Mary Kay Wulf, left, is the second nun and Rusty Schwimmer the head nun in “The House of Blue Leaves” at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. McNulty: “John Guares dark comedy may not have been the most ingratiating way of reopening the Taper (these characters arent exactly welcome-wagon types). But Nicholas Martins grounded production, anchored by the terrific trio of John Pankow, Kate Burton and Jane Kaczmarek, resonantly revived this tale of an aging show-biz-dreaming nobody and his inconveniently screwy family.” (Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times)
Norwegian actors Lene Pedersen (woman) and Terje Skonseng Naudeer in “Winter” at Culver Studios Stage 7 in Culver City. McNulty: “Jon Fosses enigmatic play, about a sexy, strung-out woman who overturns the bourgeois stability of a married mans life, may have frustrated expectations of how a story should unfold. But this imagistic work by Norways most innovative playwright since Ibsen was given such a haunting multimedia liftoff that those open to new dramatic forms couldnt help but be intrigued.” (Lori Shepler/Los Angeles Times)
