David MacDowell Blue

Anyone who does not feel a twinge of sympathy just with the title of this show--I don't understand you. At least, hopefully I do not. Bullies and bullying cause so much misery, so much long term damage to children...yet solving the problem seems to involve no easy solution. The Bully Problem is a musical aimed at children. Refreshingly it speaks to children but does not do so by speaking down. It lacks condescension. Because of this, it also speaks directly to the child still inside each ... full review

I can honestly say Fertile was one show in the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival that seemed like a no brainer. Most such must be rolls of the dice, but of course if you know a given performer and their work you walk in with expectations. In this case, my imagination conjured the idea of a realistic and fairly autobiographical one woman show about her attempts to become pregnant. My expectations were not met. I was anything but disappointed. In fact, I was thrilled. Actor/playwright Hea... full review

What this show, written by Aaron Kozak, offers proves very compelling indeed. No less important, it surprises. Saving Cain was described to me as the story of a rebellious teenager trying to deal with his born-again Pentecostal control-freak of a mother. I expected one of two things: Either a dark comedy or a polemic against a certain brand (at least) of Fundamentalist Christianity. Maybe both. I got something a lot better. The pair of mother (Leah Verrill) and son (Lenny Hernandez) play... full review

Aging seems mundane as dramas go, especially among those who lead otherwise good lives. Making such entertaining and genuinely moving presents something of a challenge, one met by Peter Massey in Out of the Blue with a deceptively easy skill. Part of the charm of this show is the performer, who combines several qualities that watching and listening to him pleasurable. Massey has an expressive voice, a limber and expressive form, and clearly understands precisely what he's saying (this is a s... full review

f a Klingon Theatre troupe were to start performing classical works from Earth literature, then Christopher Marlowe's Tammerlane makes for an excellent choice! Hence School of Night (a very good production company) decided to go with this idea! And it works! Make no mistake! Klingon Tamburlaine tells the story of one of the most notoriously cruel (and successful) warlords in history. Putting everyone in Klingon gear, changing a few names here and here, adopting the stereotypical stance of ... full review

On the one hand, Love, Madness and Somewhere In Between deals with a subject of great power. James J. Cox explores a life which for big chunks of it counts as a train wreck--one in which he proved a fundamental victim trying his best (often very badly) to deal with a series of childhood traumas. He dives into a bottle of Jack Daniels for decades, struggling out of it at times only to fall back when confronted by yet another trauma (because life always hurts--otherwise how could it also feel goo... full review

Up until seeing this show, The Grail Project, I had only seen one piece of theatre dealing with the legends of King Arthur that seemed actually "good." Now I have seen two! I had never also heard of this specific troupe/ensemble, the Theatre Movement Bazaar, aptly named and based on this show at least belonging in those theatrical troupes I follow eagerly! Written by Richard Alger, directed by Tina Kronis, this show re-invents/de-constructs the tale of Camelot and the Quest for the Hol... full review

Imagine a fascinating nightmare--one of those fundamentally disturbing ones that blends all kinds of things in a weird brew of elements that somehow make kind of bizarre logic. Now suppose a nightmare more-or-less fostered by the challenge comedian Bill Mahr put out for Donald Trump to prove he was not the son of an orangutan. Now imagine someone staging that nightmare. You now have Orangutan by Troy Deutsch. The whole thing takes the form of a monologue by Trump's mother (Kristina Mueller)... full review

I do love a dose of the paranormal or mystical or science fiction to throw life into sharp relief. Transference by Jim Blanchette proves to be exactly that. A teacher named Jessica (Lisa K. Watt) attends a therapy session, this time trying to use hypnosis to cure her smoking. Her therapist Dr. Herbert (Esther Mira) tries to reassure her, calming the nervous woman down. Eventually she does hypnotize her and BOOM! Jessica remembers all her past lives. All of them. And in every single one, sh... full review

Beyond doubt the cast of this play are all energetic, talented and possess genuine charm. Director Susan Dalian shows skill at using a tiny space while maintaining the energy needed. However, this script's very real potential needs work. This is an early draft of what might well be an excellent comedy. Right now, it wanders around the situation as well as the characters without diving very deeply into either. Worse, it doesn't seem like a play at all, but more like a sitcom. The same char... full review