theatre reviews
"Success didn't spoil me; I've
always been insufferable."
---Fran Lebowitz
Closing
night of
'Pure as the Driven Snow'
The
cast of
'Pure as the Driven Snow'
with
actress mom Gloria Maxwell
Cast and Director of
"Social Security"
- Pure As The Driven Snow
- New Voices Playwrights Workshop
- Brighton Beach Memoirs
- Social Security
- Production Resume
Palos Verdes Theatre named Autumn Browne "Best Director" 1997-1998 Season.
The L.A. Times said that "Autumn Browne directs with tenderness and interesting insights" in reviewing her production of "Rain" at the Theatre District.
"... sharply witty direction of Autumn Browne," said the Easy Reader of "Pure As The Driven Snow"
"'Brighton Beach Memoirs'... is an especially fine production, skillfully directed by Autumn Browne," says the Palos Verdes Peninsula News
"Pulling all these talented players together into a cohesive team... is director Autumn Browne" said the Event News of "Social Security"
PURE AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
EXCERPTS FROM review by Joseph Sirota
The Easy Reader
Pure As The Driven Snow, a tongue-in-cheek melodrama at the Palos Verdes Players Theater in Torrance, will be particularly enjoyed by the very young at heart and the very old at heart... nicely recreated melodrama form, complete with innocent heroine in peril and mustachioed villain, determined to have her in his power... the audience will be much too busy laughing at the wonderfully campy send-up of the melodrama genre...
Under the sharply witty direction of Autumn Browne, the cast gets the most out of the laugh-a-minute soap opera-ish plot. By the time the third act is over... we all have tummy aches from laughing.
This was a very likeable cast, each actor succeeding in the task of personalizing their character nicely in the midst of a large cast and a script that could easily lead to smeared-together ensemble work. Their timing was hot, and their physical comedy was a pleasure to witness up close.
For an evening of family entertainment that's also surprisingly clever satire, this play is a strong offering, and it provides a cathartic outlet via booing, hissing, foot stomping and cheering that may well be at least as therapeutic as a visit to a psychologist - and lots less expensive.
Autumn was introduced to the work of New Voices Playwright's Workshop in April 1998 when she was asked to direct John Lane's play "Rain". The LA Times said "Autumn Browne directs 'Rain' with tenderness and some interesting insights into a marriage that's on the rocks but might be saved," and "directs with a convincingly wry touch" from the Daily Pilot. In December 1998 she directed Michael Buss' play "Promises" for the holiday show, The Twelve Plays of Christmas. The following year she directed two Brookhurst Drama students in "The Bear Went Over The Mountain", and portrayed a suspicious journalist in "Far North, Inc."
Director, Actors, Writer - "Promises"
Memorable
"Brighton
Beach
Memoirs"
at PV Players
excerpted
from the Palos Verdes Peninsula News review by
Kari Sayers
It's hard to go wrong with a good, old-fashioned Neil Simon comedy on a long summer evening -- after all, Simon is the foremost playwright in the English-speaking world today. But "Brighton Beach Memoirs", now on stage at the Palos Verdes Players in Torrance, is an especially fine production, skillfully directed by Autumn Browne. This is good family fare that draws heart-warming chuckles. The cast is even, and individual actors deliver consistently fine performances.
On the set of "Brighton Beach
Memoirs" (Click to enlarge).
SOCIAL SECURITY at Cypress Civic
Theatre
excerpted from The
Event News review by Joseph Sirota
Both
storyline and character development get better with each passing scene
and by the closing curtain not only did many enjoy a good, hearty laugh,
but they truly came to care about these oddly-disparate characters and
their lives. Director Autumn Browne has assembled a fine cast. The
audience was a widely varied one, and virtually all seemed more than
happy with their entertainment choice. Pulling all these talented
players together into a cohesive team that deftly makes the most out of
Bergman's many comic inventions as well as his occasional glimpses of
the vulnerable side of humanity is director Autumn Browne.
Director, producers, and cast have done their darnedest to "clean up"
Bergman's colorful introjections, which in truth has made their job even
harder, because this, by nature, is a free-wheeling styled piece. I give
them an A for effort but they still must deal with some racy, fun,
sub-plot points.
To see production pictures click here
PRODUCTION RESUME