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Michael M. Landman-Karny
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Cabaret Review: MANDY PATINKIN IN CONCERT: BEING ALIVE (Segerstrom and on Tour)
FINE AND MANDY! Mandy Patinkin, a venerable artist of 71years, known for his remarkable presence on the stage, in television, and on the silver screen, graced the esteemed Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa with his latest production, Being Alive. The title, a nod to the Stephen Sondheim song from the legendary…
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Music & Film Review: THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA (Theatre at the Ace Hotel)
STITCHED TOGETHER WITH BRILLIANCE For Halloween this past weekend, LA Opera‘s hugely popular annual celebration of horror and live music at the breathtaking Theatre at Ace Hotel featured James Whale’s 1935 gothic horror classic The Bride of Frankenstein, accompanied by the LA Opera Orchestra. The Bride of Frankenstein with Live Orchestra was another resounding success…
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Opera Review: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (LA Opera)
LA OPERA’S THE BARBER OF SEVILLE MORE THAN MAKES THE CUT In the world of opera, few works shine as brightly and endure as enduringly as Gioachino Rossini’s comic 1816 masterpiece, The Barber of Seville. The Barbiere di Siviglia score is a marvel of musical composition. Its lively and effervescent melodies, intricate vocal lines, and…
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Music Review: STRAVINSKY AND SHOSTAKOVICH WITH DUDAMEL (Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason; Conductor Gustavo Dudamel; LA Phil at Disney Hall)
AN UNEQUIVACABLE TRIUMPH FOR LA PHIL… AND MY MOTHER The strains of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 have forever held a special place in my heart. It is a sentimentality rooted in a rather extraordinary moment of my own origin, an occurrence forever entwined with the ethereal melodies of this masterpiece. On that fateful December…
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Opera Interview: ANTHONY LEÒN (Now Appearing in LA Opera’s “Don Giovanni”)
Anthony Leòn, a 27-year-old tenor of American-Cuban and Columbian descent, hails from Riverside, California. His journey into the world of opera is nothing short of remarkable, marked by a childhood infused with musical influences. Leòn’s early connection with music blossomed when, at the tender age of two, he memorized Luciano Pavarotti’s iconic aria “La Donna…
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Opera Interview: GUANQUN YU, SOPRANO (Now Appearing in LA Opera’s Don Giovanni)
Renowned Chinese soprano Guanqun Yu has firmly established herself as a frequent guest performer on the grand stages of opera houses across Europe and America. Her remarkable journey from studying the accordion and aspiring to become a music teacher in her homeland of China to gracing the world’s most prestigious opera venues is nothing short of…
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Opera Interview: LUCAS MEACHEM (Now Appearing in LA Opera’s DON GIOVANNI)
HE’S SMOOTH. HE’S A BARIHUNK. HE’S DON JUAN. MEET LUCAS MEACHEM. Baritone Lucas Meachem, now appearing in LA Opera’s Don Giovanni, was born on June 11, 1978, in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. He initially pursued his passion for singing through Karaoke before venturing into the world of opera. Meachem’s educational journey in music took him…
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Opera Review: DON GIOVANNI (Los Angeles Opera)
A DON GIOVANNI FOR THE #METOO ERA Mozart‘s Don Giovanni — which opened last night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion — is considered a masterpiece due to its exceptional musical composition, complex characters, well-crafted dramatic structure, emotional depth, cultural relevance, enduring themes, and its influence on subsequent operatic works. Its ability to engage audiences both…
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Concert / Opera Review: LISE DAVIDSEN (West Coast Debut at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica)
A NIGHT OF HIGH ANTICIPATION MET BY DISAPPOINTMENT The arrival of dramatic soprano Lise Davidsen on the West Coast was nothing short of a highly anticipated musical event. Davidsen, reminiscent of the iconic Wagnerian opera singers of bygone eras, stands at an imposing 6 feet 2 inches, hailing from Norway, and possesses a voice so…
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Recommended: LONG BEACH OPERA (2024 Season)
THE 2024 LONG BEACH OPERA SEASON Season tickets now on sale at longbeachopera.org ISOLAMusic by Alyssa WeinbergPoetry by J. Mae BarizoWORLD PREMIERECompound, Long Beach1395 Coronado Ave, Long Beach, CA 90804February 3,10 and 11 2024All performances at 7:30 PMGeorge R. Miller, Director (LBO directorial debut)Lucy Yates, Music DirectorAriadne Greif, Soprano ISOLA is a prismatic meditation on time,…
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Theater Review: THE SOUND INSIDE (The Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena)
A HAUNTING SYMPHONY OF SOLITUDE AND CONNECTION Set in the dimly lit confines of a college creative writing class and the private world of its reclusive protagonist, The Sound Inside, which opened last night at Pasadena Playhouse, is a riveting exploration of the human condition, loneliness, and the pursuit of meaningful connection. TV and stage…
