Stand Up If You're Here Tonight at Atwater Village Theatre

Stage Raw - Recommended

"...Playwright John Kolvenbach's Stand Up If You're Here Tonight premiered in Los Angeles in 2021, produced by VS. and Circle X Theatre companies, and winning the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for best solo show. Kolvenbach wrote it with Jim Ortlieb - his friend and the play's featured performer - in mind. (According to an interview conducted by the late theater journalist Gil Kaan, the piece came about after Ortlieb mentioned to Kolvenbach that he was looking for a project and asked if Kolvenbach had anything on hand. Familiar with his friend's talents, Kolvenbach came up with this one-of-a-kind, almost - but-not-entirely - solo piece.)"