CRONE CREED: An Ambitious Mythological Triumph at El Portal Theatre

Breaking news to your phone. US mobile only. No password required.

Broadway + NYC

Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Off Broadway

Cabaret

Dance

Opera

Classical Music

West End / UK

International

Canada

Australia / New Zealand

Europe

Asia

Latin America

Africa / Middle East

Entertainment

Ctrl + K to open · Esc to close

The show haunts the El Portal through October 17

Most Popular

Get all the top news & discounts for Los Angeles & beyond. No password required.

The historic El Portal Theater in North Hollywood is an underrated gem, offering up revivals and world premieres of outstanding quality. The venue’s latest offering, CRONE CREED, is an ambitious take on mythology and fate, and it is one of the best shows the El Portal has offered in recent years — out of a field of many exceptional efforts.

Get all the top news & discounts for Los Angeles & beyond.

Casey Morgan and T. Theresa Scarano’s project follows a woman, Vita (Vivianna McCormick), who is part of a familial line called Crones, who are sworn to help heal humanity. Aided by two older Crones, Dara (Carolina Hoyos) and Roya ( April Nixon ), she must face the Fallen, crones who fell from righteousness, giving in to their desires and gone to the dark side, including her brother, Yanni (Ben Ubiñas).

Each character is drawn well, with shades of black and white, exemplified by chess pieces that have special powers. It’s helpful that the two leads are siblings. Most writers would take the easy way out and make them lovers, because they think the stakes are higher that way, but they’re not. Not necessarily, at least. Siblings have very different dynamics, a lifetime of resentments and bonds and biases.

The lighting by Eliseo Aragon sets quite a mood, and the costumes by Kaylee Silcocks are high quality and lovely. Enormous vertical chess boards by Daniel B. Chapman are beautiful but, depending where you’re seated, they may also hinder your view of the stage. Chapman’s projection design, while trying to create a sense of place, is distracting by his use of AI. No matter your thoughts on AI, it should never look like AI. McCormick and Ubiñas are particularly strong, carrying a fairly heavy show deftly on their shoulders. Director John Epstein lets the playwrights’ themes land without letting the show become ponderous, a thin line to walk with material like this. Nixon and Hoyos are also standout performers, two heavyweights offering fantastic support.

With class and religious themes throughout, CRONE CREED has much to say and it says it with beauty and audacity. The story spans centuries — a Greek myth crossed with a dystopian “Cloud Atlas” — and is a rousing and thought-provoking journey, reflecting our world now. In the end, nothing changes, the world — and humanity — is different but the same. The proletariat needs to rise up, having been issued a call to arms. The question is, will anyone ever take the lead? CRONE CREED is a swing for the fences that ends up a home run.

Photos by Jim Cox

CRONE CREED is at the El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Boulevard, in North Hollywood, through October 17. Tickets are available at ci.ovationtix.com/371/production/1285555 .

As a special treat, the theater says: “As part of the El Portal’s 100th anniversary season, the organization will offer tickets priced at just $19.26. This pricing honors the year El Portal was founded and reflects a shared commitment to keeping live performance affordable across generations.

Prefer BroadwayWorld in Google Search?

Add us as a preferred source so our stories show up more often in Top Stories and Google’s AI answers — for you.

Nominate your favorite local productions and performers before the deadline on October 31, 2026.

To post a comment, you must register and login .

Exclusive: THE SOUND OF MUSIC Tour Star Cayleigh Capaldi Performs the Title Song

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA 40TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT to Play Hollywood Bowl

Review: THE OUTSIDERS at Hollywood Pantages Theatre

Review: COME FROM AWAY at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater

Also text me

When are you seeing ?

Get an Alert Each Time Harker Jones Writes

BroadwayWorld TV

Breaking Broadway news and show discounts. No password required.

Breaking Broadway news on your phone. US mobile numbers only.

POPULAR

Sign up for announcements and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows!

© 2026 — Copyright Wisdom Digital Media , all rights reserved. Privacy Policy

Episode

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Review-CRONE-CREED-at-El-Portal-Theatre-20261006)._