Looking for the “Big Bang” — that spark which initiated what would become America’s if not the World’s interest in comics

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

If The Honorable Woman was the bravest Freshman Drama of Summer 2014, Extant was the Most Surprising. Academy Award winner Halle

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

A few weeks back, Molly Ball wrote in the Washington Post about the 2016 Presidential Campaign’s “…rich irony that America's

I'm a huge fan of The Voice, let me say that to begin. The elements of the blind auditions that

"Herpes: A Love Story," a show about the scourge of the sexual revolution, provides creator/performer Cherise Pascual with the opportunity

By Ernest Kearney — " Miss America’s Ugly Daughter" written and performed by Barra Grant, the daughter of

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

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

By Ernest Kearney — There are particular products, —merchandise, institutions and other…stuff— exports from the U.K., which the rest of

I can always appreciate Long Beach's International City Theatre even when I don't necessarily enjoy a particular production. Case in point

Playwright Laura Maria Censabella's "Paradise," having closed a successful run at the Odyssey Theatre has now moved to the Matrix

The film opens with a laconic, heart rendering simple and sincere shriving, "I'm sorry. I know that means little at

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

I love Shakespeare. Straight up. If I could cook him down I'd probably be mainlining the Bard. Any Shakespeare junkie has a

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

…that’s the current liberal fantasy, and we can sweeten it even more by taking the rest of America’s “left coast” with

We've all heard it. Someone channel surfing tosses the remote aside and says: "Over a hundred channels and nothing's on

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

Say it ain’t so

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

A HORSE WITH A VIEW Last year Christopher Piehler delighted audiences with Reserve Champion, an autobiographical tale of how as a

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

A man brings his guitar and a cooler out to the beach, and as he faces the setting sun tries

by Ernest Kearney — The Fountain Theatre’s West Coast Premiere of “The Chosen,” adapted for the stage Aaron Posner and

At the top of where the Angel’s Flight Trolley once deposited its riders (and hopefully will again one day), nestled

By Ernest Kearney  —  As one devoted to the study of history, I knew of Mary Walker (1832–1919), but I

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

"Blue," by filmmaker Charles Huddleston, is not a complex plot. It’s a pretty straightforward morality tale wrapped in the landscape

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

By Ernest Kearney  —  From the very start of the preshow it was evident that the cast of "Mackers!" was

By Ernest Kearney —  The Burglars of Hamm are a delightfully merry and madcap lot. And if you needed proof of

The November 13 Paris attacks changed the trajectory of our 2016 presidential election, and not for the good. I know

There's a lot of hot to the touch TV to watch these days. Only a few shows on the buzzed

By Ernest Kearney — So here you have the second round of Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019 offerings that

If not for a twist of fate and a bit of luck we might never have been witness to David

By Ernest Kearney  —  As I’ve been proclaiming for as long as I’ve been reviewing theatre in L.A., the hottest

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

By Ernest Kearney  —  The International City Theatre mounts sturdy, structured and splendid productions of nearly every play it presents.

In the 1998 film Bulworth, Warren Beatty played a disillusioned politician who puts out a contract on himself, and then feels

THE GOLD MEDALS: ANNA IN THE DARKNESS LA LA LA STRADA NELL GWYNNE – A DRAMATICK ESSAYE ON ACTING AND PROSTITUTION SHAKESPEARE'S LAST NIGHT

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

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

When the bar is set as high as writer/director David Hare and thespian extraordinaire Bill Nighy (yes, I am biased)

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

First a bit of Irish history. The Black and Tans were a force of mostly former soldiers enrolled in the

What do the New Players Bring to the Game?

