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Jim Allen

  • Theater Preview: PRIDE PLAYS 2020 FESTIVAL (Pride Plays, Playbill, and Rattlestick)

    By Jim Allen | June 5, 2020
    in

    GAY PLAYS STREAMED LIVE FOR PRIDE BY PRIDE PLAYS Pride Plays (Festival Producers Doug Nevin and Michael Urie, and Festival Director Nick Mayo) and Playbill, in partnership with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, are celebrating the LGBT month of Pride with the Pride Plays 2020 Festival’s Primetime Livestream lineup. Playbill will present a free livestream theatrical event…

  • Broadway Preview: SMASH, A NEW MUSICAL (produced by Steven Spielberg)

    By Jim Allen | May 21, 2020
    in

    HERE’S HOPING SMASH IS A SMASH The 2012 NBC TV series, Smash, which had as many loyalists as detractors in its short burst of life, is headed to Broadway, which is where some critics thought it belonged in the first place. Subtitled A New Musical, Smash will be co-produced by Steven Spielberg, whose original idea…

  • FILM EXTRAS: 5 UNDERRATED GAMBLING FILMS

    By Jim Allen | March 17, 2020
    in

    5 UNDERRATED GAMBLING FILMS When most of you think about gambling films, titles like “Casino”, “Rounders”, and “The Cincinnati Kid” instantly spring to mind. They are classics that almost any cinema lover has watched or at least can recognize. However, the gambling theme is part of many other motion pictures. Its tight connection to exciting…

  • Concert Preview: NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH KRISTIN CHENOWETH (Disney Hall)

    By Jim Allen | December 29, 2019
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    A KRISTIN PRESENT FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE The supremely talented platinum blonde speaks in a small voice and possesses a very petite, yet bodacious body. When she sings, however, we get very unique, beautiful and extraordinarily powerful musical notes in perfect pitch. At 4’ 11”, this wacky and vulnerable powerhouse is the new amalgamated American…

  • WHY MOBILE GAMES ARE INCREASING IN POPULARITY

    By Jim Allen | November 25, 2019
    in

    WHY MOBILE GAMES ARE INCREASING IN POPULARITY The mobile games industry has grown at an astonishing rate in recent years. It is estimated that there will be 2.7 billion mobile gamers around the world by 2021. Players can also pay using phone credit to purchase items in these games. This blog post will explain to…

  • Extras Feature: BEST DAYS TO PLAY BINGO

    By Jim Allen | November 20, 2019
    in

    Playing Bingo at any time is a great way to increase your entertainment. Many people play whilst they are waiting for the kids to come out of school, during their daily commute or at the times they are travelling. It is a great way to kill time whilst you are also in with a good…

  • Gameplay Review: ENCHANTED PRINCE SLOT

    By Jim Allen | November 16, 2019
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    GAMEPLAY REVIEW OF ENCHANTED PRINCE SLOT Since ancient times, one of the most exciting fairy-tales ever has been the Enchanted Prince Slot. This tale is about a beautiful prince who gets transformed into a frog by a maleficent witch, who pronounces a magic spell. This spell can be broken only by a kiss from a…

  • Theater Preview: MOMENTOS MORI (Manual Cinema)

    By Jim Allen | March 22, 2019
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    THIS IS THE MOMENTOS I have seen the Chicago-based performance collective Manual Cinema on their home turf twice, and the theatricality is awesome. This endlessly inventive group of artists uses disarmingly simple tools — live music, paper puppets, overhead projectors — to tell transformative stories. Their enchanting works unsettle the boundaries between cinema and theater….

  • CD Review: BULLDOZER: THE BALLAD OF ROBERT MOSES (Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording)

    By Jim Allen | February 22, 2019
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    BULLDOZED It breaks my heart that another poorly made production with no soul or message gets recorded as an Original Cast Recording. Those who may think that  Bulldozer is a musical about construction equipment should read the subtitle: The Ballad of Robert Moses, which is indeed about the renowned and controversial “master builder” of mid-20th century…

  • Film Feature: FINDING NEVERLAND: A MILESTONE IN HISTORICAL FANTASY

    By Jim Allen | February 12, 2019
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    FINDING NEVERLAND: A MILESTONE IN HISTORICAL FANTASY Following up his critically acclaimed Monster’s Ball, director Marc Forster took on this biography of playwright James Matthew Barrie, the scribe who penned the children’s classic Peter Pan. Johnny Depp stars as the turn-of-the-century writer as the film follows Barrie as he struggles to write and have his…

