Morna Murphy Martell

Saw this play last year and loved it. Playwright-performer Darin Dahms takes us back to the mid-19th century, where we meet the three significant members of the historic Booth family. There is Junius Brutus, the patriarch, a man possessed by demons, with an equal passion for the soliloquies of Shakespeare and the numbing magic of liquor. The sane member of this trio, Edwin, is a gentle man forced into acting, and struggling for years, until he is hailed as the greatest American actor of his cent... full review

Author Christopher Durang is at his madcap best in this funny portrait of two modern young people trying to make sense of an absurd world. First Constantin Wenzel draws us into his sphere where his struggle to be a spiritual being is always being demolished by his dour interior cynic. Then Samantha D’Alessio is totally daft, a grumbling psycho trundling her rage into every minor event she stumbles across. They meet, not so cute, in a grocery store where a can of tuna becomes a signal for war. The... full review

The three performers are marvelous but as I was expecting a play about three generations of women - grandmother, mother and daughter - it was a disappointment that all three are played by young women. Whether playwright Lee Blessing intended to cast this way is unclear. Still, Sienna Beckman, as the teenage Echo, manages to suggest not only an awkward pre-teen but even a 3 month infant. As the grandmother, Dorothea, Alyson Terwilliger gives a bright portrait of a ditzy 1950’s housewife whose head... full review

Reviewed this last year. This is definitely an Adult Comedy, but I can assure you its perceptions about human behavior are affirmative and definitely funny! Roger and Sherry have been married 20 years, and life has grown stale, and sex a bore, and when they are invited to a party they discover to their horror it’s a Swingers Bash, but a few drinks later, and after a number of hilarious views of some guests in action, they get into the swing of things. As they merrily journey from marital coldness... full review

Every day we hear we are running out of water in California, but what does water mean exactly? In this imaginative show, creator/performer Charline Su draws our attention to the deeper meaning of water and how it brings life to us and our planet. Su first draws us into her vision with an extraordinarily beautiful pantomime under a silvery shroud that flows, dips and shimmers like – yes – water. Then, with fine assist by actor-dancers Eric Losoya, Lauren Murphy and Kila Packett, we hear eloquent w... full review

In this intriguing encounter between a high school English teacher and a 17 year old girl student, all is not what it seems. Beneath the surface of an apparently straightforward drama, playwright Stephen Fife delivers a sly and brilliant conundrum. On the surface the teacher, excellent Jeremy Mascia, is trying to be kind and helpful to his devious visitor, an intense Julia Eringer. However, this young girl knows about a dark secret that lurks in his soul and, when she confronts him, he crumbles –... full review

I just finished reading the excerpt from Ava Gardner’s memoir in Vanity Fair about her years with Sinatra. Well, playwright Willard Manus certainly gets all the facts right in this intriguing if melodramatic short play. It’s never boring, but somehow they still didn’t ring true to me as human beings. Ava says they drank and fought and made love and that’s pretty much what they do here. We are flies on the wall enjoying this glimpse into their love nest. It’s a series of snapshot scenes, starting ... full review

I am amazed, dazzled and definitely amused by the brilliant improvisations dealt by this fascinating company. Just think, every show you see will be different but I can only comment, and praise, the one I was lucky enough to witness. Since suggestions come from the audience (and not all seemed pre-set) the series of sketches are actually created on the spot - improv, duh! Favorite sketches, done effortlessly yet with keen precision, include: a man drowning in a leaky submarine, with sound effects... full review

Opera Lovers should appreciate this unique and daring show. Though I must confess Grand Opera is not my thing, yet I could see - and certainly hear - the talent in this company. Drawing loosely from a number of lesser-known Aesop’s Fables, this truly bravura ensemble engages us in a series of life-lessons. My definite favorite was the man who wants to create a flying machine and goes to the Oracle who asks him three questions about life. When he answers them correctly, she gives him the secret of... full review

Ironically, I missed seeing the hit Broadway production because of the car bomber who parked a few yards away and I nonchalantly strolled to the box office while the loaded SUV was sputtering and sparking. Still, this was a dynamite production, with a brilliant cast, who never faltered in their depiction of seemingly sane people going Boom! Here's a play showing how under the veneer of Civilization lurks the threat of Chaos. The God of Carnage is waiting and when He strikes watch out! This War is... full review