Reencountering Qui Nguyen's "Vietgone" in the new East West Players production, I am struck once again by the originality of the playwriting. A quick synopsis of the play might yield the fol…
Political pundits have long been giving drama critics a bad name. Inevitably, in the run-up to an election, some op-ed columnist will make a crack comparing recent political coverage to thea…
A critic's plan to rescue democracy, reclaim the power of theater and cast young artists as the leads in an extravaganza that turns voting into an act of performance.
Political pundits have long been giving drama critics a bad name. Inevitably, in the run-up to an election, some op-ed columnist will make a crack comparing recent political coverage to thea…
There are many reasons "Dear Evan Hansen," the Tony-winning musical that more than lived up to expectations at its glorious opening Friday at the Ahmanson Theatre, has become a cultural phen…
'Dear Evan Hansen,' the Tony-winning musical about a high school outcast who become a hero under false pretenses, arrives at the Ahmanson Theatre with Ben Levi Ross in the title role
The critically acclaimed play by Nigerian playwright and poet Inua Ellams leaps from a barbershop in London to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Accra, exploring the African immigrati…
"Barber Shop Chronicles" takes place in a series of barbershops, where men of African heritage gather for fellowship along with a trim in African countries still traumatized by colonialism o…
Jackie Sibblies Drury's drama, which riveted and riled New York audiences this summer at Soho Rep, sparks difficult conversations about race at Berkeley Rep.
Something is intentionally askew about the opening scene of "Fairview," Jackie Sibblies Drury's blazingly inventive new play, which is now at Berkeley Rep after setting New York abuzz last s…
'Oppenheimer," Tom Morton-Smith's acclaimed play about "the father of the atomic bomb," has its American premiere courtesy of Rogue Machine Theatre.
The most gripping moments in "Oppenheimer," the sprawling drama by British playwright Tom Morton-Smith about the man dubbed "the father of the atomic bomb," are the brainstorming meetings of…
Bekah Brunstetter's "The Cake" returns to The Geffen Playhouse, a tasty confection to appeal to red and and blue state appetites alike.
Charles McNulty talks with Lucas Hedges and Michael Cera about starring in the Kenneth Lonergan play "The Waverly Gallery," now in previews on Broadway with Elaine May and Joan Allen. Hedges…
For Lucas Hedges, the first day of rehearsal is like the first day of the new school year. He was so keyed up before the company meet-and-greet for "The Waverly Gallery," the Kenneth Lonerga…
Playwright Bekah Brunstetter's "The Cake" was inspired by news reports about businesses that objected on religious grounds to providing their good and services to gay couples who were gettin…
'Nightwalk in the Chinese Garden': Playwright and director Stan Lai leads audiences on a nocturnal cultural journey at the Huntington's Chinese Garden.
It would be hard to find a more enchanting setting for a play than the Huntington's Chinese Garden in San Marino. This is the locale for playwright and director Stan Lai's "Nightwalk in the …
Hotel Modern returns to REDCAT with KAMP, a re-creation manipulated by Dutch visual and performing artists Pauline Kalker, Arléne Hoornweg and Herman Helle of the of the Auschwitz concentra…
In "The Great War," the Dutch theater company Hotel Modern simulated the reality of the World War I battlefield in all its muddy, body-mangled horror through the projection of toy soldiers a…
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "Gloria," a workplace comedy set in a toxic Manhattan magazine office, receives its West Coast premiere in an Echo Theater Company production
It's a given in a work by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins that something startling will sooner or later occur that will have you rethinking everything you thought you understood about the play. In "A…
"The Heart of Rock & Roll," a new jukebox musical inspired by the songs of Huey Lewis and the News, receives its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe.
Even when Huey Lewis was new, he was retro. More old way than new wave, his band, Huey Lewis & the News, is as much a part of the 1980s as the movie "Back to the Future" (which memorably unl…
Geffen Playhouse presents the world premiere of Oscar-nominated screenwriter José Rivera's The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona"at the Geffen Playhouse, directed by Jo Bonney.