Lovell Estell III

Director Roger Mathey and Seat of the Pants Productions return with a solid revival of their 2002 production about four lower-class Edinburgh youths prematurely entombed in a hellish world of sex, heroin addiction and violence. The story is based on the 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh (the source material for......

This ensemble piece from the Latino Theater Lab serves as a disquieting reminder that the fortunate survivors of war quite often become its most heart-rending victims. Directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela, Melancholia tells the story of Mario, an idealistic young man from East Los Angeles who thought a stint in......

The screwed-up clan on display in Gary Lennon's densely bleak comedy gives new resonance to Tolstoy's renowned adage about how every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Turmoil and pain are woven into the DNA of the three Burns brothers of Hell's Kitchen. The oldest, Frank (Saverio Guerra),......

Not long ago, people regarded as exotic or subhuman were tossed into cages for the viewing pleasure of the American public. Such was the dreadful fate of Congo pygmy Ota Benga, who was displayed with monkeys at the Bronx Zoo in 1906. In Charles Duncombe's world-premiere drama, Caged, Megan Kim......

If you've forgotten the childlike joy and sublime wonderment of seeing magic performed, Albie Selznick's theatrical show is an enchanting reminder. The accomplished actor-magician puts on a bewildering tour de force that has more "how did he do that" flashes than can be counted. The show also has a personal......

High-caliber performances drive Timothy McNeil's world-premiere dramedy, Machu Picchu, Texas, about families enmeshed in a web of crisis. The Houston home of Sonia (Bonnie McNeil) and Harold Ogden (Tom Stanczyk) has become a hospice for their nephew, Terry (Matt Magnusson), and Sonia's brother, Charles (McNeil). An assault by hooligans has......

While their men are away, the wives will play, or so it is in Noël Coward's comedy, which is like a stylish version of Desperate Housewives, circa 1920s London. It follows close friends Julia and Jane (Pamela J. Gray and Katie MacNichol), whose cosseted, middle-class existence has them pining for......

Before there was a Sidney Poitier, a Denzel Washington, a Morgan Freeman or a Halle Berry, there was Hattie McDaniel. In the engaging bio-musical Hattie ... What I Need to Know, Vickilyn Reynolds honors the life of this extraordinary entertainer, who in 1940 became the first African-American to win an......

Just in time for the holidays comes writer Kris Lythgoe's delightful reimagining of this fairy tale nicely packaged in the style of British panto, along with pop culture references, songs, music and stagecraft magic. Though it's geared more for children, there is much here for adults to enjoy. Ariana Grande......