All Entries Tagged With: "radomir luza"
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 [...]
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 & [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
CHRISTMAS MY WAY – A SINATRA HOLIDAY BASH! (EL PORTAL): 84% – SWEET
SWEET No finer Christmas present will come your way than Christmas My Way now onstage at the El Portal in NoHo through December 31. Written by David Grapes and Todd Olson who gave us My Way – A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, the show is a delicious combo of Christmas and nonholiday standards made [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (ANTAEUS): 95% – SWEET
BITTER It’s the kooky mayhem that’s this production’s undoing. There’s not enough space on Tom Buderwitz’s crowded set for all the horseplay. But the bigger problem is that the lunacy has no liftoff. Charles McNulty – LA Times SWEET Perhaps the most impressive thing about this production is how Bermingham has physically manipulated 17 game [...]
COLLECTED STORIES (GROUP REP): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Even if you’ve already seen Collected Stories, see it again, as the acting in this production could not get any better! Don Grigware – Grigware Reviews SWEET In the end, there is virtually no misstep in this creatively staged production of a quietly powerful play which proves once more that the Group Rep is [...]
THE FAINTING COUCH: 92% – SWEET
SWEET The absurdity of existence is masterfully conveyed through movement and lack of movement, inversions and delusions. The four actors take a weighted concept and deliver it to the stage with ecstatic wonder and physical prowess. Christine Palau – NoHoArtsDistrict SWEET The action, always lasting an hour, is fast-paced and thought-provoking. The work, though it [...]
THE GRONHOLM METHOD: 97% – SWEET
SWEET Director BT McNicholl does a laudable job of keeping the action kinetic while leading his actors to remain calm, cool, and cagey. All four performers are outstandingly understated, though their roles could be played to the hilt of theatrical grandiosity. Travis Michael Holder – Backstage SWEET Director BT McNicholl often takes the audience to [...]
I, CALIGULA: AN INSANITY MUSICAL: 46% – BITTER
BITTERSWEET A lot of hard work went into this production. Still, there’s room for improvement. Joe Straw – Joe Straw #9 BITTER Were this a spoof in the spirit of Waiting for Guffman, the agonizing, overwrought playing would begin to make sense, but by all accounts this is a serious outing. High production values are [...]
MISSING DICK: 67% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER It’s hard to care what happens to a cast of characters who don’t resemble actual humans, with problems that exist only as transparent setups to disappointing punch lines. The comedy is broad, the ensemble’s acting hamfisted across the board. Amy Lyons – LA Weekly BITTERSWEET Writer-director Bressack pitches his script at TV-sitcom level and [...]
THE PARIS LETTER (GROUP REP): 88% – SWEET
SWEET In fact, Jon Robin Baitz’ The Paris Letter with its breathtaking scope and poetic literary style may very well be categorized a new classic, and the current production is rendered so beautifully by a stellar cast and crew at Group rep through September 2. Don Grigware – Grigware Blogspot SWEET Baitz’s script is literate, [...]
MACBETH (ANTAEUS): 95% – SWEET
SWEET From that heartbreaking opening funeral—director Kubzansky’s invention which informs the rest of the play—the couple’s intensity and depth of feeling for each other is riveting. Mr. Nagle gives the lord a humanity that is by turns appealing and appalling. Ms Auberjonois’ decent into madness is truly effective. Steve Peterson – Grigware Blogspot SWEET At [...]
NO WAY AROUND BUT THROUGH: 58% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER Something feels wrong when you’d rather follow the B story of Jacob and Holly’s best friends, sex addicts who at least get to the point (and amiably played by Bre Blair and Val Lauren, who also directs). Caan is interested in the limits of language, yet sometimes his muddled, logorrheic lovers suck too much [...]
MOON OVER BUFFALO (GROUP REP): 100% – SWEET
SWEET MOON OVER BUFFALO is truly a night (or afternoon) of fun and frolic. Great script, fabulous actors and a completely enjoyable experience. Isn’t that what the theatre is supposed to be. Have a great time! Cathy Wayne – NoHoArtsDistrict SWEET Moon over Buffalo features hilarity and hijinks as it celebrates the theatrical world. Mary [...]
