Curtain Call

Perfectly Performed “Thom Pain” Perhaps Too Reminiscent of Beckett

Peruse playwright Will Eno’s bookcase and no doubt you’ll come across not only the usual Samuel Beckett suspects but also…

2 years ago

“The Motherfucker with the Hat” Wickedly Funny, Superbly Acted

Perhaps no Long Beach theatre company is more unpredictable than its oldest, Long Beach Playhouse. I’ve been reviewing them for…

2 years ago

Stage Adaptation of “Misery” Isn’t — and Was Never Going to Be — the Film

Misery, William Goldman’s theatrical adaptation of his screenplay of the Stephen King novel, is not the most unavoidably static script…

2 years ago

Shakespeare by the Sea’s “Hamlet” Has Plenty of Energy but Often Misses the Mark

On the surface, it may seem the most natural thing in the world for a Shakespeare company to stage Hamlet,…

2 years ago

With “The Recital,” LB Opera Signals Full Productions Are Now the Exception, Not the Rule

Since James Darrah took over as artistic director in 2021, it’s a matter of interpretation whether ambition or the lack…

2 years ago

Lite, Predictable “Into the Breeches!” Mostly Succeeds on Its Own Terms

It’s 1942, and with so many of our boys off fighting the Axis powers, the Oberon Playhouse is shuttered, precluding…

2 years ago

Great Cast Maximizes What “In My Bones” Has to Offer

Simi, an “illegal” African immigrant, has been detained at the U.K.’s Brideswell Immigration Detention Center for 11 months when she…

2 years ago

Solid Acting Buoys Underwhelming Coming-of-Age Story in “Dry Land”

By her own account, high-school senior Amy’s been a bad girl. Her unwanted pregnancy — which she’s willing to go…

2 years ago

Unlikely Setting for “Assassins” Doesn’t Cramp Its Compelling Style

Not sure how I missed Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company until now — they’ve been putting on shows three blocks…

2 years ago

Curtain Call: Everything Comes Together in Brilliant An American in Paris

It’s not so much that the dancing in director/choreographer Jeffry Denman’s An American in Paris is vigorous, elegant, clever, and…

2 years ago