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Lorca Peress

January

January 19, 2025

"January" presents a story about the emotional impact of the killing of one child by another by weaving together the thoughts and actions of the two single mothers involved and how the national media treats the event. There are scenes blending memories and dreams with reality, presenting the protagonists' thoughts as if they existed in real-life moments with an almost hallucinogenic quality. These dramatic devices work most of the time. Still, there is a critical point in the play where what is being presented goes on for too long, almost to the point of losing the story thread. The projections used are effective but sometimes come very close to being propagandistic. Even with some of the unevenness of the production, it does present an important story that needs to be told. "January" is a heavy lift emotionally but ultimately worth the effort. [more]

Garden of Alla: The Alla Nazimova Story

June 22, 2022

Romy Nordlinger has written and is performing the monodrama, "Garden of Alla: The Alla Nazimova Story," at the TheaterLab.  Directed by Lorca Peress, "Garden of Alla" gives us this eccentrically talented artist up close and personal. Nordlinger has a history of portraying Nazimova and has honed her interpretation to the point that it fits her like a second skin, helped by Peress’ sense of pacing and stagecraft. [more]

What We’re Up Against

October 25, 2016

The play is both satiric and trenchant. The conversations of the men are laced with profanity much like David Mamet’s real estate men in Glengarry Glen Ross. Eliza is called everything in the book (arrogant, aggressive, disrespectful, impatient, a loose cannon) as well as names you can’t print in a family newspaper. Eventually it rubs off on Eliza and Janice and they are cursing as crudely as the men: if you can’t beat them at their own game, then join them. The men’s fear of the women getting ahead would be pathetic if it weren’t so typical and true. Rebeck dramatizes office politics as each member of the staff worries about his or her own skin, either with lies, evasions or manipulation, and the circle keeps widening, until Eliza beats them at their own game. [more]