Thomas Blake

Theater to See in L.A. This Week, Including a Mesmerizing Child's-Eye View of Grief, Walking the Tightrope

Child-like views delighted our critics this week, with Mike Kenney's Walking the Tightrope at the 24th Street Theatre taking Pick of the Week, and a nod to Albie Selznick's magic show Smoke and Mirrors at the Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood. There's also a recommendation for an adult comed ... More >>

Theater to See in L.A. This Week, Including Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground

Nods this week for Laguna Playhouse's production of Neil Simon's Chapter Two and Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground at Zombie Joe's Underground in North Hollywood. For the latest new reviews and comprehensive stage listings, see below. Tanna Frederick and Robert Standley star in N. Richard Nash's T ... More >>

Theater to See in L.A. This Week, Including a Solo Show About Pioneering Actress Hattie McDaniel

Our critic Lovell Estell was entranced by Vickilyn Reynolds' performance in a show based on the life of Hattie McDaniel, Hattie -- What I Need You To Know. For all the latest New Theater Reviews, and comprehensive stage listings, see below.This week's Stage Feature takes a look a three shows th ... More >>

Theater to See in L.A. This Week, Including Sherlock's Last Case

No new reviews this week, but these will return at the same time next week, as the new theater season gets underway. See below for complete listings of shows to see this week.In this week's stage feature, we asked our stable of critics what they most dread and anticipate when being assigned a s ... More >>

Stage Raw: Furious Theatre Company and Pasadena Playhouse part ways

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE ON SPIDER-MAN, ON BROADWAYFURIOUS AND PASADENA PLAYHOUSE PART WAYSFor reasons having to do with Pasadena Playhouse's needs to lease its second space, The Carrie Hamilton Theater, and the need of Furious Theatre Company for a space with h ... More >>

Stage Raw: Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over

NEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Circle Mirror Transformation and Me, As a PenguinCOMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSPUZZLER​Padraic Duffy's noir drama of East German Spies opens this weekend at Sacred Fools Theater Company. Photo by C.M. GonzalezFAIRY TALE THEATRE: 18 & OVERJ. Michael Feldman's ... More >>

Stage Raw: Holiday Listings

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGS NEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Cormac McCarthy's The Sunset LimitedHOLIDAY LISTINGS:To be honest, the quantity of theater playing this week in Los Angeles is about as thin as it gets. Still, our comprehensive LISTINGS are back up. Things do pick up in January, so ... More >>

Roccopella

Theater Reviews: The Limitations of Genetic Technology, Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein

Also, Roccopella, Crimes of the Heart

Stage Raw: Roccopella

NEW THEATER REVIEWSStage FEATURE on Watson (Sacred Fools) and Futura (Boston Court)COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW REVIEW GO ROCCOPELLA ​ Embellished with funky MTV-inspired videos, writer/solo performer George Spielvogel's goofy good-natured comedy sports an array of ditzy characters who sha ... More >>

Stage Raw: Loveland

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSTheater Feature on La Razon Blindada and A Wolf Inside the Fence and NEW REVIEW GO LOVELAND ​Photo by Leland Auslender What a rare experience it is, when a character that's as maniacal, sexually overheated and as transparently off the rails as a ... More >>

Stage Raw: Voombodian Women from Outer Space!

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSTheater FEATURE on Happy Ending and WaterVOOMBODIAN WOMEN FROM OUTER SPACE! Staged reading of Barry Schwam's new play at Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., in Sierra Madre. Sun., 7:30 p.m. $5 (626) 355-4318 AN EVENING WITH PAT BOONE, ... More >>

Stage Raw: Circle X and Bootleg Hook Up to Read Plays

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSTheater FEATURE on John StepplingCIRCLE X AND BOOTLEG HOOK UP TO READ PLAYS Circle X Theatre Company and Bootleg are joining forces to present a series of Monday night readings of new works, starting September 13, at the Bootleg venue. Playwrights s ... More >>

Stage Raw: City Garage Bids Adieu to Fourth Street

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWS Cover Story on LATE's The War Cycle2011 MARK TAPER FORUM SEASON ANNOUNCED ​John Lithgow Photo by Nigel Perry John Lithgow will ring in the New Year spinning yarns in Stories By Heart, previously produced at the Lincoln Center and at the National ... More >>

Stage Raw: How Do Actors Do It?

