Category Archives: Theatre

Theatre Review: Fostered

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Remember the 60s? Peace and love, togetherness, sexual freedom, etc.? Chaya Doswell brings back some of those characteristics in Fostered, a family saga with lots of shenanigans.

Karen (Terry Davis) and Sandy (Tony Pasqualini) are planning to sell their house and retire to Hawaii, thinking that their four adult kids are fully independent to be on their own. But their plans change, as one by one, the kids return home, all of them with either stagnant careers or broken relationships, or both.

Maggie (Jillian Lee Garner) is broke and has been kicked out of her apartment. Alice (Katy Downing) is married to a man she doesn’t love and she’s now drinking heavily, especially vodka, straight from the bottle. Jeremy (Taubert Nadalini) is married to a woman, but he’s gay. Rachel (Hope Lauren) is a successful lawyer, trying to make partner at the law firm. She’s having a major nervous breakdown, including a suicide attempt, over a fight with her partner Daniel (Hiram Murray).

Just like that, the four kids are back to the family home, trying to figure out their lives. And just to spice it a little bit more, a Syrian/Lebanese refugee, Shafeek (Satiar Pourvasei), comes out of the blue, explaining that he has been adopted by Karen and Sandy. Shafeek is willing to give a hug, a kiss, and anything else to anyone, anywhere. A refugee, an adopted son, or an escort?

Doswell turns the family into an eccentric Wild West of ménage à trois, cheatings, and revelations. To blend all of these elements into an entertaining staging, Director Andrew D. Weyman brings out the rhythm of the script with a mastery display of movement and dialogue, creating an excellent blocking that delivers the comedy with a punch. Weyman comes from the world of TV, having spent his career working on some of the biggest shows of the last decades. Even though the mediums are different, he shows his talent on timing and physical comedy to create a visually entertaining spectacle.

Another aspect of the success of this play is the cast. Executive Producer Marilyn Fox continues to select talented actors that offer stellar performances. The eight actors deliver their lines with excellent timing to create the hilarious absurdity of the story. In this case, there is a fantastic recipe, mixing script, direction, and performance to give this play an irresistible allure.

Like in many instances art, Fostered was also conceived out of a place of pain and loss. But laughter is, after all, a good start to begin the healing process.

Fostered

Pacific Resident Theatre
703 Venice Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291

Opened: 8pm Saturday, April 26, 2025
8pm Thursdays – Saturdays; 3pm Sundays
No performances on Thursdays after June 25 or on 4th of July weekend. 2pm matinee added on Saturday, June 28
Closing: July 20, 2025

Tickets: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=277723

Playwright: Chaya Doswell
Director: Andrew D. Weyman
Executive Producer: Marilyn Fox
Assistant Director: Lily Brown
Presented by Pacific Resident Theatre

Cast: Terry Davis as Karen Foster, Katy Downing as Alice Foster, Jillian Lee Garner as Maggie Foster, Hope Lauren as Rachel Foster, Hiram Murray as Daniel, Taubert Nadalini as Jeremy Foster, Tony Pasqualini as Sandy Foster, and Satiar Pourvasei as Shafeek.

Creative team: Rich Rose (Scenic Design), Michael Redfield (Lighting Design), Keith Stevenson (Sound Design), Audrey Eisner (Costume Design), Bianca Martucci Rickheim (Stage Manager).

Theatre Review: The Chinese Lady

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Playwright Lloyd Suh looks back at history to analyze the American perception of Chinese immigration to the US in three different centuries, the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s. Where are we now in 2025?

Afong Moy (Michelle Krusiec) came to the US to be exhibited in different cities as an exotic element, with the main purpose to advance the commercialization of Chinese goods in America. Since she didn’t speak any English, a Chinese man called Atung (Albert Park) was appointed her interpreter.

Moy’s job was to sit in a room surrounded by Chinese decor and eat with chopsticks, drink tea, walk around the room, and let the public take a closer look at her small feet, a curiosity that soon turned into fetishism. According to a New York Times article dated July 9, 1836, Moy’s feet measured 4 inches and an eighth in length, the same size of an infant. Adults could see the exhibition for 25 cents; children under 10 years, half price.

In Suh’s play, Moy sees her job as an ambassador of China to the US, hoping to bring both countries together in a romantic vision of cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Moy even gets to meet President Andrew Jackson. Despite the apparent good intentions of the parties involved, Suh examines human relationships through Moy’s history and the events that followed her questionable exhibition.

The presence of Chinese nationals and their descendants have been marked by periods of prosperity and instances of violence against their communities. Moy recounts the various acts of persecution that Chinese have endured in the US during the 1800s and 1900s, from Anti-Chinese riots to massacres, and outright discrimination in the form of draconian legislation.

