Round One has begun, a first clang! in the bruising prize fight that Donald Trump’s presidency threatens to become. It’s

There are more individuals whose talents deserve some Note of Distinction this year, and we, at TheTVolution wish the privilege

by Ernest Kearney “My mother didn’t wear sneakers,” Fahn proclaims at the opening of her one-woman show, Under the

By Ernest Kearney  —  "American Conspiracy," playing during the Hollywood Fringe 2018 at The Lounge Theatre, recounts the trials and

Arms and the Man is one of George Bernard Shaw’s most appealing plays; which is what he intended it to

Out of the 380-plus shows presented during Hollywood Fringe Festival Show 2018, 80 were viewed by TVolution critics: 69 of

This long runnng Brit series, which has been refreshed, all to the good, several times over is available for viewing

You’re in Los Angeles and looking for the perfect space to mount your production. Available for your play, meeting, workshop or

An advisor to Donald Trump recently explained the candidate’s multiple (and conflicting) positions on most issues with: Words don’t matter. Wow,

Well Hello Dolly! Without even needing a warm-up band or an opening act, the music starts, the lights come

One of my favorite game announcers for the San Francisco Giants is a former Giant himself, pitcher Mike Krukow. He

The most disappointing feature of Lee Blessing’s succinct if a tad “lite” A Walk in the Woods now gracing the

What does this all mean? A flashy, vulgar celebrity/businessman runs for public office with no prior experience except having run a

Our culture shoots black men. Kills them. And our culture acquits their killers—if they are the police. This headline grabbed

The peaceful dawning has come and gone. This day is like a long breath of air that has been held

Loser! The Tweet Defeat of Donald Trump did not begin with “Liddle’ Bob Corker” and his oh-so-devastating viral tweet: https://twitter.com/SenBobCorker/status/917045348820049920? Wham! Impressive. But

By Ernest Kearney  —  On December 21, 1988 a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103 over the town of

by Ernest Kearney — Forgiveness seems to be the theme of “Redline,” now playing in rep with “Sinner’s Laundry”

by Ernest Kearney  —  IAMA Theatre Company’s production, "Sinner’s Laundry," at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood, can be summed up

For the first decade of this century I didn't pay much attention to the music business. After close to 30

Deaf West Theatre has produced some of the best theatre to come out of Los Angeles.

“God bless Donald Trump. This campaign has been a masterwork of performance art. He couldn't be doing a better job

I can’t tell if Donald Trump is brilliant or an idiot—and maybe he’s both. On Monday, August 8th, he trotted

I really love theatre that boldly goes where no ensemble has gone before. In the past William A. Reilly and Gary

Abigail/1702 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has received its West Coast premiere at Long Beach's International City Theatre. As usual, the production

Please believe me when I tell you that Julia Migenes is an amazingly talented performer. She originated the role of Hodel

I’ve started this column several times, but the news keeps getting ahead of me. And not in a good way.

May 25, 2018  —  "Theatre 40, the award-winning professional theatre company in Beverly Hills, announces its fifty-third season. The schedule is

The question, for all (or it should be) GOT viewers: Will the Snow 'who knows nothing' return? HBO’s just released promotional

For me, the internet can be like standing in line at the supermarket. Oh, those tabloids! My eye is also

By Ernest Kearney  — The Fountain Theatre's production of  "Runaway Home" by playwright Jeremy J. Kamps, is a cannonade of

Well, I suspected I was going to like "Finally, Some Privacy" Aimee Levey’s one woman show, for Fringe 2017, when

I hate writing bad reviews. Honest. I’d rather write glowing reviews, pouring forth accolades and singing praises to high heaven. I truly would. Now

In "Ashlee Olivia Presents E.A.R.T.H.A.," Ms. Jones delivers an exceptional performance of an exceptional performer

 By Ernest Kearney  —  "Gloria," the Pulitzer Prize-finalist, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is best described as an E-Ticket ride to the

Let's imagine one could take a heaping jigger of Citizen Kane, another of Blade Runner, pour in a dash of