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on My Penis, In and Out of TroubleHOW DO ACTORS DO IT? As told by Alan Mandell, who was among a dozen or so actors auditioning for the movie This Must Be the Place, starring Sean Penn. The role was for a man 94-years old. Mandell, being ... More >>

Stage Raw: James Gammon Memorial

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Opus, at the Fountain Theatre MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR JAMES GAMMON: Sunday, August 22, 2 p.m. at the MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Avenue in Hollywood. RSVP here Check back Monday night for reviews of: BOY'S LIFE, Howard Korder's 1988 ba ... More >>

Stage Raw: Summer Festivities

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on [title of show] and Dani GirlSUMMER FESTIVITIES Open Fist Theater Company launches its annual Fist Look Festival this weekend, with The Existents, a rock musical by Douglas Crawford and Jason Wooten, music and lyrics by Ty Taylor. T ... More >>

Stage Raw: Brewsie & Willie

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE ON LINDA PURL'S FESTIVALBREWSIE AND WILLIE ​Poor Dog Group's adaptation of Gertrude Stein's novella, is among the productions being reviewed this week. Photo by Scott Grolier Check back here on Monday night for reviews of THE BAKER'S ... More >>

Stage Raw: Unknown Future, Theater on Seward Closes Its Doors

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Lieutenant of Inishmore and A Tale Told by an IdiotAN UNKNOWN FUTURE: Theater on Seward Closes its Doors John Fleck performs tonight (Thursday), 8 p.m. with his sardonic one-man comedy about Trader Joe's (and points beyond), Side E ... More >>

Stage Raw: Pasadena Playhouse Emerges from Bankruptcy

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSCURRENT STAGE FEATURE on KING LEARCAPTURED AURAL PHANTASY THEATER ​CAPT presents a special event tonight (Friday) night, Hooray for Hollywood Extravaganza, celebrating the legends of Our Fair City, In a style mixing radio and vaudeville. The Galler ... More >>

Stage Raw: Wuthering "Heights"

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSCURRENT STAGE FEATURE ON THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGEWUTHERING "HEIGHTS"​Lin-Manuel Miranda stars in his own Broadway hit, In The Heights, now at the Pantages. Photo by Joan Marcus "Wuthering" actually means windy not withering. Though the former is preval ... More >>

Theater Reviews: Leiris Picasso, A Memory of What Might Have Been, The Jesus Hickey

Also, The Importance of Being Earnest, Grace and Glorie and more

Stage Raw: A Memory of What Might Have Been

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSCurrent STAGE FEATURE on Anton Chekhov's 150th Birthday BashNEW REVIEW GO  A MEMORY OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ​ Photo courtesy of Zombie Joe's Underground George Bernard Shaw wrote that "men and women are made by their own fancies in the image ... More >>

Stage Raw: The Other Festivals

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSCurrent STAGE FEATURE on Anton Chekhov's 150th Birthday BashTHE OTHER FESTIVALS Running concurrently with the Hollywood Fringe (June 17-27) is Arts Olympus (June 17-20) on board the Queen Mary in Long Beach. AO includes a contemporary Russian exhib ... More >>

Comedy That Gives Good Hangover: The Director of 'Point Break Live!' Brings 'Drunk Talk' to the Dragonfly

Erin BroadleyThomas Blake at McSwiggin's Tavern, aka Dragonfly​Want drama? Forget the theater, give me a bar. For over two years Thomas Blake, co-producer and director of the wildly popular stage show Point Break Live!, has been turning traditional theater head over heels over bar stools with ... More >>

Stage Raw: Lease Subsidy Program Gets Another Lease

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSCURRENT FEATURE ON BORN TO BE ALIVE and THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACELEASE SUBSIDY PROGRAM GETS ANOTHER LEASE A recommendation by L.A.'s Chief Administrative Officer Miguel Santana to restructure (eliminate) the city's Lease Subsidy Program for non- ... More >>

Stage Raw: Getting Our Fringe On

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWS This week's Theater Feature on Camelot and Baal. GETTING OUR FRINGE ON I've heard it said at numerous receptions and parties that the reason L.A. has so much bad theater is because it has so much bad theater - that less would be more. Fringe Fe ... More >>

Stage Raw: Outrageous Fortune

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSThis week's stage features on The Best of '09 and The Best of the Decade.OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE Theatre Development Fund has just published its findings on "the life and times of the American play" in a comprehensive analysis (by Todd London with Ben Pesner, and Zannie Gir ... More >>

Stage Raw: Rachel Rosenthal at 83

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSLATEST NEW REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Poland, where theater is hipRACHEL ROSENTHAL AT 83 ​The Rachel Rosenthal Company (founded in 1989) is throwing a fundraiser to help celebrate the performance artist's 83rd birthday, past achievements and the upcoming publication o ... More >>

Stage Raw: As You Like It

THE LATEST NEW REVIEWS ARE EMBEDDED IN THIS WEEK'S COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSAlso see this week's STAGE FEATURE on Polish theater unmaskedNEW REVIEW GO AS YOU LIKE ITAs You Like It Photo courtesy of Aquila TheatreSummer is in full heat across the Southland, which brings out amphitheater producti ... More >>

Stage Raw: Clowntown City Limits

THE LATEST NEW REVIEWS ARE EMBEDDED IN THIS WEEK'S COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW REVIEW THEATER PICK CLOWNTOWN CITY LIMITSPhoto by Ed RachlesImagine a personable, grimy, makeup-smeared, cigar-chomping guy in a tank top, not unlike Tommy Lee Jones, playing cards outdoors on the porch of some tra ... More >>

