Daniel Johnson

Main character Steven is dissatisfied with every aspect of life – his job, his spouse, his brother’s career, and the imprecision of language, to name a few. He relatedly feels trapped by the inertia of his choices, but rather than work on himself, chooses instead to work on everyone else. What follows is a meandering story about Steven’s attempt to find meaning in his life, and force meaning on those around him. Misbilled as a comedy, Nouns is actually an overwrought meditation.... Please... full review

In Eddie Antar’s play The Navigator down-on-his-luck Dave is directionless. He has been out of work for months, his wife is ready to give up on their marriage, and he doesn’t know where his life is going. Fortunately for Dave, his GPS does. After delivering some navigational advice that ends up saving Dave’s life, the GPS begins providing Dave with semi-cryptic life advice. He soon discovers that his omniscient GPS can guide him through a life free of sadness and surprise. The play rides s... full review

The increasingly popular Jason Robert Brown masterpiece The Last 5 Years receives another production at Hollywood Fringe this year courtesy of The Smiley Face and The Frown Entertainment Group. In addition to the quality of the writing, the show has become attractive to produce because it requires minimal resources: a two-person cast, few props, small stage. The show is a series of songs capturing the moments and memories that make up the five-year relationship between struggling actor Cathy Hy... full review

Clocking in at 25 minutes, Thumb Wars is a brief, pointed critique on human connection in the iPhone age. The play laments the loss of personal, meaningful communication at a time when brevity is valued over clarity. Keith and Monica, under the guidance of their respective best friends, text each other the day after their first date, and the miscommunications and posturing that follow nearly ruin their shot at an honest relationship. The theme of the piece has become a familiar one as of late,... full review

Writer/Actor Ben Moroski returns to Hollywood Fringe after taking a year off from his 2012 debut This Vicious Minute (review: here). His new one-man show (about a one-man show) centers on Pete Harrisburg, a damaged soul attempting to turn his pain into art by telling an audience about his most recent brush with love. Unfortunately, he’s in love with a corpse. Pete starts the play with an intense optimism that’s bound to waver under the weight of his story. Moroski judiciously chooses when to ... full review

In Brandon Baruch’s play, Ash and Luke – two twenty-something heterosexual men – discover that their friendship of six years may have turned into a sexless marriage/codependency when they weren’t looking. As speculation among their friends about their relationship reaches a fever pitch, the two struggle to determine what, exactly, it is: are they best friends, boyfriends, straight husbands, or just straight-but-gay-for-each-other? None of the titles seem to match. With such an impossible pre... full review

Sasha Fisher has a problem. She wants to be a good humanist, an empowered feminist, a warrior for equality. She also enjoys being sexually degraded. She’s not quite sure what to do with these seemingly conflicting desires except to make a show about them and perform it at Fringe. Welcome to Shame Based Fun: a provocative two-person, one-woman show playing at Theatre Asylum... Please read the rest of the review at <a href="http://cinesnatch.blogspot.com/2014/06/2014-hollywood-fringe-round-u... full review

In 1978, Anita Bryant sat down with Playboy Magazine for an 8-day interview. By that time, Anita Bryant had become a central figure in the battle over gay rights. In fact, she is credited with galvanizing both the anti-gay and gay rights movements. Yet her status as an influential historical figure is just now becoming apparent as US voters and legislatures, thirty-five years later, are just beginning to put her arguments to rest. Writers John Copeland and Robert Whirry have adapted the Play... full review

For Ray Burley Productions (RBP) inaugural Los Angeles work, four writers were commissioned to create fifteen-minute tree-themed plays involving four specific actors. The resultant night of theater, appropriately titled Four Tree Plays, is an interesting and challenging collection of one-acts that complement - without repeating - each other. There isn’t a weak link in the group – either in cast or script. The plays are alternately fun, funny, and surprising. The show opens with Nicolas Hoov... full review

Another Hollywood Fringe, another production of 25 Plays Per Hour by Theatre Unleashed. This welcome Fringe tradition has officially been around long enough to warrant a “Best of” edition. Once again, the audience is treated to a fast-and-loose production of 25 plays lasting a total of 60 minutes – the scene transition clock-ticking serves as a frequent reminder that expedition is more important than elegance here. (Unfortunately, a few lines do get lost in the chaos.) “Muffins” is the comedi... full review