Orange County Theatre Reviews

August, 2016
Archive

August 30, 2016 | Theater, Uncategorized, Video Comments Off on Red Scare on Sunset – Opening September 9th @ Costa Mesa Playhouse in Costa Mesa |

Red Scare on Sunset – Opening September 9th @ Costa Mesa Playhouse in Costa Mesa

Thoughts from Playwright Charles Busch on his comedy Red Scare on Sunset. A play he mentions is one of his most ambitious plays he’s ever written. This video was Shot & Edited by Blake McCarty

Synopsis : a campy, flamboyant spoof of the 1950s Hollywood blacklist, film star Mary Dale (traditionally played by a female impersonator) finds that the Red Menace has invaded her own bedroom when her husband is lured into a communist cell by way of a method acting class and becomes part of a left-wing plot to abolish the Hollywood star system. Taken from the website 

September 9th – October 2nd

buy

Read more

August 25, 2016 | OCcentric New Play Festival, podcast, Review, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on OC-Centric Presents : Kill A Better Mousetrap & Left Behind, Waiting – Podcast Review |

OC-Centric Presents : Kill A Better Mousetrap & Left Behind, Waiting – Podcast Review

(photos by: Stephen Rack)

Miles Merbinoe has a reason – in his own mind, at least – to shut down the world’s longest-running play, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. And, as Christie was the “Queen of Crime,” what more fitting way to do this than… murder? Merbinoe’s frustrations, wild theories, and ruminations on the contrariness of success set the stage for hilarity in this comedy. Taken from the website  Continue Reading

Read more

August 25, 2016 | fullerton, Review, Stagestheatre, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on Monuments & Dogs of War @ STAGEStheatre in Fullerton – Review |

Monuments & Dogs of War @ STAGEStheatre in Fullerton – Review

Written by Scotty Keister 

Stages Theatre in Fullerton has long been a champion of local playwrights, and currently they are running two shows, both homegrown and both directed by the authors themselves; “Monuments” and “Dogs of War.” One turns out to be an overwhelming success, the other a curiosity that doesn’t quite succeed. Continue Reading

Read more

August 22, 2016 | Chapman, OCcentric New Play Festival, Review, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on Night Moths on the Wing @ OC Centric’s New Play Festival – Review |

Night Moths on the Wing @ OC Centric’s New Play Festival – Review

(photo by Stephen Rack)

Written By Daniella Litvak 

This is the synopsis for Night Moths on the Wing (hereafter referred to as “Night Moths”):

“Civilization has broken down; everything is scarce, thousands have disappeared, and rebel factions fight the national army.  When rebel General Victor Maylor is arrested and secretly delivered to an unofficial prison camp, he expects to be executed…but chief interrogator Michael Shaw does not want him dead –not yet.  Shaw wants information and will do whatever it takes to get that information.  But while the men relentlessly engage in a battle of wills, are they blind to a more elusive enemy that could destroy them both?”[1]

Continue Reading

Read more

August 17, 2016 | Broadway in the Park, Musical, Review, Tustin, Uncategorized Comments Off on Broadway in the Park presents : Beauty and the Beast @ Peppertree Park in Tustin – Review |

Broadway in the Park presents : Beauty and the Beast @ Peppertree Park in Tustin – Review

Written by Alina Mae Wilson 

In a departure from what has traditionally been for many years a space to revisit older classics less known by the youth, Peppertree Park is now hosting Disney’s popular musical Beauty and the Beast.   Presented by the Tustin Area Council for the Fine Arts and the Chance Theater, this production is engaging and extremely well-performed but also more exhausting than one might expect. Continue Reading

Read more

August 12, 2016 | Modjeska Playhouse, Review, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on True West @ The Modjeska Playhouse in Lake Forest – Review |

True West @ The Modjeska Playhouse in Lake Forest – Review

Written by Patrick Chavis 

The set comes straight out of a pristine 1980s catalog. Its picture-perfect kitchen is immaculate,  right down to the old stove. As a  nostalgic symbol, the kitchen appears to stand in for a sign of an America long since past. It is like looking at a piece of history through rose-colored glasses.   But as the story unfolds, the kitchen, like the characters, transforms with the struggles and issues each individual has to deal with. In staying true to playwright Sam Shepard, Modjeska Playhouse’s version of True West pulls no punches in a heart-wrenching display of emotions. Continue Reading

Read more