The director of Open Fist Theatre’s revival of Machinal pays tribute to playwright Sophie Treadwell’s rage against the machine of 1928-style American capitalism. Treadwell’s work encouraged empathy, in contrast to some of the other expressionist plays of that era, writes Barbara Schofield. READ MORE
Dakin Adams and Jane Fonda in the Santa Monica Commons
by Don Shirley | October 17, 2011
Stephen Metcalfe’s The Tragedy of the Commons isn’t quite a tragedy, but it an uncommonly penetrating portrait of an aging blogger who’s in a modern California story reminiscent of The Cherry Orchard, with a bountiful performance by Brian Kerwin. Anne Archer is a much cooler character, up against much angrier adversaries, as Jane Fonda in the Court of Public Opinion, also in Santa Monica. READ MORE
Julian Sands on The Standard Bearer, Vagabonds, Pinter and Malkovich
by Steve Julian | October 17, 2011
Julian Sands moves from being the one performer in a Pinter evening to directing the one performer, Neil Dickson, in Stephen Wyatt’s The Standard Bearer. Inspired by the Falklands War, the play examines a British trouper taking Shakespearean productions to an unnamed former British colony. Sands also discusses the challenge of traveling for professional gigs while keeping the home fires burning in LA. READ MORE
Begley’s Cesar and Ruben Returns, Revised, and a Grandson of Cesar Chavez Comments
by Samantha Mehlinger | October 14, 2011
Ed Begley Jr. has revised his 2003 musical Cesar and Ruben for a student production at Santa Monica College. All of the songs are now in Spanish, but as before, the main subject is Cesar Chavez. The late labor leader’s grandson Arthur Rodriguez now attends the college, studying recycling — a subject close to Begley’s heart. The two men discuss the evolution of the musical. READ MORE
The Birth of Brett Neveu’s 4 Murders
by Brett Neveu | October 14, 2011
A friend’s sudden death inspired Brett Neveu to start writing the play that would become 4 Murders. It was originally produced by Chicago’s A Red Orchid, where Neveu is an ensemble member. It’s reaching LA, where Neveu now lives, in a production by SkyPilot Theatre at T.U. Studios. READ MORE
LA STAGE INSIDER
by Julio Martinez | October 13, 2011
The Fountain’s Bakersfield Mist moves to an Actors’ Equity contract. The Geffen Playhouse opens its kids’ Scene Season. Lauri Fraser loves a good story at her salon series in Culver City. Plus a brief history of Garden Grove’s municipal theater complex. READ MORE
Karen Black and David Proval Star In Moses Supposes
by Darlene Donloe | October 12, 2011
Longtime friends Karen Black and David Proval play an aging Jewish couple in the South in Moses Supposes, at the Zephyr. Black reveals what every actor should know, and Proval discloses a previously unknown fact about his underwear, but don’t expect them to tell you why the play is called Moses Supposes. READ MORE
Engine29.org “Pop-up” Lab is Revving Up
by LA Stage Alliance | October 12, 2011
Engine29, another pop-up arts journalism web site, is preparing for a November burst of activity. But don’t confuse it with last June’s Engine28 website, which also arose out of USC’s Annenberg School. Te Engine29 site isn’t theater-specific, is funded by the Getty Foundation instead of the NEA, and will be more research-oriented. READ MORE
Feeling blu at Company of Angels
by Julio Martinez | October 12, 2011
Virginia Grise started writing in between the classes she taught at a Texas middle school. Then she decided to concentrate on the writing in a move to LA. In her blu, at Company of Angels, conflict erupts within “a queer Chicana/o family” as police helicopters circle their neighborhood. READ MORE
Todd Nielsen Returns to Robber Bridegroom at ICT
by Jessica Koslow | October 11, 2011
Todd Nielsen returns to International City Theatre to helm a show dear to his heart — The Robber Bridegroom, opening October 14. The multi-tasking director previously led a 1986 production at the Colony Theatre that forged strong lasting ties. What attracts him to the piece and most of his projects is spiritual evolution — his and that of his characters. READ MORE
The Great Shakes Migration:
From Redlands to Downtown LA
by Tom Provenzano | October 11, 2011
Director Steven Sabel is opening a small black box in downtown LA, called Archway Studio/Theatre, as a supplement to his work running the Redlands Shakespeare Festival in a giant-size amphitheater, east of LA. The Bard is coming along for the ride, as the new theater will open with a production of Macbeth inspired by Oliver Stone’s movie Natural Born Killers. READ MORE
People Who Play Animals Who Play People/WWII Plays/Up
by Don Shirley | October 10, 2011
I’ve Never Been So Happy and Monkey Adored are fables about animals behaving like humans, but they’re very different in tone. Way to Heaven at the Odyssey is not only about Nazi p.r. efforts but also about the experience of acting with a less-than-stellar script. Bridget Carpenter’s Up is a moving play about dashed dreams in the LA area, by an LA playwright, but is it being produced in LA? Not yet — it’s at the Chance in Anaheim Hills. READ MORE