  • Film Review: CASINO ROYALE (directed by Martin Campbell)

    By Jim Allen | January 18, 2019
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    CASINO ROYALE It’s no doubt been quite some time, but you now get to revisit the outstanding Bond movie from 2006, Casino Royale. Adapted from Ian Fleming’s first novel, written in 1953, the hero is different from Marvel Comic-type superheroes and other slot-game characters like Top Cat, where you can get a free spiny. Produced…

  • Music Review: ZUBIN MEHTA’S BRAHMS (LA Phil)

    By Jim Allen | January 8, 2019
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    ZUBIN (MEH)TA Since classical concerts are scheduled up to two years in advance, there is no possible way to know if an artist will need to be replaced. This is why, in opera for example, singers don’t always seem best-suited for each other when one must cancel. But it’s also how I discovered some bedazzling…

  • CD Review: LIFE (Igor Levit, solo piano)

    By Jim Allen | December 28, 2018
    in

    LIFE-AFFIRMING Along with Daniil Trifonov, pianist Igor Levit’s concerts and CDs must recall what it first felt like to encounter Gilels and Richter, two other super-talented Russian pianists who brought  excitement to classical music.  When I saw Igor Levit live, one of the most striking aspects for this sensitive and strong pianist was the fascinating combination of…

  • Film Review: THE GAMBLER (directed by Rupert Wyatt)

    By Jim Allen | December 18, 2018
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    A GOOD GAMBLE Remade from the 1974 film, The Gambler  (2014) is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Wholly different than the original, it sure has the needed charisma to do that. Made under the direction of excellent filmmaker  Rupert Wyatt, the script was reportedly offered to many top directors, including Martin Scorsese….

  • CD Preview: MICHAEL LONGORIA: MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING (Broadway Records)

    By Jim Allen | December 15, 2018
    in

    LET YOUR HEARTH BE GAY Celebrate the holiday season with Broadway Records first Christmas album, Michael Longoria: Merry Christmas Darling. Best known for his star turn on Broadway as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, he has amassed 15 numbers for this  romantic holiday album with a throwback 60s vibe but a modern man-to-man sensibility.  His original Christmas…

  • CD Preview: RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (Soundtrack)

    By Jim Allen | November 29, 2018
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    AWESOME SOUNDTRACK ARRIVES THIS WEEK Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack for the hit film Ralph Breaks the Internet this week. The album features original songs “A Place Called Slaughter Race” (performed in the film by Sarah Silverman and Gal Gadot) and “Zero,” written and performed by Imagine Dragons; as well as “In This Place,”…

  • CD Review: DESPERATE MEASURES (Original Cast Recording, Off-Broadway)

    By Jim Allen | November 11, 2018
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    THERE’S TREASURES IN MEASURES This Off-Broadway hit, which just closed at New World Stages on October 28, 2018, is a Wild West musical inspired by,  meaning it’s very loosely based on, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. When the dangerously handsome Johnny Blood’s (Conor Ryan) life is on the line, he must put his fate into the hands…

  • Film and Music Preview: NOSFERATU & VAMPYR (Theatre at the Ace Hotel and Disney Hall)

    By Jim Allen | October 26, 2018
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    SILENT SCREAMS Two of the spookiest horror films ever made were completed before much of today’s audiences were born. One, Nosferatu, is far better known than the other, especially for the creepy-ass make-up given to the vampire. But have you ever heard of Vampyr, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1932 masterpiece? Horror buffs have, as it regularly…

  • Theater Preview: THE BARBERSHOP CHRONICLES (Freud Playhouse at UCLA)

    By Jim Allen | October 10, 2018
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    Newsroom, political platform, local hot spot, confession box, preacher-pulpit and football stadium. For generations, African men have gathered in barber shops to discuss the world. They talk, argue, unwind and, of course, get their hair cut. These are places where the banter can be barbed and the truth is always telling. For one weekend only,…

  • CD Review: HILARY HAHN PLAYS BACH

    By Jim Allen | September 27, 2018
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    BACH TO BRILLIANCE It’s now practically lore that violinist Hilary Hahn decided that her debut album would not only be solos, but partitas and a sonata by Bach, works that have been held as the zenith of violin composition and the most intangible of objectives for a newcomer recitalist. It was a move that raised…

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