Playland (Alliance Theater)
Playland (La Jolla Playhouse)
A Woman of No Importance
A Woman of No Importance is Oscar Wilde’s classic comedic play. The eponymous woman is Mrs. Arbuthnot, a woman who has been scorned by society for having an illicit affair and conceiving a child out of wedlock. Wilde’s play is both a criticism of the shameful double standard applied to men and women in such matters and … Continued
Valley Song, Market Theater
This is the moving story of an old man’s love for his dutiful grandchild. Buks’ Jonkers is a poor yet dignified war veteran who is devoted to his vegetable furrows in a remote South African province. He is anxious to shield his dreamy, restless sixteen year old granddaughter from temptations beyond the valley. She is … Continued
The Devils
In a small provincial town in 1870’s Ukraine, a group of friends hunger to join the national movement for Socialist revolution. Under the influence of their idealistic new leader, Peter Verkhovensky, they risk arrest by producing a poster advocating a national strike. However, when their charismatic founder, Nicholas Stavrogin, returns from abroad on the verge … Continued
The Tempest, DC
Shakespeare’s classic about young love, old enemies and the eternal magic of storytelling. Exiled to a fantastical island, Prospero unleashes a churning storm to shipwreck the traitor brother who stole his throne and settle the score once and for all. But bitter revenge is upended by newfound love in this sublime masterpiece that proves we … Continued
Sex and Longing
Nymphomaniac Lulu and her gay roommate Justin have just published a coffee table book detailing their many sexual encounters, getting them into hot water with a moralistic senator’s wife and minister, in Christopher Durang’s comedy.
The Woman Warrior, Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre
Years of tradition, progress, and prejudice have shaped a Chinese family’s destiny in America, and now their daughter must find a role for herself, in her family and in her world. To tell her tale, this play unties the theatrical, artistic, and musical legacies of both lands.
Molly Sweeney
Three points of view about a poignant drama are related by three characters addressing the audience directly. First there is Molly, blind since early infancy, who describes her world before and after an operation to restore some of her sight. Her husband, Frank, who pushed Molly into this operation, relates his view of his wife’s … Continued