Liana And Ben at Atwater Village Theatre

Liana And Ben

Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave Atwater Village

LIANA AND BEN is a twisted, sexy, modern take on Faust. Our story begins with a not-so-chance encounter between a beautiful young woman and a dark, enigmatic stranger. Ben makes Liana an offer: he will keep her young and beautiful for 250 years if she can prove to him that humanity is worth saving. Now, Liana's time is almost up and Ben demands his proof. They travel forward and backward through history in search of hope – questioning their very existence, the nature of their own mythology and the foundations of good & evil.

Thru - Mar 26, 2017

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Sundays: 7:00pm

Price: $25

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 323-644-1929

www.ensemblestudiotheatrela.org

Liana And Ben Reviews

Average Rating based on 4 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Where Ruhl's play was a focused deep dive, however, "Liana and Ben" is a sprawling mythical-historical mashup ranging from lucidly on point social commentary to seemingly arbitrary fixation on figures from Greek mythology, Christian theology and the French Revolution. Rubin's narrative gets a bit cavalier in upending its own dramatic tension for the sake of tidy wrap-ups. A key character's sacrifice, for example, is robbed of any real consequence by an ending that plays more like baby boomer wish fulfillment than real life."

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- Philip Brandes

Broadway World - Somewhat Recommended

"...Mark Bringelson directs his capable, very committed cast at a quick enough pacing, but without any sympathetic characters to root for, the proficient technical elements take over attention and focus."

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- Gil Kaan

ArtsInLA - Somewhat Recommended

"...Whatever went wrong, whatever might be learned from this effort, can hopefully benefit future productions of Rubin's Liana and Ben , a play more than worthy of further exploration. Still, this production is an astonishingly unexpected disappointment. Perhaps a big part of this outcome is the staging, with audience placed on either side of a long, slender playing space dominated by two huge seesaws. It's not difficult to see what an inventive idea this was on the drawing board, but to say it doesn't work in actuality is a major understatement. Even while an audience might appreciate the ingenuity that went into creating the apparatus, it limits the actors' playing space and is also a rickety distraction, particularly when on the move into another position."

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- Travis Michael Holder

Stage Raw - Somewhat Recommended

"...The play attempts to look at life, immortality, truth, and the deeper meaning of existence from all angles. To do this, it embraces many different mythologies and literary inferences, including Faust, the Devil, Hades, Persephone, Alice in Wonderland, Dorian Gray, and the historical figures of Marat and his killer Charlotte Corday. This is a thrilling idea (for example, who wouldn't want to see what happens when Lucifer and Hades meet in the underworld?), but for all the setup the execution is muddled and the stakes are low. Why should we care if the unlikeable and self-obsessed Liana's pact comes to an end if she fails to uphold her side of the bargain? Anything the characters might have contributed to heighten those stakes is painfully missing, as everyone is so flippant and changeable in all things."

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- Vanessa Cate

Liana And Ben at Atwater Village Theatre

Liana And Ben

Liana And Ben Reviews

Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended

Broadway World - Somewhat Recommended

ArtsInLA - Somewhat Recommended

Stage Raw - Somewhat Recommended

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