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

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

At 100% full on energy the entire night, Garth Brooks IS the ultimate entertainer. From the moment he takes the

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

• With the title, Out, Damned Spot, you probably would've expected the sixth episode to keenly focus on eldest son

Pete Docter began Inside Out with a seedling of an idea, after he noticed the transition that his adolescent daughter

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

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

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

Well on here I am: Hollywood Fringe Show number forty-five now and here’s a just a recap of some of

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

Can the lightening in the bottle that was the essence of the limited special event of True Detective, Season 1

Victorian era pulp fiction by another name could have been Penny Awful, Penny Number, Penny Blood or Penny Horrible. The

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

There are a number of events and venues here in L.A. which I maintain are under appreciated. I’m talking about

Queen Latifah stars as the legendary Bessie Smith whose talent and perseverance resulted in her becoming an iconic "Empress of

You don’t have to be paying rapt attention to the 50-inch rectangular flat screen hanging above the fireplace or the

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

Director, Christopher Johnson is too clever by half, which is clearly demonstrated in his current Fringe offering: a raucous, genderbending,

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

Sigh… More than twenty Democrats are running for president, and none of them will stuff Trump’s hairpiece down his throat—the

Mrs. Elizabeth Handy, wife to the “Father of the Blues” W. C. Handy, lay critically ill on the street outside

By Ernest Kearney — “DoubleDouble,” playwright Guy Zimmerman reveals in the program notes, “came out of a case I wanted

1897. The Glorious Century, a period of unprecedented peace across all Europe was at a close. As that gilded, moribund age

by Ernest Kearney — The Australian Theatre Company's "Grey Nomad" by Dan Lee is the tale of Helen (Ros Gentle)

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

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

It is odd to admire the seed but fault the fruit. But Brittanie Richardson’s solo show "Art and Abolition" has

In an isolated study room, set off in a forgotten wing of a cavernous comprehensive school tucked away in a

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

Playwright Laurel M. Wetzork has filled Blueprint for Paradise, now playing at the Hudson Theatre, with fascinating tidbits plucked from

By Ernest Kearney  —  "Henry V" has long been considered one of Shakespeare’s problem plays; called a “stirring piece of

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

I love speaking to a kindred soul whose passions are rooted in another field different from mine. It always fascinates

Imagine a petting zoo where Caffè Latte is served. Or imagine you’re in the mood to find a cat to

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

Here’s a quickie to help you prepare for the Republican debate on Thursday August 9. In 2012, my wife and

by Darwyn Carson — Time to Gird Your Loins everybody. If you haven't refreshed your memory yet, there's plenty of

By Ernest Kearney  —  Many found 2018 a rather soft year for theater, and it possibly was.  Or perhaps it

In spite of a ferociously inappropriate title, "Two Motherfuckers on a Ledge," running at Asylum @ Studio C during the

Walking Dead, Season Five

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

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

The Fringe Week One Continued

By Ernest Kearney — An Amazing Abyss of Artsy Abstract Absurdity.* I ran into Mitchell Bisschop, ("Pit

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

By Ernest Kearney  —  "The Importance of Being Oscar" is demonstrative of a particular difficulty in writing plays, scripts or

Hollywood Fringe 2016 is better than ever and continues on for two more weeks: dance, artistry, plays. There's also plenty

Check out this "Game of Thrones" location video focusing on Iceland and Spain; just luscious

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

In the Good Old Days that Donald Trump talks about at rallies, jackboots are apparently the style. And I say “are”

…and tracks it all over our political kitchen floor! Not that the place was spotless to begin… This edition was supposed

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

By Ernest Kearney  —  The Unconventional Empire’s production of "Matthew Marcum’s Pollock: A Frequency Parable" proves they are more than

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 — "Too Much Sun" by Playwright Nicky Silver, presently a guest production at the Odyssey

For a complete medal tally for all 60 viewed by this contributor see click HERE.  Below is a The TVolution

Well another Fringe has come and gone. I attended 60 shows and managed to review 55 (denoted by the asterisk:

Irish playwright Martin McDonagh speaks fluent Grand Guinol, but speaks it with the lilt of Galway. The importance of this has

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

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

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

The 2014 Pulitzer prize-winning drama, “Water by the Spoonful,” at the Mark Taper Forum through March 11, is Act II

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

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

Okay

Acorn TV’s most recent original dramedy: the small-village, untrained, but good at crime solving diva, Agatha Raisin.

