps from the audience. Full of laughter and levity, “The Robber Bridegroom” doesn’t spark much deep emotional catharsis, but it will certainly give you a jolly ol’ time. Sara Itkis – Neon Tommy SWEET If you’re looking for a night [...]
THE GOD OF ISAAC: 71% – BITTERSWEET
BITTERSWEET That said, under the sharp direction of Darin Anthony, the cast gives a uniformly professional, entertaining performance, bringing to life a play that does not have a single original idea, thought, or word. What Sherman has written instead is a play filled with recycled Jewish stereotypes spewing jokes that have been around for years. [...]
THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS: 95% – SWEET
SWEET The otherwise well-done play lacks a certain cohesion, so the final climactic scenes leave something to be desired in terms of passion and heightened emotion. But that aside, Metcalfe has written a thoughtful bit of prose about the tragedies that shape our common lives, and the Ruskin has done it justice. Jessica Pauline Ogilvie [...]
THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY: 84% – SWEET
SWEET It’s unlikely we’ll see any offering this season that remotely resembles playwright Kristoffer Diaz’s balls-out theatrical happening. His vision is flamboyantly brought to life in collaboration with Edward Torres’ electrifying direction, an inspired design team, and an energetic and committed cast. Les Spindle – Backstage SWEET This production, directed by Edward Torres, whose lengthy [...]
PRIVATE LIVES (INTERNATIONAL CITY THEATRE): 95% – SWEET
SWEET Combining witty dialogue with glamorous flair, flamboyant characters – including the wildly hilarious maid, Louise (Wendy Cutler), who does not make long enough of an appearance – charming sets, and subtly intelligent comedy, Private Lives is well-executed on the stage of the International City Theatre. Parimal M. Rohit – Buzzine SWEET A wonderful cast [...]
VIVIEN: 78% – SWEET
SWEET Actor Judith Chapman and director Elina de Santos offer much to savor in this smart and elegant showcase, including guilty-pleasure theatrics, great humor and poignancy, and an opportunity to learn tantalizing tidbits about an indelible showbiz legend. Les Spindle – Backstage SWEET But you can’t deny a grande dame her grandiosity. More than one [...]
THE ESCORT: 91% – SWEET
BITTERSWEET The play, a world premiere, is on the road to a destination that hasn’t yet been discovered. Some of this has to do with Anderson’s expository writing style, and some with director Lisa Peterson’s punching scene transitions that obscure some reflective essences in Anderson’s writing. Some with lapses of credibility and some with the [...]
33 VARIATIONS (AHMANSON): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Fonda may overplay Katherine’s crisp authoritarianism, and her Cosmo covergirl styling crazily suggests that musicologists have the same disposable income as Hollywood royalty. But she offers a moving, vanity-free depiction of her character’s physical descent. And the spiritual enlightenment that follows, bringing her all sorts of epiphanies into Beethoven’s work and the precious value [...]
THE BREAK OF NOON: 47% – BITTER
BITTER The production, directed by Jo Bonney, is sleek and modern, but it’s not a miracle worker. A flashy presentation can’t cover up weaknesses in the writing, and the propulsive lighting (David Weiner) and sound design (Darron L. West) only italicize an emptiness in the drama. Charles McNulty – LA Times BITTER Director Jo Bonney [...]
FROM HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD: 100% – Sweet
SWEET Musical director Litteral and his nattily dressed 12-member band (Jessica Olson’s costumes are entirely on cue) combine into a flawless, robust performance redolent of the best of Ellington or Basie. Luca Ellis is a knockout from start to finish as the Crooner. How good is he? If you close your eyes while he sings [...]
BREAK THE WHIP: 56% – Bittersweet [UPDATED]
BITTER The spectacle elements stand apart. You can sense the workshop participants’ enthusiasm for their full ensemble Bantu chant and response, or chase scenes through rippling, handheld strips of blue fabric. But all this pageantry outlasts both its utility to the drama and its welcome. An overall Commedia dell’Arte look promises physical expansiveness and wit [...]
ALL MY SONS (RUSKIN GROUP THEATRE): 89% – Sweet – UPDATED
SWEET Director Edward Edwards does not attempt any revisionist flourishes in the current production of “Sons” at the Ruskin Group, but although his simple staging may seem somewhat tame at intervals, it has, on the whole, an emotional authenticity that honors the play’s timeless themes. F. Kathleen Foley – LA Times SWEET Trust me, there [...]
