Review: WENDY'S PETER PAN at Will Geer Theatricum BotanicumJune 26, 2024While WENDY’S PETER PAN would be better served by trimming the fat, focusing on more sharpened performances, and allowing its performers room to breathe, children, despite its evening start time, will likely appreciate the show more than adults who will take notice of its distracting bumps and peculiarities.
Review: REEFER MADNESS at The Reefer DenJune 18, 2024Everyone is phenomenal, from the performers to the musicians to the set director. It’s manically goofy, laugh-out-loud funny, and sexy in its degradation.
Review: MRS. DOUBTFIRE at Pantages TheatreJune 16, 2024The problem is not that it’s bad — it’s certainly serviceable — so much as it’s unmemorable. Something that should never be said about a character as dynamic as Mrs. Doubtfire.
Review: NORA at Antaeus Theatre CompanyMay 1, 2024The problem with NORA is that in the longer, three-act running time of “A Doll’s House,” Nora’s world and its inhabitants would be fleshed out so that they had depth that is not evident in this adaptation.
Review: HIGH MAINTENANCE at The Road Theatre On MagnoliaApril 18, 2024Ritt raises questions about the ethical and moral quandaries of employing AI to replace humans in a distinctly human space — art — but they aren’t pointed enough to really spark conversation or suggest insights, settling instead for an amusing if slight glimpse into the near future.
Review: FUNNY GIRL at Ahmanson TheatreApril 8, 2024FUNNY GIRL is a gold standard that has endured through the ages and the production that just hit downtown Los Angeles is a rollicking and heartfelt success.
Review: CONEY ISLAND LAND at the Theatre 68 Arts ComplexMarch 13, 2024Braun’s script is never stagnant, the characters always in action, whether in a delightful literal dance party or a metaphorical pas de deux, always getting close to connecting before pulling away — or being pulled away by outside forces.
Review: FATHERLAND at The Fountain TheatreMarch 7, 2024FATHERLAND is an unsettling reminder of how an average person can tip from sane to insane all in the name of good ol’ American patriotism, crossing ethical, moral, and legal lines with nary a hesitation.
Review: MERCURY at The Road Theatre On MagnoliaJanuary 23, 2024Overall, the show is wickedly funny and a trenchant meditation on entitlement, revenge and justice, even if that justice is one-sided. Another bull’s-eye for the Road Theatre.
Review: SANTA'S CIRCUS at Montalbán TheatreDecember 20, 2023Hit the Montalbán in Hollywood for a night out with family and/or friends. Just because this is appropriate for the kids doesn’t mean it’s not fun for the rest of us. Jingle your balls all the way to the North Pole!
Review: SHE at Antaeus Theatre CompanyOctober 25, 2023SHE is a moving, lyrical story with deft characterizations, luminous performances, and a poetic quality that reflects our heroine’s dreams
Review: DISNEY'S ALADDIN at Pantages TheatreSeptember 15, 2023Despite stunning choreography, sets, and costumes, you might find yourself left wanting once the magic carpet has spirited our lovers away to that whole new world.
Review: CRABS IN A BUCKET at Echo Theater CompanyJuly 18, 2023CRABS IN A BUCKET is one of the Echo’s best in recent memory and that’s saying a lot because the Echo consistently brings challenging and entertaining material to vibrant life. The collective is one of Los Angeles’ crown jewels — and maybe one of its best-kept secrets.
Review: BEETLEJUICE at Pantages TheatreJuly 15, 2023An exhilarating, inspiring event, BEETLEJUICE does its source material proud, retaining the look and tone of the film and expanding upon it in organic ways.