‘Handjob’ Comes to Grip with some Large Issues….
By Ernest Kearney — "One of the Nice Ones" produced in 2016 by the Echo Theater Company resulted in two accomplishments for its playwright Erik Patterson.
Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Take the Stand in “Sisters In Law”
By Ernest Kearney — Jonathan Shapiro’s "Sisters in Law" now at the Wallis is based on Linda Hirshman’s bestselling dual biography on Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first and second women to serve on the Supreme Court.
“Never Ever Land” Explores the Crimes of the Accusers
By Ernest Kearney — In their theatrical variation of the Three Card Monty scam entitled Never Ever Land on the stage of Theatre Unleashed, Playwright Rider Strong and Director Michael A. Shepperd have deployed all the needed dramatic elements –
Bill Irwin’s ON BECKETT — “Ever tried. Ever Failed. No Matter….”
by Ernest Kearney — What is the definitive symbolic icon of man’s crucible of flesh? The precise embodiment of his indarba to the narrow vale of life? Is it the Promethean Titan, Kafka’s Josef K, Joyce’s Leopold Bloom or Shakespeare’s melancholy Dane? Is it Faust
A Tuneful Tribute to “A Man Named Jed…”
By Ernest Kearney — Nowadays most people, — particularly those generations born after the epoch when high school courses were given on the proper use of the slide rule and Johnson & Johnson Band-Aids® still came packaged with that handy little red “tear string”
“Scraps”… Smaller Pieces Please.
By Ernest Kearney — The best theatre I’ve seen has been on bare stages, under looming oak trees, in gloomy, ramshackle homes. So whenever I walk into an equity-waver house and I see a really superbly designed (and undoubtedly expensive) set it always makes me
“I Am Not A Man” is Not a Lot of Things…, But-
By Ernest Kearney — "I Am Not A Man" is a stand up routine trying to pass for a solo show, more than anything else, and usually those are less than successful. What saves this one from that fate is the sincerity of Writer/Performer Heather
“Thank You for Loving Me”… Guns Don’t Kill People, Relationships Do!
By Ernest Kearney — There are seldom any survivors when a relationship crashes and burns, just those who walk away maybe a little wiser. That is essentially what Scott Langer’s "Thank You For Loving Me" tries to offer.
“Loose Underwear” Suffers from a Loose Narrative
By Ernest Kearney — "Loose Underwear" has a great deal going for it not the least of which is Writer/Performer Dagmar Stansova.
“Beyond Glory”— and an Appeal to the Fringe Community
By Ernest Kearney — I make an effort to see all the international shows and those productions coming from other states to participate in the Hollywood Fringe Festival early on in the festival.