Hello Muddah, Hello FaddahThe show, which began Off Broadway in 1992 and is currently making its Southern California debut, is something more than a revue, but something less than a full-scale musical. Creators Douglas Bernstein and Rob Krausz chose 25 of Sherman's most memorable numbers and then fashioned a story around them, using a little plot and a lot of borscht-belt humor to link one song to another.8/13/1996 11:00pm PT
Hello Muddah, Hello FaddahThe show, which began Off Broadway in 1992 and is currently making its Southern California debut, is something more than a revue, but something less than a full-scale musical. Creators Douglas Bernstein and Rob Krausz chose 25 of Sherman's most memorable numbers and then fashioned a story around them, using a little plot and a lot of borscht-belt humor to link one song to another.8/13/1996 11:00pm PT
Girly ShowEdmund Gaynes presents a show written and performed by Denise Moses; additional material, Chuck Bulot. Director, Monica Lambert Jones; music and arrangements, Quinn Olson. Opened, reviewed Nov. 19, 1995; runs through Jan. 14. Running time: 1 hour. Blessed with a genuinely quirky comic mind, Denise Moses has the rare ability to look at life from odd perspectives, thereby finding humor in ordinary, or even tragic, situations. Nothing is titillating about this "Girly Show," but there's something exciting about experiencing this kind of talent. *TX:Marie is one of eight characters in her fast-paced, hourlong show. Another is Miss Donita, a senile and sardonic kindergarten teacher who screams to her kids, "I don't want to hear the F-word," before launching into her perverse interpretations of famous fairy tales. (The moral of Pinocchio, she tells her 5-year-olds, is, "Body parts enlarge through wrongdoing.")11/28/1995 11:00pm PT
Slavs!A few years ago, a prominent scholar caused a stir by asking whether we have reached the end of history. As Tony Kushner suggests in his new play "Slavs!", the real question is whether we have reached the end of ideology -- and whether we can survive without it. Kushner's follow-up to "Angels in America" is a 90-minute meditation on this notion.10/26/1995 11:00pm PT
InterventionThese plays are getting addictive.10/8/1995 11:00pm PT
The Trojan WomenVery cool images. But Arabian apparently spent so much time thinking them up that he failed to pay attention to such minor elements as, say, acting.6/14/1995 11:00pm PT
Master ClassA master class is a strange hybrid; a music lesson that's also a form of entertainment for an audience. Terrence McNally's new play, "Master Class," is equally odd. It's more a witty seminar on what makes good art than an actual play.5/18/1995 11:00pm PT
Beauty and the BeastBorn in Hollywood as an animated film, Disney's version of "Beauty and the Beast" has returned home as an opulent stage musical, a year after its Broadway bow. Both good and bad choices have been made in adapting the 1991 film, but with its outstanding performances, fantastic production values and memorable score, this show should warm the hearts of all but the most curmudgeonly theatergoers.4/16/1995 11:00pm PT
A Perfect GaneshA Perfect Ganesh" confirms what "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" suggested: Terrence McNally has evolved from America's most amusing playwright into one of our most accomplished. In this hauntingly moving 1993 play, McNally reaches new layers of emotional depth without sacrificing the wit that has made his work so enjoyable.2/9/1995 11:00pm PT
Miss SaigonMelanie Mariko Tojio plays the role of Kim for Saturday matinees and Sunday evening performances. More than five years after its London premiere, "Miss Saigon" and its justly famous helicopter have finally made it to Los Angeles. Despite its high profile and strong sales, it ends up being more notable for its stagecraft and spectacle than for its music and lyrics.1/26/1995 11:00pm PT
Pot MomEvery writer strives to find an original voice; Justin Tanner has succeeded. "Pot Mom," playing at the Cast Theatre as part of an eight-play festival of his works, is genuinely fresh and imaginative -- not to mention hilarious.1/1/1995 11:00pm PT
Pot MomEvery writer strives to find an original voice; Justin Tanner has succeeded. "Pot Mom," playing at the Cast Theatre as part of an eight-play festival of his works, is genuinely fresh and imaginative -- not to mention hilarious.12/26/1994 11:00pm PT
The Tent ShowPlaywright Justin Tanner, who has an astounding eight plays running in repertory at the Cast Theatre, goes off in a new direction in his latest work, "The Tent Show." This accomplished writer, who has specialized in loosely structured plays with female protagonists, has this time created a much more conventional work, one that centers on four men.12/26/1994 11:00pm PT
Don't Drink the WaterThe play was adapted into a feature in 1969, not very successfully and without Allen's participation. Now it has been adapted into a telepic, not very successfully and with Allen's participation as writer, director and star. One can only hope no one is considering the possibilities of interactive video.12/15/1994 11:00pm PT
