Evan Henerson

The Southland has had its share of memorable Fugard stagings, and the newly-opened revival of “MASTER HAROLD” at the Geffen Playhouse boasts an impressive roster of artists and creatives – onstage and off – who bring this tale vibrantly to life.

ENGLISH isn’t so much a play about the power of words as it is about the inextricable and very complicated bonds between language, culture and identity.

Director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott delivers a production that pulses with quiet power and a moody score. An excellent cast renders Miller’s band of climbers, dreamers and ghosts with skill and sensitivity.

Despite its title, its well-intentioned if cynical nod to diplomacy, Oz Scott’s production is a swift kick to the nether regions. You will probably laugh – hard and often, and you will emerge after 100 minutes with plenty to discuss.

Weston Gaylord’s mind-bender of play enhances the mystery of an already fascinating creature and of the limitless possibilities of what we don’t know.

With all its visual delights on full display, the non-Equity production directed by Catie Davis (from the original direction by Alex Timbers) is a carnival of the macabre.

In the premiere of RED HARLEM at Company of Angels, director Bernadette Speakes’s production offers some frequently dynamic staging which is brought down by a mixed bag of acting performances and the heavy-handed messaging of Henderson’s script.

Embodied by the exciting Ann Noble and surrounded by a solid cast, Richard and his dastardly deeds are every inch at home within the world of Guillermo Cienfuegos’s sweet and seedy production of RICHARD III for A Noise Within.

With so many delights and leaning heavily into both the political moment that is recounts and what America is experiencing in the here and now, HERE LIES LOVE rocks as aggressively as it rallies.

SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA is trying to be perhaps too many things at once and not really succeeding at any of them.

These are words that both sing and challenge. If, like this reviewer, you were not previously acquainted with June Jordan, POETRY FOR THE PEOPLE is a crackling introduction.

The playwright’s story structure is engaging and West’s cast is rich with charisma, with the action fitting comfortably into Munroe’s smartly realized stage at the Atwater Village Theatre complex.

The almost bare bones solo turn – at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre for a quickie six-performance run - is Izzard’s homage to the original performance practices of William Shakespeare, and also to her early years as a street performer.

Over a convivial 85 minutes directed by Simon Godwin, the shape-shifting Broadway vet Page holds us captive as he demonstrates why he is perpetually in demand as a classical actor, as an interpreter of Shakespeare, and certainly as an enactor of villains.

Between Ingrid Michelson’s heart-swelling score, a safe and steady book by Bekah Brunstetter and the co-direction of Michael Greif and Schele Williams, this entertaining but hardly remarkable tale kicks off the 2026 season at the Hollywood Pantages on an appropriately tear-streaked note.

As the southland welcomes a return visit from The Acting Company, things remain as topsy-turvey as they must needs be in the woods of Athens. The company visit is a quick hit, but Risa Brainin’s production of Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is the kind of crowd-pleasing, take-no-prisoners experience that audiences should devour.

If you don’t already know them, you’ll likely want to look up the names of Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Ida B. Wells and Ruza Wenclawska…after you’re done applauding until your palms are raw, that is.

WORKING GIRL ultimately soars and plummets based on the root-ability quotient of its title character. Singer and author Joanna “JoJo” Levesque can’t really be classified as a discovery. She’s as good as her material, which is solid, tuneful and plenty enjoyable.

Employing a 12-person cast who are largely at ease with difficult music, Esposito and company deliver a rare opportunity to commune with this difficult play.

The fervor of a given audience – kind of its own character in this play - probably helps distract from the fact that, its sweet vibes aside, there’s not a lot of there in Lyons’ play. It’s a good time, but it’s light as a spritz of air freshener.