Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The mishegoss of mom, shmaltz-free

by Evan Henerson, Contributing Writer

Anybody who has trod the boards knows that little blitz of stage fright that can flood through an actor when a member of the family is in the. . .

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Contentious collaboration

by Iris Mann, Contributing Writer

The contentious, often hilarious, collaboration between legendary screenwriter-director Billy Wilder and mystery novelist Raymond Chandler is the. . .

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Humor thrives in ‘Divorce Party: The Musical’

by Iris Mann, Contributing Writer

Divorce can be a devastating experience, but one can get through it, survive and even thrive, according to Amy Botwinick, co-author of “Divorce. . .

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Theater à la Second Avenue

by Iris Mann, Contributing Writer

With the revival of his musical about a Jewish cabaret comedian, writer-director Pavel Cerny feels he is giving the current generation of Los Angeles. . .

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Rescuing Jewish Musicians

by Kirk Silsbee, Contributing Writer

When Zubin Mehta takes the stage at the Disney Concert Hall on Oct. 30 to conduct the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO), most in the audience will. . .

Monday, September 10, 2012

Theatre Dybbuk: Company invokes folklore, myth to stretch boundaries of Jewish theater

by Jonathan Maseng, Contributing Writer

When Aaron Henne decided to form a new Jewish theater company, he knew he needed to push boundaries and make bold statements to challenge the. . .

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Stage dramedy tackles interfaith marriage taboo

by Jonathan Maseng

If you take Israel out of the equation, there’s little in the Jewish world that gets people as riled up as the idea of intermarriage.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

‘Oy’ bring the past to the present at Culver City’s Actors’ Gang

by Iris Mann, Contributing Writer

For Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins, who founded Actors’ Gang and serves as its artistic director, presenting plays that are relevant to. . .

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Loss, survival — cue the music

by Iris Mann, Contributing Writer

“When I told my son I was going to write a musical about the Holocaust,” playwright and Holocaust survivor Lucy Deutsch recalled, “he raised. . .

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Music transcends darkest hours in ‘Willesden Lane’

By Tom Tugend

Malka and Abraham Jura faced a Solomonic decision in late 1938, as the Nazis were tightening the vise on the Jews of Vienna. The couple hoped to send. . .

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Culture with a side of popcorn

By Tom Teicholz

When the hit comedy “One Man, Two Guvnors” comes to Broadway this spring, I’ll be able to say I saw the London production. I also saw the. . .

Thursday, March 15, 2012

At home, on stage and screen

by Evan Henderson

Somewhere in Creede, Colo., en route to a mountain cabin in Santa Fe, N.M., Mandy Patinkin is above 10,000 feet. “If I sound stupid, it’s because. . .

Thursday, February 23, 2012

In bed with Roy Cohn

by Iris Mann, Contributing Writer

The notorious attorney Roy Cohn (Barry Pearl), onetime counsel for Sen. Joseph McCarthy, deals with his demons in Joan Beber’s surreal play,. . .

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Jewish theater: From Yiddish to multiculturalism

by Iris Mann

What defines “Jewish” theater? David Chack, a playwright and president of the Association for Jewish Theatre, promises that question will be. . .

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Theater as deception

by Iris Mann

“The theatre has the power to both reveal the truth and hide the truth,” according to Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga, whose internationally. . .

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Elfman circles back to the circus

by Jonathan Maseng, Contributing Writer

Danny Elfman is a huge success, but he doesn't want you to know it. Humility is a hard thing to hang your hat on when you've accumulated four. . .

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Two Yiddishe Boys and a Bissel of Berlin

By Tom Tugend

About a dozen years ago, actor Mike Burstyn auditioned in New York for the role of Al Jolson in the national touring company of the musical. . .

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

C’mon, Amanda Green, ‘Bring It On’

By Naomi Pfefferman

At one point in “Bring It On: The Musical,” inspired by the rival cheerleading film of the same name, Bridget, the team’s chubby mascot, gets. . .

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Performance series pays tribute to Boyle Heights’ cultural, artistic legacy

By Jonathan Maseng

When Canter’s Deli first opened in Los Angeles, it was not at its now-famous location on Fairfax Avenue, but in Boyle Heights. And though. . .

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Family history informs justice, guilt in ‘Wiesenthal’

by iris mann

He was often called “the Jewish James Bond” and “the Conscience of the Holocaust” for his activities in the pursuit of Nazis. It was a. . .

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

‘LUV’ Endures

By Tom Tugend

Murray Schisgal’s comedy “LUV” is, as the alert reader might suspect, about love, even passionate love, but don’t expect any moon in June or. . .

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The passion of David Lang

By Rick Schultz

It may seem a sign of overconfidence for someone to tell you he’s rewriting a major work by Beethoven, but for David Lang, who reconceived Bach’s. . .

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A touch of George in Alexander’s ‘Prisoner’

By Ryan Torok

Jason Alexander immediately apologizes for his voice when he comes to the phone. He’s hoarse because he’s been yelling nonstop for his current. . .

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Acting from the heart

by daniel gelman

USC freshman Shayna Turk, a 2010 graduate and former class president of New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, didn’t expect a nice. . .