All Entries Tagged With: "carol kaufman segal"
COOPERSTOWN: 89% – SWEET
BITTERSWEET Director Darryl Johnson seems to hope we’ll sail over these logical gaps on the power of catharsis alone, but we could use a little more help from Golden. Robinson may be destined to be a metaphor forever, but another draft or two could help these promising characters escape a similar fate. Margaret Gray – [...]
OPENING NIGHT (THEATRE 40): 91% – 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 [...]
THE WOMEN (THEATRE WEST): 90% – 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 [...]
I’M NOT RAPPAPORT (WEST COAST JEWISH THEATRE): 92% – 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 [...]
FALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE: 93% – SWEET
SWEET Director Jim Fall and Musical Director Keith Harrison bring unexpected magic to the already magical—a neat trick. Samuel Bernstein – Stage and Cinema SWEET Falling for Make Believe rejects “falling for” the usual “make believe” that has permeated such previous dramatizations of the life of lyricist Hart as the 1948 Hollywood movie Words and [...]
RAISE ME UP (SANTA MONICA PLAYHOUSE): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Raise Me Up is directed by Chris DeCarlo. A cast of extremely fine actors bring so much life into the characters. Dialects are absolutely perfect. Costumes by Ashley Hayes are wonderful as they always are in all productions at the Santa Monica Playhouse. Visca has written a wonderful tribute to her parents, and the [...]
PETER PAN: THE BOY WHO HATED MOTHERS: 97% – SWEET
SWEET Most of the seven actors play multiple roles. They are all gifted with physical agility, grace, and easily switch between different realities and characters. As important is their ability to communicate wonder and joy believably — particularly as adults playing children — and the cast at the Blank Theatre is more than up to [...]
SOMEONE WHO’LL WATCH OVER ME (GROUP REP): 93% – SWEET
SWEET Director Gregg T. Daniel brilliantly conveys the energy and black humor that keeps the men alive, and Gary Lee Reed (Set); Kim Smith (Lighting); Steve Shaw (Sound) and Elizabeth Nankin (costumes) capture the desolation. Morna Murphy Martell – Theatre Spoken Here SWEET A must see for all L.A. theater enthusiasts! This spellbinding and intensely [...]
ANNAPURNA: 95% – SWEET
SWEET From White’s poignant script to Bart DeLorenzo’s faultless direction to Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman’s beautifully centered performances, “Annapurna” is a lovely theatrical construct from the ground up. F. Kathleen Foley – LA Times SWEET Under the sturdy, austere direction of DeLorenzo and featuring two actors capable of such astonishing commitment to their art, [...]
AMERICAN BUFFALO (GEFFEN): 80% – SWEET
SWEET David Mamet’s “American Buffalo” is set in a junk shop, but there are jewels to be found in the play and they are thrillingly laid out for us in the Geffen Playhouse’s dynamically acted production directed by Randall Arney. Charles McNulty – LA Times SWEET Nevertheless, Mamet’s world, despite its grounding in acute social [...]
BILLY & RAY: 97% – SWEET
SWEET Still, the most fascinating aspect of “Billy & Ray” is Bencivenga’s smart, knowing script, which captures an important era in filmmaking fueled by two great minds who rose above their shared belief that “if there’s one thing Hollywood hates, it’s originality.” Travis Michael Holder – Backstage SWEET Mike Bencivenga’s World Premiere play Billy & [...]
THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN: 75% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER The result as a play is not bad – interesting characters that surprise us – but the company’s production of this work makes a hash of what are quaint and difficult ideas almost a hundred years on. Co-directors Allison Darby Gorjian and Betsy Roth have failed in a major way with errant casting and [...]
RANK: 82% – SWEET
BITTER “Rank,” by Irish playwright Robert Massey, is an unremarkable, derivative, and predictable piece that is neither fish nor foul. Billed as a “darkly comic thriller,” it is hardly noirish enough to be a thriller, nor is it funny enough to be considered a comedy. Because the script lacks any dramatic or comedic tension, we [...]
REMEMBRANCE (THEATRE 40): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Under the astute direction of Tim Byron Owen, an extremely talented cast brings these complicated characters to life. Carol Kaufman Segal – Stagehappenings SWEET “Remembrance” is a very special love story that you, too, will long remember. Shari Barrett – BroadwayWorld SWEET In spite of its 3 hour length, Remembrance is enjoyable dramatic fare, [...]
NUTTIN’ BUT HUTTON: 75% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET Winningly directed by Larry Raben and featuring a versatile set by Jeff McLaughlin that morphs from Heymeister’s office to a swanky two-story art deco stage, “Nuttin’ but Hutton” has a lot of somethin’. Travis Michael Holder – Backstage SWEET This is one helluva show that never lets up on entertainment value. Don Grigware – [...]
BELZ! A JEWISH VAUDEVILLE MUSICAL (WHITEFIRE THEATRE): 75% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET Encompassing strong denotations of the political issues that Jews encountered during WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII, Belz is laced with “laugh-out-loud” moments and thought-provoking content. Janice Marie Estrada – LifeInLA SWEET The story is humane and interesting, but what adds to the production is the music, the memorable Yiddish songs from way back [...]
