Michael Wayne Turner III Designs Dynamic Black Mad Hatter by Barry David Horwitz The handsome young man, with elegant curled mustache, welcomes us to his dressing room with an irresistible smile. Michael Wayne Turner III, award-winning poet, has transformed himself—onstage and off—into a powerful character from Alice in Wonderland. The mesmerizing young man has…
Jessica Huang’s Poetic Play Exposes Asian Immigrant Abuse by Barry David Horwitz Jomar Tagatac plays Harry Chin with subtle and moving emotion, turning simple moments into stage gems. Harry emerges as a Chinese American who has learned too well the immigrants’ lessons of concealment, silence, and guilt—even though he obediently follows U.S. immigration rules….
Gogol’s Satire Highlights How Self-Deception Fuels Greed by Patricia L. Morin Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s 1836 comedy delights us with satire of small-town tyranny. In a Russian town, a panicked Mayor (versatile Steve Price) finds out from a letter that a Government Inspector will arrive “incognito.” The undercover Inspector will audit how…
Millennial Notes Thornton Wilder Summons Ghosts of 1900s America by Alex Stimmel As a Los Angeles native, I’m a stranger to the small-town dynamic. Yet Center REP’s version of “Our Town” immediately pulled me into the old world of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, a world of friendly neighbors and close-knit community. It also reminded…