All Entries Tagged With: "philip brandes"
COPS AND FRIENDS OF COPS: 83% – SWEET
SWEET Klier’s script builds to a riveting first-act climax with masterful pacing and economy. The second half would benefit from further development, particularly in the placement of some character revelations and digressive conversations that defy credibility given the high-stakes situation that’s been so skillfully established. Still, the fine performances keep this new piece as gripping [...]
SOMEONE WHO’LL WATCH OVER ME (GROUP REP): 96% – 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 [...]
AMERICAN MISFIT: 63% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET Via songs by Mr. Dietz and Phillip Owen, painstaking and inventive direction by Michael Michetti, and the enthusiastic participation of a four-man rockabilly band and a cast of eight (some overlap there), this show shouts encouragement to those who would participate in a collective political and spiritual evolution. If the show were a person, [...]
THE BEAUX’ STRATAGEM (A NOISE WITHIN): 84% – SWEET
SWEET For educational value alone, it’s wonderful to see the play produced professionally, but under Julia Rodriguez-Elliot’s direction, A Noise Within’s production makes it clear why the play was so popular back in its day. “The Beaux’ Stratagem” is immensely funny, and it’s quite entertaining to watch such a well-crafted play. Katie Buenneke – Neon [...]
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 [...]
MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION (ANTAEUS): 95% – SWEET
SWEET Shaw’s 1893 ground-breaker makes an exciting return to Los Angeles as The Antaeus Company premieres another if its couldn’t-be-better revivals starring the incomparable Anne Gee Byrd in the title role. Who could ask for anything more? Steven Stanley – StageSceneLA SWEET A strong, able cast led by Robin Larsen’s firm direction makes George Bernard [...]
ALABAMA BAGGAGE: 13% – BITTER
BITTER Taking aim at a topic as loaded as the revolver with which its characters take turns menacing one another, Buddy Farmer’s “Alabama Baggage” centers on the traumatic scars of childhood sexual abuse. The drama’s first full staging at Theatre Asylum falls short of its serious intentions, however, with the need for further development still [...]
SKETCHES FROM THE NATIONAL LAMPOON (HAYWORTH THEATRE): 63% – BITTERSWEET
BITTERSWEET Some of that is-nothing-sacred irreverence still haunts the theatrical debut of “Sketches from the National Lampoon” at the Hayworth Theatre, though too often as a ghost of former greatness. Philip Brandes – LA Times SWEET “Sketches From the National Lampoon” is simply a series of revisited goofy blackout skits, no doubt. It has no [...]
MACHU PICCHU, TEXAS: 100% – SWEET
SWEET That McNeil’s staging achieves such uniform and tightly-orchestrated performances from the entirety of his 11-member cast is all the more impressive — there are no weak links in this finely-tuned ensemble effort. Philip Brandes – LA Times SWEET It’s an angry, dysfunctional family again, folks, but this time the intensity is mitigated by a [...]
THE MISADVENTURES OF RICK THE STRANGLER: 83% – SWEET
SWEET I recommend this to anyone who doesn’t mind a little blood and a lot of laughs, but especially to young aspiring playwrights and actors. Peterson moves freely in and out of theatrical modes and clichés, commandeering each to serve his purpose. There are two original song and dance numbers, a stage that morphs with [...]
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 [...]
SHERLOCK’S LAST CASE (GROUP REP): 82% – SWEET
SWEET Sherlock’s Last Case is another notch in the belts of co-artistic directors Winfield and Eisenberg, and a real step forward for this already momentum-laden company. Radomir Luza – North Hollywood-Tolca Lake Patch SWEET A wickedly satisfying British play, loaded with saucy twists ‘n’ turns and plenty of chuckles … which makes the final outcome [...]
ANGELS FALL (PRODUCTION COMPANY): 75% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER Directed by Alex Egan, the production’s weakest link is Fonseca’s simplistic rendering of the troubled young physician, a man torn between temptation and duty. Then again, all the performances appear at best under-rehearsed, with even the usually excellent Johnson seeming distanced from the good father’s emotional core. Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly SWEET Mostly [...]
ONE NOVEMBER YANKEE: 83% – SWEET
SWEET Taking its name from the tail number of a crashed airplane, “One November Yankee” at the NoHo Arts Center is about a disaster rather than being a disaster, which is always the better side of the equation for a new play to be on. Philip Brandes – LA Times BITTERSWEET Overall, though, One November [...]
Critique of the Week – Runner Runner Up
This week I have a trio of original raves for a trio of original productions for our Sacred COW’S. The first involves a big paper’s coverage of a small company doing a big gorilla. KONG: A GODDAMN THIRY-FOOT GORILLA Philip Brandes – LA Times Skypilot Theatre Company’s “Kong: A Goddamn Thirty-Foot Gorilla” sets its satirical [...]
