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“The Birthday Party”

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PAT LAUNER TIMES OF SAN DIEGO 8/21/15 ANOTHER REASON TO REVEL IN NEW FORTUNE: THEIR PRODUCTION OF “THE BIRTHDAY PARTY” The title sounds so festive. But since “The Birthday Party” was written by Harold Pinter, expect more menace than merriment. The late Nobel laureate penned this disturbing drama in 1958, and it was greeted (as still often happens) with head-scratching and hostility. We don’t really know exactly what’s going on here. And that’s Pinter’s point (Life is like that). Rumpled, broken Read More →

“Up Here” – La Jolla Playhouse

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Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 August 14, 2015 Did you ever look at someone you thought you knew and wonder, ‘What is going on inside your head?’ Well, the world premiere musical “Up Here” gives us an inkling of what’s ‘up there’ for one nerdy, shy, smart, introverted guy: Dan, the computer-man, engagingly played by Matt Bittner. We meet all the conflicting, disruptive characters in his mind – who sing, dance, cavort and keep him Read More →

Review: “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”

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PAT LAUNER TIMES OF SAN DIEGO 8/11/15 Sedaka Songs go Catskills: Premiere Productions’ “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” My grandmother is rolling in her grave. Premiere Productions is doing a show set in the Catskills, circa 1960, with a main character who’s a classic Borscht Belt comic. Both onstage and offstage, characters have blatantly Jewish names, and some are written in obvious New York/Jewish dialect. Yiddishisms punctuate the dialogue. The two leading ladies, one smart but klutzy, the other Read More →

“Baskerville” – The Old Globe

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Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 August 7, 2015 Who let the dogs out? That monstrous, murderous hound is back, in “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” at The Old Globe. This West coast premiere is the brainchild of Ken Ludwig, the award-winning comic playwright best known for “Lend Me a Tenor.” Here we have a deliciously campy riff on the classic 1902 Arthur Conan Doyle story, “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” Hewing surprisingly close to the Read More →

“Dogfight” – Cygnet Theatre

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Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 July 31, 2015 It’s amazing that a show with such a cringe-inducing premise could have so many tender moments. “Dogfight,” a musical based on a 1991 film, refers to a cruel game in which Marines bet on which of them can snag the ugliest date. Eddie Birdlaces tarts out on a Greyhound bus heading for San Francisco, returning from his deployment in Vietnam. He’s thinking back to November 21, 1963, Read More →

“The Winter’s Tale”

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PAT LAUNER TIMES OF SAN DIEGO 7/25/15 A Chilly Midsummer Story: “The Winter’s Tale” at Intrepid Theatre “Shakespeare Unplugged” It’s the latest initiative from Intrepid Theatre Company, a stripped-down Bard-work, without elaborate sets, props or costumes. The focus is just on the language. That intention is commendably realized in the company’s inaugural ‘Unplugged’ production, “The Winter’s Tale.” It isn’t an easy play, but Intrepid has never taken the easy route. Consider the show that’s running in repertory with this one: “The Quality Read More →