Reviewed by Michael Edwards The Noise Within production of August Wilson's King Hedley II is simply stunning. From its staging to its set design to the dramatic excellence displayed by each and every artist involved, the ninth play in Mr. Wilsons' 10 play cycle directed masterfully here by Gregg T. Daniels is a marvel to take in and a joy to receive. Set in Pittsburgh, PA (as always), the play tells the story of its namesake, King Hedley II, a recently released ex-con attempting to rebuild his life by raising 10,000 dollars through 'sketchy' used refrigerator sales so he can buy a video s ..read more

Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck  Great opening! A woman comes on the stage and the first word we hear is a call for "Line"... and with shaking voice and hands anxiously waits for it for a moment. One feels for her and wonders; is she nervous and forgot the lines - for real??!  Facing the audience she then introduces a one-woman show and continues struggling through her monologue. We then understand - the one-woman show is about a woman with dementia. The relationship between Mom (Deborah Geffner) and her son (Stefan Marks) is introduced as they pack to move Mom to memory care. The kinship ..read more

"The Black Crowes" Greek Theater April 13, 2024 by Claudio Vernight With showtime temperatures bottoming out at 49 degrees, the crowd for the Black Crowes came bundled up. But come they did, heating up the Greek for another rousing sold out opener for this, its 2024 season. A local youngster from Sherman Oaks, Billy Tibbals, warmed the crowd as best he could, doing his impersonation of a rock star with swagger. Decent songs but at least he was playing for an appreciative audience.             When the Crowes took the stage, fever pitch app ..read more

Reviewed by Michael Edwards The Geffen Playhouse's production of James I James' 2022 Pulitzer Prize winning, and 4-time Tony Award nominated comedy Fat Ham directed by Sideeq Heard, is a treat not to be missed for Los Angeles.  Based on William Shakespeare's, "Hamlet," this all African American, direct from Broadway cast stops the show on multiple levels. The belly laughs are loud, and the human drama is smart, dark, and quite cutting. This is a run, don't walk to see, 'tour de force' event. Do not miss. When "Juicy" (our Hamlet representative) attends his recently widowed and too recent ..read more

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck  As every fairy tale begins with, 'Once upon the time...' The Pillowman story also begins as a fairy tale. How ironic, when in fact most of the stories are the series of murders of little children, where 'the little geniuses end up down the bottom of the wishing well, which becomes the child killer's heaven.' The show opens with the writer ( Steven R. O'Brien - "Katurian"), in a state of wonder and fear of police brutality and what the detectives will do to him during the investigation. Every new sound makes him jump, duck, or l ..read more

Reviewed by Michael Edwards Monsters of the American Cinema is a beautiful surprise. A well-acted two person play written by Eugene O'Neill Award Finalist, Christian St. Croix and directed by Rogue Machine founding Executive Director John Perrin Flynn. Monsters is engaging, rhythmic and magically revealing in its exploration of human love and understanding. Rogue Machine does it again. Pup, a cis fifteen-year-old Caucasian boy lives and thrives in Santee, California under the roof and guardianship of Remy, the African American widower (deceased former husband) of Pup's father and newly inheri ..read more

Actors Co-op David Schall Theater April 7, 2024 Reviewed by Chris Cassone   cc@chriscassone.com   "Some are born great.     Some achieve greatness and     Some have greatness thrust upon them."  - Malvolio, 2,v The Actor's Coop achieved a bit of greatness on Saturday night as their "Twelfth Night" rang in their 37 th season of quality drama. Here, director Michael T. Kachingwe gave a decidedly boisterous touch to the Bard's top comedy, injecting an island feel throughout the production. While not at all an Elizabethan rendition, shipwreck ..read more

Reviewed by Michael Edwards Nick Ullett is a joy to take in on the stage in Rogue Machine's production of The Birthday Party - A Theatrical Catastrophe. The production is a rich hour of classic by the fireside storytelling made all the better by its first hand rendering.   Mr. Ullett is a legendary Hollywood journeyman with countless credits, rising from his birth and education in the UK at Cambridge to his long list of major TV Guest Star roles, to NYC for Broadway to appearances in theater productions throughout Los Angeles. Case in point, his time at the fabled Geffen Theatre is ..read more

Reviewed by Michael Edwards Pacific Resident Theatre's production of Academy Award Winning Wolf Mankowitz' play THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT (also an Academy Award Winning Short) is truly a successful experiment, testing the timelessness of striking work from a different era (early 1950's), and different nation (UK), all to learn whether or not Mankowitz' powerful message still resonates enough in today's mixed up world. Though the rhythm and verbage are from a different time, this reminder of our humanity is not. This is a powerful statement to our current times and credit must be paid to ..read more

An Open Fist Theatre Production Reviewed by Chris Cassone   cc@chriscassone.com Teenage angst is coming earlier and earlier for the youth. Mine started around fourteen and peaked when I got my driving license at sixteen. For Bumpy Diggs, it's seventh grade or around twelve years old. And Sandra Kate Burck was masterful in the non-stop chatter role of Bumpy as she came of age well before her pals in school. At least she learned a major lesson in life by the time she had been kissed, cheated on, lied to, betrayed and marginalized.           ..read more