Director Shinshin Yuder Tsai works with his actors to highlight the pain experienced by the Chinese community, but also their healing process and the integration into American society. By connecting the past and the present fluidly, Tsai interprets the play with a sense of urgency. Directing his actors to capture the hopes, yearnings, and disappointments of Moy and Atung, Tsai constructs the play to give voice to a latent desire of belonging, suppressed throughout the years, but always at the core of immigrant communities.

There are hard and soft feelings to learn from the past, but there is also a refreshing dose of comedy to lighten the mood. It’s an enjoyable play that rescues a figure that is not well-known, but who is a symbol of resilience and mystery.

Like Afong Moy in the play, the essence of The Chinese Lady is not just a history lesson. It’s also a projection into the past, the present, and the future; a projection where the main subjects are ourselves. How do we fit in the larger conversation of nativism and immigration?

The Chinese Lady

CHANCE THEATER
Cripe Stage at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center
5522 E La Palma Ave
Anaheim, CA 92807

Opening Night: Saturday, May 24 at 8 p.m.
Performances: May 24 – June 8, 2025
Friday 8 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m.

Tickets: chancetheater.com

Written by Lloyd Suh
Directed by Shinshin Yuder Tsai

Cast: Michelle Krusiec and Albert Park

Creative team includes: Christopher Scott Murillo as Scenic Designer, Grace Kim Costume Designer, Masako Tobaru as Lighting Designer, Bebe Herrera as Stage Manager, Natalia Duong as Dramaturg, Jerry Zou and Nico Pang as Assistant Directors, Shinshin Yuder Tsai as Casting Director, and Fae Crane as Casting Associate.

Executive Producers Gus & Mary Chabre; Sophie & Larry Cripe; Samuel & Tammy Tang. Associate Producer Myrna Hamid. Supporting Producer Bruce Goodrich. 2025 Executive Season producer, Bette & Wylie Aitken, and Associate Season producer, The Family of Mary Kay Fyda-Mar.

‘The Chinese Lady’, Interview with Director Shinshin Yuder Tsai

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The Chinese Lady opens up tomorrow Saturday June 24 at Chance Theater in Anaheim, CA. Afong Moy was the first documented Chinese woman in America. With the idea of promoting Chinese goods, Moy was used as an exotic ornament in a campaign tour across the US. She faced stereotypes, racism, and the embarrassment of having some physicians examine her bare feet in public to satisfy people’s curiosity, all in the name of commerce.

Written by Lloyd Suh, The Chinese Lady will be playing May 24 – June 8, 2025 at Chance Theater.

Tickets: chancetheater.com

Below is an interview with Director Shinshin Yuder Tsai, who is also Chance Theater’s Producing Associate:

Q: How did you come across The Chinese Lady?
I first encountered it through the theatre community’s growing excitement about Lloyd Suh’s work. When I read the play, I was immediately struck by its lyricism, its quiet power, and the way it weaves history with poetry. I didn’t just read it—I felt it. It asked questions I didn’t know I was carrying, and it illuminated the experience of being both seen and unseen in ways that felt deeply personal.

Q: Chinese immigration has had its ups and downs in America, from the 1868 Burlingame-Seward Treaty to the Chinese Exclusion Act. How critical is it to present this play in today’s socio-political environment?
It’s absolutely critical. We’re in a time where conversations about immigration, race, and belonging are louder—and more urgent—than ever. The Chinese Lady gives us a chance to revisit the roots of those conversations through the story of someone who lived it first. It reminds us that the past isn’t just behind us—it’s living in our policies, our perceptions, and our people. The play holds up a mirror and gently asks: “What do we see now?”

Q: How did Afong Moy impact America’s perception of Chinese immigration and immigration in general?
Afong Moy was the first documented Chinese woman in America, and she arrived not as an immigrant seeking a new life, but as a kind of living exhibition. Her presence shaped how Americans viewed Chinese people—through a lens of curiosity, exoticism, and, often, misunderstanding. Though she had little control over the narrative, she became part of a cultural story that influenced immigration perceptions for generations. And even in silence, her existence challenged the notion that America was homogenous.

Q: How much do the new generation of Chinese Americans know about Afong Moy?
Honestly, very little—and that’s part of why this play matters so much. She’s not in our textbooks. She’s rarely in our public memory. Yet her story is foundational. Bringing her voice forward feels like reclaiming something that was lost, not just for Chinese Americans, but for anyone who’s ever wondered why certain people get remembered and others don’t.