DIVORCE PARTY: THE MUSICAL: 60% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER The result is formulaic truisms struggling to pass for something true. Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly BITTER Mark Schwartz, producer of the runaway hit “Menopause: The Musical,” struggles to repeat that winning formula in this unfortunate outing, which features a book by Schwartz, Amy Botwinick and Jay Falzone. Falzone, who directs and choreographs, [...]
COMPLETE: 58% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET The play is always interesting and fun to watch, and director Jennifer Chambers keeps the comedy in the forefront, but the insistently nonlinear structure sometimes proves distracting. Credibility also is an issue. Neal Weaver – LA Weekly SWEET The play goes back and forth in time, and director Jennifer Chambers, who was once a [...]
SHIRLEY VALENTINE (FALCON THEATRE): 100% – SWEET
SWEET I have seen some terrific plays, but this one goes to the top of the list. SHIRLEY VALENTINE performed by DeeDee Rescher is comedic and poignant. Cathy Wayne – NoHoArtsDistrict SWEET Russell’s words are so poignant and so relatable that Shirley bursts onto the stage fully fleshed out in all the glory of her [...]
VON BACH: 94% – SWEET
SWEET Go because you genuinely want a good time: because you want to laugh, honestly and completely, and enjoy this new definition of what is termed a “date show.” Nothing says, “I love you,” like a smart comedy about the rising dead. Melissa Gordon – Playwriting in the City SWEET For anyone who has enjoyed [...]
STEPPING OUT (GROUP REP): 93% – SWEET
SWEET Humorously and poignantly written by Richard Harris. Ambitiously directed and choreographed by Stan Mazin (with the assistance of Linda Alznauer and Michele Bernath respectively….) this is a comedic “slice of life” story. Pat Taylor – Tolucan Times SWEET The GROUP Rep has had a wonderful season, filled with entertaining and noteworthy performances. Next season [...]
LADYHOUSE BLUES (ANDAK STAGE COMPANY): 78% – SWEET
SWEET Director Anne McNaughton gets fine work from her cast, and keeps the pacing swift enough that the show flies by. O’Morrison’s play works on multiple levels other than just a strong story for a quintet of actresses, from a study of how women in wartime cope without men to an example of how at [...]
I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT (COLONY THEATRE): 96% – SWEET
SWEET I’ll Be Back Before Midnight is an isolated-country-house thriller with more sudden jolts than actual surprises. You’ve seen Gaslight? Think of it as taking place in the ‘70s in Canada, and you get a good idea of what transpires. Don Shirley – LA Stage Times SWEET Think of Deathtrap, Sleuth and others in that [...]
7 STORIES: 80% – SWEET
SWEET The characters that appear in the windows are absolutely the funniest ever and keep the audience laughing throughout. They are Greg Barnett, Jennifer Laks, Richard Hoyt Miller, Steve Oreste, Flora Plumb, and Jill Remez, all who each play two wild and crazy characters in this unusual play. One would not expect such humor from [...]
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 [...]
BENCHED: 75% – BITTERSWEET
Eddie Jones and Matt Fowler in “Benched” at the Avery Schreiber Theatre. Credit: Alan Naggar. SWEET It is one that is worth seeing on your own, not only for the play itself, but for the two superb actors who bring empathy, humor, and warmth to their roles. Carol Kaufman Segal – Reviewplays SWEET You will [...]
FALLEN ANGELS (PASADENA PLAYHOUSE): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Shrug off that fur, have a cocktail and dish the dirt with “Fallen Angels,” Art Manke’s irresistible production of a rarely seen Noel Coward comedy, now at the Pasadena Playhouse. Charlotte Stoudt – LA Times SWEET The direction by Art Manke keeps the comic motor chugging smoothly, and he gives the women all the [...]
FREUD’S LAST SESSION (BROAD STAGE): 76% – SWEET
BITTERSWEET For “Freud’s Last Session” to be a deeper play it would have to take a freer hand with the characters, exploring the textures of their inner lives rather than simply surveying their intellectual positions. St. Germain playfully illuminates some of the contradictions in their characters, but the piece sticks mostly to the surface, satisfying [...]
THE GAMBLER’S DAUGHTER: 17% – BITTER
BITTER Brian E. Smith’s staging underserves North’s script. As a result, the conflicts are uninvolving and the sometimes sharp dialogue falls flat. You’re better off putting your money on a different horse. Philip Brandes – LA Times SWEET This was a fun production with some serious commentary on jobs, gambling issues and the idea that [...]
THE RAINMAKER (EDGEMAR CENTER FOR THE ARTS): 91% – SWEET
SWEET All the players are ablaze in this terrific version of N. Richard Nash’s classic play, thanks to Jack Heller’s careful direction, Christopher Stone’s beautiful set design, Juliet Klanchar’s lighting, and Kelly Fluker’s costumes. But, bottom line, the play belongs to Tanna Frederick, and Meryl Streep couldn’t do it better. Cynthia Citron -LA Examiner SWEET [...]