Meg Miroshnik’s The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls is a frequently poetic, consistently absorbing mishmash of Paglia’s pronouncements, Bettelheim’s theories

Every campaign has at least one noir moment, when (as in film noir) the protagonist tries to do The Right

There have been three truly great social humorists in American history, Mark Twain, Will Rogers and Jon Stewart. The least

It took several tries before I could finish this Charles Krauthammer article about the Republicans squandering their “victory” over the so-called mainstream

The last time the Tap Overload Company came to the Hollywood Fringe, my review of their show "Office Beat" was

Four Chords and a Gun at the Bootleg Theater, which relates the stories of when The Ramones worked with Phil

By Ernest Kearney  —  Michael Shaw Fisher has apparently taken to heart George Burns’ sage advice on how to be a

"Monsters, John! Monsters from the Id!" That's the warning delivered by a dying Warren Stevens to Captain Leslie Nielson just before

And when chemotherapy fails, what’s left—Kryptonite? There’s no easy cure for the cancer that is metastasizing in the Republican Party right

By Ernest Kearney  —  "Uncivil Correctness: Joan Rivers, Abbie Hoffman, Bin Laden," apparently, began as a class project and, unfortunately,

VOICES According to the program notes, voiceover artist Carla Delaney wrote this one woman show as a birthday gift to herself,

For those who have not cultivated an appreciation for the theatrical craft and are unaware of the merits and delights

Our little game of Political Survivor abruptly expanded to the House of Representatives last week, with potentially explosive results. Speaker John Boehner

by Darwyn Carson — Monopoly, I would wager, was always one of the first go-to games of choice amongst friends

OMG Moments on Empire • An unexpected gift, a single red rose, is dropped at the entrance to Cookie's swank apartment

“Drumpf – that’s the sound of shit hitting the wall, and sticking.” — a tweet from @slothlax A couple of weeks

Starting June 1st and running throughout the entire month Hollywood Fringe 2017 will be offering up 356 shows; all vying

"Silent Sky" in its final weekend at Long Beach's International City Theatre, is a well-crafted feel-good evening in the theatre. 

Is anyone still criticizing quarterback Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the national anthem? “Some people say” that his actions are

by Ernest Kearney — 'Antony and Cleopatra' has it all — magnificent history, towering characters, stunning pageantry and poetry of

We love Angela Lansbury. And PBS announced today, "She's ba-a-a-ck." Dame Lansbury with Michael Gambon will head the cast in

How rare a thing; a thinking man's sci-fi both stimulating and satisfying. Penned by Jerome Bixby known for such works

In my previous post, I quoted MSNBC reporter Chuck Todd speculating that the period before the South Carolina primary—now a

"An Evening With John Wilkes Booth" by Clinton Case and Lloyd J. Schwartz (who also directs), presents a solid and

In James Cougar Canfield’s historical play Ladies in Waiting: The Judgement of Henry VIII the “ladies” in question are the

John Farmanesh-Bocca has in the past impressed me. Now he’s pissed me off. Though, I am still impressed. A number of years back

Okay

Talk about being overly optimistic. My previous TheTVolution post seems positively Pollyanna-ish. The headline read: "The Voice Finally Acknowledges Songwriters."

What do you think? Have your say HERE: #Savetwinpeaks14251

CNN debate anchor Anderson Cooper was intent on confrontation and stirring up rivalries

...Not even close. Primaries are the tribal councils of this metaphorical Survivor season. That’s because opinion polls and voting are not the same

Now I’ve seen some truly remarkable acting at this year’s Fringe, but here are two amazing ensembles that stand out

Beheadings– Fratricide - Infidelity - Parricide – Rebellion - The swain of Avon – And toe tapping ditties. One must admire the chutzpa Michael Shaw Fisher displays

by Ernest Kearney  —  "The Book That I'm Going to Write, by Judy Garland" is an idea that someone should

By Ernest Kearney — Premise-wise "Small Mouth Sounds," by Playwright Bess Wohl, has a lot of potential. The highly touted

What’s so embarrassing for me (an old white man) about watching an old white presidential candidate say—almost indignantly—“Well

Whatever had you Sherlocked from Hello, one thing is not up for debate… we all want the duo back for

