Archive for the ‘Theatre’ Category

‘The Penelopiad’ @ City Garage Theatre

Posted on November 26th, 2022 by Joseph A. Hazani

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood at City Garage Theatre (directed by Frédérique Michel) presents us a comparative storyline to the Greek Heroic Epic Poem The Illiad by Homer – the poet which Plato referred to as the Teacher of the Greeks. It is in this heritage or inheritance of the story which Ms. Atwood provides […]

‘Beach People’ by Charles A. Duncombe @ City Garage Theatre

Posted on August 10th, 2022 by Joseph A. Hazani

Where is happiness found if not on a beach? It is that irony that is the center-piece to the theatrical excitement and excellently florid script of Beach People written by Charles A. Duncombe, directed by Frédérique Michel, premiering at City Garage Theatre. While transparently proud in its existentialist reduction to being contemporary man, the play […]

‘Remembering the Future’ by Peter Lefcourt

Posted on August 1st, 2022 by Joseph A. Hazani

How is the future created from the past? What is the motivation for people to continue to pursue their aims of happiness when the most critical circumstance of their humanity – the aging of their bodies – moves their perception of the world away from their nascent opportunities they once dreamed possible? So much of […]

A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney by Lucas Hnath @ Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

Posted on April 30th, 2022 by Joseph A. Hazani

In an irreverent and highly conceptualized play, A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney by Lucas Hnath and Directed by Peter Richards at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble helps bring us into the imaginary world of a man whose imagination is his dominion. It is in the exercise of his imaginary […]

‘Endgame’ by Samuel Beckett & Directed by Frédérique Michel @ City Garage Theatre

Posted on March 23rd, 2022 by Joseph A. Hazani

In a wild and dreamy tension between the occupation of the real-world with other human life in it and our private inner-life, Endgame by Mr. Samuel Beckett portrays a meditation on what plays a more significant role in our very own humanity? Prima facie, the world which involves conducting ourselves appropriately with others is necessary, […]

‘The Red Dress’ Theatre Review @ The Odyssey Theatre

Posted on November 10th, 2017 by Joseph A. Hazani

(Playing through November 19th)   In another installment of theatre which is attempting to hold a mirror upon the contemporary society through the recrudesence of the historically worst form of totalitarianism, Nazism, The Red Dress is most poignant in the cultural force imposed upon society as opposed to the more conventional ideas of totalitarianism being […]

RED SAND review @ Santa Monica Playhouse

Posted on October 12th, 2017 by Joseph A. Hazani

Red Sand is an extremely experimental work which quite simply misses the mark. Ignoring its positive attributes, which can easily be found in the incredible performing stamina of the actors and the highly laudable sound mixing for which the performance demanded, this is an inchoate medley of emotional representation that amounts to, at best, an […]

Our Town @ The Pasadena Playhouse

Posted on October 5th, 2017 by Joseph A. Hazani

Our Town is an interesting period piece which shows, albeit indirectly, the humble bedrock for which these United States originate. It is beyond the tenets of the “Protestant Work Ethic”, but further, the moral virtues of the Protestant faith itself on full display. This display, however, is nothing dramatic; nothing more dramatic than an everyday […]

‘Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally Review’ @ Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

Posted on September 21st, 2017 by Joseph A. Hazani

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally playing at the Odyssey Theatre is yet another challenging contemporary play with its extreme abstraction of narrative. And the abstraction of the story, rather than physically acted out, is not a gimmick nor is it a necessary evil to bring to life a small-budget play that can only do so […]

Carmen Disruption @ City Garage

Posted on September 17th, 2017 by Joseph A. Hazani

In a very challenging play, Carmen Disruption is a meditation on the dispossession of contemporary human life. Most especially is the disconnection between humans in a society. It’s a very intriguing thought to ponder the fact a city society is comprised of a multitude of strangers to one another. How close and yet how far […]