Mia Bonadonna

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.

Miguel Pinero's penetrating, taboo-breaching prison drama Short Eyes is currently at Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC). Co-produced by the Latino Theater Company and Urban Theatre Movement, this exciting production is dark, exhilarating, and utterly glorious. Pinero flaunts violence and poetry while navigating delicate moral, ethical, and social dilemmas contextualized by power dynamics and incarceration culture.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jamie Morris and Brooks Braselman in 'Mommie Queerest' (photo by Mitch Soileau). 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. This reviewer has had the guilty pleasure of seeing this stage adaptation of Mommie Dearest twice before — and just like the film, this play gets better with every viewing. The production is a well-balanced...