Q: What do you think went through Afong Moy’s mind as she cruised the ocean coming to America?
I imagine a mix of wonder and fear. Hope, maybe. Excitement, certainly. But also the ache of leaving behind everything familiar—her language, her community, her sense of self. I think she must have been imagining a world of possibilities, not realizing she was about to become more symbol than person in the eyes of others. It’s that emotional contrast—the dream versus the reality—that makes her story so human.

Q: How do you prepare yourself for the job as a director?
I start with curiosity. I read the play again and again—not just for what’s on the page, but for what’s between the lines. I spend time researching the context, listening to music that evokes the world, and thinking deeply about the emotional journey. But mostly, I prepare by listening—to the playwright, to the actors, to the story itself. Directing isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about asking the right questions and creating space for others to bring their truth.

Q: What’s the most exciting part of being a director?
That electric moment when everything clicks—when the actors, design, and text suddenly align and you feel the story breathe. It’s magic. But I also love the surprises along the way: when a performer discovers something new, or a moment deepens in rehearsal. Being a director is like being a sculptor and a midwife at the same time—you shape the vision, but you’re also helping something be born.

Q: You can feel the good vibes at the Chance Theater every single time. How do you guys achieve this amazing environment?
It’s the people. The Chance is full of heart. There’s a genuine spirit of collaboration, kindness, and care here—not just for the work, but for each other. We don’t just make theater; we build community. That sense of joy and purpose finds its way into every rehearsal, every performance, and every lobby conversation. It’s not something we manufacture—it’s something we nurture.

Theatre Review: Love’s End (Clôture de l’amour)

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In Pascal Rambert‘s play, life is not a bowl of cherries. It’s a cycle, with a blissful beginning and a bitter end.

The beginning of the play may catch some people off guard. Is it a play within a play? Is it the manifestation of subconsciousness? A realistic exposition of a dormant volcano ready to erupt? Whoever has been in a long-term relationship understands that dreadful feeling of reaching a breaking point. No more interest, no more longing for shared moments. No more separation anxiety. No more fire. It’s the realization that the idealistic vision of a forever love has come to a gradual stop, slow and painful. Then, exhaustion and disappointment drain whatever is left, and suddenly, someone is desperately searching for a way out. How to articulate all of that? Well, Beejan (Beejan Land) seems to be an expert at doing that. Insensitive, hurtful, and devastating, his words leave his mouth like an expanding bullet whizzing through air, piercing right through the heart of the person in front of him. That person being Ann (Ann Sommerville), his life and business partner. 

But if you think Beejan’s tirade is excruciating, just wait for Ann’s response. It’s a perfect picture of a crystal palace crashing to the ground, breaking into a million pieces. How does it feel to love someone beyond one’s strength? What is it to build a meaningful narrative of a love story, one interaction at a time? It was dreamland for Ann, until the implied notion that the life project would last till death do us apart comes to an abrupt end, three kids and a theatre company later. Beejan articulates the punch. Ann articulates the pain. 

The dialogue is visceral. It’s like watching two fighters producing daggers and going at each other mercilessly. These two characters do not hold anything. Those interactions represent both the idyllic dream and the brutal nightmare. There is, of course, an interesting subtext in all of this mayhem. Just like the French New Wave of the 50s and 60s, Rambert deconstructs institutions. In an iconoclastic position, Love’s End is the realistic analysis of marriage and love. Ann represents the romantic idea of everlasting love, in all of its noble glory. Beejan, on the other hand, is the reality of life, in all of its cruel ugliness. 

The characters do not only utter words, they utter ideas, desires, dreams, hopes, and pain. There’s an eerie beauty in Rambert’s dialogue that is captured brilliantly by Maurice Attias‘ direction, and expressed so eloquently by Land and Sonneville. Love’s End is a challenge and a gift. Minimal physical movement, minimal set design. Every word and every silence counts. The minimalist design is an artistic choice to expose the rawness of the subject matter. It’s on the actors to deliver the emotional and philosophical weight of Rambert’s dialogue and the sublime interpretation of Attias’ direction. And they nail it. They punch, feel, fall, get up, attack, retrieve, and lick their wounds, with all of the intensive kinetics encapsulated in the lacerating dialogue. They fire their missiles at each other from a considerable physical distance, a representation of the emotional distance between them. 

Love’s End brings a unique concept. It feels experimental and raw. It’s a dissection of the most pure elements of life, a different approach to theatre, French style. See it, live it, feel it. It will linger afterwards. 

Pascal Rambert is a French playwright, director, and choreographer with an extensive list of directorial credits and he is the recipient of numerous awards around the world.

