Daniel Bess

The 2018 Stage Raw Theater Awards celebrate excellence on the Los Angeles stages in venues of 99-seats or under. This fourth annual edition included productions that opened between January 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. Stage Raw is a community funded professional journalism website that was created in response to the decline of arts coverage in local mainstream and alternative media.The Awards ceremony was held Monday night, August 20, at Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, hosted by Coeurage Theatre Company, and co-directed by Jer Adrianne Lelliott, Thaddeus Shafer and Lauren Ludwig. Winners notated in red below.

The 2018 Stage Raw Theater Awards celebrate excellence on the Los Angeles stages in venues of 99-seats or under. This fourth annual edition includes productions that opened between January 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018.

The 2018 Stage Raw Theater Awards celebrate excellence on the Los Angeles stages in venues of 99-seats or under. This fourth annual edition includes productions that opened between January 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Extended through May 14: The Antaeus Theatre Company inaugurates its new home in Glendale with a fully partner-cast production of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece.

Antaeus Theatre Company inaugurates the newly completed Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, the company's new home in the City of Glendale, with a fully partner-cast production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams.

Antaeus Theatre Company inaugurates the newly completed Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, the company's new home in the City of Glendale, with a fully partner-cast production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. Opening nights (one for each cast) are set for March 23 and March 24, with low-priced previews beginning March 16. Cameron Watson directs Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece that was the playwright's personal favorite.

The West Coast premiere of Tennessee William's Baby Doll has extended through October 30 at The Fountain Theatre. 

I cannot think of a better way to spend a hot summer night than to watch a sizzling stage production of a Tennessee Williams film. Baby Doll, when it first arrived in 1956, was condemned by the Catholic Church for indecency, and because of its lewd poster-sized ad depicting Carroll Baker lying in a crib, sucking her thumb, was one of the most controversial films across America. Now, almost 70 years later, the West Coast premiere stage adaptation by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann of Williams' Baby Doll is a practically flawless production at the Fountain Theatre, directed with stunning clarity by Simon Levy...and boasting an unforgettably ingenious cast of five.

With lead actress Lindsay LaVanchy currently in New Orleans shooting an episode of Scream: The TV Series for MTV, the Fountain Theatre has announced a revised running schedule for the West Coast premiere of Baby Doll, adapted by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann from the 1956 Academy Award-nominated film by Tennessee Williams. The new opening date will be July 29, and performances will continue through Sept. 25.

With lead actress Lindsay LaVanchy currently in New Orleans shooting an episode of Scream: The TV Series for MTV, the Fountain Theatre has announced a revised running schedule for the West Coast premiere of Baby Doll, adapted by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann from the 1956 Academy Award-nominated film by Tennessee Williams. The new opening date will be July 29, and performances will continue through Sept. 25.

This summer, L.A. audiences get to see a brand new play by Tennessee Williams. Simon Levy directs the West Coast premiere of Baby Doll, adapted by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann from the 1956 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name - the first-ever Williams Estate-approved adaptation of this Williams screenplay. Baby Doll opens at the Fountain Theatre on July 16, starring Daniel Bess, Karen Kondazian, Lindsay LaVanchy, John Prosky and George Roland.

It's that time of year at the Antaeus Company. They need your help to keep the clothes and the lights on. Click below to watch Rob Nagle, Dawn Didawick, Ann Gee Byrd, Robert Pine, Rebekah Tripp, Kurtwood Smith, Karen Malina White, Bill Brochtrup, Kitty Swink, Ramon de Ocampo, Harry Groener, Joanna Strapp, and Daniel Bess light their way for the theatre's 'Turn Off the Dark' campaign!

William Inge's 1953 Pulitzer Prize winner Picnic certainly holds up quite well in Antaeus Theatre Company's expert and streamlined production. Cameron Watson directs his talented cast without any extraneous beats, moments, or gestures. Every little detail quite essential and integral to Inge's tale of a drifter's affect on a bunch of traditional Kansas folks back in 1952.

Powerful, moving and ripe for revival, Inge's drama is not simply a breezy summer romance. Set in small town Kansas, this is a sexy world, dangerous and cruel, where residents keep each other in their place while longing to break free. At once sensual, passionate and delightfully funny, Picnic probes the sometimes tenuous line between restraint and desire.

Powerful, moving and ripe for revival, Inge's drama is not simply a breezy summer romance. Set in small town Kansas, this is a sexy world, dangerous and cruel, where residents keep each other in their place while longing to break free. At once sensual, passionate and delightfully funny, Picnic probes the sometimes tenuous line between restraint and desire.

A striking image hovers above the action in HENRY IV, PART ONE at The Antaeus Company. It is a partial rendering of the planets orbiting the sun which serves as a constant reminder that this is the journey of a king-in-the-making. As Prince Hal, also known as Harry, slowly transitions from party boy to royal warrior, its glow becomes more and more noticeable until it finally overtakes the stage.

Antaeus, L.A.'s classical theater ensemble, opens its 2015 season with a fully partner-cast production of William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part One. Previews began March 6, with two opening nights set for last night, March 12, and tonight, March 13, (one with each cast) at the Antaeus Theater in NoHo. Michael Murray directs. Scroll down for a first look at the casts in action!

Antaeus, L.A.'s classical theater ensemble, opens its 2015 season with a fully partner-cast production of William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I. Previews begin March 6, with two opening nights set for March 12 and March 13 (one with each cast) at the Antaeus Theater in NoHo. Michael Murray directs.

It's been awhile since I can honestly say I was emotionally overwhelmed by a night of theater. There are so many thoughts wandering in and out of my mind that I hardly know where to begin except to say that religion, politics and theater collide superlatively under the imaginative and quick-paced direction of Bart DeLorenzo in the Los Angeles premiere of PASSION PLAY at the Odyssey Theatre.

Religion, politics and theater collide when Bart DeLorenzo directs the Los Angeles premiere of Passion Play by Tony and two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Sarah Ruhl, kicking off the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 45th Anniversary Season in a co-production with Evidence Room. Performances begin Jan. 25 at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A. and continue through March 16.