Curtain Call

“Tragedy Gift Shop” more fable than play

Commonplace gun violence. Exploitation. Sensationalism. Amoral corporate greed. This is today’s America, and it’s enough to make you want to…

7 months ago

The Actors Jungle: A New Era of South Bay Theatrical Innovation

August’s idea came as a result of wanting to fill the new theater gap in San Pedro. He started looking…

7 months ago

Garage Theatre turns 25 by the grace of community

When I sat down with a quartet of Garage Theatre co-founders in 2010 as they got ready to celebrate their…

7 months ago

Long Beach Opera dials up the ambition for season’s second aleatory offering

Having just seen/heard Long Beach Opera’s staging of El Relicario de los Animales, I don’t have a clue what they’re…

7 months ago

Long Beach Playhouse channels the spirit of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson”

According to the American Psychological Institute, the term ‘intergenerational trauma’ did not come into use until the 1960s. So while…

8 months ago

Lightweight “Jersey Boys” won’t disappoint Four Seasons fans

You may not love him, you may not like him, you may not even be able to stand his famous…

8 months ago

Off Broadway Production of Shadows Celebrates 25th Anniversary in San Pedro

It is a coming-of-age comedy in which audiences across diverse cultures can relate to the universal experiences of this character…

9 months ago

Cast finds connection in multiverse muck of “Constellations”

There’s a “Treehouse of Horror” episode of The Simpsons where Homer accidentally turns his toaster into a time machine. Finding…

9 months ago

Long Beach Opera opens all-Pauline Oliveros season by eschewing opera

Photo courtesy of Long Beach Opera The greeting on Long Beach Opera’s website is a bold pronouncement: Opera Like You’ve…

9 months ago

Long Beach Playhouse’s annual “A Christmas Carol” never better nor more needed

You might ask why, nine days after my second eye surgery in a month, I dragged myself out to Long…

10 months ago