Five 2014 STAGE RAW Award Nominations
including
Best Direction and Production of the Year
2014 Ovation Award Winner:
Best Actor-Hugo Armstrong
GO!
“Already packing a wallop,
Birnbaum's gritty script showcases
a blue chip ensemble and brilliant fight choreography
that come together under Larry Biederman's illuminating directorial eye.
Nothing is quite so satisfying as theater filled with surprise,
and this dark comedy has that.
It carries you to places you never thought you'd visit.”
-LA WEEKLY
BEST DIRECTION 2014
”None of the above would work without a thoroughly committed cast
under a director as expert as Larry Biederman,
who coaxes finely etched performances from his stellar sextet
even as Best’s combat moves appear to threaten imminent hospitalization for any and all.”
-STAGE SCENE L.A.
press
“With the imaginative and
skillful directorial hand of
Larry Biederman
and a marvelous ensemble cast,
Birnbaum's play represents
one of the best theater events
to grace Los Angeles stages
in recent years.”
-HUFFINGTON POST
“This rarely produced play...receives a handsome turn by a mature ensemble under Larry Biederman’s keen direction.”
-EYESPY LA
“Two superb alternating casts in
director Larry Biederman’s intelligent rendition.”
-BACKSTAGE
“The layers of space allow director Larry Biederman to create depth of field--both visual and emotional--in keeping with the play’s sharp edges and shadows.”
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Directed with grace and nuance.”
-FRONTIERS
“Everything about the production is stunning, including... the marvelous direction by Larry Biederman,
who allows each cast the freedom to create its own particular production, both valid but both very different.”
-BLOG CRITICS
The Autumn Garden now makes a triumphant return to the stage in the Antaeus Company’s superb revival, expertly directed by Larry Biederman and brilliantly acted by two of the finest casts in town.
-STAGESCENE LA
Seven 2010 LA WEEKLY Award Nominations including
Best Direction of a Comedy
GO!
“Director Larry Biederman’s
supercharged staging races along
like a manic blend of
David Mamet and Cronenberg,
whisking the black comedy
into a blood froth of
Grand Guignol proportions.”
-LA WEEKLY
“Director Larry Biederman has done the same kind of imaginative, dynamic work that he did in last year’s La Ronde.”
-STAGE SCENE L.A.
“Director Larry Biederman
has gone beyond the script
to lift this cyberpunk parable
into a fun night of theater.”
-LA THEATRE REVIEW
“inventive direction”...
a “disciplined and energetic cast”...
“in each scene something new”...
“visually clever and symbolically appropriate.”
-VARIETY
“Larry Biederman’s spare production sums up the communal desperation,
and the fleeting pleasures, in Schnitzler’s amourous merry-go-round.”
-VILLAGE VOICE
FIVE STARS! *****
“In ten beautifully simple, sexy and suggestive scenes, Arthur Schnitzler's
tale of love and lust in 1897 Vienna comes to life brilliantly on the stage.”
“Larry Biederman’s smart direction prevents the conceit of a ten-relationship cycle from becoming repetitive—sometimes employing technical elements...
and sometimes leaving it up to our imaginations to create, for example,
a boudoir out of six wooden chairs,”
-TIME OUT NEW YORK
“Stunning! That is the word I whispered to myself the minute the lights came up.”
“I'm not joking when I say that director Larry Biederman has outdone himself
in a passionate, thundering, and gasp-inducing production of the play.”
“A full dictionary of theatrical convention is used to illuminate the work.”
“Each scene is staged using innovative and exhilarating visual language.”
A “tour de force.”
-NEW YORK THEATRE.COM
Biederman clearly had so many cutting-edge artistic ideas that
he needed to try all out in one show...”
“...all truly innovative ideas, most of which I’d never seen before...”
-STAGEBUZZ.com
BEST DIRECTION 2008-2009
“Director Larry Biederman’s stunningly conceived,
designed, and executed production.”
“Biederman’s La Ronde is high concept times ten.”
