Julian Sands Returns on Radio to "A Room with a View" by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Julian Sands, who played George Emerson in the 1985 Merchant Ivory film version of to E.M. Forster's 1908 novel A Room With a View, returns to the Italy-set romance a third…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 5:00pm on February 28, 2019[SHARE]

The Stage's Scourge of the Status Quo: Tim Robbins on "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Since first taking the stage in 1982 with Alfred Jarry's Ubu the King, The Actors' Gang has, in terms of form and content, specialized in a subversive edge and wit. Directed b…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 4:50pm on February 28, 2019[SHARE]

Oh My God!: Ed Asner Plays the Title Role in "God Help Us!" by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell God Help Us! deals largely with news personalities and comes at a time when reportage is under attack. It also stars the actor who portrayed one of television's most famous ma…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 2:11pm on February 20, 2019[SHARE]

"Ragtime" Remains Timely at the Pasadena Playhouse by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel Ragtime is a panoramic political period piece featuring fictitious and real characters in early 20th century New York. Doctorow's progressive panopl…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 4:08pm on February 19, 2019[SHARE]

Gender Parity is the Theme and "Fuck" is the Word at 29th Annual Ovation Awards Ceremony by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Hosted by The Kilroys, an L.A.-based, pro-gender balance collective of playwrights and producers, many presenters and winners stressed equality between the sexes on the stage …

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 3:36pm on February 3, 2019[SHARE]

Alfred Molina Reflects on Acting, L.A. Theater, and "A Walk in the Woods" by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Alfred Molina personifies the talent pool that makes Los Angeles theatre so rich and vibrant. For his movies the British-born actor has been nominated for BAFTA and Independen…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 10:36am on January 24, 2019[SHARE]

French Stewart on "Finks", the Hollywood Blacklist, and Working with his Wife for the First Time by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Actor French Stewart may be best known to national audiences for his roles in TV sitcoms, including as Harry Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun and as Chef Rudy in the current s…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 4:06pm on November 14, 2018[SHARE]

Fight the Power, Tell the Story: Tim Robbins on 'Johnny Got His Gun' by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell The Actors' Gang's "2018/19 Hellzapoppin Season" opens with an adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel Johnny Got His Gun, an anti-war classic about a World War I soldier ter…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 5:10pm on October 31, 2018[SHARE]

The Patriotism of Resistance: George Takei Pledges Allegiance to Human Rights by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Star Trek's Sulu From the Screen to the Stage George Takei may be best known for playing helmsman Lt. Sulu in the original Star Trek sci-fi series and six of the franchise'…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 10:47am on March 14, 2018[SHARE]

2017 Ovations Awards Ceremony and Winners Stress L.A. Theatre's Diversity by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell "I thought it was a great show, all of the presenters were fun, the music was great," gushed award-winning costume designer Michael Mullen about the 28th Annual LA STAGE Allia…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 5:18pm on February 8, 2018[SHARE]

Ovations Profile: John Perrin Flynn of Rogue Machine Theatre by Ed Rampell

by Ed Rampell Since 2008 John Perrin Flynn has produced all of the main stage productions of Rogue Machine Theatre, one of 2017's most Ovation-nominated intimate theatre companies, which is…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 9:02pm on January 22, 2018[SHARE]

Rent Control: The Battle of the Sexes Goes Rogue in "bled for the household truth" by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell A Timely Take on Sexuality (Or Lack Thereof) In yet another era when sexual scandals rock America's cultural and political power centers, Ruth Fowler's disturbing drama abo…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 10:36pm on December 1, 2017[SHARE]

Enlightened Émilie: The 18th Century Feminist Before Feminism by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Of Femmes, Physics and Philosophes There is some encouraging chatter about the steady closing of the gender gap in the sciences, despite a 2012 Yale University study which …

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 8:36pm on September 1, 2017[SHARE]

All the World's a Spectrum: Ambiguity and Diversity in Antaeus' As You Like It by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Gender Bender Bard on the Boards? Some may regard Shakespeare's comedy, As You Like It, as a mere merry, frothy confection. And to be sure, it is highly entertaining wi…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 8:48pm on August 4, 2017[SHARE]

Ionesco's Anti-Fascist Rhinoceros Timelier Than Ever by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell   Tackling Totalitarianism with Absurdity Eugène Ionesco's 1959 parable about pachyderms belongs to the Theatre of the Absurd. Yet, the production of Rhinoceros, now at…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 6:09pm on July 28, 2017[SHARE]

Gang Meets Lit: A Spoken Word Adaptation of Dante's Inferno by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Canto I: From Page to Stage The Actors' Gang has teamed up with the Los Angeles-based nonprofit group Get Lit - Words Ignite to present Dante, a spoken word musical a…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 4:30pm on July 21, 2017[SHARE]

More Equal: Botanicum Brings Orwell's Fable from Stable to Stage by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Still Relevant After All These Years Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum's (WGTB) current production of Animal Farm is based on George Orwell's famed 1945 Novella. Sir Peter H…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 4:45pm on July 5, 2017[SHARE]

Shakespeare's Shylock for the Age of Trump by Ed Rampell

By Ed Rampell Shakespeare in the Park's Julius Caesar has sparked controversy with the Public Theater's outdoor production in Manhattan's Central Park of Julius Caesar featuring a Trump l…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 5:04pm on June 14, 2017[SHARE]

ARULA Encourages Audiences to Resist, Rise Up by Ed Rampell

by ED RAMPELL national theater community fired its first shot at the incoming Trump regime November 18, when Hamilton's cast admonished then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence after a perfo…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 8:03pm on April 14, 2017[SHARE]

Aristophanes' Frogs Leaps Onstage at Getty Villa via Culture Clash Spoof by Ed Rampell

by ED RAMPELL Clash is just wild about Ari " Aristophanes, that is. Sapo (which means "Frogs" in Spanish) is the comedy trio's latest send-up of the Greek playwright, who wrote The Frogs…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 9:52am on February 14, 2017[SHARE]

Enter, Stage Left at the Ovation Awards: Passions & Politics by Ed Rampell

by ED RAMPELL 1989, LA STAGE Alliance founded the annual Ovation Awards ceremony "to recognize excellence in theatrical performance, production and design in the Greater Los Angeles area…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 5:36pm on January 24, 2017[SHARE]

Additional Dialogue: The Purpose of the Post-Play Talkback by Ed Rampell

by ED RAMPELL play's the thing," says the melancholy Dane in the second act of Hamlet. But sometimes, the plays themselves are not the only thing that theaters offer. Rather, it's bec…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 2:01pm on June 30, 2016[SHARE]

Pro-Worker Parallels Between Oona O'Neill's Playwright Father and Filmmaker Husband by Ed Rampell

by ED RAMPELL first play I saw in Los Angeles upon my return from Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, was Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape, playing at the Odyssey Theatre through July 17. Thes…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 6:15pm on June 6, 2016[SHARE]

[INTERVIEW] A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the LATC: Evelina Fernández Adapts Plautus by Ed Rampell

interview by ED RAMPELL   Why did you write this updated version of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus' The Pot of Gold? EVELINA FERNÁNDEZ: The Latino Theater Company was appr…

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 1:48pm on April 4, 2016[SHARE]

Docu-Theatre Talks Terrorism at Art of Acting Studio by Ed Rampell

by ED RAMPELL -Theatre" gives form to the truism "truth is stranger than fiction" on the boards. Don. K. Williams, Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company's Associate Director, defines …

SOURCE: thisstage.la at 9:21pm on February 3, 2016[SHARE]