Playing Lee Harvey Oswald, Perez's performance is wonderfully engaging, direct, and full of vitality. He keeps the audience on their toes, never fully indicating whether Oswald is a manic, defiant assassin or the only sane man in the room. The role of Oswald appears to be incredibly challenging, but Perez never once lets the audience down. more ›

Vanessa Cate's dapper murder mystery, Absolute Black, is currently playing at Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre in North Hollywood. This homage to film noir whodunits follows a nameless, witty private eye and two bumbling police officers as they try interrogate suspects after the untimely death of an up-and-coming Hollywood starlet. more ›

The left coast premier of the biopic work Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins is currently playing at the Geffen Playhouse. The ever-smoky Kathleen Turner resurrects the saucy journalist through this staged adaptation by twin-sister playwrights Margaret and Allison Engel. more ›

New Yorker journalist George Packer's engrossing Iraq War drama Betrayed is in its last weekend at Lyric Theatre. Packer's work is based on true accounts of Iraqi citizens working as translators in the Green Zone. more ›

Lauren Smerkanich's masterfully crafted, thoroughly enjoyable drama, Amongst the Trees, is making rounds throughout the city as part of cARTel's Living Room Tour. The produciton features exceptional writing, direction, and performance in a unique, unpretentious, and welcoming atmosphere. more ›

Retro family drama Hope, Part II of a Mexican Trilogy, is playing at Los Angeles Theatre Center. Falling somewhere between Hairspray, West Side Story, and The Wonder Years,, Hope depicts the interpersonal relationships of the Garcia family as they are impacted by the major political events of 1962. more ›

Geoffrey Nauffts' dramatic tear-jerker, Next Fall brings the emotional crux of the Gay Rights Movement to the Geffen Playhouse. Presenting homophobic family dynamics, tragic endings, and a realistic religious debate that tackles the incongruities and salves of faith, the play features charged performances, careful direction, and a bold script. more ›

Roger Guenveur Smith's energetic one-man biopic, Juan and John, is at Los Angeles Theatre Center. The show transverses the Civil Rights Movement, local Los Angeles history, and the relationship between baseball legends John Roseboro and Juan Marichal following their on-field fight in 1965. more ›

The Spice Table in downtown Los Angeles' Little Tokyo is a welcome distraction from the neighborhood's Japanese food. The restaurant at the corner of 1st Street and Central Avenue combines Singaporean and Vietnamese flavors, the culinary heritages of chef and owner Bryant Ng and his wife Kim, respectively. more ›

Ted Ryan's urban-cowboy drama, Pulling Leather, is currently playing at Actors Forum Theatre in North Hollywood. The plot follows a good-natured competitive rodeo rider through a low point in his career as he uncovers a dark family secret and falls in love. more ›

RJ Colleary's underdog drama, Addition by Subtraction, is currently playing at El Centro Theatre. The plot follows a misunderstood and unlikely avenger as he attempts deliverance through vigilante tactics. Addition by Subtraction lacks originality but does feature capable performers, emotionally charged monologues, and a thoughtful set. more ›

Jamie Morris' hilarious drag homage to Joan Crawford, Mommie Queerest, is back in Los Angeles once last time to round out a nationwide tour of the show. more ›

Vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians and curious omnivores, we’ve discovered a new local vegan joint that will knock your socks off, even if they are made of wool. Serving up an imaginative menu of organic, vegan and macrobiotic fare, Seed Bistro in West L.A. opened just three weeks ago. more ›

Based on the true stories of Downtown residents, the slightly seedy and deeply hilarious gentrification fable "The Vault: (Unlocked)" is currently playing at Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC). Vault Ensemble pokes fun at the hipster colonization of Downtown Los Angeles, bundling social commentary on redevelopment and loss of urban culture into an edgy farce with musical influences. more ›

Whether it's film, live theatre or cabaret, all forms of entertainment can serve as a temporary escape from the daily challenges of modern life. In Reprise Theatre’s production of the classic American musical “Cabaret” at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, the audience is made keenly aware of the dangers of ignoring changing society's unpleasant realities. more ›

