Heddatron at Ion Theatre
The robot that ripped itself to shreds back in the 80s? May have been a sign. Conspiracy theorists swear it became "self-aware" - like the machines in The Terminator - and began to experience doubt. Drove it plum cuckoo. And …
The Cars Have Left the Lot
Car Plays closed last Sunday at the La Jolla Playhouse. I saw five (of the 15) earlier and went back to check if my original fascination held true. I invited Linda Libby, a Craig Noel Award winner, to join me …
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead at OnStage Playhouse
To be and not to be. In Tom Stoppard's philosophical farce, "dead" is a relative term. The title says Hamlet's boyhood chums have passed away. But whenever the play begins anew, they come back alive, groggy with amnesia, and wonder …
Quiet
Whenever my sister Shirley recommends a book, I read it at once. The first time, long ago, she handed me a white-covered paperback and said, "opening paragraph." I perused it and kept going. When I turned the page, she said, …
How I Got That Story at Mo`olelo Performing Arts
In his excellent book about Vietnam, Dispatches (1977), Michael Herr weaves stark reality with brain-blasting absurdity. Since he was a journalist who didn't "have to be there," soldiers found him strange: "A GI would walk clear across a fire-base for …
Runnings and Goings
News on the local theater front is a Dickensian best and worst of possibilities, since two fine productions must close. MORE LIFE: Guys and Dolls and Mixtape - Lamb's Players has extended the runs of its current shows: Guys and …
Without Walls, Indeed!
The La Jolla Playhouse calls its site-specific program "Without Walls" and "WoW." For Paul Stein's Car Plays, both apply. Actors perform 10 minute pieces inside a car. Also inside: two audience members. Scenes unfold. Some, like the mother learning her …
God's Trombones at Ira Aldridge Repertory Players
Director Calvin Manson fills the stage with music and dance, but the show's star is James Weldon Johnson. If he never wrote a word, Johnson (1871-1938) would have lived a life of distinguished service. He taught at NYU and Fisk …
William Virchis: A Most Worthy Tribute
On Thursday, February 23, the Sweetwater Union High School District will honor a San Diego icon. In a dedication ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m., the district's Visual and Performing Arts Department will become the William Virchis Visual and Performing Arts …
Next Fall at Diversionary Theatre
Young Luke is Christian and gay. His partner, 40-year-old Adam, says that's a contradiction. As their relationship grows, it works on every level except core beliefs. Their names reflect the split: Luke, from the New Testament; Adam, the Old. Luke …
In the Wake at San Diego Rep
If Ellen never had to choose, she'd have it all and demand more. Thanksgiving, 1999: Ellen, her hyper-attentive lover Danny, his sister Kayla, and her spouse Laurie prepare dinner at Ellen's fifth floor, East Village walk-up. They're so chipper, supportive, …
Acting in the Moment (of Uncertainty), Part Two
At the San Diego Theater Critics Awards ceremony, Claudio Raygoza, artistic director of Ion Theatre, filled what looked to be a black hole with style and ease. Brian Mackey was to receive the "Actor of the Year" award for an …
Acting in the Moment (of Uncertainty), Part One
When someone hands you a lemon, make lemonade. When live theater hands you a lemon, make art. Actors perform "in the moment," making scenes appear spontaneous. At the same time they must be on alert for the unexpected. Must "cover" …
Guys and Dolls at Lamb's Players
In this classic American musical, Frank Loesser's songs run like New York cabs; another's always just around the corner, often a great one at that. Lamb's Players included a personal favorite that sometimes gets cut. Arvide Abernathy, leader of the …
Craig Noel Award Recipients for 2011
Dramatic Production: August: Osage County, Old Globe Theatre Direction of a Play: Sam Gold, August: Osage County, Old Globe Ensemble: August: Osage County, Old Globe Lead Performance in a Play, Male: Manny Fernandes, Of Mice and Men, New Village Arts …
Theater Critics Circle Awards: Backstage Last Night
It's 7:15. Our annual Craig Noel Award ceremony begins in 15 minutes, and no one's seen Brian Mackey. He'll receive the "Actor of the Year" award - for a truly impressive body of work: Ion Theatre's Bash: The Latter Day …
Golden Child at Chinese Pirate Productions
David Henry Hwang knocked Broadway for a loop with M Butterfly (1988). The play explained itself: a male French diplomat, disguised as an opera diva, had a 20-year relationship with a man. For Golden Child (1998), Hwang did a 180: …
A Raisin in the Sun at Moxie Theatre
Is wonderful! Lorraine Hansberry's breakthrough drama (1959) is in loving, unflinching hands. Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, the ensemble and design-work are first-rate. And outstanding performances by Mark Christopher Lawrence, as conflicted Walter Lee Younger, and Sylvia M'Lafi Thompson, as …
An Enemy of the People at Intrepid Shakespeare Company
In the movie Jaws, the police chief wants to close the beaches because a great white shark's been spotted cruising local waters. The city council raises a ruckus: who cares about lost limbs or lives; what about the tourist trade? …
Ibsen and Acting
It's an exaggeration, but not much of one, to say that Henrik Ibsen changed acting. The theater he inherited was star-based, ornate, and illusionary: plays about the upper classes written for the upper classes. Everyone else was a type. Stage …