Majd Murad created his solo show Blood Fruit as a way to explain how this Iraqi American ex-Catholic came out to his family as a gay man. After a run at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, it opens Saturday at the Lounge 2 Theatre. READ MORE
Have Yourself a Theatrical Little Christmas
by Amy Tofte | November 30, 2011
We survey the range of Christmas shows, or other seasonal-friendly theatrical fare — both naughty and nice — in greater LA. READ MORE
Short Eyes. And Two Comedies About Being Jewish in America.
by Don Shirley | November 28, 2011
A revival of Miguel Pinero’s Short Eyes ricochets through LATC’s Theatre 4. And two plays offer comic takes on Jewish identity in America — Laurel Ollstein’s Esther’s Moustache and James Sherman’s The God of Isaac. READ MORE
Bates Wears Rose-Colored Glasses
by Cynthia Citron | November 28, 2011
Kathrine Bates’ The Color of Rose uses three actresses, on stage together, to portray Rose Kennedy in three stages of her life. The West Coast premiere opens tonight at Theatre 40. Bates, whose other plays about historical figures include the popular, site-specific The Manor and a solo show about Lucrezia Borgia, offers reflections on the Kennedy matriarch and the other people whose stories she has dramatized. READ MORE
LA STAGE INSIDER
by Julio Martinez | November 23, 2011
Raymond J. Barry writes, acts and directs at Electric Lodge while Gigi Bermingham displays her chanteuse talents at Boston Court. Michael Kearns spotlights World AIDS day; Tracy Letts and Amy Madigan co-star in Buried Child for LA Theatre Works; and INSIDER history recalls vaudeville at the Palace… READ MORE
Surf’s Up for Santaland Diaries
by Paolo Andino | November 22, 2011
Paolo Andino was given the only role in the Blank’s Santaland Diaries without an audition, without even having read the script. Then the hard work began. READ MORE
CTG’s LA Grade Rises to C+ with A+ Night Watcher, Pasadena Playhouse Bounces Back with Blues
by Don Shirley | November 21, 2011
Charlayne Woodard’s CTG solo The Night Watcher, at the Kirk Douglas, raises CTG’s overall grade on LA talent and content to a C+. Is Bring It On actually set in California, too? Pasadena Playhouse’s Blues for an Alabama Sky is an entrancing return to fine form for the playhouse, but Pasadena’s second theater, A Noise Within, offers a Desire Under the Elms that feels too stolid. READ MORE
A Playground at the School of Hard Knocks
by Julio Martinez | November 18, 2011
Michael Leoni’s The Playground — A Street Rock Musical was produced at several LA venues from 2004 to 2007, telling stories based on life in the New York streets. Now it’s back, in a revised version that’s based more on research among Hollywood street kids. And Leoni (aka Michael Justen) says that now it’s more optimistic. READ MORE
Elektra Meets the Boss
by Joel Raffee | November 18, 2011
The oft-told story of Elektra gets a contemporary sound and a graphic novel spirit in Joel Raffee’s new adaptation for Stokastik Theatre Ensemble. READ MORE
Artists at Play Push Buttons With Ching Chong
by Amy Tofte | November 18, 2011
A play called Ching Chong Chinaman can be expected to disturb some audience members, and that’s fine with the four creators of the new production company Artists at Play, which is presenting Lauren Yee’s satirical comedy in the new Actors Company complex in West Hollywood. Though the company is made up primarily of Asian Americans, so far, it intends to present work about many underrepresented communities. READ MORE
StopNextFallKiss
by Ken Barnett | November 18, 2011
What’s it like to work on two strangely similar plays simultaneously? Ken Barnett, who acts in Next Fall at the Geffen and co-directs Stop Kiss at the Lounge, reports that the benefits are worth the effort. READ MORE
LA STAGE INSIDER
by Julio Martinez | November 17, 2011
Coming soon at the Ahmanson — Fela! in place of Funny Girl. Antaeus’ new troika of artistic directors announce a three-play season. LATW tours China. Holiday happenings and post-holiday plans. Linda Park in All My Sons. The tale of Tamara and the American Legion. READ MORE