Maurice Attias has 50 years of experience directing in France, the US, and other countries. Attias has directed previously at the Odyssey and was invited back by Producers Lucy Pollak and Beth Hogan.     

Clôture de l’amour (Love’s End)

Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90025

May 17 through June 15
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. / Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets: odysseytheatre.com

Written by Pascal Rambert
• Translated from the French by Jim Fletcher and Kate Moran
• Directed by Maurice Attias
• Starring Beejan Land and Ann Sonneville
• Produced by Beth Hogan and Lucy Pollak
• Presented by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Beth Hogan, Acting Artistic Director

Creative team: Set Design Stephanie Kerley Schwartz. Costume Design Denise Blasor. Lighting Design Jackson Funke. Stage Manager Jennifer Palumbo. Poster Artist Luba Lukova.

Theatre Review: The Glass Menagerie

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In a mesmerizing performance by Gigi Bermingham as Amanda Wingfield, The Glass Menagerie gets a new life at Antaeus Theatre Company, more than 80 years after its premiere in Chicago in 1944.

The scenic and costume designs act as memories of a bygone era, a period of pain and discovery by Tennessee Williams, who explored his family’s tribulations and his own personal yearnings as a frustrated young artist.

The play is set in St. Louis Missouri in 1937, a challenging time in America. The country was barely recuperating from the Great Depression of the late 1920s. There were droughts and massive dust storms that destroyed millions of tons of topsoil, affecting the income of thousands of families. As a consequence, poverty and hardships were common in those days. Experiencing first hand the difficulties of the times and a toxic father figure, Williams used the characters and Laura’s glass collection as symbols to represent the times and his own experiences.

Director Carolyn Ratteray and her cast honor the basic and more complex elements that make this play a masterpiece. In particular, Bermingham gives her character the depths of a conflicting mother who clings to her glorious past to escape her stagnant reality. She plays her character with wit and resolve, expressing the resilience of not just an abandoned wife, but that of a whole generation in the larger context of the story. It is a real treat to see how she delivers the different emotional and psychological layers of her desperate character.

One pivotal connection in the play is the relationship between Tom (Josh Odsess-Rubin) and Laura (Emily Goss). Both actors show the delicate dynamics that shaped the interdependence of the characters. Even as Tom tried to escape his home, Laura was a constant in his mind. Odsess-Rubin highlights the powerful strings that attach Tom to his fragile sister, a realization that she would never be able to be independent.

Goss hits all the notes to give her character the frailty that makes Laura so relatable. Her voice and movements expose the inner insecurities, unique beauty, and the complex dichotomy of weakness and strength, with a hint of hopelessness. Goss masters all of that on stage, a challenging character to play, for sure.

Alex Barlas brings the excitement and the false hope of Jim O’Connor, the potential suitor for Laura. Barlas does a fine job conveying the gentleman qualities of his character and also the intense disappointment of an unreachable goal, taking Laura and Amanda from the stars to zero in just one dinner, salmon and jonquils included.

Ratteray and her actors present a fresh and touching production of a timeless play. The acting and the design highlight the subtlety of the symbols and profound humanity of William’s characters. The glass menagerie is placed downstage center, a focal point to bring the symbol that means so much, closer to the audience.

The Glass Menagerie

Antaeus Theatre Company
Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center
110 East Broadway
Glendale, CA 91205
(between N. Brand Blvd. and Artsakh Ave.)

Apr 27, 2025 – Jun 2, 2025

Tickets: antaeus.org

Written by Tennessee Williams Directed by Carolyn Ratteray.

Cast: Alex Barlas, Gigi Bermingham, Emily Goss, and Josh Odsess-Rubin.

Creative team: Scenic Designer Angela Balogh Calin. Lighting Designer Karyn Lawrence. Props Designer John McElveney. Intimacy Director Emilia Ray. Fight Choreographer Jen Albert. Production Dramaturg/ Assistant Director Jenn O’Brien. Costume Designer Beryl Brachman. Sound Designer Jeff Gardner. Composer John Ballinger.

4th Annual Orange County Theatre Guild Awards

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In a lively and exciting event on Apr 28, 2025, the 4th Annual OC Theatre Guild Awards celebrated the best of local theatre at the Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California.

Performers and creative teams gathered to honor the outstanding achievements of the passionate community of theatre makers in Orange County California. A red carpet, live performances, and an enthusiastic audience energized this memorable evening.

