Mia Bonadonna

If In Dream and Reconstruction came to fruition in 1959, Rod Serling certainly would have commissioned them as Twilight Zone teleplays.

The extremely wholesome, middle-America sort of undertone in Ludwig's work sent us into the theatre full of this-is-gonna-suck-pessimism; but the cast's perfectly executed performances, high-quality staging, and flawless direction in a cushy and clean venue (cushy and clean is a rarity in Los Angeles) quickly won us over. This production of Leading Ladies most definitely proved itself as an enjoyable night of theatre.

Theatre, or at least the theatre that I try to make, tries to make you see things or think about things that you don't ordicinarity think about. It tries to give you an emotional experience that you don't get to ordinarily have.

Owen Thomas' delectably macabre Richard Parker depicts two men trapped in a disturbing, self-perpetuating stranded-at-sea horror story born out of tragically avoidable destiny and credence-infused historical coincidence. Thomas' work is full of the sort of creepy, fascinating, reflexively spun dialogue that draws cold sweat out of the palms.

Some shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival are meant only for adorable itty-bitty kid theatregoers, but D is for Dog, First Love/Worst Love, and Uncle Jermy's Smyle Hour sure as hell (and quite thankfully) are not that kind of kid-friendly fare.

Price's typhoon-like delivery of her unique feline-driven humor is flawless, energizing, and constantly hilarious. She is basically the living, breathing, physical embodiment of brightly colored Lisa Frank unicorn and dolphin school supply paraphernalia.

The Fool and the Red Queen is beautifully crafted with impeccable performances, striking staging, and insightful dialogue that blurs the boundaries between narrative, meta narrative and fluid streams of consciousness.

Sandra Bernhard is back in town at REDCAT with her new stage show, Sandrology. She is perhaps best known for her biting social commentary, energized performance style, and edgy glamour; but there is another side to the comedienne that rarely comes across while she entertaining.

In this coup de camp, Hagen retells the well-known but never tiring story of the jealousy-charged Davis-Crawford feud through the eyes of powerful gossip columnist, Hopper. BitchSlap! offers its audience lots of silver screen history, memorable What Ever Happened to Baby Jane moments, and extravagant belly laughs all wrapped up nice and tight in a barrage of juicy gossip and catty bitchiness.

The non-professional cast culled from Homeboy Industries lends not only their own personal stories and experiences to the script, but brings passion to their stage performances that is easy to appreciate and root for. Their line delivery may not be perfect or of professional caliber, but it is indeed heartfelt and comes from a place of knowing, intuition, and love.