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Concert Review: BROADWAY ROMANCE (San Diego Symphony at the Rady Shell)
On Friday, August 25th, attendees were treated to Broadway Romance, a delightful evening filled with romantic Broadway melodies at the Rady Shell. Situated in the heart of San Diego, California, the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park stands as a cutting-edge open-air concert venue. Nestled within the expansive Embarcadero Marina Park South, it graces the waterfront,…
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Theater Review: HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING (Rogue Machine’s L.A. premiere at The Matrix Theatre)
A HEROIC PRODUCTION Heroes of the Fourth Turning is a riveting and thought-provoking play that delves into the complexities of ideology, faith, and the generational divide in contemporary America. Written by Will Arbery and premiered in 2019, this Pulitzer Prize-nominated play offers a profound exploration of the ideological tensions that define the modern political landscape,…
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Theater Review: A PERFECT GANESH (Theatricum Botanicum)
A PERFECT PERFECT GANESH In the realm of contemporary theater, where scripts often tend to shy away from tackling profound and uncomfortable subjects, A Perfect Ganesh is a remarkable outlier. This captivating play penned by Terrence McNally transcends the boundaries of conventional storytelling, delving unflinchingly into themes of loss, self-discovery, and spirituality. With its poignant…
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Theater Review: LA HAVANA MADRID (South Coast Rep at Mission San Juan Capistrano)
HOT CHA-CHA-CHA As I stepped into the beautiful grounds of the San Juan Capistrano mission for La Havana Madrid, I was filled with anticipation and curiosity about the promised time travel through the vibrant and tumultuous history of Chicago’s Latino community. Eduardo Enrikez and Marlene Martinez Tristan Turner La Havana Madrid is an enchanting and…
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Opera Review: OTELLO (LA Opera)
EXQUISITE MUSIC BROUGHT TO LIFE BY LA OPERA Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Otello is a timeless masterpiece that showcases the composer’s genius in capturing the dramatic intensity and emotional complexity of William Shakespeare’s tragic play. The opera, which premiered in 1887, has become one of Verdi’s most powerful and musically captivating works, blending intricate vocal lines,…
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Cabaret Review: JASON ROBERT BROWN with MIKAL KILGORE (Samueli Hall at Segerstrom in Costa Mesa)
KING OF THE WORLD — AND MUSICAL SONGS Orange County audiences were treated to an all-too-rare occurrence — a cabaret appearance by Jason Robert Brown, one of today’s finest composer-lyricists. Since Jason Robert Brown no longer regularly performs due to his busy schedule, this was an opportunity to see a master of the musical theatre…
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Theater Review: RIDE THE CYCLONE (Chance Theater)
WHAT A RIDE! NOTHING GOES OFF THE RAILS IN THIS CALIFORNIA PREMIERE Ride the Cyclone is a 2008 musical by Canadians Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. Originally written as a song cycle for the Atomic Vaudeville Theatre Company, it was retooled for its 2015 critically lauded US premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Since then, the…
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Theater Review: GREASE (La Mirada Theatre)
GET READY TO BE GREASED UP The year is 1959, when rock and roll was giving birth to the Sexual Revolution and the turbulent 1960s were about to burst on the scene. Record companies were releasing over a hundred singles every week and the country was about to radically change. In its original raunchy incarnation,…
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Opera Review: THE TRISTAN PROJECT (LA Phil)
A PROJECT MORE THAN A COHESIVE OPERA The heavily hyped revival of director Peter Sellars’ and video artist Bill Viola’s production of Wagner’s monumental opera Tristan and Isolde has landed at Disney Hall with a whimper rather than a bang. In Wagner’s own vision, his operas were to be staged as a “total artwork” (Gesamtkunstwerk),…
Theater Review: SANCTUARY CITY (Chance Theater / Anaheim)
by Michael Landman-Karney | May 11, 2026
in Los Angeles, Regional, TheaterTheater Review: SWEPT AWAY (SpeakEasy Stage at Boston Center for the Arts)
by Lynne Weiss | May 10, 2026
in Boston, TheaterTheater Review: ‘NIGHT, MOTHER (Redtwist Theatre / Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | May 9, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterOff-Broadway Review: BIKE SHOP: THE MUSICAL (Theater for the New City)
by Rob Lester | May 7, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: SOMETHING ROTTEN! (Lyric Stage Company of Boston)
by Emily Brenner | May 7, 2026
in Boston, TheaterTheater Review: MJ THE MUSICAL (National Tour / San Diego)
by Dan Zeff | May 7, 2026
in Dance, Theater, Theater-San Diego, ToursTheater Review: FAULT (Chicago Shakespeare)
by Croydon Fernandes | May 7, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: I HATE HAMLET (Saint Sebastian Players / Chicago)
by Mitchell Oldham | May 6, 2026
in Chicago, Theater
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