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John Todd

  • Music Preview: JOHN WILLIAMS: MAESTRO OF THE MOVIES (and more from Pacific Symphony)

    By John Todd | March 26, 2020
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    SOME OFFERINGS FROM PACIFIC SYMPHONY Introducing the Virtual “Symphony Mixer” Symphony Mixer is a new virtual social series hosted by Symphony Principal Flutist Ben Smolen, each virtual happy hour will feature live performances, interviews with artists, musical anecdotes and stories from behind-the-scenes. “John Williams: Maestro of the Movies” Pacific Symphony has produced its first-ever virtual…

  • Theater Extras: SETTING THE STAGE FOR LEARNING (L.A. Theatre Works)

    By John Todd | March 18, 2020
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    AN EDUCATION VIA STREAMING THEATER As schools are turning to at-home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers are struggling to find relevant, high-quality distance learning resources. Stage and Cinema is hoping you’ll spread the word to let teachers know about L.A. Theatre Works’ Setting the Stage for Learning educational arts program, which harnesses the…

  • Entertainment Feature: FIVE-STAR RATED SLOTS: HOW CASINOS USE RATINGS

    By John Todd | February 23, 2020
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    FIVE-STAR RATED SLOTS: HOW CASINOS USE RATINGS In traditional casinos, players will be rated based on how they play. This is a way casinos get patrons to come back every time. The higher your rating is the more access to games and prizes you have. This can also happen in online casinos, but in most…

  • Music Extra: MANDOPOP SINGER AND ACTOR JAY CHOU’S GAMBLING HABITS

    By John Todd | February 15, 2020
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    MANDOPOP SINGER AND ACTOR JAY CHOU’S GAMBLING HABITS Jay Chou is a popular Taiwanese known for several Mandopop hits. Born in 1979 in Taiwan, he is arguably the most celebrated musician in the country and on the mainland of China. The media describes Chou as a music genius. Chou released his first album in November…

  • Music Commentary: CAN WE USE MUSIC TO INCREASE OUR STUDYING ABILITY?

    By John Todd | February 4, 2020
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    CAN MUSIC INCREASE OUR STUDYING ABILITY? Can music affect our ability to perceive and remember information? How does music affect our brain and psycho-emotional state? Well, we can divide all musical works into activating, tonic, and relaxing, soothing. The perception of music is closely connected with mental processes; it requires attention, observation, quick wit. Music,…

  • Music Preview: SONGS OF FANTASY (The Fox Singers in Santa Monica)

    By John Todd | January 10, 2020
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    A FOX FANTASY The Verdi Chorus is So Cal’s only choral group which centers around the dramatic and diverse music for an opera chorus. The Fox Singers, who constitute the professional ensemble of this wonderful chorus, are presenting, for one-night only on Sat. Feb. 1 at 7:30, a program devoted to all things fantastical. You…

  • Film Review: RAIN MAN (directed by Barry Levinson)

    By John Todd | March 10, 2019
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    GAMBLING WITH FAMILY Rain Main is a heart-warming Hollywood tale that explores the relationship between a slick, fast-talking Lamborghini salesman, Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), and his autistic, yet extremely gifted brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). When returning to Cincinnati to attend the funeral of his father, Charlie is disappointed to find that his inheritance consisted solely…

  • CD Review: RAMEAU: LE TEMPLE DE LA GLORIE (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan)

    By John Todd | January 4, 2019
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    ORIGINAL OPERA SHOULD BE SEEN, NOT JUST HEARD I suspected even before opening this new recording that there was trouble ahead on what should have been a fascinating effort. The “world premiere recording” of the “original 1745 version” of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire is a must for the collector (and you know…

  • Music Preview: CALLING ALL ANGELS (Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles Holiday Spectacular)

    By John Todd | November 24, 2018
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    MAKE THE YULETIDE GAY Attending GMCLA’s Holiday Spectaculars is more like a pilgrimage for me, and is a no-brainer when choosing my wintertime concerts. The musical extravaganza this year, Holiday Spectacular: Calling All Angels, plays at Glendale’s  gorgeous Alex Theatre for four performances Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 15 & 16, 2018. What better way is there…

  • CD Review: LIMITLESS (The Piano Guys)

    By John Todd | November 21, 2018
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    ACTUALLY, THERE ARE LIMITS You know The Piano Guys, right? Their YouTube channel is one of the most popular on the planet? Technically, it’s  the duo of pianist Jon Schmidt and cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, but there’s two more. The squeaky-clean 21st-century multimedia Utah-based empire is also producer Al van der Beek and videographer Paul Anderson,…

