Posts by Martin Jones Westlin
Past Is Murky Prologue in Excellent ‘Awake And Sing!’
The world can be a deeply errant place, but it has nothing on its own past. Clifford Odets’ ‘Awake and Sing!’ is 82 years old, after all, and it’s a decided reflection on today’s craziness — you’ll find the parallels abundant in New Village Arts’ excellent production.
Read More‘Breadcrumbs’: D.C. Isn’t the Only Press Freedom Backdrop
The current president says he’s at war with the media — but to local theater’s detriment, a script publishing giant may be bringing up the troops’ rear.
Read MoreRep’s ‘Sex with Strangers’: So What’s the Big Whoop?
What do two attractive, sexually healthy strangers do in a snowbound cabin with no electricity? They take their new relationship to the next level — and when the hard decisions eventuate, a faulty San Diego Repertory Theatre’s ‘Sex with Strangers’ says they can’t see the play through.
Read MoreLanguage And Its Exuberances Pepper NCR’s Excellent ‘Illusion’
French baroque playwright Pierre Corneille’s ‘L’Illusion Comique’ was written in 1636 as a nod to theater’s intrinsic beauty. Tony Kushner’s eye and ear saw the inherent tribute to performance art — and North Coast Repertory Theatre’s ‘The Illusion’ has preserved it with an excellent entry.
Read MoreLack of Affectation Hobbles Lukewarm ‘White Chicks’
Husband problems dog wives the world over, even when that world is as finite as the distance between Texas and Westchester County. Point Loma Playhouse is running its own take on the concept via John Ford Noonan’s ‘A Coupla White Chicks Sittin’ Around Talkin” — and try as it might, it doesn’t carry any solutions.
Read More500th Time Is a Charm with Talent to aMuse’s ‘HOPE’
Millions of miles can’t separate good and evil, especially as both elements thrash it out in the secrecy of deep space. Talent to aMuse has mounted its current ‘HOPE’ to that effect — and it succeeds as writer/director O.P. Hadlock marks his 500th show.
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