Chance Theatre took 11 wins followed by The Wayward Artist with seven wins. Below is the complete list of winners:

Outstanding Production of a Play

The Motherf**ker With The Hat, The Wayward Artist

Outstanding Production of a Musical

Jane Austen’s Emma, The Musical, Chance Theater

Outstanding Direction of a Play (two recipients due to a rare tie)

Michael Martinez Hamilton, The Motherf**ker With The Hat, The Wayward Artist

Katie Chidester, Tiny Beautiful Things, Chance Theater

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

Casey Long, Jane Austen’s Emma, The Musical, Chance Theater

Outstanding Ensemble of a Play

The Motherf**ker With The Hat, The Wayward Artist

Outstanding Ensemble of a Musical

Jane Austen’s Emma, The Musical, Chance Theater

Outstanding Lead Performance in Play (two recipients)

D.X. Machina, The Motherf**ker With The Hat, The Wayward Artist

Aubrey Saverino, Tiny Beautiful Things, Chance Theater

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical (two recipients)

Naomi Groleau, All Shook Up, Yorba Linda Spotlight Players

Jocelyn A. Brown, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Chance Theater

Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play (two recipients)

Oscar Emmanuel Fabela, The Motherf**ker With The Hat, The Wayward Artist

Will Martella, Gloria, Chance Theater

Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Musical (two recipients)

Sadie Alexander, Jane Austen’s Emma, The Musical, Chance Theater

Jeff Lowe, Jane Austen’s Emma, The Musical, Chance Theater

Outstanding Music Direction

Patrick Copeland, Once, Curtis Theatre

Outstanding Choreography

Jennifer Kornswiet, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Wayward Artist

Outstanding Scenic Design

Kristin Campbell Coyne, Tiny Beautiful Things, Chance Theater

Outstanding Costume Design

Marci Alberti, The Motherf**ker With The Hat, The Wayward Artist

Outstanding Lighting Design

Kris Kataoka, Once, Curtis Theatre

Outstanding Sound Design

Thor Fay, Once, Curtis Theatre

Outstanding Projection Design

Victoria Serra, 33 Variations, Costa Mesa Playhouse

Outstanding Fight Direction

Martin Noyes, Alma, Chance Theater

Outstanding Puppet Design

Sarah Leonard, Into The Woods, JStage Irvine

Outstanding Wig & Hair Design

Jeff Weeks, A Doll’s House, Part 2, STAGESTheatre

Outstanding Properties Design

Jim Lowe & Kelsey Lowe, Puffs, Alchemy Theatre Company

Theatre Review: To Each Their Own

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Somewhere in Ohio, five characters depict the painful decay of the working class in the Midwest, one drink at a time.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the Midwest has endured years of slow wage growth, slow job growth, public-sector employment shortfalls, and declines in unionization. These factors have contributed to the decline of the Industrial Heartland,  a once powerful and aspirational region with plenty of job opportunities for the working class. 

With that grim background, To Each Their Own tells the story of a trio of miscreants that plot a series of bank robberies in an attempt to make money and leave behind a life void of purpose. Playwright Travis Williams has a sharp ability to paint with a high degree of detail the struggles and yearnings of the people left behind, the forgotten ones. The script is written in the Midwestern Gothic genre, bringing to the stage an engrossing story with interesting twists and turns.

There’s humor, violence, hope, and despair, elements that make the characters appealing and relatable. Doug (William Wilson) and Benny (James Lemire) co-own a bar in a small town in Ohio. Doug has drinking issues; Benny is not the sharpest tool in the shed. But they’re each other’s support system, and so they go, even planning a series of successful bank heists that keep bringing some money. They work for a mysterious man who knows the bank’s employees schedules and the police movements. Guts and precision is all they need to rob and get away with the money without getting caught. 

Enter Bailey (Tabitha Trosen). Doug’s old flame, Bailey also takes part in the robberies. Everything looks fine until Bailey finds out that the mysterious man they’re working for takes 70% of the loot. Ambitious and determined, she tries to convince Doug and Benny to cut the middle man and work on their own. Why take 30 when they can take 100%?

The past keeps haunting the characters and the story starts to take a darker tone. Abuse, alcoholism, and drug addiction are some of the factors that have shaped their lives and the intense need to look for something better. They’re not only escaping the police; they’re also escaping their past.

The grittiness of the script is successfully translated by Director Brooklyn Sample into a stunning visual collage of low lighting and somber colors, framed by an extraordinary set design that heightens the dangerous and murky lives of the outlaws. Even though it is a small space, the production team put together an attractive stage that makes the story engrossing and captivating. 

The two characters in the second act, Billy (Jason Madera) and Irving (Travis Williams), are examples of fascinating supporting characters that contribute to expand the story and emphasize the oddity of opposing polarities, humor and violence. 

