By Daryl H. Miller Feb 09, 2018 | 6:00 AM Orson Bean and Alley Mills in their autobiographical show "Alright Then." (Jeff Lorch) Steering the autobiographical stage show "Alright Then" toward its wrap-up, Orson Bean reaches toward his wife, Alley Mills, and grasps her hand as he announces that what he most wants to tell the audience about is "the miracle — and I do mean miracle — of how on earth you Read More

January 31, 2018 Elaine Mura Entertainment 0 Orson Bean and Alley Mills are poignantly engaging as lovers who beat the odds and find each other later in life. The autobiographical story covers the years before their meeting – and after – to charm the audience with their fresh and gentle view of a relationship that was meant to be. Orson Bean and Alley Mills – Photo by Jeff Lorch Directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos, Read More

ALRIGHT THEN/by Orson Bean and Alley Mills/directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos/Pacific Resident Theatre/thru March 25, 2018 The world premiere of ALRIGHT THEN presents a sweet stroll down memory lane of married actors Orson Bean and Alley Mills. The two separate childhood stories of Bean and Mills, through their life together to the present, make up the eighty-minute one-act. Quite a lot to cover in just eighty minutes, which inexplicably include moments of Read More

“Alright Then” at Pacific Resident Theatre Orson Bean and Alley Mills in Pacific Resident Theatre’s production of Alright Then, developed by the performers and directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos, now playing through March 11. Photos by Jeff Lorch. Orson Bean’s career is extraordinary. Born in 1928 and baptized Dallas Frederick Burrows, he started performing as a child at home. After World War II, he became a magician, but soon morphed into a stand-up Read More

The self-imposed withdrawal of an enigmatic woman (Marwa Bernstein) provokes consternation from her clueless lover (Matt Letscher) in "Cigarettes and Chocolate" at Pacific Resident Theatre. (​​​​​​​Vitor Martins) Philip Brandes Although the late Anthony Minghella is remembered primarily for his film direction and screenplays (“The English Patient,” “Cold Mountain”), he also had a deep affinity with the intimate theatrical traditions of character-based drama. Pacific Resident Theatre offers a rare opportunity to appreciate Minghella’s playwriting Read More

Jewish Journal Cover Story by Rob Eshman Published Aug 15, 2017 / Cover Story I spent last Saturday night — the night of the neo-Nazi rally and the tragic murder — at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, watching a fine performance of Eugene Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros.” The play takes place in a French village, where the drunkard Berenger is witness to something bizarre: slowly, the townsfolk are turning into rhinos. Ionesco, whose Read More

“Placing the emphasis on a playwright’s words and a cast’s gifts at bringing them to life, the latest from Pacific Resident Theatre proves an unexpected—and entirely unique—dramatic treat” - StageSceneLA CIGARETTES AND CHOCOLATE & HANG UP And now for something completely different, Pacific Resident Theatre treats L.A. audiences to the West Coast Premieres of Cigarettes & Chocolate and Hang Up, a couple of Anthony Mighella-penned BBC radio plays from the ‘80s that Read More

Matt Letscher and Marwa Bernstein star in “Cigarettes & Chocolate,” one of two one-act radio plays written by Anthony Minghella at Pacific Resident Theatre. (By Dany Margolies) Posted: 07/30/17, 12:22 PM PDT | Updated: 4 days ago Marwa Bernstein, foreground, with Matt Letscher in “Cigarettes & Chocolate” (Photo by Vitor Martins) In their West Coast premieres, two one-act radio plays by Anthony Minghella grace the smaller stage at Pacific Resident Theatre. Though the Read More

"Rhinoceros"   Philip Brandes A lone holdout (Keith Stevenson) struggles to keep civilized values alive as his neighbor (Kendrah McKay) succumbs to herd mentality. (Vitor Martins / Pacific Resident Theatre) “It's silly to get worked up because a few people decide to change their skins.” So goes the excuse as easygoing provincial townsfolk spontaneously transform into the rampaging pachyderms of Eugene Ionesco’s seminal absurdist satire, “Rhinoceros.” In the easy surrender of their very humanity lies Read More

STAGE RAW Pacific Resident Theater Through September 10 RECOMMENDED It’s difficult to imagine a timelier and more fitting play for the “Make America Great Again,” era than Eugène Ionesco’s 1959 absurdist satire. The playwright wrote it in response to the alarming ascent of fascism during the first half of the twentieth century. Despite the passage of time, it is arguably more relevant now than when it was first written. The setting is a provincial town Read More