Put a Little Drama in your Life
PAT LAUNER - THE SAN DIEGO JEWISH JOURNAL NOVEMBER 2015 It seemed like a typical night on Broadway, 1923. But all hell was about to break loose. The vice squad not only closed down the production of “God of Vengeance,” they arrested the producer and 12 actors, and booked them on obscenity charges. It was a travesty, and it dogged the writer, Sholem Asch, for the rest of his life. His play had a profound effect on another Read More →
Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 November 28, 2014 If you want to see a show that makes your marriage, however imperfect, feel absolutely flawless, check out the three monstrously dysfunctional but hilariously funny couples in “Absurd Person Singular.” Sir Alan Ayckbourn, one of the world’s most prolific playwrights (70 plays and counting), has Read More →
Pat Launer, Center Stage on KSDS JAZZ88 November 21, 2014 Know the difference between ‘naked’ and ‘nude’? ‘The Calendar Girls’ will tell you: Nude simply means more or less undressed. Naked means unprotected and vulnerable. So, it’s nude photos in Tim Firth’s poignant 2009 comedy, “Calendar Girls.” Based on a true story and made Read More →
PAT LAUNER TIMES OF SAN DIEGO 11/21/14 When the impetuous, love-sick Athenian foursome takes to the woods, so does the audience. The site-specific UCSD production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (even in chilly late fall) is a moveable theatrical feast. Kate Jopson, a 2014 graduate director, transports the action to different spots on campus, in and around the Read More →
PAT LAUNER TIMES OF SAN DIEGO 11/19/14 How do we talk about race in America? We don’t. But as you can tell from its title, “Honky,” playwright Greg Kalleres goes where others fear to tread. All the unprintable, unspeakable, un-PC words are there. Black/white conversations are awkward, often stereotyped and bigoted (in both directions). People say what they think, Read More →
PAT LAUNER TIMES OF SAN DIEGO 11/18/14 Theater is supposed to arouse a visceral response. Well, if you want your blood to boil, your hackles to raise and your skin to crawl, do not miss “Enron.” Moxie Theatre’s West coast premiere of the 2009 Lucy Prebble play tells the whole ghastly story, with no names changed to protect the categorically guilty. Read More →