Danai Gurira's "The Convert," which opened last week at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, is old-fashioned high drama for a very contemporary audience. Set in late 19th century colonial Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), the play depicts a cultural and ultimately violent tension between traditional and assimilationist African communities. more ›

Theatre managers love to put solo shows on their stages because they're very cost effective. When they don't work, however, the blame generally only has one target. Charlayne Woodard's new piece at the Douglas, The Night Watcher, is pleasant and generally amusing, but as an evening of theatre it feels thin. more ›

In Bob Dylan's song, "Absolutely Sweet Marie," there's a lyric that reads: "to live outside the law you must be honest." Along the lines of that seemingly incongruous bit of wisdom runs my own thought on arty or avant-garde theatre — just being clever isn't enough. You have to demonstrate excellent quality and above all, be interesting. more ›

On their way to winning the 1965 World Series, the Dodgers of Chavez Ravine clashed with the despised San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball's most legendary bench-clearing brawl after Giants ace Juan Marichal brought his bat down on the bare head of Dodgers catcher John Roseboro. more ›

Two different plays that opened their world premiere runs in Los Angeles this past weekend both begin with the news that a Republican is about to become president. In Sheila Callaghan's Lascivious Something a young Greek woman tells... more ›

FILM* more ›

In honor of FITLA (International Latino Theatre Festival of Los Angeles), we're doing a mostly Latin theme to our theatre picks this week... En Un Sol Amarillo/In A Yellow Sun (Memories of an Earthquake) A 1998 earthquake in Bolivia ripped apart the country – and the political aftershocks made a terrible situation even worse. This drama features actual testimonies and imagery to shed light on the devestation and corruption that followed. Performed in Spanish with... more ›

I’m not a fan of hip- hop. Now, I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate the impact it has made on our society or certain songs that take me back to my middle school Sadie Hawkins dance days, but I’m more of an alterna-rock kind of gal. This is ironic because my current boyfriend is a Wu-Tang loving, Jay Z worshipping, Biggie quoting fool – but somehow we work. And since I’ve been very busy... more ›

One part Greek tragedy, one part Shakespeare's Henry IV, one part hip-hop concert Clay, a one man show written and performed by Matt Sax and directed by Eric Rosen, rocks the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Chronicling the life of a young man who "comes of age through the theatricality of hip hop", Clay has an unexpectedly moving quality about it. Raised in what can only be described as suburban hell, Clay's lead character, Clifford, is... more ›

Promoted as a "rock-and-roll fable," Clay kicked off its month long run at the Kirk Douglas Theatre last Thursday. Chronicling the rise of a fictional hip-hop superstar, from suburban hell to undisputed fame, the "one man hip hop musical" features Clay's writer, composer and lyricist Matt Sax in the title role. A recent graduate of Northwestern University, Sax, along with director Eric Rosen, bring Clay to Los Angeles for its West Coast debut after... more ›

Coming to a Close: Sexuality more ›