As the protagonist, Wilson gives his character that appealing sense of damaged goods. He is a man shaped by fear and guilt, driven by the ambition of becoming somebody, fighting the dreadful notion of being nobody in a land of broken dreams.

To Each Their Own is raw and aggressive, a faithful portrait of the harsh realities of unstable characters with limited opportunities. It’s a dark and poetic landscape of isolation and resilience, a fuzzy dream of a better life with the yearnings of going back to one’s roots. This play is a powerful and moving story that reflects contemporary issues affecting our fractured society. It’s a rare finding, don’t miss the opportunity to experience up close the witty talent of these dedicated artists.        

To Each Their Own

Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Opening Night: April 17, 2025 – 8:00 p.m.

Performances: April 18, 19, 25, 26, 8 p.m., April 27 – 6:00 p.m.

Final Weekend: May 2, 3, 8:00 p.m. and May 4, 2025 –  6:00 p.m.

Tickets: artcrush.la

Written by Travis Williams. Directed by Brooklyn Sample. Produced by Blind Toe Productions and Erin Coleman.

Starring: Jason Madera, James Lemire, Tabitha Trosen, Travis Williams, and William Wilson.

Creative team: Stage Manager Jade Santana, Lighting Designer Luke Moyer, Set Designer Thomas Brown, Sound Designer Carlos Flood.

Theatre Review: Corktown ’39

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Intriguing and visceral, Corktown ’39 portrays the risks of comingling political activism and personal feelings.

The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 started a centuries-long history of oppression and revolts between England and Ireland, a fight that led to the formation of a handful of resistance groups, including the Fenian Brotherhood, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Clan na Gael, and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). These resistance groups have launched several operations to inflict damage to English assets in an attempt to pressure for the end of the British rule in Ireland.

John Fazakerley fictionalizes one of the most radical ideas of Clan na Gael, the American-based Irish organization supporting the independence of Ireland. The year is 1939 and the leader of the Clan, Joe McGarrity (Peter Van Norden) along with Chief of Staff of the IRA Sean Russell (JD Cullum) set up a risky plan to kill England’s King George VI during his visit to the US. The planning takes place in Corktown, an Irish enclave in West Philadelphia.

To carry out the plan, the Clan and the IRA hire the services of Martin Connor (Jeff Lorch), a sniper who fought in Spain during the brutal civil war. Having lost her fiancée in the bombing of Guernica, Martin is willing to continue taking risks in life. This time, he accepts the mission of assassinating the King of England. The plan is relatively simple. Take a position, shoot the king, run to the alley, and escape in a car driven by Tim Flynn (Thomas Vincent Kelly), a supporter of the cause, but indiscreet at times.

Everything seems in place, except that Martin falls in love with Tim’s former girlfriend Kaitlin “Kate” Keating (Ann Noble), who is the daughter of Mike Keating (Ron Bottitta), the Clan member hosting Martin. Kate is tough and dedicated to the Irish cause, but you can’t rule the heart, and sure enough, she falls for Martin. The problem is that Kate is also pursued by the abrasive Sean, who is striking a deal with Mike for the leadership of the Irish resistance. To add more tension, Joe and Sean start to clash heads about the tactics of the resistance, especially when it is discovered that Sean might be seeking the help of the German Nazis.

Fazakerley’s dialogue is witty and fast-pace. He also builds up the conflict in a way that changes the dynamics of the relationships unexpectedly, bringing in the element of surprise to the gripping story. To match the extraordinary dialogue, the work of Director Steven Robman with his actors and creative team is a fine job of craftsmanship. The talent of the thespians is evident; they work the humor and the moral conflicts to explore their characters in depth.

Cullum is fantastic, his physicality and quirky personality capture the fire of a man devoted to the cause, but also the dangerous ambition of a leader who starts to show an uncontrollable hunger for power and self-promotion. Noble continues to deliver memorable performances. She shows the strength of a cold and dedicated soldier, but also the agony of succumbing to the heart. Her ability to delve into the vulnerabilities of the human experience is exceptional. The last scene is one of a kind.

It’s always refreshing to see new faces. In this case, Rogue Machine presents Tommy McCabe as Francis, son of Mike Keating. McCabe is a USC graduate, evidencing the institution’s commitment to prepare excellent actors through their School of Dramatic Arts.

The lighting and special effects are paired up with a detailed scenic and costume design to bring back the atmosphere of the time, filling up every inch of the stage with objects and designs typical of the 1930s.

