Matthew Arkin News

On Monday, January 27 (3pm and 7pm), Cherry Lane Theatre will present Love/Kill by Joe Pintauro. The project will be directed by Valentina Fratti and will feature the talents of Angelina Fiordellisi, Mandy Gonzales, Alex Morgan, Dennis Parlato and Peter McRobbie.

Ah, yes. 2013 was indeed an outstanding year for theater in Southern California. Even better: Orange County---my home base---boasted some of the best shows, period---marking an exciting theater renaissance in brilliance and artistry that I hope continues to grow here inside L.A.'s next door neighbor. With that said, here is my Top 10 Stage Shows of 2013 from Orange County and adjacent locales nearby, followed by my picks for the year's best performances.

This reprisal of this classic is a successful hybrid of radio play and stage production that unfailingly delivers the best of both genres.

Queens Theatre (QT) presents the L.A. Theatre Works production of THE GRADUATE, based on the 1963 'age of youth' novel and the classic 1967 Oscar-winning film, adapted for the stage by Terry Johnson. The play is directed by Brian Kite, and features a dynamite cast of stars of film and TV: Diane Adair (South Coast Repertory Theatre) as Mrs. Braddock, Matthew Arkin (Bdwy: Losing Louie, The Sunshine Boys; TV: 'Rescue Me', '100 Centre Street', 'All My Children') as Mr. Robinson, Heidi Dippold (TV: 'The Sopranos', 'All My Children') as Mrs. Robinson, Jill Renner (Pacific Resident Theatre) as Elaine Robinson, Darren Richardson (Nat' Tour: Pride and Prejudice TV: 'Lost', 'Fastlane') as Hotel Clerk/Priest/Psychiatrist, Brian Tichnell (TV: 'Happy Endings') as Benjamin Braddock and Tom Virtue (TV: 'The Building, The Bonnie Hunt Show') as Mr. Braddock.

Beautifully acted and heartbreakingly stirring, Samuel D. Hunter's excellent, emotionally-gripping play THE WHALE, plays at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through March 31. The play follows the story of Charlie (Matthew Arkin, in a truly transformative performance that many will remember for decades to come), a 600-pound online writing teacher whose health problems are coupled with deep-rooted emotional heartache.

Small-town Idaho is the setting for the characters who inhabit the world of Samuel D. Hunter's The Whale. The people and the place draw you deep into the story through Hunter's skillful writing.

In THE PRINCE OF ATLANTIS, Steven Drukman's funny new play set in the heavy-accented neighborhood of Nonantum, Massachusetts, the characters all seem to believe that the key to good relations with others and living a good life (or at least a nicer-than-average one) is to make things appear better than they really are for everyone else...and, perhaps, even extend the delusion for themselves as well. The comical, sometimes touching play is currently enjoying a fully-staged World Premiere production at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through April 29.

Family dynamics and the importance of connection will rule the stage when Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis has its world premiere March 30 - April 29. The production is part of the 15th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), which featured a staged reading of Drukman's instant comic hit last year.

Family dynamics and the importance of connection will rule the stage when Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis has its world premiere March 30 - April 29. The production is part of the 15th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), which featured a staged reading of Drukman's instant comic hit last year.

Family dynamics and the importance of connection will rule the stage when Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis has its world premiere March 30 - April 29. The production is part of the 15th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), which featured a staged reading of Drukman's instant comic hit last year.

Quintessence Theatre Group launches its second season with two classic comedies: Carlo Goldoni's THE VENETIAN TWINS, in a translation by Ranjit Bolt, and William Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, to be presented in repertory and directed by Alexander Burns.

Quintessence Theatre Group launches its second season with two classic comedies: Carlo Goldoni's THE VENETIAN TWINS, in a translation by Ranjit Bolt, and William Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, to be presented in repertory and directed by Alexander Burns.

Brothers will play brothers when Adam and Matthew Arkin take on the roles of Joey and Kevin Colletti in the reading of Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis-just one of five exciting new works scheduled to be read at this year's 14th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) April 29 - May 1.

Brothers will play brothers when Adam and Matthew Arkin take on the roles of Joey and Kevin Colletti in the reading of Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis-just one of five exciting new works scheduled to be read at this year's 14th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) April 29 - May 1.

Brothers will play brothers when Adam and Matthew Arkin take on the roles of Joey and Kevin Colletti in the reading of Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis-just one of five exciting new works scheduled to be read at this year's 14th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) April 29 - May 1.

Brothers will play brothers when Adam and Matthew Arkin take on the roles of Joey and Kevin Colletti in the reading of Steven Drukman's The Prince of Atlantis-just one of five exciting new works scheduled to be read at this year's 14th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) April 29 - May 1.

Kingsborough Performing Arts Center's 2010-2011 season of Music, Dance, Theatre, Literature, and Family shows is now on sale and with a new season brings a new executive director and a new vision for Kingsborough's oceanfront performing arts center.

La Jolla Playhouse announces the cast for the world premiere of Annie Weisman's Surf Report, the first production of the Playhouse's 2010/2011 season, running June 15 - July 11, 2010 in the Mandell Weiss Forum.

Surf Report/ by Annie Weisman/ La Jolla Playhouse @ Mandell Weiss Forum/ directed by Lisa Peterson/ through July 11 Catering to the whims of a spoiled womanizing boss and dealing with the philanderings of an ailing husband are but two of the issues facing career-oriented wife and mother Jude in Annie Weisman's engrossing world-premiere play Surf Report now playing in La Jolla.

Surf Report runs through July 11, 2010 at Mandell Weiss Forum. Surf Report is bY Annie Weisman, DIRECTED BY Lisa Peterson