Frank Arthur

BEE THERE The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has charmed audiences across the country with its effortless wit and humor. Featuring a fast-paced wildly funny and touching book by Rachel Sheinkin (Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Book) and a truly fresh and vibrant score by William Finn (Falsettos), this bee is one…

HOLY DIONYSUS, GREENSPAN! Five-time Obie Award winner David Greenspan’s unique brand of gentle wit and exquisite lyricism will be on display when Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the West Coast premiere of his meta-theatrical comic romance, Go Back to Where You Are, beginning July 9 and running through September 4, 2016. In Greenspan’s tender comedy, which…

THE LITTLE MERMAID THAT COULD It is surprising that the stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid took until 2008 to hit  Broadway.  The 1989 film on which it’s based  marked the beginning of a major comeback for the Walt Disney company as a purveyor of animated movie musicals. The movie studio responsible for Bambi and Dumbo had gone…

HONKY IF YOU LIKE RACISM It’s such a weird time in America. From talk shows to a speech from President Obama, it’s clear that the racism remains a topical subject. But we don’t actually  talk about it. Can a white person get a simple answer if they ask a black person, “Why can you say ‘nigger’…

COME RIDE  THE CAROUSEL It’s sad, really, that a town crammed with some of the best musical artists in the country has so few musicals produced. And when they are, for the most part, it’s the overblown Broadway tour variety or a one-night-only concert staged reading. Fortunately, colleges continue to offer some of the best productions…

GREET A GREAT GRIEG The Grieg piano concerto is one of those works that  is  hindered by its  own popularity. I remember vividly its famous strains played over and over in a 1970s’ commercial for a classical compilation on LP. And Frank Loesser popularized the main theme above concert hall status  by adding the famous strain to  the song “Rosemary”…

FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS Evidence, A Dance Company  is recognized nationally and internationally for its fusion of African dance with contemporary choreography and storytelling that combines Cuban, Caribbean, West African and modern American dance movement. A selection of signature works from its repertory will be performed to tell the story and mark the extraordinary…

TAKE A TRIP TO POCATELLO Since this is a Samuel D. Hunter play, its setting is a nondescript town in Idaho whose business district is beseiged  by big-box stores and chain restaurants — in this case  a pre-fabricated eatery laden with  temperamental  technology. But unlike his previous studies in isolation, this group portrait of hinterland culture represents the author’s…

CARVING A “HAM” Direct from a critically acclaimed off-Broadway run, Harris’s  HAM: A Musical Memoir  makes  its West Coast debut at the LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre this  Saturday, January 23, 2016. But the show can only last so long  (as with any great ham, even if its refrigerated), so this  strictly limited engagement will close on  February 7. Tell me you remember…

IT JUST KEEPS ON KEEPIN’ ON This  Friday, January 22, Clark Terry protégé and jazz pianist  Justin Kauflin  will be appearing at the Wallis in Beverly Hills for one night only. Following an 8pm screening of Keep On Keepin’ On, Alan Hicks’ ode to the friendship between the prodigious lifetime Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Clark Terry and Kauflin (see…