Two storied playwrights and a relative newcomer make for must-see theatricality

“BRITANNICUS” by KEITH IAN POLAKOFF
Considering that across-town theaters are staging plays by Nobel literature laureates and pillars of European drama, it’s got be a bit humbling for Tom Jacobson to see his name in lights on Long Beach Playhouse’s marquee.
But while Harold Pinter and Jean [...]

It’s good, but we’ve had ‘What They Have’ before

PHOTO by HENRY DIROCCO
If you loved HBO’s Six Feet Under, you’ll wish that What They Have was about a dysfunctional family that runs a quirky suburban funeral parlor. This new play by Kate Robin (one of the writers of the late cable-TV series) has everything that made [...]

‘Women of Troy’ is a painful lesson on casualties of war

PHOTO by KEITH IAN POLAKOFF
Women of Troy opens on a meeting between gods, Poseidon (Juan Carlos Parada) and Athena (Ivana Karapandzic) considering a just-wrapped 10-year war (victorious Greeks on one side, Trojans on the other) and, here comes the sort of interesting twist for Team [...]

Don’t rock the boat, baby

I was prepared for “modern rock songs.” I was ready for “dance with urban elegance.” I was even up for “relevant sketch comedy.” And when the bright and shiny kids, all dolled up in their Liza lashes and Joel Grey bowties, opened the cruise-boat cabaret show with a perky, multipart harmony [...]

But on a certain level, Culture Clash will always be three dudes from East L.A.

PHOTO by HENRY DIROCCO
It’s a month before their month-long residency at South Coast Repertory, and the three men of Culture Clash haven’t done their homework.
“Who’ve you talked to so far?” we ask them one morning, as they claim they spend months [...]

(Because the lady gets the chair!)
Machinal is the story of a murderess.
It is not a sexy, song-and-dance-filled story of a murderess. Renee Zellweger will not appear to surprise us with good acting and a terrific little cha cha cha. (Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Roxie Hart!) Nor is our murderess a vamp, a la Hedda Gabler, [...]

‘Sex A.K.A.Wieners and Boobs’ is dumb fun

A few things worth knowing before you watch Sex a.k.a. Wieners and Boobs:
• Allow yourself at least a full hour at Bouchees Bistro beforehand. Those adorable mini-burgers are meant to be tenderly—lovingly—chewed, not mauled.
• Should you at any point consume a beverage during your meal (Fat Tire, $3; glass [...]

Warning: ‘Cabaret’ spoilers below. Keep reading!

PHOTO by SHASHIN DESAI
I AM GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT THE ENDING OF CABARET. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING OF CABARET, STOP READING! (Don’t stop reading!) AND ALSO, DON’T THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU SAW THE BOB FOSSE FOSSTACULAR STARRING LIZA MINNELLI THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW [...]

‘Orpheus & Euridice’ swims into our hearts
It was the eau de chlorine that snapped me alert, as if someone had waved smelling salts under my nose and it was 1856. I settled into the bleachers at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool and prepared to be shaken and stirred.
Soon enough, a soprano joined a clarinet, climbing [...]

Go for the ballet, stay for the ballet

The dancers and actors of the Relevant Stage were still getting used to the rococo beauty of San Pedro’s Warner Grand Theatre when we stopped in to catch a rehearsal. Mostly, they were chattering (about the Oscar noms) and stretching, but one hugely muscled man was prancing: He [...]