Halei Parker News

Focusing on one of the most devastatingly controversial periods in history after Pearl Harbor in the early 1940s, Allegiance portrays Japanese Americans, loyal to the US, who were forced out of their homes and relocated to centers akin to concentration camps. Treated like animals with little food, water or medications, somehow through the grace of strong will many of them toughed it out. Currently on stage at JACCC in its Los Angeles premiere, Allegiance has a fairly sturdy book and some fine uplifting music, but is not without its flaws.

The Troubies paid tribute to the Purple One himself as they send-up the Music of Prince while mashing it with the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Dr. Seuss' detestably fiendish hero the Grinch got t a makeover he won't soon forget as he transforms from Green to Purple in the Troubies' seasonal spoof!

The award-winning Firefly Theater and Films, in association with THINK TANK GALLERY and Vs. Theatre, will present the Los Angeles Premiere of the 2016 Obie-winner for playwriting, CAUGHT, by Christopher Chen.

East West Players (EWP) and Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) are pleased to announce that for the Los Angeles premiere of the Broadway musical Allegiance, stage and screen star George Takei will be joined by Broadway cast members Elena Wang as Kei Kimura, Greg Watanabe as Mike Masaoka, Scott Watanabe as Tatsuo Kimura, and Janelle Dote as Hanako.

The award-winning Firefly Theater and Films, in association with THINK TANK GALLERY and Vs. Theatre, will present the Los Angeles Premiere of the 2016 Obie-winner for playwriting, CAUGHT, by Christopher Chen.

Promoted as a precursor to Edward Albee's WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, comparisons to Albee's masterpiece does August Strindberg's THE DANCE OF DEATH, here adapted by Conor McPherson, a disservice. Having seen Dame Diana Rigg and David Suchet battle it out as Martha and George in 1996 at the Almeida in London (and, of course, the unforgettable scenery-chewing film version with Taylor and Burton), how can any pair of present-day actors measure up?

Deliciously dark, relentlessly brutal, fiercely funny. Lizzy Kimball, Darrell Larson and Jeff LeBeau form three points of a treacherous triangle in Conor McPherson's new version of TheDance of Death by August Strindberg. Ron Sossi directs for a Sept. 23 opening at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Deliciously dark, relentlessly brutal, fiercely funny. Lizzy Kimball, Darrell Larson and Jeff LeBeau form three points of a treacherous triangle in Conor McPherson's new version of The Dance of Death by August Strindberg. Ron Sossi directs for a Sept. 23 opening at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.

What happens when kids have the world at their feet, and its weight on their shoulders? Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the Los Angeles premiere of Punk Rock, a ferociously funny, complex and unnerving play by Tony Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) that peels back the layers of teen angst for a deeper look at what might make one of them snap. Lisa Jamesdirects for a March 25 opening at the Odyssey Theatre.

What happens when kids have the world at their feet, and its weight on their shoulders? Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the Los Angeles premiere of Punk Rock, a ferociously funny, complex and unnerving play by Tony Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) that peels back the layers of teen angst for a deeper look at what might make one of them snap. Lisa James directs for a March 25 opening at the Odyssey Theatre.

"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength."  Greenway Arts Alliance Presents: George Orwell's 1984, directed by Kate Jopson as the first production of their novel to stage program Greenway Reads. 300 Fairfax High School students are reading the novel and will attend matinee's of the theatrical production. The adaptation by Alan Lyddiard creates an interactive and engaging experience for audience members. Jopson said, "We're trying to create an immersive experience. The elements of the play and its themes are all around us in the real world. We try to emphasize that and as soon as you arrive at the theater there's not anywhere you're not in the set of 1984, even in the lobby and bathrooms."  

?Five-time Obie Award winner David Greenspan's unique brand of gentle wit and exquisite lyricism will be on display when Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the West Coast premiere of his meta-theatrical comic romance, Go Back to Where You Are, beginning July 16.

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.

Five-time Obie Award winner David Greenspan's unique brand of gentle wit and exquisite lyricism will be on display when Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the West Coast premiere of his meta-theatrical comic romance, Go Back to Where You Are, beginning July 9.

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.

East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, opens its 50th Anniversary Season, Golden, with 'Animals Out of Paper,' by Pulitzer-nominated Rajiv Joseph and directed by Jennifer Chang. The production features CS Lee ('Dexter'), Tess Lina ('Revenge,'NCIS') and introducing Kapil Talwalkar.

East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, opens its 50th Anniversary Season, Golden, with "Animals Out of Paper," by Pulitzer-nominated Rajiv Joseph and directed by Jennifer Chang. The production features CS Lee ("Dexter"), Tess Lina ("Revenge,""NCIS") and introducing Kapil Talwalkar.

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is located in the historic West Adams District of Los Angeles and houses the pre-eminent collection of Oscar Wilde materials in the world, including a typed copy of "Lady Windermere's Fan" with Wilde's handwritten notes from 1892, the year this comedy of manners was first produced. Thus it is the perfect site for Wilde's brilliant examination of status, family values, gossip and loyalty, presented by Chalk Rep..

Back by popular demand after sold-out houses last summer, Chalk Repertory Theatre, the Los Angeles-based production company that is a leader "in the growing conversation about the shape of immersive theatre," will re-mount Oscar Wilde's LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN at UCLA's William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles this summer for 5 performances.