REVIEW: GEM OF THE OCEAN BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO There’s something fascinating about plays that are set in the ‘olden days’; simpler times, when people just sat around talking to one another face to face. Watching one of these works is like finding a secret door that takes us back in time, if only for […]

REVIEW: BURIED CHILD BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO I remember picking up Sam Shepard’s play Buried Child from the, now closed, Samuel French Bookshop on Sunset Blvd., a couple years ago. Then upon reading this strange, dark and humorous play, I remember thinking: What just happened? Who are these people? How could a whole family be so […]

REVIEW: THE GLASS MENAGERIE BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO For Tennessee Williams, his 1944 autobiographical play, The Glass Menagerie changed his life forever. Upon its premiere in Chicago, then its transfer to Broadway, William’s went on to become one of America’s most beloved playwrights. The motto “write what you know” comes to mind when discussing Menagerie—there are glimpses […]

REVIEW: A RAISIN IN THE SUN BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO A Noise Within continues its 2018 season on the theme of ‘Entertaining Courage’ with a production of Lorraine Hanberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. The 1959 play denotes a courage of its own as it marked as the first play on Broadway to be […]

REVIEW: A TALE OF TWO CITIES BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Whether you’ve read Charles Dicken’s epic novel A Tale of Two Cities, or not, you’re likely familiar with the novel’s opening lines: “It was the best of times. . .” and if you’re even more well versed, you may also know the last line too: […]

REVIEW: MAN OF LA MANCHA BY RYAN LUÉVANO “To dream … the impossible dream,” the lyrics to the hit song of the 1964 musical Man of La Mancha have never meant as much as they do in A Noise Within Theatre Company’s revival of this work. This production eschews the customary opulence of traditional staging […]

REVIEW: A CHRISTMAS CAROL BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO It’s that wonderful time of year once again: A Noise Within Theatre Company’s A Christmas Carol returns in a production that’s as glorious as ever. This classic Charles Dickens tale from 1843 is expertly adapted for the stage by co-director Geoff Elliot, who also plays the title […]

REVIEW: ARCADIA BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO As part of A Noise Within’s 25th Anniversary Season themed “Beyond Our Wildest Dreams” comes their presentation of Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly crafted play Arcadia. Although, meticulous, captivating and masterful Stoppard’s Arcadia is not for those in search of get to the point drama and storytelling. It’s a play that, […]

REVIEW: ROMEO AND JULIET BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Of the 37 plays written by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is still a household name after 400 years. Everyone knows the plot of this tragic story: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy loses girl, and boy and girl die, the end. However, […]

REVIEW: THREE PENNY OPERA, A NOISE WITHIN THEATER By RYAN M. LUÉVANO The Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill 1928 classic The Threepenny Opera makes it’s way to A Noise Within Theater in Pasadena, a production that permeates with high theater values and purpose. “Money rules the world!,” “Show us the legs that men admire,” from […]