Photo above is from Creative Commons: “hacker army 2.0” by Rodrigo Paoletti is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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

By Ernest Kearney — " Coasterthon Catastrophe: An Amusement Park Musical" is a rough, dopey, kinda silly, rather

I haven’t teased you with a Survivor metaphor in months. Well, the last time someone got voted off the island was in

By Ernest Kearney — This was my first “mashup” of theatre and film with soundtrack framed within a concert rendering.

by Ernest Kearney — In "Keith Moon the Real Me," playing at Hudson Theatre’s Maintstage thru April 15, writer

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

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

We just elected a man with zero experience in government, primarily because he has no experience. That’s especially scary considering

Here's the bulletin: A tough new detective, year 1864, is coming to our airwaves. Tom Weston-Jones stars in BBC America's,

By Ernest Kearney — Step by step, inch by inch – The Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019 draws nearer. Must

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

Ironic, isn’t it? We’ve endured eight years of haters excoriating Barack Obama for his use of teleprompters, and a year of repeated

Modern technlogy has given Barry Manilow the opportunity to record "dream" duets with his own musical heroes on MY DREAM

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

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

Good news here. Acorn Media Group, the first company to provide live streaming of the best in classic and contemporary

By Ernest Kearney — Howard Zinn, the socialist academic, is most familiar as the author of the 1980

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

Last year (2014) The Honorable Woman snagged two TVolution Honors: the Bravest and the Best Freshman Drama of the summer. A creative

By Ernest Kearney — CC Sheffield’s story is pretty standard stuff at any Fringe

The 25th Annual (Silver Anniversary) Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) has a roster of distinguished artists who will co-host four days

By Ernest Kearney  —  Playwright Lauren Gunderson is the current “flavor of the month” of the American theatre scene, with

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

by Ernest Kearney As he espoused passion for both the city and its theatre, it is fitting that

It was rather fitting that on the night of the first presidential debate I found myself sitting in the audience,

By Ernest Kearney  —  James Royce is an okay mime. It’s ironic in a way that he’s performing his show in

Hollywood Fringe 2016 is bubbling over with choices. Here we have two shows that share common ground and perhaps even

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

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

This 10th episode delivers a surprising Didn't-See-That-Coming moment: Just when it seemed that Jamal is all set to step up to

American Falls by Miki Johnson is a lovely and touching piece of writing. It is a work about time and history,

By Ernest Kearney  —  In 1944 The Glass Menagerie established its young playwright, Tennessee Williams as a major new talent

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

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

TheTvolution.com Award Tallies for mid run of the Hollywood Fringe Festival ‘18 (HHF18): We rank all the shows we attend

Well Hollywood Fringe 2016 has come to a close and with it comes the last of the Round Ups

Think of a row of dominos as scenes in a film. The first domino strikes the one before it; the

Michael Ondaatje’s eponymous 2011 novel grants romance and intrigue to the lowliest dining area on a ship—The Cat’s Table. There

Full disclosure: I am not a fan of the shows of playwright Peter Lefcourt and director Terri Hanauer. Their prior productions,

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

Hamid Rahmanian is a film maker and graphic artist who in 2013 undertook to illustrate the Shahnameh.  He has now

Whether a Bill Nighy fan or a David Hare follower, tune in to PBS, Masterpiece Contemporary, for Part II of

All playwrights of any merit explore those vast and stretching abysses that form human relationships. In his earlier work, “The

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

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

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

The Leftovers jumps deep into a mass of angst gurgling inside nearly everyone 'left' untouched after what may have been

(Now please, if you can’t make it through this rather long winded harangue of homage, simply scroll to the end

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

Cyanne McClairian’s one woman show, I Died

By Earnest Kearney  —  I Can Hear You Now, performed and written by Mitchell Bisschop and directed by Daniel De

Americans should watch this film, especially those who pride themselves, as I, patriotic Americans. Now honestly this is not an

By Ernest Kearney —  "Shakes on the Rocks" has a poor concept of what it wants to be. Eleven actors

