#curtaincall

“Cyrano de Bergerac” with a side of meta: A fresh take on an old chestnut

Is Long Beach Shakespeare Company having an identity crisis? This year, five of their 12 offerings are live radio shows,…

1 week ago

“A Doll’s House, Part 2” is…well, you know what they say about sequels

In 2017, when I first saw a production of A Doll’s House, Part 2, it might have been, I dunno,…

1 month ago

A “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” that works for an Andrew Lloyd Webber hater

A Bible story — ho-hum. Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice — clunky and populist. “A contemporary twist inspired by…

1 month ago

Long Beach Shakespeare Co. camps up “The Importance of Being Earnest” to great effect

In my early 20s — a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away — I counted The Importance…

1 month ago

“Macbeth” by the sea a tale of two halves

Macbeth was never one of my faves. Despite spurts of spectacular (“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” — yeah), a lot…

2 months ago

A postmodern “Godspell” that’s a complete triumph

Prior to my seeing the production that is the subject of this review, my entire knowledge of Godspell was that…

2 months ago

“Elves 1989” Will Tickle Only a Specific Sort of Funny Bone

Kirsten (Rease Thresher) knows that she doesn’t like Christmas. What she doesn’t know is that her grandfather was Nazi scientist…

2 months ago

LB Playhouse cast capably handles Wildesque repartee of “The Lion in Winter”

Having not seen either a staged version of The Lion in Winter or the 1968 film adaptation (for which Katherine…

3 months ago

“Seven Days to Mexican”: Whose culture is it, anyway?

Ostensibly, the main purpose of a theatre review is to provide intel for those who might be interested in a…

4 months ago

LB Playhouse’s latest installment of the Century Cycle: “Gem of the Ocean”

Having just seen my fifth August Wilson play, it’s safe to say that I’m not a fan. Even at his…

6 months ago