Housewife ’52
John Wuchte’s 2019 Hollywood Fringe show Scarlett Fever, a physical theatre exploration of the legendary search for Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind,” was certainly the highlight of that last pre-pandemic Fringe […]
Agunmola and Players:Hootman, Allen, Akai, Batiste, Morales, Mekertichyan, Azurdie
A Rough and Tumble 17th Century Pastiche
Director Melissa Chalsma celebrates the diversity of Elizabethan playwrights by unearthing Francis Beaumont’s The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Beaumont, along with his co-writer John Fletcher, took the reins of Shakespeare’s company […]
Williams, Zabilka and Company.
Energetic Newsies Lights UP
I can’t stop raving about the latest production of Newsies, now lighting up the BofA Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks. There are only five more performances, ending on Sunday, July 24, […]
Aleisha Force and Kate Middleton. Photo by Jenny Graham.
ROE is a Must-See Event, No Matter What Side You Are On
Dismay. Anger. Depression. Confusion. These were some of the emotions we all had when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 50-year-old precedent cementing the right to abortion in the […]
McCabe, Coover. Photo by Tim Sullens.
An Existential Conundrum Plays Out on the Victory Stage
This is the first production in two years for the venerable Victory Theatre, and it has chosen to present a bombshell of a dilemma with A Terminal Event by Richard Willett. This […]
Rowles, Leslie, Ball. Photo by Eric Keitel.
Don’t Miss Theatre 40’s Latest Delightful Diversion: The Play’s the Thing
Theatre 40 is on a roll. Each play they produce is funnier than the last, and their latest, The Play’s The Thing, is no exception. Cleverly directed by Melanie McQueen, the nearly 100–year old […]
Nichole Javier, Raphael Goldstein. Photo by Craig Schwartz.
Sheer Delight and Fanciful Tales Unite in ANW’s Metamorphoses
The whimsical compendium of Greek myths found in Metamorphoses makes just the right vehicle for a return to the magic of live theatre. As if we need an excuse, A Noise Within understands […]
Rieger, Uribes, Liguori. Photo by Jenny Graham.
Are Three Tables Enough?
I’ve been musing about Murray Mednick’s new play since I saw it. It is less a narrative and more of a meditation on holocausts, whether present or future, that reflects […]
The Influencers: Buster Keaton
Along with Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton was seminal among silent film actors. What’s more, like Lloyd, Keaton was a courageous stunt performer. In 1996, “Entertainment Weekly” rated Keaton […]
Shelton, Roberts. Photo by Kayte Deioma.
A Doll’s House, Part 2
Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 is a cheeky concept that dares to take itself seriously enough to honor its famous predecessor, while creating a potent and entirely fresh theatrical experience. […]