Reprise is in trouble. Is its mission not clear enough? Should it be just like other musical theater companies or should it continue to produce shows that can’t be seen elsewhere?…Valerie Dillman’s Sarah’s War is a skillfully layered fictionalization of the Rachel Corrie story that dramatizes a variety of perspectives. Plus brief glances at a couple other production that examine the Israeli/Palestinian cauldron. READ MORE
50th Annual World Theatre Day on March 27 Features Malkovich Message
by LA Stage Alliance | February 21, 2012
John Malkovich will write a message for the 50th annual World Theatre Day, sponsored by Theatre Communications Group and the US Center of the International Theatre Institute. An essay contest, online activities, and fund-raising for theaters in quake-stricken Japan will precede the big day itself on March 27. An interactive world map will track local celebrations. READ MORE
Dugan’s Wiesenthal Hunts Nazis at Ventura’s Rubicon
by Cynthia Citron | February 17, 2012
Tom Dugan’s Simon Wiesenthal — Nazi Hunter, acclaimed at Theatre 40 last year, moves to Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre. Although Dugan’s father told him stories about his World War II service, the writer/performer’s repertoire of solo shows extends far beyond that subject. He’s currently writing his sixth solo — The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln. READ MORE
Geffen Playhouse Opening Night: The Jacksonian
by LA Stage Alliance | February 17, 2012
Beth Henley’s 1964 Mississippi drama The Jacksonian world premiered this week at the Geffen Playhouse. Stars Amy Madigan, Ed Harris, Glenne Headly, Bill Pullman and Bess Rous celebrate with director Robert Falls and others at Napa Valley Grille in Westwood. READ MORE
Reprise Suspends the Rest of Its Season
by LA Stage Alliance | February 17, 2012
Reprise Theatre Company is canceling the third show of the 2011-2012 season, The Apple Tree, in addition to its earlier cancellation of its second show The Baker’s Wife, while the Reprise board assesses future programming and its funding. READ MORE
LA STAGE INSIDER
by Julio Martinez | February 16, 2012
Zina Bethune killed by hit-run driver…A season of premieres at the Colony, plus details on seasons at LA Opera and Musical Theatre West…KPFK to air LATW radio plays…Richard Chamberlain will appear in the Pasadena Playhouse production of The Heiress…Charles Dillingham steps in as interim executive director at Pasadena Playhouse…Gary Grossman of Katselas Theatre talks…A giant-size Julius Caesar in Beachwood Canyon, almost a century ago…READ MORE
A Touch of Evil For Headly, Madigan and Rous at
Henley’s The Jacksonian
by Rachel Fain | February 15, 2012
Beth Henley’s new The Jacksonian opens tonight at the Geffen Playhouse. The three women in the cast — Amy Madigan, Glenne Headly and Bess Rous — gather to discuss the evil that permeates the play, which is set in the year that Jackson, Mississippi was desegregated. Headly was instrumental in getting the play produced. Original photography by Eric Schwabel. READ MORE
Bart DeLorenzo Interviews SCR’s Marc Masterson
by Bart DeLorenzo | February 14, 2012
Director Bart DeLorenzo questions South Coast Repertory’s new artistic director Marc Masterson about the company’s new directions, its use of local artists, his working habits, views on the LA theater scene — and SCR’s current production of Elemeno Pea, which marks Masterson’s directing debut at SCR. READ MORE
Three Year Swim Club Reaches the Mainland at EWP
by Stephanie Jones | February 14, 2012
A true Hawaiian story about a group of pre-World War Ii swimmers who trained for the Olympics in an irrigation ditch arrives on the mainland in the East West Players production of Lee Tonouchi’s The Three Year Swim Club. The author and director Keo Woolford discuss the play and its cast, who had to be somewhat proficient in both Hawaiian Pidgin and hula. READ MORE
Music Makers. Erection Fires Blanks. Road’s Rage Rep.
by Don Shirley | February 13, 2012
Burbank’s midsizes focus masterfully on musicians — Dissonance at the Falcon and Old Wicked Songs at the Colony. The latter play’s writer strikes out with his latest at the Blank. Road Theatre features fathers engendering rage in Finding Fossils and The Water’s Edge. That last play is by Theresa Rebeck, creator of NBC’s Smash — how about a series about CTG, NBC? READ MORE
How Does Huber Solve a Problem Like Being Mom…
and Maria?
by A.R. Cassell | February 10, 2012
Kim Huber was a kid who grew up in the Southern California musical theater scene, ran off to New York and Broadway for a decade, then returned here to raise a family and perform in the same venues where she started. On the eve of playing Maria in The Sound of Music for 3-D Theatricals in Fullerton, she talks about balancing career and family. READ MORE
Two LA Gigs for Jon Marans, Professional Playwright
by Amy Tofte | February 10, 2012
Jon Marans has both a new play and an old play up in LA right now — The Cost of the Erection at the Blank and Old Wicked Songs at the Colony. He makes 100% of his living from his plays. Advice, please. How about “Every play should be a mystery”? READ MORE