“Biederman’s staging gives Barnett and Weaver
the physical workout of their careers.”
“a visually and stylistically innovative director.”
-STAGE SCENE L.A.
“If you go see only a few plays this year,
this should be first on your list.”
-REVIEWPLAYS.COM
“The production is a fascinating theatrical experience.
Larry Biederman has so effectively created
a detailed and widely dimensional experience that
draws on a plethora of creativities to indulge the mind.”
-LASPLASH.COM
Excellence in Performance
Alyson Weaver and Ken Barnett
awarded by the
New York International Fringe Festival
2009
Director Larry Biederman
makes excellent use of the...set
...also crafts sharp performances
from his cast, keeping the tone comic.”
-STAGE RAW
This is a credit to the brilliant performances
by the three actors
and the exemplary direction from Larry Biederman
-FRINGEREVIEW.COM
“It's a rare treat to sit in an audience where you get to reexamine your life in real time through such beautifully drawn characters.”
-THEATERMANIA
“Under Larry Biederman’s smooth direction, the narrative holds our interest. Dooley, as ever a welcome presence, subtly bends his blend of irascibility and warmth to make Frank and Edgar two different people. Holzman, whose rich writing gifts have unfairly overshadowed her character acting skills, is equally convincing, Emily recalling middle-period Peggy Cass, Heather a halting hangdog behemoth.”
-LA TIMES
“Holzman/Dooley fans (as well as fans of quality theatre in Los Angeles) are in for a treat as their absorbing, witty and intricately woven,
Assisted Living, is making its world premiere at The Odyssey Theatre .”
-HUFFINGTON POST
"Directors Ken Barnett and Larry Biederman
use every inch of playable space
in this quaint theater with imaginative thrift.
This incarnation of Stop Kiss sidesteps
all the usual pitfalls of flashback plays:
This production never loses momentum.
In late, out early and overlapping elements
between scenes with grace.”
-LA SPLASH
RECOMMENDED!
"Reminiscent of 'Dr. Strangelove,'
Rock displays a keen sense of the outrageous
in his ambitious world premiere GRAND DELUSION.
Under the rollicking direction of Larry Biederman,
the actors - comic vets recognizable from screens large
and small - snap off their laugh lines with bawdy efficiency."
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Director Larry Biederman invests the show
with a footlit, Ubu-meets-music-hall fervor."
-LA WEEKLY
Under the fast and furious direction of
Larry Biederman, the cast is amazingly capable.”
-TOLUCAN TIMES
“Directed by gallows-humor maven Larry Biederman, this political farce is a sidesplittingly hilarious.”
-FLAVORPILL.com
“A raucous and ridiculous black comedy. GRAND DELUSION is a hoot!"
-REVIEW PLAYS.COM
"A briskly-paced and manically comic re-imagining."
-CURTAIN UP
2008 Garland Award Honorable Mention:
Direction & Ensemble Performance
-BACKSTAGE WEST
“The production could scarcely be better
under Larry Biederman's inspired direction,
with a wickedly talented cast who alternate
between scary and hilarious, beatific and beaten-down sad.”
“Biederman stages the play with energy and precision.”
“The Road Theater Company's L.A. premiere of the play
literally rocks the house.”
-VARIETY
“Director Larry Biederman's staging is razor-sharp,
graced by some nervy acting.”
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Directed with explosively visionary choices
by Larry Biederman,
the cast turns out gut wrenching work.”
-TOLUCAN TIMES
2008 Garland Award Honorable Mention:
Direction & Ensemble Performance
-BACKSTAGE WEST
CRITICS’ CHOICE!
“Dazzling 'Crumble' is stalwartly screwy.”
"'Crumble' begins, with thematic tableaux of Richard Foreman proportions
...a potent example of postmodern narrative invention."
"Ionesco never blended absurdity, terror and sentiment more strikingly."
"Director Larry Biederman and the designers have an aerated ball
with this sweetly audacious parable
...the cast is smashing."