Under the direction of Ronnie Clark, Ghost Road Company's experimental play Stranger Things brings a purgatorial graphic novel to life through a stark pencil-sketch landscape, multimedia effects, and strong performances. Impressionist music, steely drawings, and austere characters transform grim abstractions into a conceptual drama where the art itself slowly siphons off individuals members of a creepy family. more ›

Between the police helicopters and white-hot dual beams denoting the latest club opening (don’t cross the streams!), our city is downright diluted with light pollution. One place you wouldn’t always expect to see a few shining lamps streaming skyward, though, would be an apartment complex just off the 405 in Culver City. You’d be even more surprised to find a really inventive comedy show happening on the roof. more ›

Falling somewhere between the low humor of Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the high morality of Charles Dickens, Frank Basloe's Guided Consideration of a Lamentable Deed follows an otherworldly guide through an ethical and redemptive journey on the eve of a college graduation. more ›

If asked to tell a personal taboo tale, what would you reveal? Would you talk about adventures in toxic shock syndrome, bulimia and anorexia? Perhaps you've battled a mean meth addiction and suffered anal rape at a Los Angeles motel? Maybe you're blind, worked a pathetic pyramid scheme job, are cursed with OCD or have attempted wild sex with an OCD victim? more ›

Outside of Groundlings or the occasional Upright Citizens Brigade one-person show, most live comedy shows in Los Angeles eschew the cloak of true character in favor of the thin veneer of an accent or slight affectation. Well, if Andre Hyland had his way, he’d change all that. Or not. more ›

Wallflowers and non-dancers emerged from their shells during last Friday night's Fitz and The Tantrums show at The Music Box in Hollywood. The L.A.-based six-member soul group took to the stage for nearly two hours, delighting their home crowd with a multiple song encore. more ›

Not a chair was empty or an eye dry at last night’s fifth installment of L.A.’s edgiest storytelling show - Taboo Tales. Hosted by comedic duo Laurenne Sala and Corey Podell, the night never fails to bring tears to the audiences’ eyes, typically due to uncontrollable laughter. Last night, however, tears shed along with the last presenter, Suzanne Whang, who revealed her battle with one of the most taboo topics imaginable - cancer. more ›

It’s hard enough to produce, book, and then promote your indie stand up show in any neighborhood in Los Angeles, to say nothing of shoving it downtown into a venue that tells you right in the name you might not be willing to make the weeknight trip: Far Bar. Between the thin alleyway entrance and the proximity to the deliciousness of Daikokuya, it’s a wonder any of the comics ever find their way into Frolic. more ›

In this town, you’ll spot about as many new burger places as you will alternative stand up comedy shows. That is, a lot; especially along Sunset Boulevard as it drags its way from the beach to Elysian Park. (OK, maybe Pacific Palisades isn’t a hotbed of comedy, but you get the idea). So when The Park on Sunset in Echo Park - with their fantastic Wednesday night burger deal - decided to host a Monday night stand up show, the Eastside comedy feeling was a resounding “…totally…”. more ›

The name Groundlings is ubiquitous to not only the comedy landscape of Los Angeles, but to all of America. As a smallish school along a particularly shop-heavy strip of Melrose, Groundlings has helped to usher in fresh face after fresh face to the homes of millions of Americans. more ›

‘Tartuffe’, the 17th century French comedy by noted playwright Molière, can certainly be a bit heavy-handed at times. Written largely as a critical piece against the then-current Louis XIV administration (oh, how time flies), the play tackles themes of religious piety, virtuous behavior, and out and out sexuality - all in a few thousand rhyming couplets. Of course, the writing is a superb reflection of the times, yet something may be lost in the translation to today’s more modern, media-consuming culture. Great substance, but in the overgrown steel edifices of some downtown proscenium theater, there’s not a lot of context. more ›