Cynthia Citron is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.
Her published books, available on Amazon, include:
By Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES– I can’t rave enough to adequately convey my excitement and admiration for the new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac that opened this week at the Fountain Theatre. Written by Stephen Sachs and directed by Simon Levy, this brilliant Cyrano is performed by the extraordinary actors of the Deaf West Theatre. […]
Raves for ‘Cyrano’ in its sign-language adaptation Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron SAN DIEGO — Hold on to your music. It will be your best friend.” This has been the Golabek family mantra for four generations of concert pianists. As pianist and playwright Mona Golabek settles on a sofa in a private meeting room outside the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, the intimate performance space
Your talent may get you through the darkest of times Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron HOLLYWOOD, California –They weren’t projecting, they were SHOUTING! And even if they were better actors, the play would still be a lot of frivolous twaddle. It’s Early and Often, a play by Barbara Wallace and Thomas R. Wolfe, and directed by Ron West, that explores political morality in 1960s Chicago. And if
‘Early and often’ a silly play about when one should vote Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron SAN DIEGO — Not since Mel Brooks’ outrageous Springtime for Hitler has there been a Holocaust musical as ill-conceived and badly performed as No Time to Weep, now onstage at L.A.’s Matrix Theater. No Time to Weep is the autobiography of a sweet, eternally upbeat Czech poet, Lucy Deutsch, who survived Auschwitz, came
Holocaust musical is poorly conceived Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron SANTA MONICA, California — Unless you’re an aficionado of the ups and downs of the Russian Revolution of the early 20th century, it’s very hard to keep track of the players without a scorecard. Take the White Army. Anti-Communist, anti-Bolshevik, anti-Semitic, and loyal to the Russian Empire of the Tsar, they were
Baryshnikov stars and even dances in ‘In Paris’ Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Recently, I attended a matinee performance of Thoroughly Modern Millie up in Ventura County. I enjoyed it, and why not, my teenage grand-niece, Ashlee Ford, had the title role, and I got to see her sing, dance, and even get kissed by a fellah on stage. Afterwards, my brother Bill,
What to do about racial stereotyping in theatre? Read More »
Carol Davis, Cynthia Citron, Donald H. Harrison, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Cynthia Citron VENTURA, California–Most women, when faced with a diagnosis of lymphoma, might be overcome by despair. But Cheri Steinkellner turned the experience into a one-woman musical monologue that became part of the Inner Voices series that played Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in 2010. “The piece, called Mosaic, was a composite story—mine and a
Meet Cheri Steinkellner: her life is written in plays Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — Those of us who voted for John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1960 were fortunate enough to experience the exhilaration, the hope, and the joyful anticipation that his election brought to the nation. We watched with pride as this charismatic young man and his ethereally beautiful wife charmed the rest of
‘Magic Bullet Theory’ goes beyond tasteless Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron BEVERLY HILLS, California — Two Davids met as freshmen at St. Gregory’s, which was then a community college in Shawnee, Oklahoma. After two years, they moved on — David McClendon to the University of Oklahoma and David Hunt Stafford to CalArts. But both of them went on to become successful actors and
Two Davids share a new love: ‘Laura’ Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron Cynthia Citron WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — Diary of a Madman is considered one of Nikolai Gogol’s greatest short stories. As an 80-minute monologue, however, it’s a bit much. But the version running now at The Actors Circle Theater in West Hollywood is as good as it gets. Russian-born actor Ilia Volok is
‘Diary of a Madman’ tends to get tedious Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — “A really good actor knows something the writer doesn’t know,” Ilia Volok says. “The actor brings his life –the life of a human spirit — to the stage, and a great actor elevates it.” Ukrainian-born actor Volok cites Kevin Kline as one of the greats. “He delivers with passion,”
Volok and Lazarev, friends from Russia, team in Hollywood Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron NORTH HOLLYWOOD — As ratings go, two out of three isn’t bad. And so, two good plays out of three new one-acts making their debut with the Vagabond Players makes for an entertaining interlude at the theater. The evening’s offerings are collectively called It’s Dark Out, and the plays are, indeed, dark.
Of three one-acts, one definitely needs a rewrite Read More »
Cynthia CitronBy Cynthia Citron LOS ANGELES — Two men, one in a suit and the other in a sweater, sit side by side in folding chairs in a small auditorium. They are listening to an unseen speaker introducing a new inductee to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. As the speaker finishes, the man in
By Cynthia Citron NORTH HOLLYWOOD, California — Medvedenko the schoolteacher is in love with Masha, the daughter of the manager of a country estate. Masha is in love with Konstantin, a would-be playwright. Konstantin is in love with Nina, a would-be actress. Nina is in love with Trigorin, a successful novelist. Trigorin is in love
If you romanticize writing, check out this Chekhov play Read More »
Cynthia Citron