"Certainly, innovative wordplay is currently blessing L.A.
If, amid such bounty, 'Crumble' seems very special,
that's because, being Callaghan's breakthrough work, it is."
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Director Larry Biederman has elicited committed and
energetic performances, capturing the comedy and tragedy
that are never more than a millimeter apart
in Callaghan's idiosyncratic dramatic vernacular."
-BACKSTAGE WEST
RECOMMENDED!
"Director Larry Biederman, a top-notch ensemble and a striking production design team fully realize Callaghan’s gothic comedy, which balances wit and kitsch with scars and wounds,
while wielding a preteen’s sense of morbidity and drama
to strike some chilling blows. "
-LA WEEKLY
“Biederman has made innovative contributions to...L.A. productions
...particularly the brooding DARK RAPTURE...and Sheila Callaghan’s CRUMBLE,
both show’s benefiting considerably from his world-class imagination.
-REVIEW PLAYS.COM
CRITICS’ CHOICE!
An "impressively staged caldron of larceny, sex, deceit and murder."
"Under Larry Biederman's fast-paced direction, the capable cast ...
acquit themselves well with the play's challenging language
and ambiguous characters."
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
"There are several terrific things about this new production,
from a daring and talented ensemble to clever direction
and impressive technical achievement."
"Larry Biederman's direction uses all of the tools
available to him brilliantly and delivers a great production."
-BACKSTAGE WEST
RECOMMENDED!
"Larry Biederman’s revival of Eric Overmyer’s 1991 noir thriller
has all the right ingredients, including a strong ensemble and
superb production values...with plenty of exotic locales,
gun-toting goombahs and steamy sex scenes in between. "
-LA WEEKY
“Larry Biederman gave constant fresh and innovative choices
to his audience,creating moment after moment instead of scene after scene.
He took a cast of talented actors
and turned up the heat until everything sizzled.”
-THEATRE WORLD
“Director Larry Biederman's stylish new production at the Evidence Room
strikes the right chords of sex, danger and cynicism. Most impressively,
it moves [with a] fair theatrical approximation of the quick-cut cinematic scope of the narrative, as it swoops from the Bay Area to Cabo San Lucas, from Seattle to Key West.”
“Director Larry Biederman has a knockout cast.”
-Rob Kendt, DOWNTOWN NEWS
Dark Rapture “works under the gifted direction of Larry Biederman.”
-CURTAIN UP
RECOMMENDED!
“Director Larry Biederman effectively juggles
the play's ambiguous realities, keeping us wondering whether Theo's return to the club
is an odyssey of magical realism
or the fantasy of an unhinged mind.”
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
CRITIC’S PICK!
“Magical realism…is classically exploited here
under the highly detailed and creative direction
of Larry Biederman.” -BACKSTAGE WEST
"Larry Biederman has pulled out
the style stops and then some
in mounting...Moliere's classic.”
-BACKSTAGE WEST
RECOMMENDED!
"Larry Biederman attacks with relentless exuberance
the French scribe’s satire."
-LA WEEKY
“Directed with superior comedic timing and nuance.”
-ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
“Through superb acting and directing,
this time-tested, uproarious comedy
is more at home in our century than its own.”
-FLAVORPILL.COM
Biederman’s production excels...
his entire cast realizes Congdon’s characters
and the densely textured relationships between them.”
-SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
“Constance Congdon seamlessly interweaves
the terrifying nuclear optimism of 1945
with the evangelical Armageddons of 1985.
Director Larry Biederman has finely choreographed their convergence.”
-SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
CRITIC’S CHOICE
“Larry Biederman’s...cast
goes at the reckless Brechtian humor
in Barnes’ script [with] wide-eyed vigor.”
-SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
BEST OF THE YEAR
“Biederman’s staging is striking.”
-SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
BEST OF THE YEAR
“This show defied summation...
the creation of Larry Biederman,
1/3 was very personal and very original.”
-LOS ANGELES TIMES
