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Tony Frankel
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Theater Review: BESIDE MYSELF (Laguna Playhouse)
A GREAT PREMISE GETS LOBOTOMIZED Laguna Playhouse offers a dazzling wall of doors and not much behind them Paul Slade Smith’s new play Beside Myself arrives with a knockout premise: Gemma, a therapist, is so consumed by anxiety that she undergoes an experimental “minimally invasive” brain surgery to excise her worry. But near the end…
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Theater Review: THE HEART SELLERS (South Coast Rep)
THE QUIET COST OF BELONGING Suh’s Thanksgiving duet is lovely and lived-in, but leaves one wishing for deeper stakes The Heart Sellers at South Coast Rep offers a focused, uninterrupted glimpse into the lives of two strangers on Thanksgiving Day, 1973, near the end of Richard Nixon’s reign. The story begins with Luna (Nicole Javier),…
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Theater Review: HELLO, DOLLY! (Musical Theatre West in Long Beach)
SWEET, CHARMING, AND BRIMMING WITH LIFE, HELLO, DOLLY! IS MUSICAL COMEDY HEAVEN It’s always extraordinary to hear a live orchestra in a musical these days — a rare and exhilarating luxury that immediately elevates the experience. Under the crisp and buoyant baton of Dennis Castellano, Musical Theatre West’s Hello, Dolly! fills the Carpenter Performing Arts…
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Theater Review: BECOMING DADDY AF (UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA’s Nimoy Theater)
WHEN INTROSPECTION FLATLINES: DAVID ROUSSEVE’S BECOMING DADDY AF IS MORE LIKE WTF After more than twenty years away from full-length solo work, choreographer and storyteller David Roussève returns with Becoming Daddy AF, a 90-minute self-portrait presented by CAP UCLA that promises introspection but rarely delivers the emotional punch it’s built around. The premise is compelling…
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Album Review: TATUM’S SWINGIN’ SESSION!!! (Tatum Langley and Shout Section Big Band)
PROOF THAT SWING HASN’T GONE OUT OF STYLE If you think big band jazz is a museum piece, Tatum’s Swingin’ Session!!! will blow that notion clear off the bandstand. Under the sharp direction of Brett Dean, Chicago’s own Shout Section Big Band brings brassy swagger and airtight polish to fourteen tracks that feel both reverently…
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Highly Recommended Broadway Streaming: PUNCH (Manhattan Theatre Club, League of Live Stream Theater)
A KNOCKOUT OF CONSCIENCE NOW BECOMES A STREAM OF CONSCIENCE Stage and Cinema called the visceral and relevant Broadway hit Punch “a knockout of conscience.” Now, Manhattan Theatre Club is giving audiences everywhere the chance to see what Broadway has been raving about when Punch streams live from the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre during its…
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10 WAYS TO ROCK YOUR MEN’S ESSENTIALS HOODIE DAILY
Stay effortlessly cool with the Men’s essentials hoodie for any casual day. Pair it with ripped jeans and clean sneakers for a street-ready look. Keep accessories minimal to highlight the relaxed vibe. Each piece should complement the hoodie’s neutral tone perfectly. The Men’s essential hoodie adds a soft but structured silhouette. Its premium fabric ensures…
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Theater Review: PARANORMAL INSIDE (East West Players)
A GHOST STORY THAT EXPLAINS ITSELF TO DEATH It’s 2012 in Sherman Oaks, CA, when Thai-American life-insurance salesman Max (David Huynh) begins sleepwalking and violently lashes out at his pregnant wife Bincy (Christine Corpuz), prompting her protective Thai-born father Somboon (Alberto Isaac) to spirit her away and attempt a homespun exorcism. Max survives a second-story…
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Theater Review: DIAL M FOR MURDER (Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace)
A KILLER REVIVAL Drury Lane’s Dial M for Murder may be set in 1950s London, but under Adam Immerwahr‘s taut direction, the suspense feels freshly sharpened. Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation keeps the bones of Frederick Knott’s 1952 thriller intact while daringly reimagining one key element: Margot Wendice’s affair is now with another woman. It’s a…
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Highly Recommended Concert: VERONICA SWIFT (Pacific Jazz Orchestra at Vibrato)
READY FOR A SWIFT MOVE? Veronica Electrifies the Pacific Jazz Orchestra Gala The Pacific Jazz Orchestra opens its 2025–26 season with a night that promises both elegance and swing: an intimate dinner and concert on Thursday, October 9 at Bel Air’s Vibrato Grill & Jazz. The evening features an extraordinary lineup—Shelly Berg on piano, Ed…
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Theater Review: COME FROM AWAY (Paramount Theatre)
A NEWFOUND(LAND) WAY OF LOOKING AT MUSICAL THEATER It’s always a joy — and a rarity — to see a musical I’ve witnessed before reemerge as something fresher than the first time I saw it. Such is the case with the astounding production of the popular musical Come from Away at Paramount Theatre in Aurora….