Wendy Graf has written an intelligent, craftsman work about an idealistic All American Girl seeking to convey her love of

It opens with a real-life catastrophic event: a meteor the size of a small house hits a small town in

What "Help! I Might be Fabulous" presents is a modern fable by way of Stonewall and "La Cage aux Folles,"

Theatre Unleashed, who has employed a sense of intelligence and willingness to push the envelope over the ensuing years,

From Space.com: Overall, dark energy is thought to contribute 73 percent of all the mass and energy in the universe. Another 23

By Ernest Kearney — Actor, Playwright, Joshua Thomas was last at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2014 with

In his latest recorded musical venture, Grammy-winning jazz pianist Billy Childs takes on the music legacy of Laura Nyro–and the

If you follow economic or political news at all, you know there has been a lot of discussion about our

Not only will I tip my hat to The Coeurage Theatre Company, but if you don't tip your hat as

[May 30, 2018] Stars of Broadway, music, movies and television sparkle as the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) comes

Last year, I wrote that In The Flesh was not your typical zombie apocalyptic tale. Those of you who watched

It amazes me what a higgledy-piggledy of sources have served as inspiration for musicals. Little Shops of Horror, Cats, Sunset Boulevard

There were Poirots before him. There will be Poirots to follow. Right now, for over seven hundred and fifty million

Game of Thrones Season 5 is coming. It's time to prepare. Take a look to see glimpses of interactions

By Ernest Kearney  —  The Bitch is Back: An Elton John Cabaret is exactly that, no more no less.  Director

In "Andy: The Red-Nosed Warhola," director/adapter Ezra Buzzington has crafted a swift, stylish and oh so entertaining rendering of the

The Boundless Artists Theatre Company has presented Fringe audiences with a production of the fairy tale The Little Mermaid, which

Flamenco is exceptional. Nowhere is grace found infused with such power, nor the sorrow and the joy of the human condition expressed

Whether you view the later works of Irish playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett as avant-grade, Theatre of the Absurd, tragicomic

Set in suburban New Jersey in 1985, Red Oaks centers around college student David Meyers—a young man at a crossroads

Well we’re off to the races, Hollywood Fringe 2016 has opened, and here is the first handful of reviews for

Check the trailer for Sense8 from the creative minds of the Wachowskis, Grant Hill and J. Michael Straczynski. Streaming everywhere

With the return of Sherlock premiering on New Year’s Day, this past week, BBC Worldwide and Fathom Events will present

Frankly, I wasn’t planning on writing this review. I saw the show, and well

Arya now: "She could feel the hole inside her every morning when she woke. It wasn't hunger, though sometimes, there was

By Ernest Kearney  —  Like little boys with their toy soldiers, so, too, are little girls with their dolls: They

This is a thank you to Colin Johnson my stage manager on My Alamo War. Colin helped set the stage,

by Ernest Kearney — Ice at the 24th Street Theatre is really a matter of  “All the King’s horses and

Placas: The Most Dangerous Tattoo has only a week left on its limited run at Casa 0101 in Boyle Heights,

Who wouldn't be excited to see what the producing team, who gifted viewers with the much lauded Entourage, has in

by Ernest Kearney  — The origins of Taiko drumming in Japan is lost in that vast attic called history, but

The Hollywood Fringe Festival 2015: Final Tallies & Reviews HOUSE OF RABBITS CHARIVARI IN VOYEURVILLE (Platinum Medal) House of Rabbits Charivari in

by Ernest Kearney —  My Own Private River Phoenix is a smart and funny piece that is just not ready to

I've turned so many people on to this show and have never heard any regrets. The best is my brother

You enter the REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CaLArts Theater) to find a mass of chairs arranged seemingly haphazard in the

Not much delivers more joy than the reup of a favorite TV show. Case in point: The third season of

In "The Girl who Jumped off the Hollywood Sign" written and performed by Joanne Hartstone, under the direction of Vince

The Hollywood Fringe Festival's Week One Diary—Part III is all about the Bard who is nicely represented this year with a

