Opening the Curtain

Writing is hard. Now, I wish I could say I learned that from watching Scott Carter's play "The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord" at the Geffen. Truth is I learned writing is hard by enduring it.

What's that old saying? You should pick a doctor who's the same age so that the two of you can grow old together? Jessica Goldberg's world premiere "Better" at the Echo Theater Company, has me thinking that the same is true about playwrights.

As you could guess from the title, "Choir Boy", Tarell Alvin McCraney's new play at the Geffen Playhouse, is all about harmony . . . and discord.

From director Matt Almos and co-director Ken Roht, whose signature joyful style is intact but somehow clearer; to the always grounded Hugo Armstrong who plays Broadus and strings together 20 years of work in a single night; to the uniformly stunning cast: this is LA's intimate theater at its complicated best.

Have you ever been seduced by a recipe? That's what happened to me with the inventive, if dissappointing, new production of Shakespeare's The Tempest at South Coast Rep.

The Persians is not an easy play and SITI is a complicated company, but if you're up for a work that challenges an audience rather than being dependent on it - it's a remarkable journey.

In light of Labor Day and Mayor Garcetti's floating a higher minimum wage, now's a great time to focus on some of the backstage 'labor' drama of LA theater’s 99-seat plan.

While you're busy planning the last beach hurrah - keep the calendar out long enough to pencil in these 6 shows you're not going to want to miss.

Like most recent Actors' Gang shows, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" comes down to a question of style. How you feel about the show, whether you find it creative and enchanting, or. . . otherwise depends on whether you buy into the Gang's style.

In "Reasons to Be Pretty", the moral is surprisingly simple and noble. It's worth letting Neil LaBute push your buttons for two hours to get it.