Becky sells expensive cars. Her husband Joe is a roofer. They have been married for 28 years. Their 26-year-old son Chris is still in school and lives in their basement.
“Neighbors,” a play now having its West Coast premiere at The Matrix Theatre, is an angry, nasty, hateful, and thoroughly mean-spirited take on the “black experience” in America.
Sometimes a book of short stories is a welcome diversion from the usual industrial-strength novels. Just as an evening of short one-acts can provide a satisfying evening at the theater.
At what point does a collection become hoarding? All of us at one time or another had collections whether of stamps, books or plates. “People collect and save objects as a hobby in virtually all cultures,” the authors point out.
At last, a family that isn’t dysfunctional! A mother and father still romantically in love after 19 years of marriage. A footballl hero son who is their pride and joy.
As a passionate piece of 20th century history, it works. As a parable for the present day, not so much. Clifford Odets’ 1935 Depression-era play “Waiting for Lefty” is a rabble-rousing tirade against big business and its heavy-handed control of the “downtrodden masses.
There are periods of time when it is necessary that the facts as known be written down. Years later is the time historians can come along and put the facts together.
It takes a super-savvy conductor to lead a group of four extraordinary non-musicians (plus one actual violin virtuoso) through the intricate movements of a play about a string quartet, and Simon Levy is that man.
SM BLVD — There’s a new place for pleasure and social activism in Santa Monica. Rory Lovett, along with partners Todd Christiansen and Casey Phillips, are looking to revitalize the Westside club scene with the renovation and roll out of a restored nightclub at the corner of 14th Street and Santa Mon
Politics is a mystery to most of us. We accept it as something someone else does. Not too many of us get involved. Those that do have trouble telling us what actually goes on in Congress.
Whole lotta screamin’ goin’ on, and it isn’t coming from the audience. In fact, the audience becomes quieter and quieter as the evening wears on. Not a good sign for what is supposed to be a rip-roaring comedy.
Seven people stranded in a stalled elevator makes an interesting premise for a play, wouldn’t you think? Well, almost. In “Elevator,” a new play written and directed by Michael Leoni, seven strangers, fine actors all, twiddle through the first hours of the ordeal without really making contact with