The Echo Theater Company is one of the newer jewels in the crown of Los Angeles theatre, and with their

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

The Republican side of this primary season, nearing its final throes, is playing out like a vintage horror movie that

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

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

Political Survivor: USA. This show plays almost continuously, with an ever-changing cast, on many shows and many networks. I discovered the

by Ernest Kearney - Richard Lucas' award-winning  "Bono and the Edge Waiting for Godomino's," has been remounted and is running

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

Well, what with the solid production at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble of the seldom seen Kingdom of Earth, and now

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

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

Just as we were about to yawn and say pass the potatoes please, three unique Points of Play in The

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

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

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

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

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

Well if you don't know Spike Milligan you darn well should. Along with Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine, and Peter Sellers,

As part of the Replacement Parts film and discussion series, the Velaslavasay Panorama will be host to a screening of

Hollywood Fringe, Week One —Part IV  The main stays of any Fringe are the solo performances; one-man shows, one-woman, one-whatever shows.

By Ernest Kearney  —  David Lucarelli’s "Doctor Zomba’s Ghost Show of Terror" is straight forward fun.  As directed by Kevin

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

"Comic-Con The Musical" celebrates that Mecca of Nerd-dom, The San Diego Comic-Con International aka Comic-Con. Four magical days every

By Ernest Kearney  —  If you watch enough of the shows produced by that Fringe stalwart Michael Blaha you realize

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

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

by Ernest Kearney — Klaus Kinski (1926-1991) was celebrated for his talent and disparaged for the madness that served as

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

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

Candidates, hang yourselves! Nobody does it better than you. The victories scored by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the April

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

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

With Black History Month you hear accounts of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Cyrus Attucks and other historical black figures

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

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

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

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

by Darwyn Carson  —  With an eye and a heart dedicated to cohesive connection and support of local theatre, Better

By Ernest Kearney — Bad Jews at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble was hard for me to watch. Hard in the same

Is the secret of succeeding in this messy business called life acceptance? Is the only hope of defeating life's chaotic conflux

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

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

When I think that political discourse has hit a new low--twice a week these days--I sometimes remind myself of the

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

"Do You: Migration of the Monarchs" is a dazzling concept conveyed in a visually rich language, not a play as

By Ernest Kearney  —  When the Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was found on April 14, 1930—a suicide at the age

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

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

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

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

By Ernest Kearney  —  Still is a stylishly staged deconstruction of a murder mystery, involving three high school students, that

by Ernest Kearney — The world premiere of "Jackie Unveiled" by award-winning playwright Tom Dugan has been extended at the

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

Never start off your career with a masterpiece. Where do you go from there? Known in some circles as the Joseph Kesselring

Conceived, written and produced by Linden Waddell — who also performs, with Miller directing — Hello Again! The Songs of

It's nearly here

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

…and the biggest problem with democracy is that every damn fool gets one vote. You heard me right. The metric

Unlikely heroes unite against an unknown making its way through the underground of New York and perhaps

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

The Democratic field has lost half since we last spoke. Not the Republicans, the Democrats! Joe Biden: gone, even if

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

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

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

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

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

If you're not excited about the return of Matthew Rhys on The Americans tonight on FX, then you haven't been watching.

Surprise. You don't have to be a zombie movie lover to enjoy the three part mini-series premiering tonight on BBC

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

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

by Ernest Kearney — "Bright Star," currently on stage at the Ahmanson Theatre, is the epitome of what the Broadway

By David Nairne  —  Damn! "The Joe and Joshua Show!" is clever and funny. Writer performers Joe Hernandez-Kolski and

Do you know his favorite Karaoke song? I do. And he sings it with me. The man, the legend talks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Ernest Kearney —  There is nothing as intoxicating as watching a Performance – capital “P.”  It matters little if

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

By Ernest Kearney   — If most non-artists know the name Chris Burden (1946-2015), it is for the art installation “Urban

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

CURSED “MY ROAD TO HOLLYWOOD” is an Ear Wax Medal Winner I write this without the least rancor towards Ms. Mendoza. I

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

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

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

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

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language has five definitions for "entropy" [ěn′ trә-pē]. Four of the five could

One of the high points for me in Fringe 2015 was the Proboscis Theatre Company’s La La La Strada! An

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

People are funny. In the way we keep making the same mistakes. Even when we're conscious of our tendency to run

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

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

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

Cyanne McClairian’s one woman show, I Died

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

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

You need valleys. Without valleys how can you appreciate the heights of hills? For me 2016 was a valley, 2014 and 2015

Coming Soon!!