Shakespeare for My FatherAs the holidays approach, with their family gatherings, many begin to feel the ache of old emotional wounds. Visits from parents remind one of praise that was never given, accomplishments that were never acknowledged, achievements that were never fully understood.12/13/1994 11:00pm PT
Don't Drink the Water Abc, Sun. Dec. 18, 9 p.m.It must have been some self-destructive impulse that led Woody Allen to adapt his 1966 play "Don't Drink the Water" into a TV movie. This hopelessly dated comedy is the sort of work that should be kept hidden in a shoe box in his bedroom closet, to be unearthed by future historians who can use it to show how far Allen progressed over the years.12/11/1994 11:00pm PT
The SeagullThere are obvious advantages and disadvantages to the Matrix Theatre Company's policy of double-casting its productions, and its new staging of "The Seagull" provides evidence of both.11/1/1994 11:00pm PT
Blown Sideways Through LifeThe concept of being "Blown Sideways Through Life" sounds like a Forrest Gumpism. Fortunately, Claudia Shear, whose one-woman show has just moved from Off Broadway to West Hollywood, is a more astute and self-reflective observer of her own crazy existence than that Southern simpleton of cinema.10/5/1994 11:00pm PT
Memory TricksThe autobiographical monologue has been raised to a new level with the current generation of writer-performers. Among the best is Marga Gomez, who has brought her hilarious and moving "Memory Tricks" to Highways in Santa Monica.4/10/1994 11:00pm PT
The Secret RaptureThe long-delayed Los Angeles premiere of David Hare's "The Secret Rapture" was worth the wait. Director Stephen Tobolowsky has staged a superbly subtle production of this complex and fascinating 1988 drama at Theatre 40.3/29/1994 11:00pm PT
Mother'SonThough the piece is sprinkled with unexpected humor, it is not exactly an enjoyable experience. It is, however, hard to shake. Barry's imagery may be blunt -- having Mom wave a cucumber at her son during an argument isn't exactly subtle -- but it strikes some very delicate nerves.3/15/1994 11:00pm PT
Night and Her Stars"Night and Her Stars," Richard Greenberg's look at the quiz-show scandals of the 1950s, is a dense, ambitious, literate and ultimately unsatisfying drama. Scene for scene, it is hard to fault his often brilliant dialogue, but ultimately he fails to wring much emotional or intellectual weight out of this familiar tale.3/8/1994 11:00pm PT
Naked BreathTim Miller's considerable writing and performing skills are in evidence in his latest solo performance piece, "Naked Breath." But his new work has yet to coalesce into a satisfying whole.3/8/1994 11:00pm PT
LakeboatOutlined by a long string of pearls and her signature black bobbed helmet, silent screen star Louise Brooks materializes like a torch in the sassy hands of actress and co-writer Pamela Shafer.3/1/1994 11:00pm PT
ZoneThrong Team Leaders: Franc Baliton, Paula Batson, Sarah Carillo, Doug Davidson, Erika Inatsugu, Laura Josephson, Kristy Kang, Ulises Lopez, Michael Morrissey, Fantasia Owens, Robbie Parker, Nancy Taylor, Sonja Toledo, Ilena Vasquez, Annie Word.2/13/1994 11:00pm PT
OleannaThere's a fine line between exploring a highly charged topic and exploiting it. David Mamet crosses that line in his latest play, "Oleanna," which had its delayed Los Angeles premiere at the Tiffany Theater over the weekend.2/6/1994 11:00pm PT
SayonaraSayonara" is a new musical that feels dated upon arrival. By staying all too faithful to its source material -- a James Michener novel from the 1950s -- this 1990s work saddles itself with the musty and sometimes offensive racial and sexual attitudes of a previous generation.2/1/1994 11:00pm PT
Joined at the HeadMaggie Mulroney1/20/1994 11:00pm PT
Reaching UpIn psychological terms, "pushing people's buttons" refers to the ability of one person to trigger a reaction from another by bringing up a sensitive subject. In theatrical terms, it refers to the ability of a work to strike a chord of recognition in audiences. Both senses of the phrase are applicable to "Reaching Up," a clever and entertaining musical.1/4/1994 11:00pm PT
Distant FiresSome plays give viewers new insights into their lives; others force audiences to face uncomfortable truths they already understand but would just as soon ignore. "Distant Fires," which is receiving a superb production at the Coast Playhouse, is a powerful example of the latter.12/13/1993 11:00pm PT
The Sound of MusicCasting actors in musicals who truly can sing: This is just one of my favorite things. It is apparently not a priority, however, with the producers of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium's new Best of Broadway series, which had its brief run this past weekend with an uneven production of "The Sound of Music."12/6/1993 11:00pm PT
Shear MadnessHas success spoiled "Shear Madness?" Watching the local premiere of the comedy-mystery, which holds the record as the longest-running play in many American cities, one wonders if its appeal has gotten lost somewhere.12/2/1993 11:00pm PT