The significance and relatability of this story is worth mentioning. The characters in the play were not fully aware of what was coming. New leaders with ambiguous agendas were taking the world stage by storm, sending mixed messages. Some people read through the lines and foresaw the calamities to come, some didn’t. The characters of Corktown ’39 are a microcosmos of the explosive realities that were about to unleash the most devastating war in human history, WWII. With his clever pen, Fazakerley questions whether the end justifies the means. A relevant concern in the Irish search for independence, and a valid question about the multiple other cases currently in development around the world.

Corktown ’39

ROGUE MACHINE (in the Matrix Theatre)
7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
(street parking)

Opening: 8pm on Saturday, April 12, 2025
Schedule: 8pm Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays; 2pm Sundays
(no performance on Monday April 14, 21, and May 12)
Closing: May 25, 2025

Tickets: roguemachinetheatre.org

Written by John Fazakerley
Directed by Steve Robman
Produced by John Perrin Flynn, Athena Saxon
A Rogue Machine Production

Cast: Ron Bottitta as Mike Keating. JD Cullum as Sean Russell. Thomas Vincent Kelly as Tim Flynn. Jeff Lorch as Martin Connor. Tommy McCabe as Francis. Ann Noble as Kaitlin “Kate” Keating. Peter Van Norden as Joe McGarrity.

Creative team: Mark Mendelson (Scenic Design), Dan Weingarten (Lighting Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Kate Bergh (Costume Design), Ned Mochel (Violence Design), Megan Trapani (Prop Design), Grant Gerrard (Technical Director), Lauren Lovett (Dialect Coach), Victoria Hoffman (Casting).

Theatre Review: One Jewish Boy

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Sandra Bullock holds Brendan Fraser as soon as she sees two Black young men walking close to them in the 2004 film Crash. A similar scene takes place in One Jewish Boy, where an insidious distrust starts to shape the lives of two Londoners. They meet, fall in love, get married, and have a baby. Jesse (Zeke Goodman) is Jewish with White looks. Alex (Sharae Foxie) is mixed with Black looks. Can they survive the internal and external racism?

While living in London, Jesse is brutally attacked, leaving him with emotional and psychological scars difficult to heal. As Alex tries to help him recover his self-confidence, Jesse seems to implode to the point of becoming dysfunctional. What makes Stephen Laughton‘s story more complex is the exploration of the conditioning imposed on the two characters by the structural discrimination and negative views on diversity of the English society, often magnified and incited by the political parties.

The play exposes the popular idea of Jews enjoying a privileged life, sitting on piles of money, disconnected from the daily struggles of the less privileged sectors of society. It’s not a new perception, of course. It’s a revolving idea recycled time after time. In One Jewish Boy, Laughton presents the latest sentiment around the world. The physical aggression Jesse experiences is similar to the attacks suffered by the supporters of the Tel Aviv Maccabi soccer team in Amsterdam in November 2024. The names and places might change, but the entrenched hate feels the same.

The other interesting aspect of the play is the diversity of Jewish views on race, politics, religion, and even the emotional connection to Israel. In the diaspora, identity and allegiance might shift, closer or further away from the motherland, either as a reinforcement of the Jewish identity or a dismissal of the autochthonous myth. Jesse feels connected to his Jewish culture, but not so much to the state of Israel. Either way, he is targeted by society and even by the person who is supposed to love him. He is beaten up by strangers and slapped by his own wife.

That’s Jesse. But there’s also Alex. As a mixed-race woman with Black looks, she knows one or two things about struggles. She relates to Jesse’s insecurities, but refuses to see herself as a victim. She exhibits an attitude hardened by the tragic history of discrimination against Blacks. It is at this point where the two have to make a decision. Their marriage and the future of their baby are at stake. Laughton shows that even the best intentions have to overcome prejudice.

For this production, Director Chris Fields uses a minimalist set, enough for two characters; the focal point being the internal conflicts and the dynamic relationship between Jesse and Alex. Both actors delve into the great expectations of happiness and the disenchantment caused by unsurmountable differences. They both excel in the exhibition of human fragility and the isolation caused by deep-rooted misconceptions.

This play is timely and provocative. It is a picture of our times and another take on the preconceptions of race and privilege. Laughton generates a heated conversation on what happens when you scratch the fabric of society and discover the beauty and ugliness of human relationships. In the end, the question remains. In a racist environment, who is the winner and who is the loser?

One Jewish Boy

Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

March 19 through April 28
• Previews: March 19–March 21: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.
• Performances: March 22–April 28: Fridays and Mondays at 8 p.m. / Saturdays at 7 p.m. / Sundays at 4 p.m. plus three Thursdays at 8 p.m.: April 10, April 17, April 24

Tickets: echotheatercompany.com

Written by Stephen Laughton. Directed by Chris Fields. Presented by The Echo Theater Company, Chris Fields artistic director.

