Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress

Geffen Playhouse

10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood
geffenplayhouse.com

Times rating:

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Readers' rating:

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This cozy if only sporadically entertaining autobiographical show mixes tales from Rivers' well-publicized professional and personal struggles with shtick from her Heidi Abromowitz act and beyond. Funny and poignant, it's also too long and in need of some sharpening.

— Charles McNulty
Feb. 15, 2008

Through Apr. 6
Sundays: 2 p.m. 7 p.m.
Tuesdays: 7:30 p.m.
Wednesdays: 7:30 p.m.
Thursdays: 7:30 p.m.
Fridays: 8 p.m.
Saturdays: 4 p.m. 8:30 p.m.

Price: $35-$79

Box office: 310-208-5454

Reader Reviews

March 27, 2008

Richard Sierra Brea, CA

A very good production.

March 6, 2008

John Culver City, CA

Just to clarify, that was NOT Yosefa performing as Svetlana even though she was in the program. Check your insert for the actual performer. Apparently Yosefa was fired by Joan but we don't know why

March 5, 2008

MaxMillion Studio City, CA

Joan’s story of her rise and fall and rise and fall in Hollywood is interesting enough. As a play, it suffers from broadly sketched and clunky, stereotypical characters. The balding, chubby and middle aged klutzy assistant producer Kenny (Adam Kulbersh) is really a female impersonator. The skinny, pretty and ditzy makeup girl with the thick Russian accent – predictably named Svetlana (Yosefa Forma) – really wants to be a pop star. All that peripheral nonsense feels sadly underdeveloped. Yet the comical exchanges between Joan and her hapless assistants, along with various wardrobe disasters, and contentious phone calls with management and Melissa, help to break up the evening from being an uninterrupted two hours of monologues and stand up routines. Die-hard Joan Rivers fans will love seeing this legendary performer in all her face-lifted glory.

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The final installment of actor-pianist-playwright Hershey Felder's "Composer Sonata" trilogy looks at Ludwig van Beethoven through the eyes of the composer's last surviving friend.

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