Craig Schwartz

Review: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS at A Noise Within
by Evan Henerson - Sep 12, 2025

Staged with take-no-prisoners verve by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, Richard Bean’s romp of a play is a joyride through a 60s England in which would-be actors ham it up gleefully, blondes are dizzy, would-be lovers are temporarily thwarted, and positively everybody is ready to cut loose to the strains of a Beatles-inspired skiffle band.

Review: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE at A Noise Within
by Evan Henerson - May 23, 2025

Featuring a cast who seamlessly transport us to a working-class Dublin community in 1964 – with music to match – ANW’s production spotlights not just its leading player, but pens a love letter to the lure of the stage

Review: THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Antaeus Theatre Company
by Harker Jones - May 15, 2025

Director Carolyn Ratteray infuses the poignant memory play with shards of humor that undermine the story’s power and its heartbreak

Photos: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE Opens This Weekend At A Noise Within
by A.A. Cristi - May 8, 2025

Step into 1960s Dublin, where an amateur theater group and its passionate leader attempt to bring Oscar Wilde’s Salome to life against all odds. “A Man of No Importance,” Check out the photos, below.

Review: JANE EYRE at A Noise Within
by Harker Jones - Apr 16, 2025

While a complicated and creative adaptation, the production ultimately suffers from a lack of energy and a tonal inconsistency that is hard to reconcile.

Interview: Geoff Elliott on Directing JANE EYRE at A Noise Within
by Shari Barrett - Apr 4, 2025

Mystery and romance abound in one of the most thrilling Gothic romance novels ever written – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. The heart wrenching tale of an orphaned girl’s self-determination, adapted by Elizabeth Williamson, continues at A Noise Within in Pasadena, helmed by the theater’s artistic director Geoff Elliott. I spoke with him about his vision for the show.

Photos: JANE EYRE Opens This Weekend At A Noise Within
by A.A. Cristi - Mar 27, 2025

Adapted for the stage by Elizabeth Williamson from the classic novel by Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre” will open this weekend at A Noise Within in a new production filled with mystery and romance. See photos of the production.

Photos: MACBETH to Open at A Noise Within This Weekend
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 12, 2025

A new production of “Macbeth,” directed by Andi Chapman and set against the haunting backdrop of New Orleans from the late 19th century through the 1920s, opens this weekend at A Noise Within in Pasadena. See photos here!

Review: THE PIANO LESSON at A Noise Within
by Evan Henerson - Oct 28, 2024

Barely six months since braving Wilson's KING HEDLEY II, the company and director Gregg T. Daniel are back an impactful - if leisurely – PIANO LESSON. Where HEDLEY was grim, this one is ghostly, rueful and full of music.

Photos: August Wilson's THE PIANO LESSON At A Noise Within This Weekend
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 15, 2024

Currently in previews, “The Piano Lesson” — the fourth play in Wilson’s extraordinary 10-play “American Century Cycle,” the second to win a Pulitzer Prize, and the fifth in A Noise Within’s commitment to stage them all — opens at A Noise Within this weekend. See photos from the production below. 

Review: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH at A Noise Within
by Amanda Callas - Sep 23, 2024

The Skin of Our Teeth is an astonishing production of the classic play at A Noise Within through September 29th.  It is insatiably alive with sharp-fanged wit, whimsical thoughtfulness, and improbable wonder.  The Skin of Our Teeth is audaciously satirical, but also earnest its incandescent meditation on the eternal human cycle of apocalypse and overindulgence.

Photos: A Noise Within Presents Thornton Wilder's THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 13, 2024

A Noise Within opened its 2024-25 “True Grit” season last weekend with “The Skin of Our Teeth,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning, time-bending comic romp by Thornton Wilder that’s a testament to the indomitable spirit of humanity. See photos from the production.

Review: MISALLIANCE at A Noise Within
by Amanda Callas - May 25, 2024

Misalliance is a delight, a breezy, witty, carefree period romp and delectable social satire set on the sprawling Surrey estate of underwear tycoon John Tartleton.

Photos: MISALLIANCE Opens This Weekend At A Noise Within In Pasadena
by A.A. Cristi - May 15, 2024

Eight marriage proposals and a plane crash, all in one afternoon. Now in previews, George Bernard Shaw’s high-flying comedy “Misalliance” opens this weekend at A Noise Within in a production directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos. See photos from the production below.

Review: KING HEDLEY II at A Noise Within
by Evan Henerson - Apr 19, 2024

KING HEDLEY II is the eighth and quite possibly bleakest play of August Wilson’s Century Cycle. Pasadena’s A Noise Within is committed to producing the entire cycle, and ANW’s production, under the direction of frequent Wilson helmsman Gregg T. Daniel, wrestles with it valiantly.

Photos: KING HEDLEY II Opens This Weekend At A Noise Within
by A.A. Cristi - Apr 4, 2024

A new production of ‘King Hedley II, now in previews and opening this weekend at A Noise Within in Pasadena, continues the company’s commitment to August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” See photos of the production!

Mark Taper Forum Expected To Announce New Season in Coming Weeks
by Joshua Wright - Apr 1, 2024

Center Theatre Group's Mark Taper Forum, which suspended all programming last summer amid an unsustainable producing model, is expected to announce a new season of programming in the coming weeks.

Photos: Ebony Repertory Theatre Presents Zora Howard's STEW
by A.A. Cristi - Mar 9, 2024

Ebony Repertory Theatre will present 2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist Zora Howard’s STEW as its first production of 2024. See photos of the production.

Photos: First Look At Stephen Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET At A Noise Within
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 14, 2024

“Sweeney Todd,” the dark, brooding, yet sharply comic story of love, revenge and meat pies by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, opens this weekend at Pasadena’s A Noise Within. Check out photos of the production.

Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY at Ahmanson
by Evan Henerson - Dec 18, 2023

Lenz’s production is solid family stuff, a little bit cock-eyed, and easy on the treacle. Knowledge of the original movie is by no means a prerequisite to enjoyment of ACS: TM. If you’re craving certain iconic moments from the movie, rest assured you’ll find them, possibly even amped up or with a musical number built around them.