Jeff Lorch News

A love letter to those who shape our lives, hold us together and break our hearts. IAMA Theatre Company presents theworld premiere of Mama Metal, a joyfully irreverent black comedy by 2017 Humanitas Play LA award-winner Sigrid Gilmer that entwines issues of identity with pop culture icons to tell a truly unique mother-daughter story. Deena Selenow directs for a May 23 opening atAtwater Village Theatre, where performances will continue through June 23. Low-priced previews begin May 17.

Multi-award winning Pacific Resident Theatre, in their 34th year as one of the top regional companies in the country, is now offering a brand new resource to children in the Los Angeles area. The PRT Youth Conservatory is a full-time year-round program serving students up to 18 years of age, and completely free of charge for all students.

Bill falls for Sarah, but she is married to Ted. Ted might be a good match for Alice - who is married to Bill.Elina de Santos directs a painfully funny look at modern relationships by former attorney general-turned-playwright Grant Woods. The world premiere of The Things We Do, presented by Never Dark Productions as a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre, opens on April 6, with performances continuing through May 12. 

Lights Out: Nat 'King' Cole/book by Colman Domingo & Patricia McGregor/music supervision:John McDaniel/directed by Patricia McGregor/Geffen/Gil Cates Theater/through March 17 A much anticipated musical in Los Angeles has been Lights Out: Nat 'King' Cole, which has received previous tryouts back east. Penned by Colman Domingo and Patricia McGregor, who also directs the piece, the show is supposedly based on real facts from Cole's life and includes most of his standard hits arranged by John McDaniel. Currently onstage at the Gil CatesTheater of the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, Lights Out is spectacular entertainment, especially from Dule Hill as Cole and Daniel J. Watts as Sammy Davis Jr. but its book is in need of some major retooling. It is December 17, 1957 in the NBC Studio in Burbank where Cole's final  30 minute TV variety show is about to be presented live with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra and Randy Van Horn Singers. Fifteen minutes to air time, Cole is in a deep state of depression over this being the final show. Why? He has millions of fans. Southern states have refused to continue paying for advertising on the show. Cole is a Negro, pure asnd simple. In spite of his fame, it's Lights Out for him. Guest star Peggy Lee has not shown up and friend Sammy Davis Jr. comes in to replace her with his amazing style of frantic comed

Those of us old enough to remember the excitement of buying a new vinyl record album and devouring every song's liner notes shared on the back or inner sleeve will certainly understand the appeal of RITA WILSON'S LINER NOTES, which enjoyed its fourth tour at the Geffen's Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater in Westwood from January 10-13 as part of the Geffen Playhouse Spotlight Entertainment Series. The evening offered not only great entertainment but lots of insider information on what went into the creation of many favorite songs from the actual songwriters themselves.

TRIPTYCH THEATRE GROUP presents the West Coast premiere of STOCKHOLM, written by Bryony Lavery (Frozen), with choreography by Stephen Buescher and directed by Kim Rubinstein. STOCKHOLM will preview on Friday, January 11 at 8pm and open on Saturday, January 12 at 8pm will run through Monday, January 28 at The Pico Playhouse, 10508 W. Pico Blvd. in West Los Angeles.

Both one-acts in this masterful and memorable double-billing, directed by Steven Robman, are reflective and confessional in nature, with each of the main characters portrayed by masterful actor Brian Dennehy sharing tales of their lives in an attempt to make sense of the way it has turned out for them, especially since the present does not seem to have lived up to the excitement of the past. Perhaps that universal truth is what united these two one acts, with O'Neill and Beckett asking audiences to take a look back at our own lives and realize that even when things seem hopeless and/or meaningless, memories of times past may be the thing to break your downward spiral.

Ammunition Theatre Company ventures into the wacky world of fractured fairy tales for its latest production, FAIRY TALE THEATRE 18 & OVER: THE MUSICAL. Written and narrated by Michael J. Feldman, with original songs by Jason Currie, the show consists of four sketch comedy skits performed in 90 minutes, no intermission, by a group of energetic actors with mostly stand-up and television backgrounds.

The second play in this year's Block Party is AMERYKA, written and directed by Critical Mass Performance Group Artistic Director Nancy Keystone, which continues through April 29, 2018 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Plan to arrive early so you can take advantage reading all the information posted in several areas of the lobby (as well as in the two main theater entrances) about Tadeusz Ko?ciuszko, a Polish freedom fighter who assisted Thomas Jefferson in the formation of our country, as his remarkable life and beliefs are central to the plot of this play.

The Critical Mass Performance Group production of "Ameryka," which Center Theatre Group is remounting at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of the second annual Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre, will open Saturday, April 21 at 8 p.m. Written and directed by Critical Mass Performance Group Artistic Director Nancy Keystone in collaboration with the company, "Ameryka" is currently in previews and will close April 29.

Boston Court Performing Arts Center announces the extension of their reimagined modern take of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Due to audience demand, the production will now play through April 1, 2018. This radical re-envisioning of Streetcarfeatures a multicultural cast and modern setting, pushing on the play's present-day relevance.

What made the Hot List? A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Theatre @ Boston Court, ALLEGIANCE by East West Players at the Aratani Theatre downtown, A WALK IN THE WOODS at Actors Co-op, and JACKIE UNVEILED at The Wallis. Check out the latest buzz below and go see a show! Reviews by BWW Sr. Editor Ellen Dostal (LADCC).

IN & OF ITSELF, which has grossed $5 million to date in its eight months of playing to sold-out houses in the intimate 150-seat theater, will now play through Sunday, August 19, 2018 -extending what began as a ten-week engagement to seventy-two weeks and 560 performances upon its conclusion.

'Husbands and Wives,' Woody Allen's film--and now, Ensemble Theater Company's adaptation by Jonathan Fox--examines the slings and arrows of long-term pairing through the relationships of two middle-aged couples in crisis.

Rita Wilson is bringing her vocal and songwriting talents to the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse this September for the third time. This limited engagement Spotlight Entertainment Series performance features Wilson and guest songwriters performing and telling the stories behind their songs in a cabaret setting. Guests songwriters include Jeff Barry, Kristian Bush, Desmond Child and Billy Steinberg, among others.

Rita Wilson is bringing her vocal and songwriting talents to the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse this September for the third time. This limited engagement Spotlight Entertainment Series performance features Wilson and guest songwriters performing and telling the stories behind their songs in a cabaret setting. Guests songwriters include Jeff Barry, Kristian Bush, Desmond Child and Billy Steinberg, among others.

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.

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM) announces the appointment of Kenneth T. Novice as its President. Novice will begin his position on May 1, 2017 with an immediate plan of action to continue the work that David Hyslop, DSM's Interim Managing Director, started last year of instilling stability and sustainability for the organization.

We are still laughing, days after seeing the West Coast premiere of THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE at the Geffen Playhouse. The play with fantastic and ultra-flamboyant musical numbers will keep you laughing from beginning to end, centered on 'a wildly joyous story of empathy, of inclusivity, of community, of the potential for art to build bridges,' according to the Geffen's Artistic Director Randall Arney. Along with Mr. Arney, I send kudos to the six collaborators who have shepherded the play in its journey before arriving at the Geffen: playwright Matthew Lopez, director Mike Donahue, choreographer Paul McGill, cast member Matt McGrath, set designer Donyale Werle and sound designer Jill BC Du Boff so that L.A. audiences have a chance to celebrate the glory that stems from watching the best drag queen show since KINKY BOOTS.