ARRANGEMENTS OF SHADOWS Abetted by a dozen gifted songwriters, Mandy Patinkin casts a memorable, wistful look at collective memories in ‘Diaries’ by CRISTOFER GROSS ith culture now changing at techno-pace it’s hard to imagine any contemporary artist will resonate with those living hundreds of years from now. On the other hand, vast changes have occurred […]
A CASE FOR OBSESSION Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel is a transformative experience at the Geffen Playhouse by CRISTOFER GROSS In an extraordinary move last fall, the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood allowed a former librarian to transform its Skirball Theater into a lecture hall. "The proprietor’s extortionary rates," as Hollander decried them in a thick
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GOING ROGUE The feisty new-play nurturing Rogue Machine Theatre lands on its feet in time for a ninth season in a new space. January 12, 2016 | Cristofer Gross – The element of surprise is useful in plotting plays. Not so much in producing them. In 2014, two small Los Angeles theater companies were sharing
ANSEL ADAMS’ STUDENT PHOTO CALL A surprising photo credit for a college rehearsal shot sparks inquiry. Walking into UC Irvine’s main library in 2008, I stopped before a poster bearing a remarkable photograph. The rich-toned black-and-white image showed a group of ‘60s vintage actors in an ethereal outdoor rehearsal under the watchful eye of a
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A LOFTY ‘RENT’ IN LA MIRADA Years after performing in the musical, Writer McKay Harper is in the house. As someone who performed in the Jonathon Larson’s Rent during my high school days, I must say that Richard Israel’s current staging at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (through November 15) exceeded all
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CIRCLING LONDON A map, a shot glass, and a surprising tour of the Britain’s hottest theater by MADELINE KING PORTER I had no plans to visit London. Then three things happened. Hamlet, Jane Eyre and Farinelli and the King. London was calling, so I decided to go. I had explored the city many times, beginning
BALANCING ACTS Aaron Posner’s adaptations are a wonder by CRISTOFER GROSS
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STAYIN’ ALIVE Shakespeare OC goes from Polynesia to Polyester in ‘Midsummer’ by CRISTOFER GROSS To launch his first summer season as Artistic Director of Garden Grove-based Shakespeare Orange County, John Walcutt offered two musical variations on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The first was a homegrown Polynesian affair produced by SOC in association with Garden
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HOW HISTORY PLAYS All the Way puts a Broadway spin on OSF’s ‘American Revolutions.’ by CRISTOFER GROSS t wasn’t part of his plan to direct on Broadway, but after six seasons as Artistic Director of the oldest and one of the largest regional theaters in America, Bill Rauch was the acclaimed director of a Tony
