David MacDowell Blue

Deconstructing Holly, represents one of an explosion of really well-crafted, well-performed solo shows over the last couple of years in Los Angeles live theatre. It nicely combines both focus and genuine drama in ways worthy of praise.... full review

I will admit the fact Yes, No, Maybe So lists itself as a solo musical gave me pause. But less than five minutes in that worry evaporated. Instead I simply went along for the ride, one woman's journey into that most heady of all adventures--making a decision. Catherine Barnes' show (developed and directed with Jessica Lynn Johnson) focuses on a medical exam which proves very creepy indeed, and then Barnes must figure out what to about this. Because the creepiness in this case went beyond a ... full review

I Heart Maroc is a one person show written and starring Azo Safo, I have personally known Azo for a few years and was frankly astonished at how much I learned about her in this piece. Never had a clue she spent two years in the Peace Corps, living in a small Morrocan village. But more than those bare facts, interesting they may be (and are), what I really got out of her show was how this experience shaped and taught her. Solo shows remain popular at the Fringe for often purely logistical re... full review

Contrary to all sorts of "common sense" you can quite practically put all sorts of spectacle onto the live stage. Sea battles, exorcisms, poisonings, gunshots, sword fights, etc. If you have the budget, dragons and falling chandeliers are not out of the question. But who cares without the human connection, the power of the human soul coming to terms with itself via contact with another human soul? Movies and video games cannot help but eclipse live theatre for spectacle. It can almost neve... full review

Written by Jola Cora, who joins Annalee Scott and Paul Louis Harrell on stage, this play posits what at first seems only a quirky bit of drama in some side shadow of Hollywood. An actress/movie star wannabe feels hopeless and despondent, urging her sometimes boyfriend to help her see or somehow touch the movie star with whom she is obsessed just once before she gives up. He agrees, knowing someone who knows said movie star's gardener. While she is out, attending a premiere, they sneak into her... full review

"Shiva," as explained by writer/performer Rachel McKay Steele, is a Jewish ritual of mourning, to help the bereaved embrace and thus get past their grief. Doing so for a girl one never met, who has been dead for many decades (she would have been ninety years old in 2019) may seem bizarre. Until one thinks about it. Ultimately shiva is not "for" the deceased. It is for those who feel the pain of their loss. So, Shiva For Anne Frank makes plenty of sense, really. Her diary lets us know her,... full review

Having heard a kind of general positive buzz about the show and since it fit so neatly into my schedule, I got in line for The Last Croissant. While waiting, the cast came out and gave us a musical pre-show which led me to half-expect a musical. Nope. Not a musical. Rather one of the most delightful plays of this year's Fringe. Absolutely in my top ten (and that is saying something, given the quality of this year). The show takes place in a camping site in some national park in Californ... full review

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