Jennifer Taub

A BINTEL BRIEF, comprised of a selection of sixty years of letters from the lower East Side of New York to The Jewish Daily Forward, a popular local paper among the Yiddish speaking immigrants, is being presented online by Pacific Resident Theatre, I wanted to find out more about how the production was conceived, directed and produced to find out if anyone on the team also shares a family story similar to mine. Here is what producer Marilyn Fox shared with me.

Theatre 40 is a well-known for presenting superb and very professional World Premiere productions in the Reuben Cordova Theatre on the campus of Beverly Hills High School. Their winning streak continues with APRIL, MAY & JUNE written by Gary Goldstein and directed by Terri Hanauer which continues through April 16, 2017. In it, we meet April, May and June, fortyish sisters all born a year apart. They're Jewish by birth but temperamentally so different, which becomes all the more apparent as they gather in their family home to pack up what is left of their mother's belongings to give to Good Will and discover a hidden family secret among her belongings.

THE HAIRY APE at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble through July 17 tells the story of Robert 'Yank' Smith, a brutish ship laborer who searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the wealthy elite who he believes only see him as a dirty and hairy ape rather than a real human being. As head coal stoker on an ocean liner, Yank (Haile D'Alan whose incredible and extremely physical performance lifts the entire production to the highest artistic quality) is in his element where he rules his dark, hot, hard-drinking smoky world while managing a group of six other coal stokers who seem to prove their resemblance to simians no matter what they do thanks to the brilliant and totally physical ape-like choreography of their every move by director Steven Berkoff. It's truly a wonder as to how the ensemble manages to keep their energy at such a high level throughout the entire show.

Renowned British actor/writer/director Steven Berkoff directs a rare production of Eugene O'Neill's 1922 expressionist play THE HAIRY APE. The production opened on May 14 at West L.A.'s Odyssey Theatre, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Renowned British actor/writer/director Steven Berkoff will direct a rare production of Eugene O'Neill's 1922 expressionist play The Hairy Ape, opening May 14 at West L.A.'s Odyssey Theatre.

Members of the 'Pro99' movement of Actors' Equity Association have issued an open letter to AEA's newly elected president, Kate Shindle, in response to her victory and to her inaugural address as president of the national union for actors and stage managers. The open letter is signed by over 400 Equity members (listed below), including such notable names as Ed Asner, Francis Fisher, Sally Kirkland and Alfred Molina. The 'Pro99' movement formed in late 2014 in opposition to AEA's rollout of a new plan that will effectively force 'intimate theaters' in Los Angeles to pay Equity actors minimum wage, go 'non-union' or even close - despite an overwhelming vote against the plan by 66% of the Los Angeles membership on an advisory referendum. 'Pro99' members around the nation, who take their name from the current AEA '99 Seat Plan' that allows members to volunteer in smaller venues, oppose AEA's new promulgated plan. They are requesting that Equity leadership put a moratorium on the plan until local members' voices can be heard, and that the union work with its members to develop an alternative plan that will more realistically address the needs of the Los Angeles theater community.

The production premieres Saturday, April 4 at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica.

The production premieres Saturday, April 4 at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica.

The end of summer marks the close of the classical repertory season at The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. However, the Botanicum continues its theatrical exploration by supporting new artistic voices through its ongoing development series for playwrights, 'Botanicum Seedlings.' The program's fall playreadings are Brett Webster's Lost and Found in the Underground on Sunday, November 2 and Nude and Sunflower by Reba Waters Thomas on Sunday, November 9. Readings begin at 1 pm and admission is free.