Pornography and religion are pretty obvious targets for satire, so it's no surprise when comedies concerning these subjects frequently fall short of awesome. Leo Geter's new play, Naked Before God, however, happily manages to avoid clichés. Although the circumstances of the play are deliberately farcical, the characters are not written condescendingly--they're not a joke. Even more happily, the play is very funny, and the current production by Circle X Theatre Company is smart and eminently enjoyable. more ›

The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) must have looked great on paper: Circle X is a well admired and award-winning theatre company, and Tom Jacobson (Bunbury, The Twentieth Century Way) is one of the best playwrights L.A. has. Combine that with a little known story of early Los Angeles mob violence, and the excitement of the show being Circle X's first full production in its new permanent home at the Atwater Village Theatre, and expectations were suitably high. The result, unfortunately, is an admirable misfire. more ›

One Man: No War No War No War No War! A Crowd of Kids enters, watches the Man who goes from chanting to ranting Teacher (Crowd Leader): Look closely and listen up, kids. This is an antiwar protester. 1st Kid: Ancient History. 2nd Kid: Old School. 3rd Kid: Heavy. The Crowd watches the Protester as he works himself into a lather, repeating: "No War!" in as many different ways and with as much passion,... more ›