AVENUE Q (DOMA THEATRE): 100% – SWEET
SWEET With its unique blend of humor and heart, complete with puppet sex, inappropriate language, Internet porn, partial puppet nudity, and a final message that reminds us that “Everything in life is only for now,” I guarantee you’ll leave with a smile on your face. Ellen Dostal – Musicals in LA SWEET DOMA Theatre Company [...]
SMOKE AND MIRRORS (ROAD THEATRE): 96% – SWEET
SWEET “Smoke and Mirrors” handily demonstrates Selznick’s conquest of his own greatest fear — being a nobody. Perhaps his greatest trick of all: making boredom completely disappear. Philip Brandes – LA Times SWEET This is a fabulous show for kids of all ages. Don Grigware – BroadwayWorld SWEET Fans of his work on stage and [...]
VINCENT (VS THEATRE): 100% – SWEET
SWEET As performed by French-born actor Jean-Michel Richaud, this insightful and often moving 1981 solo show penned by Leonard Nimoy transcends the usual clichés surrounding the high-maintenance artist with the tortured relationship to his aural appendage. Philip Brandes – LA Times SWEET Still, it takes an actor and director to fully create Theo and his [...]
KONG: A GODDAMN 30-FOOT GORILLA: 100% – SWEET
SWEET Yet some of these odd scenes, including shipman Jack Driscoll’s (Eric Curtis Johnson) confessions to an AA meeting and the Skull Island native chief (Arden Haywood) shedding his headdress to instruct us about “race” movies from the 1930s, offer some deliciously amusing rewards. Pauline Adamek – LA Weekly SWEET Written with hilarious imagination by [...]
I OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES (FALCON THEATRE): 56% – BITTERSWEET
BITTERSWEET It’s not until the middle of the second act that Gregg W. Brevoort’s staging finds its way to some genuinely touching father-daughter exchanges, but for the most part this is Neil Simon-by-the-numbers, steeped in sentimentality rather than feeling. Phillip Brandes – LA Times BITTER I Ought To Be In Pictures ought to be so [...]
CHERRY DOCS: 67% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET Overall this is a play worth seeing and since it is at one my favorite venues it is definitely worth a trip to Topanga Canyon. Mickala Jauregui – ALittleNightMusic SWEET The inviting natural setting of the Will Greer Theatricum Botanicum could only enhance any play that performs here and that is more so for [...]
WAR BRIDE: 100% – SWEET
SWEET One thing is certain. Samantha Macher’s historical drama with a twist is sure to get you talking once the lights have come back up following its stunning climax. Steven Stanley – StageSceneLA SWEET “War Bride” is a wonderfully written play and cleverly directed with some of the most intense stage performances you will see. [...]
THE BAT (THEATRE 40): 63% – BITTERSWEET
BITTERSWEET The piece has enough plot for three plays, but it’s too leisurely in unfolding. Director Martin M. Speer might have been wise to generate more speed and energy, particularly in the early scenes. Neal Weaver – Backstage SWEET The payoff was worth the wait. Audrey Linden – LA Examiner SWEET Directed by Martin M [...]
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 [...]
AS YOU LIKE IT (SHAKESPEARE CENTER OF LOS ANGELES): 100% – SWEET
SWEET This resetting of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy in present-day L.A. shows traces of Sabberton’s (and some of his cast members’) affiliation with New York-based Aquila Theatre Company, especially in its accessible and at times irreverent style. Philip Brandes – LA Times SWEET And in fact, despite Mr. Lavelle’s many gifts as a dancing fool, and [...]
ROADKILL CONFIDENTIAL (SON OF SEMELE): 83% – SWEET
SWEET Rising playwright Sheila Callaghan’s smart, noirish script, with its poetic language and creepy characters, finds a perfect home with Son of Semele Ensemble. Its interpretation, the show’s West Coast premiere, is amusing and appropriately weird. Katherine Davis – Backstage SWEET At what point does creative freedom collide with moral accountability? Sheila Callaghan’s bleakly sardonic [...]
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 [...]
BEDFELLOWS (NEW AMERICAN THEATRE): 75% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET Still, Bedfellows otherwise gathers enough momentum to, well, win an election or two. And how rare is it to see a play that’s set in the world of local LA politics? Don Shirley – LA Stage Watch SWEET Rose’s script intelligently defines these moral conflicts, and a committed cast make them visceral. The campaign [...]
SUKIE AND SUE: THEIR STORY: 80% – SWEET
SWEET Sukie and Sue: Their Story will not change your life, and that’s okay. The Blank Theatre has produced a delightful diversion, a ridiculous excursion into the high times of a couple of nurses who have a slight demon-possession problem. The laughs are ample and the cast gleefully tackles Michael John Lachiusa’s absurd new comedy. [...]