Santiago Cabrera is Aramis.  Though they are, the four of them, multilayered individuals, Aramis would seem to be the one

By Ernest Kearney  —  "Jack Benny (A Ménage En Train)" is the first perfect Fringe show of 2018.  What does

Post-debate note: The political wind seemed to change at the second debate. So--praise cheeses!--this may be the last Trump-centric column. He’s

For the most part, Korean cinema has not rung the dong for me. I Saw the Devil (2010) Kim Jee-woon’s brutal and

By Ernest Kearney — "Earhart: More Than A F**king Mystery" is your basic fun-time show.  It doesn’t go into the

As casual as can be, Julia Migenes strolls on the nearly bare stage at the Odyssey Ensemble Theatre. The only

By Ernest Kearney  —  Now the funny thing is that the title, We Need This Musical to Stop Us From

By Ernest Kearney — The other night my lovely wife Marlene and I were out walking with a couple of

We are all Donald Trump now. In 1963, JFK went to the Berlin wall and said, “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I

The tunes in "Save Me a Spot" were both charming and moving, and wisely limited to ten in number.

By Ernest Kearney — "An Odyssey" by Patrick Denney is a solid piece of writing that is well-directed

By Ernest Kearney  —  I can’t say I am very conversant with the 17th century Spanish Playwright Tirso de Molina. 

Brace yourselves. It's Hollywood Fringe time. The Hollywood Fringe, for the uninitiated, is a glorious explosion celebrating the arts and artists. If

"Nothing Bad – A Werewolf Rock Musical" has spun the 1987 vampire film, "The Lost Boys" by way of the

The Antaeus Theatre Company always amazes me. The work they do is of the highest quality, and the actors that make

By Ernest Kearney  —  "The Big Picture" is as cluttered, chaotic and confused as your average, interstate, multi-vehicle pileup and

By Ernest Kearney — It is a pity that "Shilo Kloko" was at the Fringe so briefly, because

Sunset Baby is an intelligently written play with a superb cast that positively gleams from those benefits which blesses any

Welcome to Springtime TV Madness: Sarah Manning faces off against manic Castor Clone Rudy (Ari Millen) aka "Scarface." Watch "The Weight of this

Wow. That’s about the most apropos comment across the board on Squeeze My Cans, Cathy Schenkelberg’s riveting, heart wrenching and ultimately

By Ernest Kearney  —  "Fresh Meat" is set in a dystopian future where the world order seems to have fused into

Well, here we are at about the mid way point in the Fringe. So far 31 shows seen and 23

The Hollywood Fringe is in full-on fourth gear mode. Festival Director / Fringe Founder Ben Hill with his “crack team

There are identifiable years in the history of this nation that are shrouded in a foreboding of dire times ahead;

During Empire Entertainment's famous white party, Lucious reminds Jamal that music is the truth. So Jamal explains his sexual preference

"If you want to live, come with me – and keep in harmony" Yes, I troll Netflix, the cable channels, and

By Ernest Kearney — And here they are

The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) is cleverly conceived, beautifully acted and stylishly staged. (If this review

Sarah Manning is the key. She is brave, brash and ballsy. It’s one or a combination of these traits that

In "The Sacred Beasts" for Hollywood Fringe 2017, writer/director Chris Wollman has mined a particularly rich vein of historical gold

As I write this, it’s just a few days until the crucial Wisconsin primary, and the impossible is seemingly in

by Ernest Kearney — Forough Farrokhzad was the subject of Sussan Deyhim’s The House is Black which I recently reviewed

By Ernest Kearney — In Eugene O’Neill’s, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” in production at the Wallis through

Do not be fooled by the title, One of the Nice Ones. There is nothing “nice” about Erik Patterson’s play. Point

In “The King’s Language,” writer/director Chris Yejin, has presented the Fringe with an entertaining and intelligent little history lesson of

The Americans, season 4 premiere 10pm, Weds. (March, 16) on FX. Be prepared for a whip-lash year. Now, it’s possible you

"There are so many sounds I still want to make, so many things I haven't yet done." B.B. King   The summer of