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

Friday, June 5 we will discover what it means to be "reborn" as a "Sensate." That's the day Netflix unveils

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

In the real world April means springtime and showers. In HBO time, it means winter is coming. In the land

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYJyVEUaC4 So Leslie Gore is crying because someone messed with her party? She’s clearly not a 2016 Republican. The sound you hear out

Netflix is shooting out product faster than the bullet train. The Jason Bateman starrer, "Ozark," streaming now, is sprinting toward

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

The wait’s been long, but the time is nigh: April 24th is coming. Books in the series whose stories will play

Jack Lukeman has a voice that feels like a friend’s hand on a troubled shoulder.  From his 1995 debut album

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

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

I wanted "Zombie Clown Trump" (Surprise! It's a musical), so badly, to be great.  But if wishes were horses….

by Ernest Kearney - Epics tend to be about champions, giant defeaters, kingdom conquerors, warriors of a thousand battles.

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

Obama’s had a great couple of weeks politically, but he’s still gone as of January 20, 2017. That leaves a

A life lacking passion is paralysis. The particular focus of that passion counts for beans. Take your pick: Video Games, Persian rugs,

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

“Hell is really cold, wet and smells like fish.” In the tale of his time as a greenhorn on a commercial

by Ernest Kearney  —  Matei Visniec is a Romanian playwright who sought and was granted political asylum in France in

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

At 11:30 on New Year’s Eve, a friend asked me what actual “new” things would come in 2016. The political

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

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

"La Razón Blindada," by Argentinean playwright Aristides Vargas, achieves many things on stage; it is disturbing and insightful, but more

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

For Daniel Holden, danger lurks not just behind shadows, but in the harsh light of day; often prancing down the

These days, every comedian and commentator seems to be paraphrasing Bette Davis in All About Eve: “Fasten your seat belts,

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

Say it ain’t so

By Ernest Kearney  —  Of all Shakespeare’s plays save "Hamlet," "Othello" offers the most challenges to any cry of players,

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

When Stephen Colbert coined the word "truthiness" in 2005, he meant "

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

The Wrecking Crew were a group of uncredited Los Angeles studio musicians who played on and created hundreds of hit

THE GOLD MEDALS: ANNABELLA BOOZE, BALLS AND BLUEGRASS THE DEVIL YOU SAY RESERVE CHAMPION REVOLUTIONARY LOVE THE THREE MUSKETEERERS: CLOWNS WITH SWORDS THE BRONZE MEDALS: FIFTY SHADES OF

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Secret Honor, The Last Testament of Richard M. Nixon" is a torrential tirade spewed by a scotch-soaked Richard M. Nixon,

With a solid reputation for superior dramas, PBS's Masterpiece Theatre has undoubtedly been a hard act to follow. Now its

Indeed, four men like them, four men devoted to each other from their money to their lives, four men always

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

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

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

Sometimes, someone posts something on Facebook that is of intrinsic value. The following thought-piece—published here with the author’s permission—is such

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

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

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

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

The bed is our most formidable arena. And two people in bed alone are never really by themselves. Bed by Sheila Callaghan,

The folks who produce Survivor think that they understand tribes. Jeff Probst’s first official duty, on the first episode of every season,

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

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

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

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

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

Is Hillary honest? Does she lie? That seems an odd issue for the Trump camp to obsess about, considering the

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

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

"The Second Coming of Klaus Kinski" writer, performer Andrew Perez presents Kinski and all his demons with such unnerving commitment

What: BBC America’s Psychological Detective Thriller— One Night, Three Hour Movie Event TVolution Quick Take Summary: We thought we’d seen the

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

Wake up you princes of Westeros. Stay alert you Mother of Dragons. Justice is sweet. Justified vengeance is better. HBO released

Memories from a long ago hit spark flames between Lucious and Cookie and ignite the passionate encounter we've been waiting

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

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

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

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

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

This is a lovely little documentary about the history of American ventriloquism over the last 70 years. While not comprehensive

By Ernest Kearney  —  There is some solid writing in Playwright/Director Travis Snyder-Eaton’s "Glitch," a two-person play about Rachel, a journalist

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

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

"Bono and the Edge Waiting for Godomino's" by writer/director Richard Lucas approaches being the ultimate Hollywood Fringe Festival offering.

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

Recorded in Hollywood has been extended. What's this, you say

Director/writer/set designer Donovan Glover won the 1991 UCLA Best-New-Play-of-the-Year Award for this work and at times "Just Like Life" certainly

Ana Lily Amirpour's intelligent and superbly crafted film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is definitely a world view

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

By Ernest Kearney —  The Aeriform Arts Studios is setup for those interested in learning the skills of trapeze, ribbon silks, lyra

By Ernest Kearney  —   There is nothing so evasive as engendering effective and credible dread in a live theatre environment.

In 'Class' getting ready for Fall Prom is more than finding a pretty dress and matching corsage. (BBC America)

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

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 family that fights together stays together—or at least becomes more tolerant of each other—could be the subtitle for Episode

The year 2015 is slipping away into history, and more importantly into memory. We are oblivious to the value of memory

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

What do the New Players Bring to the Game?

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

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

By Ernest Kearney — Its title, "The Other Side of the Razor Ribbon," refers to the modern style

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

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