  • CD Review: WHO’S YOUR BAGHDADDY? OR HOW I STARTED THE IRAQ WAR (Original Cast Recording)

    By John Todd | October 10, 2018
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    THEY BAGH’D THIS ONE The Iraq War lasted seven years (2003 – 2011) and cost  $1.06 trillion, adding more than more than $1  trillion to the U.S. debt. I thought this was going to be a heavy-handed listen, but it’s a hoot to listen to the Original Cast Album about the war’s genesis. Seen Off-Broadway in 2015,…

  • CD Preview: THE BOY WHO DANCED ON AIR (Original Cast Recording)

    By John Todd | September 21, 2018
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    THE BOY WHO DANCED ON AIR, AN AFFECTING CHAMBER MUSICAL The Boy Who Danced on Air, Â a musical love story set in rural Afghanistan that was seen Off-Broadway last spring, Â will receive an original cast recording from Broadway Records. This musical about Â bacha bazi — “the ancient tradition where wealthy men buy boys from poorer families, train them…

  • CD Review: THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE by John Kander (Original Score Recording)

    By John Todd | September 14, 2018
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    NO BEAST, NO JUNGLE, NO SONGS, JUST GREAT MUSIC The Beast in the Jungle, based on the Henry James novella of the same name, is an Off-Broadway dance-play that got fairly mixed reviews, but not because of this fascinating score from 91-year-old John Kander, who shows no signs of slowing down since the death of…

  • Theater Review: END OF THE RAINBOW (Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach)

    By John Todd | August 13, 2018
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    THE LEGEND THAT GOT AWAY No, this show isn’t how fans want to remember Judy Garland at the bittersweet end. End of the Rainbow, Peter Quilter’s sardonic salute to a star on the skids, is a sometimes-sadistic portrait of an imploding diva. A festering production at Laguna Playhouse, Quilter’s retro take on “Little Girl Blue”…

  • Theater & Film Preview: BANDSTAND (The Broadway Musical on Screen presented by Fathom Events)

    By John Todd | June 21, 2018
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    THE BOYS ARE BACK — BANDSTAND: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL ON SCREEN The Tony-winning musical Bandstand  will be screened nationwide for two nights next week.  Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor’s ode to the 1940’s, musicians, and vets coming home from WWII won a Tony for director/choreographer  Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton) and his high-octane, heart-stopping, spectacular dancing.   The Boys Are Back…

  • San Diego Theater Review: BE A GOOD LITTLE WIDOW (Old Globe)

    By John Todd | May 20, 2013
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    HOME IS WHERE THE HEARTACHE IS Moments before the arrival of Hope (a domineering mother-in-law, not the aspiration), newly-married Melody jests with her handsome corporate attorney husband, Craig: “Don’t talk about your mother and then try to kiss me.” Although funny dialogue such as this may seem more sitcom than theatrical in Bekah Brunstetter’s Be…

  • San Diego Opera Review: AIDA (San Diego Opera)

    By John Todd | April 23, 2013
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    EYEING AMNERIS  IN AIDA In this well-loved 150-year-old Guiseppe Verdi classic of Grand Opera, it may be heretical to question the relationship of the principle characters and their so-called “love triangle.” But in the San Diego Opera production it is Amneris, the Pharoah’s love-sick daughter, who seems more the protagonist. After all, it is Amneris’ world…

  • San Diego Theater Review HICKORYDICKORY (Moxie Theatre)

    By John Todd | November 29, 2012
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    WASTED TIME In Marisa Wegrzyn’s Hickorydickory, all humans are born with a mortal clock encoded with the date and time of their death.   This mortal clock takes the form of an actual pocket watch.   For most people, it goes unnoticed because it is hidden behind their heart.   But for the “unfortunate few” the watch is…

  • San Diego Theater Review: A HAMMER, A BELL AND A SONG TO SING (San Diego Repertory Theatre)

    By John Todd | November 19, 2012
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    A FEW PROTESTS… Todd Salovey’s revue of mostly American songs of protest is buoyed by a fiercely energetic, multi-talented quartet of singers and musicians: Dave Crossland, Jim Mooney, Vaughn Armstrong, and the redoubtable Lisa Payton.   When Payton hits the money notes it’s enough to pop your sternum from its rib cage.   But the narrative, the…

  • San Diego Theater Review: AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (Lamb’s Players Theatre)

    By John Todd | October 17, 2012
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    ADAPTATION NEEDS TO MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT Jules Verne channeled 19th century technological progress into wondrous stories that fueled the world’s imagination.   He took us to the center of the earth, to the bottom of the sea, to the moon and, in perhaps his most popular adventure, around the world in 80 days.   Even in…

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