Stage Raw: Pigs' Life (St. Joan of the Slaughterhouses)

THE LATEST NEW REVIEWS ARE EMBEDDED IN THE COMING WEEK'S COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW REVIEW THEATER PICK ST JOAN OF THE SLAUGHTERHOUSESPhoto by Vitor MartinsFor a lucid analysis of the malfunctioning global financial markets, one could do worse than Bertolt Brecht. And it's hard to imagine doi ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Flight of the Conchords, Gary Busey at Point Break Live!, Dazed and Confused at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and more

There's nothing more depressing than the end of a long holiday weekend (except the hangover, of course, which is why you should try this remedy). In addition to the WTFBBQs and beach parties, we caught Flight of the Conchords at the Greek, hung out with Gary Busey at Point Break Live!, and inhaled s ... More >>

Utah, Get Me Two! Gary Busey Joins Point Break Live! at the Dragonfly

Erin BroadleyGary Busey joins the cast of Point Break Live! on stage Actor Gary Busey made a special appearance at the Dragonfly on Friday night for the May 22 performance of Point Break Live!, the wildly popular punk-rock stage adaptation of the 1991 action flick Point Break that starred Busey as s ... More >>

LA People 2009: Point Break Live!'s Punk Theater Impresario — Thomas Blake

Gunning for the stars: "If the audience doesn't get accosted then they feel like they got slighted"

LA People 2009: This Is LA

The waitresses and starlets ... the tech wizards and rock stars ... the activists, gang survivors, political warriors and policy wonks ... the scientists, teachers and fabulous nerds ... plus the nightlife shapers, art makers and fashion provocateurs

Stage Raw: Stick Fly

AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: THE WEEKEND'S NEW THEATER REVIEWS EMBEDDED WITHIN THIS COMING WEEK'S COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSand this week's THEATER FEATURE: an Off-Broadway roundupReviewed this week: the world premiere of Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair at South Coast Rep; the west coast ... More >>

Stage Raw: Land of the Tigers

CLICK HERE FOR COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSLAND OF THE TIGERS IS THIS WEEK'S PICKLand of the Tigers Photo by Jon Beauregard Noises OnCool Cats and Hot ActorsAct 1 of the Burglars of Hamm's hilarious and thought provoking comedy, Land of the Tigers, outlandishly crosses Cats with Planet of the Ape ... More >>

Stage Raw: Before Kirk Douglas Forgets

PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE 30TH ANNUAL L.A. WEEKLY THEATER AWARDS ON MARCH 30TH AT THE EL REY; HERE ARE THE NOMINEES. BEFORE I FORGETKirk Douglas in Before I Forget. Photo by Craig Schwartz The gift in Kirk Douglas' one-man show, Before I Forget,  that opened over the weekend in the theater name ... More >>

Stage Raw: Monsters and Prodigies

Reviewed this week: Pippin at the Mark Taper Forum; Jack Chandlers' new comedy-mystery, Murder on the Bounding Main, at Sierra Madre Playhouse; a dance-rock fusion, Vibrating Sun, at Unknown Theatre; Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble's staging fof Macbeth; Echo One-Act Festival at Stage 52; Furious Th ... More >>

Stage Raw: Unpronouncable

THEATER AWARDS UPDATE Here is the complete list of NOMINEES for the 30th annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards, being held Monday, March 30 at the El Rey. Admission for nominees is free; nominee RSVPs are now being accepted at (310) 574-7208. Tickets for guests and members of the public go on sale ... More >>

Stage Raw: The Biggest Thank You Ever Given

The Biggest Thank You Ever Given I'm thunderstruck and deeply moved by the outpouring and quality of your appreciations to me in your emails and in the comments to Friday's posting on the elimination of the L.A. Weekly's Theater Editor position. What a privilege: to read all that, to have served ... More >>

Stage Raw: Arts Freeze

ARTS FREEZE FOR THE HOLIDAYS In a cost-cutting measure, the Los Angeles Unified School District has frozen district funds until the state legislature returns to Sacramento in January to sort out the State budget gridlock. Arts for L.A. has been quick to point out that the freeze includes existin ... More >>

Stage Raw: New Troupes on the Block

NEW TROUPES ON THE BLOCK Under the umbrella of Cornerstone Theatre Company, a new company called Teatro Jornalero Sin Fronteras (Day Laborer Theater Without Borders) launches at the Hollywood Community Job Center, 5669 De Longpre Avenue; December 20 at noon. The 15-member troupe will voice the s ... More >>

Theater Reviews: Lost Angeles, Point Break, This Lime Tree Bower

Also this week's pick, The Wreck of the Unfathomable

Point Break Live