A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Fairview’

March 16, 2026 Edward Hong

There are many incredible ingredients at work with the Los Angeles premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury‘s 2019 Pulitzer Prize winning drama Fairview, now playing at Rogue Machine Theatre: a crackling ensemble cast, an intriguing and twisty premise, and a thrilling direction by Oz Scott. But despite these elements present, the play fall short of its clever ambitions as it settles into an abstract moral message play written primarily for white people.

Reviews, TheatreLeave a comment

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Octopus’s Garden’

March 9, 2026March 9, 2026 Edward Hong

There is something truly remarkable when you witness a play that not only makes marine biologist wholly relatable but that you feel so much compassion for a giant octopus puppet and inspire mythical wonder in the deep watery unknown. Such is the accomplishment of Weston Gaylord’s Octopus’s Garden, now having its world premiere in this gorgeous co-production with Boston Court Pasadena, Circle X Theatre Co., and Outside In Theatre.

Reviews, TheatreLeave a comment

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘The Dignity Circle’

February 26, 2026February 25, 2026 Edward Hong

Exceptionally strong acting from their two leads make up for a somewhat predictable and safe pyramid scheme story in Lauren Smerkanich‘s The Dignity Circle, now having its world premiere at Theatre of Note.

Reviews, TheatreLeave a comment

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Room By The Sea’

February 23, 2026 Edward Hong

It’s been so long since I felt this indelible feeling of magic while watching a play but the world premiere of John Guerra‘s Room By The Sea, a triple co-production with Coin & Ghost, After Hours Theatre Company, and Outside In Theatre, has achieved just done that. This is a tale that not only transports the audience to a fantastical place but like the best of genre, it creates a haunting parallel to our current world. And best of all, the immense efforts to incorporate significant global majority and accessibility presence is truly what Los Angeles theatre at its finest is all about.

Reviews, TheatreLeave a comment

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Here Lies Love’

February 19, 2026February 20, 2026 Edward Hong

A fantastic all-Filipino cast cannot hide the simple fact that Here Lies Love, now having its West Coast premiere at Center Theatre Group, is a shallow, poorly written musical with relentless static disco tunes. It is also absolutely confused in whether they want to glorify their subject Imelda Marcos or warn about the dangers of fascism.

Reviews, TheatreLeave a comment

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Amadeus’

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 Edward Hong

Despite a golden missed opportunity to cast global majority actors for the main roles of Mozart/Salieri/Constanze that would have richly amplified the narrative, there is a lot to love about the Pasadena Playhouse production of Peter Shaffer‘s Amadeus with the fantastic set and lighting design, the incredible ensemble cast, and the powerhouse performances of their lead actors Jefferson Mays and Sam Clemmett as Salieri and Mozart respectively.

Poetry, Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience’

February 10, 2026February 11, 2026 Edward Hong

With the West Coast premiere of Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience at the Fountain Theatre, this uniquely moving and stirring choreopoem honors the work and life of June Jordan, one of America’s most fearless writers and human rights activists.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Guards at the Taj’

February 9, 2026February 9, 2026 Edward Hong

The Los Angeles independent remounting of Rajiv Joseph‘s Guards at the Taj (the last one was in 2015 at the Geffen Playhouse) is a strikingly well done and hauntingly relevant production that also utilizes fantastic genderbent casting and an endearing post finale that credits all crew involved, a practice that is rarely ever seen in theatre.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘The Circle’

February 2, 2026February 4, 2026 Edward Hong

There is no doubt that the events of 2025 and already the first two months of 2026 have provided an unfortunate wealth of materials for playwrights to mine from. But with the world premiere of The Circle at Greenway Court Theatre, the clock rewinds back to July 2016 in Texas set during the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred immediately after the murder of Philando Castile.

Theatre

The Joy of Pasadena Dance Theatre’s ‘The Nutcracker’

December 18, 2025December 18, 2025 Edward Hong

With the holiday season in full swing, one will find numerous renditions of The Nutcracker in their area for their own enjoyment. Here in the Los Angeles area, we had last week’s coverage of American Ballet Theatre but now I would love to put a spotlight on Pasadena Dance Theatre with their fresh and imaginative production of this timeless Tchaikovsky classic coming to the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse on December 20 and 21, 2025.

Music, Theatre

The Global Majority Beauty in the 10th Anniversary of American Ballet Theatre’s ‘The Nutcracker’

December 11, 2025December 12, 2025 Edward Hong

The prestigious American Ballet Theatre celebrates its tenth season of The Nutcracker at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts as it returns to the stages for 14 spell-binding performances from December 11 to 21. This landmark season features ABT’s international all-star cast under the leadership of artistic director Susan Jaffe, with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, costumes by Tony winner Richard Hudson, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky‘s iconic score performed live by Pacific Symphony. With this significant milestone, we wish to highlight the incredible global majority artists that will grace the stage!