The surest way to appreciate Steven Berkoff’s Hairy Ape now playing at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble is to have acquaintance

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

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

The Fall: Season 2, on NETFLIX, got more personal and crossed more lines than could be handled by the Paris Metro

When I started on this mission of writing about songwriters and how they weren’t being properly acknowledged, I had absolutely

I hate writing "bad" reviews for shows. Hate it. Don't get me wrong, I will bring out the ol' file and

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

Start in a state with an active electorate of six million (say, Pennsylvania in 2016). Now poll a thousand of

We're back on the boat deck filled with potential Survivor contestants, waiting to see who will commit by jumping into

by Ernest Kearney  —  Imagine if Donald Trump was president for life, that all the TV stations were operated by

It's nearly here

By Darwyn Carson — Writer/Performer Katt Balsan is a force of a singular nature. You can catch her through the

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

"My Janis," at The New Collective during Fringe 2017, is not actually a play. It is a moment

What can be said about A Haunted House 2? My, it is rare to see such a testament to mediocrity.

This is actually a treatment, the longer form that follows a successful pitch …because a treatment is longer and lots

by Ernest Kearney — In "This Land," at The Company of Angels, playwright Evangeline Ordaz, uses a parcel of earth

"Kinsherf’s Coat" harkens back to one of the Sixties most lamentable losses – “The Happening," which was was an indiscernible

Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts is a stunningly sincere and heartfelt drama that is sure to move any audience. That may

I’m sorry, but the Hitler analogy is at last appropriate. You can hear the original Führer’s hateful nationalism in nearly

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

Periodically in the theatre certain works crop up at the most crucial of times arising in answer to some distinct

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

There have been a number of performances that will travel with me for quite some time during Hollywood Fringe 2017…

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

Under the direction of Giovanna Sardelli, solid performances command the stage, in a new work by Rajiv Joseph; author of

Back in the days of the Soviet Union, there were two official newspapers: Pravda (“The Truth”) and Izvestiya (“The News”). A

Panos Vlahos, making his U.S. debut at Hollywood Fringe (2017) in “Mistero Buffo,” combed three pieces from the last half

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

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

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

In Part I, we celebrated two dazzling effects of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s landmark musical Hamilton: with his theatrical retelling of our

Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop won the 2010 British Olivier Award for Best New Play. In 2011 it opened in New York

Heck

Going into South Coast Repertory’s production of adapter/director David Catlin’s Moby Dick, based on the novel by Herman Melville, I

Just two years ago, documentary filmmaker Asif Kapadia began interviewing Amy Winehouse's family, friends and collaborators in a darkened London

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

"A Hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer."        

Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel drew its inspiration from a 2012 article in The New Republic concerning the assault

"Stringmates" by Amanda Noriko Newman takes its core concept from the Asian legend of the “Red String of Fate,” the

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

No, not that race card. But some candidate will play it before the election. Promise. I mean the horse race card.

Well, the ninth of June, the official kick off for Hollywood Fringe 2016, is quickly approaching. Like some huge lumbering

By Ernest Kearney  —  The Open Fist Company under Ben Martin’s skillful direction have done well by Author Dylan Thomas

Last year no one knew what to expect. The burning question was: "Who is Orphan Black?" This recap is for anyone

Stephen Sachs is an intellectual juggernaut of a playwright who plumbs premises for his pieces from the pages of the

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

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

I initially reviewed John Posey’s one man show, Father, Son & Holy Coach when it played at the Whitefire Theatre

By Ernest Kearney — This is Festival Fringe Time in Hollywood 2018 -Part II. This being Hollywood Fringe,

Yesss! We’re finally back to our ersatz Survivor season. We’ve endured months of chest pounding and breast beating on the beach, with

On second thought, don't flash that cash—I'll get ill. The Koch brothers have reportedly committed $900 million, give-or-take, to Republican

Now we know. The Game's Episode 5 delivered—as promised—the identity of The Mole. Clever writing, this, from series creator Toby

For the Hollywood Fringe 2016, I employ a rating scale that should be familiar to my readers. For newcomers, I've inserted