Non-Registered Critics: Genie Davis - Diversions LA
Bad Jews
FUNNY, POIGNANT, BITTER, BITING, AND INTESELY RELATABLE, the richly human, insanely provocative battle of the chai also brings home the horrors of the Holocaust, the importance of loyalty, the sting of betrayal, and the power of words… a gem
4Play: Sex in a Series
NOT TO BE MISSED… the acting is terrific… smart, savvy, funny, and perfectly paced, edgy dialog… Touching, heartfelt, and exuberant, this is the story of love in the city, with sex just the excuse love needs to get under your skin.
Freud's Last Session
Martin Rayner as Sigmund Freud and Martyn Stanbridge as C.S. Lewis both convey their characters needs, wants, desires, and beliefs, bringing to life a profound 90 minutes of dialog that takes place on the day that England enters World War II.
The Merchant of Venice
Take a beautiful outdoor setting, terrific acting, and a comedy/drama by William Shakespeare, and what do you have? A late season treat at Theatricum Botanicum with the artfully staged, politically potent The Merchant of Venice. The theater itself is always an experience, and it fits the play perfectly here, the outdoor setting perhaps not that dissimilar to theaters of Shakespeare's time. Certainly viewing a stellar performance such as this in such an intimate and outdoor setting enhances the play's power.
BAKERSFIELD MIST
Written and directed by Stephen Sachs, the production is a revival of an earlier incarnation of the play, and remains a two person tour de force, currently performed to perfection by Jenny O'Hara and Nick Ullett. As an out of work bartender and an uptight art expert, respectively, the performances are spot on.