THE SQUARE ROOT OF WONDERFUL (RAVEN PLAYHOUSE RE-MOUNT): 75% – BITTERSWEET
SWEET It was truly a delight to see the cast working so well together to bring Carson McCuller’s words to life. Jack Doehring – LifeInLA SWEET The iconic Carson Mccullers mixes Southern tradition with cosmopolitan New York setting, quite the contrast, to make for a most intersting melodrama, “The Square Root of Wonderful,” playing at [...]
THE BRIDGE CLUB: 66% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER But Mike Sabatino’s direction is shaky, a failing particularly evident in Dobbs Owen’s slow line pick-ups and pauses. And Sue’s awkward smoking of bizarre long white things that bear little resemblance to cigarettes makes us wonder what Sabatino was thinking. F. Kathleen Foley – LA Times SWEET Christopher Franciosa and Nancy Dobbs Owen play [...]
LIGHTS OFF, EYES CLOSED: 91% – SWEET
SWEET Playfully directed by Meredith Berg, the capable cast of six gives ambitious and multi-faceted performances. Pat Taylor – Tolucan Times BITTERSWEET Liz Shannon Miller’s romantic comedy gets off to a rocky start, with unremarkable acting and staging, but soon finds its rhythm, as the cast of six improves as the story begins to plumb [...]
TWO GENTLEMEN OF CHICAGO (FALCON THEATRE): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Two Gentlemen Of Chicago looks a sure thing to sell out performance after performance, and rightly so. Troubies’ fans are legion, and certain to be tickled pink by this latest inspired tribute to two of the world’s greatest. Shakespeare plus Chicago equals Magic. Steven Stanley – StageSceneLA SWEET Troubie standards are always up there, [...]
THE SEAGULL (ANTAEUS): 82% – SWEET
SWEET I’ll admit it. When I hear the name Chekhov, the first words that pop into my head are dull, somber, and talky. That’s why it’s such a pleasure to report that the Antaeus Company’s revival of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull not only held my attention virtually throughout, it actually had me laughing more times [...]
NOT ONE MORE FOOT OF LAND! (SECRET ROSE): 72% – BITTERSWEET
BITTERSWEET Not One More Foot of Land is not a great play. It is too long, too leisurely and in the premier production by Secret Rose Theatre, there are a lot of things to argue with. But it is an important play nonetheless and if it tells its story more in the manner of a [...]
COBB (GROUP REP): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Lee Blessing gives us a three-dimensional look at baseball legend Ty Cobb in his fiercely honest one-act Cobb now onstage at Group rep in NoHo. Superbly staged by Gregg T. Daniel and gloriously acted by an ensemble of four, Cobb is represented at the beginning, middle and end of his life by three actors [...]
BANANAS! A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOSEPHINE BAKER (J.E.T. STUDIOS): 71% – BITTERSWEET
BITTER With director Joyce Maddox, Robinson delivers a show that captivates neither as titillating adult entertainment nor teen education and empowerment. Daryl H. Miller – LA Times SWEET Sloan Robinson recreates la vie de Joséphine with affection, historical accuracy, and grace, making Bananas! an entertaining—and educational—tour down memory lane, and one well worth the attention [...]
MY THREE ANGELS (GROUP REP): 100% – SWEET
SWEET Now on stage at Group rep in NoHo, Larry Eisenberg’s production of My Three Angels emanates heart and soul guaranteed to make it a truly big hit this holiday season. Don Grigware – BroadwayWorld SWEET A highly entertaining comedy, with plenty of laughs, a lot of heart, and some wonderful performances, this one is [...]
WHO’S YOUR DADDY?: 94% – SWEET
SWEET An entertaining one man show that combines dark, bawdy humor with poignant moments, Who’s Your Daddy? reveals the dramatic but true story of actor Johnny O’Callaghan’s travails in adopting a young Ugandan boy. Passionate and moving, the presentation features excellent acting and colorful language to ultimately tell a story of love and devotion. Mary [...]
DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA (CROWN CITY THEATRE): 95% – SWEET
SWEET Given the scenery-chewing options that Shanley presents, the nuance they achieve and bathos they avoid is endearing and impressive. It elevates the text, and designates “Danny” as a company watershed. David C. Nichols – LA Times SWEET Technically Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is more drama than comedy, but because there are plenty [...]
