Robert Lesser

You wouldn’t expect a bittersweet, haunting tale to be this laugh-out-loud funny, but it is.  There is so much charm and sensitivity in this Pacific Resident Theatre production.  The Bespoke Overcoat is almost unbearably poignant, a drama of humanity and rare tenderness. You don’t want to miss this exquisite gem.

Currently at Pacific Resident Theatre, Wolf Mankowitz’ The Bespoke Overcoat which opened March 9, 2024. Marilyn Fox & Dana Jackson co-direct the cast of: Harry Herman, Robert Lesser, Bruce Nozick and Tobias Echeverria. Had the chance to cover Bruce with some queries on bespoking his Overcoat. 

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.

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the first show of its 2019-20 season, a contemporary look at William Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE, directed by ETC Artistic Director Jonathan Fox. MEASURE FOR MEASURE begins previews on Thursday, October 3, opens on Saturday, October 5 at 8:00pm, and runs through Sunday, October 20, 2019 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.

Shakespeare's story of powerful men exploiting their authority seems less outlandish with each modern headline about abuse and harassment, especially in terms of the power differential between the genders. Lily Gibson, who plays Isabella, describes the play as 'almost disturbingly modern,' and Richard Baird, who plays Angelo, calls Measure for Measure an examination of human nature and how power corrupts. 'Particularly in light of the #metoo movement,' he says, 'this play isn't just relevant--it's true.'

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the first show of its 2019-20 season, a contemporary look at William Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE, directed by ETC Artistic Director Jonathan Fox.

What if God turned out to be a Puerto Rican steam bath attendant, assisted by a butler named Gottlieb? Renowned stand up comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez stars in a revival of Steambath, the 1970 off Broadway hit comedy by Bruce Jay Friedman that also became a PBS television special. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble artistic director Ron Sossi directs for an Oct. 20 opening at West L.A.'s Odyssey Theatre, where performances will continue through Dec. 16.

Director Guillermo Cienfuegos expertly guides his talented RHINOCEROS cast with tight, sturdy reins in a truly full-length play (three acts, spanning close to three hours) now at the Pacific Resident Theatre. Eugene Ionesco originally wrote RHINOCEROS in 1959 as his commentary on the state of the political atmosphere then. So, ironically funny (and sad) that various lines of dialogue throughout Ionesco's comedy resonate in its timely relevance today.

The 20th anniversary revival of the Odyssey production of Clifford Odets' classic AWAKE AND SING! receives a raw and reverential mounting. As directed by Elina de Santos, most characters in this two-hour-and-fifteen-minute three-act portray their roles in bold black-and-whites with little shades of grey in between.

Gritty, passionate, funny and heartbreaking, Awake and Sing! by Clifford Odets continues to resonate 80 years after its 1935 premiere by the Group Theatre. Director Elina de Santos and lead actress Marilyn Fox return to the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble with a 20th anniversary revival of the smash Odyssey production that ran for nine months in 1994-95. Also returning from that production are Richard Fancy and Dennis Madden; the three will be joined onstage by David Agranov, Robert Lesser, Allan Miller, James Morosini, Melissa Paladino and Gary Patent. Awake and Sing! opens at the Odyssey Theatre on Sept. 26.

Peter Shaffer's incredibly intriguing examination of the demise and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the hands of Court Composer Antonio Salieri in 1791 Vienna is at the core of Amadeus, which premiered in London in 1979, went on to win a Tony Award as Best Play of 1981 and also an Oscar for the reinvented film version in 1984. It is well reputed that Shaffer used artistic license in creating the play and movie as Mozart and Salieri were never official rivals/foes, but, yes or no, it certainly makes for divinely pleasant theatricality, now in a handsome revival at ETC in Santa Barbara through October 26.

Rubicon Theatre Company continues its 2009-2010 Season with the World Premiere of IN ALL HONESTY by 18-year-old Santa Barbara playwriting prodigy QUINN SOSNA-SPEAR, starring DAN GUNTHER, ROBERT LESSER, NANCY NUFER AND CARLA TASSARA.

Rubicon Theatre Company continues its 2009-2010 Season with the World Premiere of IN ALL HONESTY by 18-year-old Santa Barbara playwriting prodigy QUINN SOSNA-SPEAR, starring DAN GUNTHER, ROBERT LESSER, NANCY NUFER AND CARLA TASSARA. The curtain rises June 2 on this whimsical tale of laughter, love and liberation, helmed by veteran DEVIN SCOTT, for a limited engagement through June 13.

L.A. Theatre Works adds Arthur Miller's first Broadway play, which debuted in 1944 and enjoyed an enormously successful Broadway revival in 2002, to its previously-recorded collection of eight Arthur Miller works