So Cal Arts & Entertainment

Do we need superheroes today? Of course. Not the drek Hollywood is spewing out by the bushel but guys like silent film accompanist Ben Model—and the 153 people who funded his latest project on Kickstarter. “The Marcel Perez Collection, Volume 2” (available on Amazon...

“The Chosen,” based on Chaim Potok’s classic novel about two brilliant young men growing up five blocks and worlds apart in World War II Brooklyn, has been transformed into a play that’s somehow even more compelling than the book. Adapted by Potok and Aaron Posner and...

Two visits to the theatre this weekend to see two actor friends, after a much-needed hiatus of more than a month; plenty of family drama, mind you. J.M. Barrie’s rarely-staged 1917 fantasy “Dear Brutus” (through Feb. 11 at Fullerton’s STAGEStheatre) is a play about...

Having fun yet? Sandra Tsing Loh’s “Sugar Plum Fairy” (at South Coast Repertory through Dec. 24) is sure to double your pleasure this season whatever your religious preference; despite its Christmasy trappings, it has a multicultural elf aboard its sleigh to celebrate...

Brian Pirnat and Brooke Lewis in “Mr. Burns.” Photo by Amy Lauren Gettys. Can a play recover from an unsatisfactory first act, one that leaves you frankly wondering, what am I doing here? Absolutely, if Anne Washburn’s “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” and Branden...

“The Lost World” (1925). If there was ever a silent film I never wanted to see again after my first viewing it was “The Lost World,” the 1925 original I clapped eyes on as a teenager. Or so I thought. I was bowled over when this prehistoric adventure flick surfaced at...

Preston Butler III and L. Scott Caldwell in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. Photo by Jordan Kubat/SCR. August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” (at South Coast Repertory through Nov. 11) is one of those quirky character-driven plays it’s hard to get a handle on at first....

Musée Picasso, Paris. Photo © 2017 by Jordan R. Young. The Musée Picasso seems to be closed every time I’m in Paris. I finally managed to visit the museum devoted to the celebrated artist on a recent trip to Europe, though it was (natch) partially closed. Better yet,...

James McHale and Amanda Zarr in “In a Word.” Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio. Give ‘em the old razzle dazzle—gets ‘em every time. I have no evidence this thought passed through Simon Stephens’ brain en route to adapting “The Curious Incident of the Dog in...

David Edward Reyes and Talia Goodman in Karen Fix Curry’s “Celtic Knot” at OC-centric. Photo by Kirk Huff Schenck. Theresa Rebeck's “The Understudy” (at Modjeska Playhouse in Lake Forest through Sept. 3) is an example of what can happen when a playwright makes a name...