REVIEW: LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD’S HOME FOR UNWED MOTHERS  BY RYAN LUÉVANO Skylight Theatre Company’s latest world premiere play is Louisa Hill’s Lord of the Underworld’s Home for Unwed Mothers, and once you get past the play’s lengthy title, what appears is a gripping and tender work that any mother or anyone that has a […]

REVIEW: ELEVATOR BY RYAN LUÉVANO Award-winning filmmaker and playwright Michael Leoni’s hit play Elevator returns to L.A. for a limited run at The Coast Playhouse. The premise is simple: seven strangers are trapped in an elevator. However, what ensues is a stimulating experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat. In both presentation […]

REVIEW: AT HOME AT THE ZOO BY RYAN LUÉVANO Just last September the world lost the great American playwright Edward Albee who had bestowed upon us so many wonderful plays most notably: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Zoo Story, A Delicate Balance and The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? Now the Wallis Annenberg Center […]

REVIEW: AH, WILDERNESS! BY RYAN LUÉVANO Explore the humor of playwright Eugene O’Neill in A Noise Within Theatre company’s revival of his 1933 play Ah, Wilderness! The play represents, as O’Neill put it, the “other side of the coin” regarding his work. It’s his only comedy in the sea of tragic visions that populate his oeuvre including: Mourning Becomes Electra, […]

TOP THEATRE PICKS STILL PLAYING: 1) THE LAST FIVE YEARS  La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, JANUARY 21 through SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12 Imagine witnessing the last five years of one of your failed relationships played out on stage for all to see—that’s what the Jason Robert Brown musical The Last Five Years accomplishes. The show written in 2001 is […]

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: THE IMAGINARY INVALID BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO Make it a Molière kind of night at A Noise Within Theatre Company as they bring audiences The Imaginary Invalid this fall. Have you ever had a friend, coworker, or family member who always claims to be ill? —or maybe that person is you. Whatever the case […]

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: MUTUAL PHILANTHROPY BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO It’s a shame that people don’t attend more plays than they do movies or sporting events because Karen Rizzo’s new play Mutual Philanthropy is a work that everyone should experience. The premise of her play is simple: two couples from different socioeconomic backgrounds have dinner together—that’s it. However, […]

REVIEW: MAESTRO BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO The name Leonard Bernstein may not be a household name today, but 40 years ago it was acclaimed and known worldwide. Bernstein was a true Renaissance man as an accomplished conductor, pianist, author, educator, librettist, television star, and the composer of symphonies, iconic film scores and American musical classics. […]