Horror, Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Paranormal Activity’

November 15, 2025November 16, 2025 Edward Hong

When I first heard that the Paranormal Activity franchise has been adapted into a staged production, I was immensely skeptical of its scare factor on stage and that there was a worthy story to be told that can hold on its own. But in a shocking turn of events, Paranormal Activity: A New Story Live On Stage has defied all my expectations as a genuinely engaging and terrifying experience that will absolutely delight all horror/thriller fans and newcomers alike.

Movies, Reviews

NOC Review: ‘Palestine 36’ is an Epic Historical Film of Resounding Importance

November 5, 2025November 5, 2025 Edward Hong

Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 is an epic historical film that takes the audience back to 1936 when Palestine began to make a great push resisting British colonial rule. It is not only an astoundingly well made film with incredible performances, it is a film that is a much needed history lesson that needs to be shown in every school and university in western nations and around the world. At its core, the film shows the Palestinian resistance for what it really is: a fight for freedom and independence which has been going on for many, many decades.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘नेहा & Neel’

October 19, 2025October 19, 2025 Edward Hong

For better or worse, one of the oldest tropes in Asian American identity stories is often the generational & cultural divide between the immigrant parents and their American-born children. Ankita Raturi’s नेहा & Neel, now having its world premiere at Latino Theater Company in collaboration with Artists At Play, manages to breathe new life into this trope while also being downright hilarious in such an inexplicable mad genius kind of way, thanks to one of the actors playing over a dozen(!?!) characters.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Paranormal Inside’

October 13, 2025October 13, 2025 Edward Hong

Prince Gomolvilas’ Paranormal Inside, now having one of its rolling world premieres at East West Players, achieves the astounding feat in being a play that is so compelling while fully utilizing multiple global majority actors across different spectrums in meaningful ways, completely deliver on its supernatural premises to jaw-dropping effect, and also be a sequel that welcomes those who have knowledge of the previous play while not being entirely necessary for those who are unfamiliar. It is the perfect play arriving just in time for this year’s Halloween season.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘In Response 2025: Rise Up!’

October 12, 2025October 12, 2025 Edward Hong

I’m normally not a fan of watching an anthology of short plays, but attending the opening night of Towne Street Theatre’s In Response was a most pleasant surprise as there were some exceptionally strong short plays that truly stood out.

Reviews, Theatre1 Comment

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘The Little King of Norwalk’

October 5, 2025October 5, 2025 Edward Hong

Latino Theater Company returns for their fall season with a laugh out loud hit in Israel López Reyes‘ The Little King of Norwalk, now having its world premiere at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Not only is this play a meaningful tribute to Chicano identity, it is a love letter to the city of Norwalk wrapped up in a hysterically wacky film noir with a touch of magical realism and a nod to Nikolai Gogol‘s The Inspector General.

Reviews, Theatre2 Comments

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘West Side Story’

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 Edward Hong

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the classic 1961 West Side Story film. But after watching the opening night of the staged musical at the LA Opera, I have come to the realization after all these years that while still delightful, this musical is a severely outdated product of its time and may need to dance off into the sunset.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Torera’

September 17, 2025September 18, 2025 Edward Hong

Having its Los Angeles premiere and performing for the first time in Outside In Theatre’s new ArtSpace home, Monet Hurst-Mendoza’s Torera is an auspicious beginning for the theatre company in their new home as it is a deeply gorgeous play with an astounding lead performance from Melissa Carvajal and its beautiful quiet moments that stayed with me long after the play ended.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Fly Me to the Sun’

September 10, 2025September 10, 2025 Edward Hong

Having its west coast premiere at The Fountain Theatre, Brian Quijada‘s Fly Me to the Sun is a unique take on the identity play that incorporates puppetry in a late night TV show format. While it needs some significant dramatic muscle flexed into it throughout to give it more of a definitive shape, it is a hilarious and deeply moving journey into a boy’s efforts to understand more of his Salvadoran heritage in the most imaginative ways.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Breaking the Frame: Two Solo Shows on Art and Identity’

August 22, 2025September 10, 2025 Edward Hong

For four performances only, the Japanese American National Museum‘s Democracy Center is presenting two Asian American solo performance shows that complement each other in their commentary on how their identity affects their art during these current times.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘The Motherf**ker with the Hat’

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 Edward Hong

When I first read the Stephen Adley Guirgis’ The Motherf**ker with the Hat many years ago — having seen numerous productions and acting class scenes from this text — I was instantly a huge fan due to its fast paced crass dialogue and serious global majority representation represented on stage. Now? It is still a fast paced crass play but one that has revealed its unfortunate outdated cracks.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘& Juliet’

August 16, 2025August 16, 2025 Edward Hong

& Juliet, now performing in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre on their national tour, is a bombastic jukebox musical combo of Shakespeare and ‘90s and 2000s pop music that will leave a gigantic smile on your face when you leave the theatre.