Leonard Manzella watched Rawhide’s Rowdy Yates – Clint Eastwood’s character — defend those who needed defending. So he attempted to follow in Eastwood’s footsteps in the world of spaghetti Westerns and other Italian movies. Then he became a psychotherapist who tried to help caged prisoners. Now he’s written about them in Cages, opening Friday at the Stella Adler. READ MORE
The Mystery of Dennis Lehane’s Only Play, Coronado
by Drew Shirley | March 1, 2012
The director of Dennis Lehane’s Coronado says the Mystic River writer probably won’t write another play. Coronado “breaks theatrical conventions right and left” — and yes, it’s packed with a sense of mystery. It opens Sunday at the Holding Company on Beverly Boulevard. READ MORE
Exploring the Abigail Folger Murder in California Dreamin’
by Jill Charlotte Thomas | February 22, 2012
Jill Charlotte Thomas became curious about one of the victims of the first night of the 1969 Manson murders — coffee heiress Abigail Folger. Did Folger have any previous acquaintance with Manson? That’s the subject of Thomas’ new play California Dreamin’, at the MET Theatre. READ MORE
Considering the End of the Rainbow — Is It Enuf?
by J.C. Gafford | February 9, 2012
Director J.C. Gafford, who is neither black nor female, relates his long journey with Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf. It culminates Friday at the Lyric Theatre. READ MORE
Rachel Corrie’s Story Sparks Sarah’s War
by Valerie Dillman | February 9, 2012
While protesting the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Valerie Dillman heard about the recent death of Rachel Corrie — the American political activist who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Palestinian Territories. Her fictionalized Sarah’s War speculates on the reactions of those around Corrie, including the bulldozer driver. Originally workshopped at Pacific Resident Theatre in 2003, it’s receiving a full production now in Hollywood. READ MORE
Not One More Foot of Land! Follows Trail of Tears
by Art Shulman | February 7, 2012
A self-identified “Jewish boy from Brooklyn,” Art Shulman took on the task of writing an epic play about the Cherokee nation’s Trail of Tears and one especially controversial Cherokee leader. Not One More Foot of Land! opens Saturday night at the Secret Rose with a half-Native American cast. READ MORE
The Monsters Within the Pentagon Papers
by John Powers | February 3, 2012
When John Powers was in high school in south LA, a recent alumnus of his school was killed in Vietnam. This started a chain of curiosity in Powers that resulted in his dramatization of The Pentagon Papers. It required him to sift through four volumes of historical data. The result of his labors opens Sunday at the Santa Monica Playhouse. READ MORE
A Woman’s View of WWII in Yours, Isabel
at Actors Co-op
by Christy Hall | February 2, 2012
Christy Hall wrote a play inspired by the letters that a woman wrote to her husband during World War II. A former member of Actors Co-op now based in New York, Hall re-unites with the Co-op for the US premiere. Here she writes about the process of boiling down so many missives into a script for a paying audience. READ MORE
A Twentieth Century Train On The Stage?
by Michael Lorre | January 31, 2012
Michael Lorre appreciates the challenges and restrictions that occur while making art — from his days as an improv actor to his current gig directing Twentieth Century at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. So how does he cram three rooms from a train into a stage with a proscenium arch that measures only 24 feet? READ MORE
Is Expecting to Fly Finally Ready to Take Off?
by Michael Hyman | January 25, 2012
Trying to produce, direct and rewrite his own play, Expecting To Fly, resulted in a “disaster” two years ago, according to Michael Hyman — especially when one of the two actors took a walk just before the scheduled opening. But now, Hyman’s confident that the play is ready to take off. READ MORE
And Eckert Created Great Whales
by Rinde Eckert | January 24, 2012
Rinde Eckert wrestled with a character, Nathan, who was wrestling with the idea of composing on opera based on Moby Dick. The result, And God Created Whales, won an Obie Award a decade ago. Now it arrives in LA at REDCAT, once again with Eckert in the leading role. READ MORE
Spectral Signs and Dreams of The Washer King
by Andre Barron | January 24, 2012
In Christopher Wall’s Dreams of The Washer King, a teenager creeps around the house with a makeshift tape recorder looking for “spectral signs” of his deceased father. Director Andre Barron discusses the process of making Dreams come true on the Theatre 40 stage. READ MORE