A USEFUL LIFE IN C MAJOR David Wheatley has four degrees in music and composition. He has an impressive background in stage

By Steve Schlich  —  Admit it: you’ve clicked on the link “How the Right Lost Its Mind” and read with anxious

If that be the fashion of your dreams then I say hold on to those dreams

“Clip Show” A clip show is primarily a creature inhabiting the realm of television. Basically it denotes a particular episode, sometimes called

The personalities with whom playwright, Steven Vlasak populates “Nights at the Algonquin Round Table” are some the most acerbic wits,

By Ernest Kearney  —  In my opinion, Long Beach’s International City Theatre artistic director, caryn desai has a genius for

Donald Trump knew that he lost the third debate long before it was over. As he seems to know, finally,

I’m wondering how I will suit up for the coming debates. No need to choose. I’ll don wings and a

By Ernest Kearney  —  The School of Night and its Artistic Director, Christopher Johnson can always be counted on to

Say it ain’t so

Who's your favorite? Time to decide! My best guess as to who ends up on the high ground would be: Team Stark

Wendy Williams stops by Books and Books in Coral Gables to sign her new book Ask Wendy. How you doin'?

The incident that actually coined the phrase "October Surprise" came when Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon’s National Security Advisor, lied just

The Lula Washington Dance Theatre (LWDT) the Los Angeles-based repertoire dance ensemble will perform in a joyous evening of dance,

By Ernest Kearney  — Bill Posley’s superbly slick, and raucously funny show, "The Day I Became Black," reveals to

In the U.S. recently: Pope Francis. Chinese President Xi Jinping. Russian President Vladimir Putin. And a political zombie—yet another threat

By Ernest Kearney  —  Set in the Florida Keys during a raging hurricane "Spaceman," by Writer/Director Melissa Vitello, plays like

Henry Mayhew, in 1841, named his pioneering humor magazine after the gleeful little murdering bastard. Neil Gaiman sought him out

At one point in the production of Lauren Gunderson's I and You at the Fountain Theatre, the main character's bedroom

The American election season never ends with the election. Not anymore. Nailing the president-elect for reneging on his second-biggest campaign promise

Forever Flamenco is back at the Fountain Theatre, which is cause for celebration. I am a self admitted aficionado, whose been

by Ernest Kearney  —  That Sussan Deyhim’s The House is Black Media Project had such a limited engagement at the

The intended purpose of this monthly column is to bring to the attention of cinema junkies those odd and typically

As the nerdiest kid this side of the Rockies, I lived for the cheesy Sci-Fi that oozed out of the

The Goodwill store outlets are a treasure trove for the adventurous DVD hunter. After extended practice I can breeze through the

"How to Love Your Dictator: Olga & Ludmila’s Guide to Fascism" is an American broadcast of the popular Russian talk

The audience has come to The Lovelace Studio Theatre in the Wallis Center for the Performing Arts, in expectation of

Here you have reviews of two shows The Princes of Kings Road at the Neutra Institute Museum and Gallery, and Café

I expected President Drumpf to embarrass himself—and us by proxy—when he went abroad last month. He did not disappoint, so

By Ernest Kearney  —  In these turbulent and twisting times that find so many bewildered and baffled, suckered punched by

After a wait of more than a decade since her last release, Melissa Manchester's 20th album, You Gotta Love the

Wow! What a remarkably haphazard and poorly structured thesis to use as the foundation for a documentary! A more insipid,

What strikes one—when inspecting television’s hugest failures—is the large percentage of those which are remakes and retooling’s. Now with the right

"The Spidey Project" has been one of the most popular shows at Fringe 2017 and it’s easy to understand why

When I first heard news of a weekly series set in hip hop and R&B music industry with a predominately

This production has it all. 'Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities' is running now through March 26 at Lone Star

No reason to hide it. I'm in good company by admitting that, there's a soft spot in my heart for

By Ernest Kearney  — "Dracula's Taste Test" is no great shakes, but neither does it hold itself up as anything else.

Forgive the projection, but are producer/writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss attempting to 1) let us down easy by forecasting

The Chromolume Theatre at The Attic has been the site of some stunning successes, and while their current production of