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John Todd

  • Music Preview: iPALPITI (23rd Annual Festival is now a Festival-at-Your-Home)

    By John Todd | July 18, 2020
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    iPALPITI’S 23RD FESTIVAL IS NOW A FESTIVAL-AT-HOME Based in Los Angeles, iPalpiti Artists International is a non-profit organization formed to support, promote and develop the careers of exceptionally gifted young professional musicians, thus securing a future generation of artists who will pass on traditions of all time and carry classical music into the next century….

  • Theater Feature: QUIZ ME, KATE (42nd Street Moon)

    By John Todd | July 12, 2020
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    THE CHANCE TO PLAY BROADWAY TRIVIA IS A NO-BRAINER! WINNING..? WELL… San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon has been offering a program that I know our readers would delight in. Mavens and newbies alike are welcome to play “Quiz Me, Kate: Musical Theatre Trivia”, which happens on Sundays at 8 p.m. PST. Enter as a household…

  • TV Preview: GLOBAL GOAL: UNITE FOR OUR FUTURE — THE CONCERT (NBC)

    By John Todd | June 27, 2020
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    Los Angeles Philharmonic, YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) & special guest J’Nai Bridges join Gustavo Dudamel in Global Goal: Unite for Our Future – The Concert NBC, Saturday, June 27, 2020, 8PM   International advocacy organization Global Citizen and the European Commission are partnering on  Global Goal: Unite for Our Future’”The Concert, a globally televised and digitally…

  • L.A. Extras: GRAND PARK + THE MUSIC CENTER’S 4TH OF JULY BLOCK PARTY: HOME EDITION

    By John Todd | June 24, 2020
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    THE PARTY CONTINUES Grand Park + The Music Center’s 4th of July Block Party Annual Event Will Televise Live on July 4, 2020 ABC7 (7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.) and LA 36 and The Music Center  (8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.) Grand Park + The Music Center’s 4th of July Block Party: Home Edition  Highlights: KABC-TV Broadcast Hosts Members of the…

  • Extras: VIRTUAL REALITY SLOTS: OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

    By John Todd | June 13, 2020
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    Virtual Reality Slots: Opportunities and Threats The entertainment industry has benefited immensely from advances in technology and more so than many other industries. Whether it is computer games with lifelike graphics or special effects that have helped define modern cinema, all have changed the industry beyond recognition.   Gambling and New Technology Gambling is usually seen…

  • Extra: MAKING THE BEST OF YOUR CASINO EXPERIENCE

    By John Todd | May 9, 2020
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    MAKING THE BEST OF YOUR CASINO EXPERIENCE If you’re an avid gambler, or if you simply like to dabble in casual gambling, no doubt you will have scrolled through an abundance of online articles with slot tips for making the most of casino games, some great and some not so great! Here’s how to make…

  • Extra: FROM THE MECHANICAL TO THE VIDEO SLOT

    By John Todd | May 6, 2020
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    FROM THE MECHANICAL TO THE VIDEO SLOT The mechanical slot machine was invented by Sittman and Pitt in 1891 with five rotating drums. Similar to other casino games, the player would win the game based on who had the best hand with five cards. This game was the first of its kind back then and…

  • 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…

  • 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 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…

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