Cast: Sharae Foxie and Zeke Goodman.

Creative team: Scenic designer Justin Huen, lighting and sound designer Matthew Richter, and costume designer Dianne K Graebner. The assistant director is Natalya Nielsen and the production stage manager is Bianca Rickheim. Chris Fields, Kelly Beech, Marie Bland and Hilary Oglesby produce for the Echo Theater Company.

Theatre Review: Parents in Chains

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Scott DeVine, ETC’s Artistic Director, announces that the actors had only one day to rehearse. And that’s why at the beginning, the play feels like a stage reading. But when you have such a pool of talented and experienced actors, magic happens and the day is saved. 

In Parents in Chains, the typical concerns of any given parent become atypical, leading to a menagerie of feelings disrupting the peace and sanity of the six parents whose 17-year-old daughters are on a trip to San Francisco. As the teenagers are ready to come back to Los Angeles, an unusual hurricane is approaching, endangering their well-being and triggering their parents’ deepest fears.

While their daughters are away in San Francisco, the parents’ backgrounds are revealed. Muriel (Melora Hardin) and Rick (Matt Walsh) are going through a rough patch in their marriage, even thinking about a divorce. Mark (Pete Gardner) is a widow, having lost his wife five years ago. Winona (Sharon Lawrence) is still digesting the painful experience of her husband divorcing her. Diane (Jorja Fox) and Connor (Thomas Sadoski) are married, but a secret between Diane and Winona’s ex-husband threatens to stain their marriage.

So, how do parents of a certain age (Hollywood’s code name for people over 40) communicate when their kids are in danger? Texting, of course, typos included. As the text chain becomes more intense, their personalities, strengths, and vulnerabilities become more obvious. Who gives the green light for their daughters to either hit the road or stay at a hotel instead? Who takes control of the text chain? Who keeps their cool and who loses it?

The outstanding script by Jay Martel—who has won Emmy, Peabody, Writers Guild of America, and American Comedy awards as a writer—is a clever description of the parental anxiety of losing one’s kids, not in a storm, but in that dreadful time when they move away from home to start college, far from their parents’ watchful care. These six parents in the play are forced to face the inevitable, seeing their kids grow up, ready to start the adventure called life, on their own. 

Texting-wise, however, these six parents are awful. Connor, especially, is a disaster. Driving and texting is not his thing at all, and his typos heighten Muriel’s anxiety, sending her into panic mode. In Martel’s witty writing, the revelations of the parents’ personalities and secrets are intertwined with political and social commentaries. Topics of race, sex, and the pressure of success show the turmoil of today’s American society. Martel also exposes the tectonic shift in human connection. Paradoxically, the immediacy of connection through technology has led to an emotionally-disconnected society, increasing the sinking feeling of isolation that threatens to break apart friendships and even families.

For this production, Director Andy Fickman utilizes the extraordinary skills of his actors to deliver the chaos and comedy of the script. The scenic and lighting designs are kept at a minimum, focusing on the superb comedic talents of the actors, each one with a stellar list of stage, film, and TV credits. Fickman’s successful formula for this production is pretty simple. Put a group of great actors on stage with a remarkable script and they’ll work their magic to make it a vivid and exciting theatrical experience. Do not miss this one; it’s a rare opportunity to see all of these amazing thespians together on stage.         

Parents in Chains

Ensemble Theatre Company at The New Vic
33 W. Victoria Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Runs: Wednesday, March 12 – Sunday, March 30, 2025
Performances are Wednesdays at 2:00pm & 7:30pm, Thursdays at
7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm, Sundays at
2:00pm. There will be added performances on Tuesday, March 18 &
Tuesday, March 25 at 7:30pm.

Tickets: etcsb.org

Written by Jay Martel. Directed by Andy Fickman. Produced by J. Todd Harris.

March 12-16 Cast: Jorja Fox, Pete Gardner, Melora Hardin, Sharon Lawrence, Thomas Sadoski, and Matt Walsh.
March 18-23 Cast: Melora Hardin, Gildart Jackson, Sharon Lawrence, Joshua Malina, Gina Torres, James Urbaniak.
March 25-30 Cast: John Ross Bowie, Rob Huebel, Sharon Lawrence, Loni Love, Jane Lynch, James Urbaniak.

Creative team: Lighting Design by Michael Rathbun; Sound and Projection Design
by Ben Crop; Casting by Michael Donovan Casting, CSA, Michael Donovan & Richie Ferris.