Ruthless!What's the theatrical equivalent of "inside the Beltway?" Whatever the correct phrase, it applies to "Ruthless!," a successful but in-jokey Off-Broadway musical that is likely to appeal to a rather limited audience outside of New York.12/2/1993 11:00pm PT
Man of the MomentAlso with: Faith Collins, Lauren Daniels, Brian Evans, Shaun Kilburn, Mark O'Bar, Thom Rivera, Tracy Yates.11/9/1993 11:00pm PT
CamilleWhen an adaptation of a classic play is labeled a "travesty" of the original, one enters the theater with certain expectations. Most of these are shattered by the new production of Charles Ludlam's "Camille" by the company Artists Confronting AIDS.11/9/1993 11:00pm PT
BernabeThus the gentle, philosophical "Bernabe" comes as a surprise. The tone of this 23-year-old work, originally written for Valdez's El Teatro Campesino, is anything but preachy. And while it makes a strong political statement, its focus is not so much the exploitation of the poor as it is the rape of the earth.11/8/1993 11:00pm PT
Company"Company" is one of those little-seen masterpieces of the American musical theater -- a rarely revived show whose reputation rests largely on its original cast album. The Long Beach Civic Light Opera's sharp new production gives us a chance to hear Stephen Sondheim's brilliant score in its original context.10/5/1993 11:00pm PT
JeffreyAlso: Patrick Kerr, Scott Whitehurst, Richard Poe and Harriet Harris.9/30/1993 11:00pm PT
La BeteThe much-discussed Broadway flop and London hit is receiving its local premiere at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. The superb production by the Hollywood-based Stages Theatre Company conveys this witty work's surface brilliance but can't disguise its emotional and intellectual shallowness.9/9/1993 11:00pm PT
Clit NotesThe name Holly Hughes often connotes controversy. But this much-maligned performance artist is, surprisingly, a mild-mannered monologuist -- the most shocking aspect of her latest work, an amusing and often moving mix of memories and observations, is its title.8/31/1993 11:00pm PT
OndineThe myth-based plays of Jean Giraudoux surely rank among the most difficult works a theater troupe can tackle. This fragile material must be presented with the utmost earnestness, but with a lightness of touch. The Pacific Resident Theatre Ensemble's production of 1939's "Ondine" succeeds at this quite splendidly. While the acting is uneven, director Marilyn Fox's production captures the magical feel of this intriguing work, which has been aptly described as a fairy tale for adults.8/24/1993 11:00pm PT
Baby JaneBlanche Ulrika Malmgren Fanatical devotees of the camp classic film will no doubt find it amusing to watch this offbeat adaptation of the story, though they may be put off by the fact that virtually all the dialogue (except for some song lyrics) is in Swedish.8/16/1993 11:00pm PT
A Snake in the VeinIn "A Snake in the Vein," playwright Alan Bowne creates an almost unimaginably bleak situation -- and then infuses it with laugh-out-loud humor. It's astartling, stimulating combination, and the excellent Blank Theatre Company production maintains the balance brilliantly. This short but intense work confirms that Bowne's death of AIDS complications two years ago was a major loss to the theater.8/11/1993 11:00pm PT
The FrogsThe Frogs" is one Stephen Sondheim musical that did not have legs. The comedic adaptation of the Aristophanes classic has had only three revivals since its 1974 premiere -- the most recent of which has just opened at the Attic Theater.8/10/1993 11:00pm PT
Resident Control FreaksControl Freaks" is almost surely the first R-rated play to use the services of Flying by Foy. Beth Henley's latest comedy, a mixture of sexual perversity and serial acrobatics, is often as darkly hilarious as it is startling.8/8/1993 11:00pm PT
Out Is inJust as one needn't be Jewish to enjoy that particular brand of rye bread, one needn't be a lesbian to enjoy the humor of Kate Clinton. One of the first openly gay women to make it big on the standup circuit, Clinton is currently performing her hilarious 90-minute act at Highways.7/26/1993 11:00pm PT
EquusIt's clear why stage companies are still turning to Peter Shaffer's "Equus" 20 years after its premiere. This stylized drama is not only a showpiece for a tightly knit ensemble of talented actors; it's also a tremendously effective piece of theater.7/22/1993 11:00pm PT
Control FreaksControl Freaks" is almost surely the first R-rated play to use the services of Flying by Foy. Beth Henley's latest comedy, a mixture of sexual perversity and serial acrobatics, is often as darkly hilarious as it is startling.7/20/1993 11:00pm PT
Tommy Tune Tonight!Tommy Tune Tonight!" can be summed up as Tried and True, but Terrific. There's nothing terribly innovative about this 90-minute program of song, dance and chatter, but Tune's talent and apparently effortless charm make for a delightful evening.7/14/1993 11:00pm PT
Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third KingdomImperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom," which is receiving its California premiere at the Odyssey Theatre, is a cross between Eugene Ionesco and Lorraine Hansberry.6/29/1993 11:00pm PT