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Concert Review: RAVEL PIANO CONCERTOS & SUITE FROM CARMEN (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
REVELLING IN RAVEL AND A RAPTUROUS CARMEN The Chicago Symphony Orchestra opened its late-September program tonight with a shimmering palette of sound while offering many chances for the players to highlight their skills. With Alice Sara Ott at the piano offering not one but two Ravel concertos, and the powerful yet graceful leadership of Mikko…
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Theater Review: WEST SIDE STORY (Los Angeles Opera)
WEST SIDE SNORING Astoundingly unsatisfying, LA Opera’s many-headed Hydra production of West Side Story, directed with no sense of urgency by Francesca Zambello, opened tonight to a crowd largely made up of donors and subscribers dressed to the nines. Oddly cast, oddly acted, and oddly staged, my head was reeling at the amount of money…
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TOP 8 ONLINE KASIN V ČESKU 2025: KOMPLETNÍ PRŮ VODCE
Online kasina v Česku zažívají v roce 2025 boom. Mobilní aplikace, rychlé výběry a živé kasino s reálnými dealery jsou dnes samozřejmostí. Český trh spojuje silné domácí značky s licencí a mezinárodní giganty, kteří přinášejí širší nabídku her a atraktivní bonusy. 1. Mostbet Czech – univerzální lídr Mostbet Czech je globální značka, která si v…
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Theater Review: RAGTIME (Actors’ Repertory Theatre of Simi Valley at the El Portal)
Ragtime is the epic musical by Terrence McNally (book), with music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens (based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow). It weaves together stories of a Jewish immigrant, a Harlem pianist, an upper-class white woman, and historical figures — all pursuing the American Dream amidst societal change, prejudice, and…
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Theater Review: RABBITS IN THEIR POCKETS (Lifeline)
TAKE A TRIP DOWN THIS RABBIT HOLE Coping with familial grief has long been fertile ground for theatre, from Rabbit Hole to Hamlet to Antigone, performed almost 2500 years ago at the birth of the art form. The 43rd season opener for Lifeline Theatre, Rabbits in Their Pockets—directed with an eye for character detail and…
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Theater Review: FOLLIES (Cygnet Theatre in San Diego)
GLITTER, GHOSTS AND GOLDEN-AGE GLAMOUR: DESPITE THE SCRIPT, CYGNET’S FOLLIES MAKES A BIG SPLASH AT THE JOAN Cygnet Theatre staked the debut of their new theater complex “The Joan” on a fairly solid bet: Stephen Sondheim. Given he is one of the great darlings of the theatre world, a musical with a score by Sondheim is a smart…
Concert Review: LET’S GET AWAY FROM IT ALL (Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall)
by Paulanne Simmons | November 11, 2025
in Concerts / Events, New YorkFeature Story: RAYMOND MUNRO (On Adapting Works by Raymond Carter into Story Theatre on Film)
by Emily Brenner | November 11, 2025
in Books, Film, VirtualTheater Review: ARMS AND THE MAN (Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado)
by Milo Shapiro | November 11, 2025
in San Diego, TheaterTheater Review: RENT (Revolution Stage Company)
by Jason Mannino | November 11, 2025
in Palm Springs
(Coachella Valley), TheaterTheater Review: THE BEAUTIFUL LAND I SEEK (LA LINDA TIERRA QUE BUSCO YO) (Teatro Chelsea)
by Lynne Weiss | November 10, 2025
in Boston, TheaterTheater Review: THE HEART SELLERS (South Coast Rep)
by pwsadmin | November 10, 2025
in Los Angeles, Regional, Theater
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