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Tony Frankel
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CD Review: NIV ASHKENAZI: VIOLINS OF HOPE (Niv Ashkenazi on Albany Records)
AN ALBUM WHICH DOES INDEED OFFER HOPE 81 years ago, Moshe Weinstein and his wife, Golda, moved to Tel Aviv and opened a violin shop. They had both graduated from the Vilna conservatory, Moshe as a violinist and Golda as a pianist, and followed the large Jewish emigration from Europe to Palestine. In postwar Europe,…
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Concert Review: STEPHANIE J. BLOCK (The Seth Concert Series)
BLOCK IS CHOCKABLOCK WITH FUN AND TALENT Seth Rudetsky’s fun and insightful Broadway concert series that first began in Provincetown at The Art House in 2011 is now a weekly virtual series titled The Seth Concert Series. I caught his live conversation-and-song episode with Stephanie J. Block, (The Cher Show, Falsettos) and it was positively…
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Art Preview: PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ: HARLEM RENAISSANCE FASHION TALK (Art Deco Society of Los Angeles)
PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ: HARLEM RENAISSANCE FASHION TALK A Virtual Illustrated Presentation with CAMARA HOLLOWAY & ELIZABETH WAY Sunday, August 23, 2020 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM PDT / 6:00 PM EDT Tune in from Home Presented by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles Harlem during the Jazz Age was renowned for the style…
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Album Review: CHARLES IVES — COMPLETE SYMPHONIES (Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic)
THE IVES’ HAVE IT! A little over week before the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down the arts world as we know it, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented an apotheosis to its already glorious season: Under Gustavo Dudamel’s leadership, a series of concerts offered the final three, and some say best, symphonies of Dvořák. Played alongside…
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Theater Preview: THE BALLAD OF EMMETT TILL (Online Reading by Fountain Theatre’s Original Cast)
ORIGINAL CAST OF THE BALLAD OF EMMETT TILL REUNITES FOR ONLINE READING ON 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF TILL’S MURDER The original director and cast of the Fountain Theatre’s 2010 brilliant, moving production of The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza will reunite for a live-streamed reading of the play on Friday, Aug. 28, which marks the 65th anniversary of Till’s…
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Theater Preview: LOVE, NOí‹L: THE SONGS AND LETTERS OF NOí‹L COWARD (Irish Rep, filmed at The Players)
LOVE, NOí‹L: THE SONGS AND LETTERS OF NOí‹L COWARD A PERFORMANCE ON SCREEN Written and Devised by Barry Day Directed by Charlotte Moore Filmed at The Players Starring Steve Ross and KT Sullivan August 11 – 15, 2020 Noël Coward would have loved that his name appears twice in Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward, which will be shown…
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Art and Film Preview: ORIGINAL STAR WARS PROPS (Prop Store’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction August 26 and 27, 2020)
ICONIC STAR WARS PROPS TO BE SOLD IN HOLLYWOOD AUCTION AUGUST 26 & 27, 2020 (Darth Vader costume, Stormtrooper Helmet, lightsabers and more) 1977 Darth Vader Promotional Touring Costume used in the promotion of Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) is estimated to sell between $150,000 – 250,000 ( £114.8k – 191.4k) as part of Prop Store’s Entertainment…
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Theater Preview: EASTLAND: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL (Lookingglass Theatre Virtual Watch Party on August 20)
LITTLE-KNOWN CHICAGO DISASTER BECOMES TOWERING MUSICAL; THE BRILLIANT LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE PRODUCTION STREAMS ONE NIGHT ONLY FOR FREE In 2012, Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company presented the hit, Eastland: An Original Musical, a stunning meditation on one of the most terrible disasters in Chicago history: On the morning of July 25, 1915, an excursion boat overloaded with…
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Music Preview VIRTUAL HAPPY HOURS (Salastina Music Society)
SALASTINA’S VIRTUAL HAPPY HOUR SERIES CONTINUES Upcoming Programs: August 11: Fabio Bidini, piano August 18: Vid Guerrerio, Librettist August 25: Kinan Azmeh, clarinet September 1: Caroline Shaw, composer Since April 7, the terrific chamber ensemble Salastina began a Tuesday evening virtual Happy Hour series, which began on April 7, welcoming artists from across the globe and…
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Film Preview: JULIA SCOTTI: FUNNY THAT WAY (directed by Susan Sandler)
SHE IS FUNNY THAT WAY Decades ago, Julia Scotti performed as Rick Scotti, and appeared on bills with Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. Now, the trans comedian returns to the stage as “the crazy old lady of comedy,” in this tender, funny, and triumphant comeback story. In the comedy boom of the late 1980’s Rick…
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Album Review: THE MOONLESS NIGHTS EP (Jesse Epstein and Adam Arcuragi)
OVER THE MOON Wow, do I love this sound. They describe it as The Everly Brothers growing up in Twin Peaks, but I kinda hear Iron and Wine from the other side of the moon, possibly directed by David Lynch. Whatever the apt description, this EP is a winner. Jesse Epstein (aka Imaginary Future) and…
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Theater Preview: L.A. LAW REUNION (Stars in the House)
LAWFUL ENTRY Tonight, the cast of LA Law will join hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley on Stars in the House LIVE at 8pm ET on the Stars in the House YouTube channel. Former staffers of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, including Corbin Bernsen (Arnie Becker), Susan Dey (Grace van Owen), Jill Eikenberry (Ann Kelsey), Michele Greene (Abby Perkins), Harry Hamlin (Michael Kuzak), Alan Rachins (Douglas Brackman, Jr.), Jimmy Smits (Victor Sifuentes), Michael…
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Theater Preview: THE VIRAL MONOLOGUES (The 24 Hour Plays)
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES Tonight through August 8, the extraordinary 2020 company members of The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals will begin their weeklong intensive with their very own edition of the Viral Monologues, available at 24 Hour Plays. Together, the young artists chosen for this rigorous professional experience will write, rehearse, perform and produce…
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Album Review: LOVE LETTER (Jimmy Heath on Verve)
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE LETTER The beloved tenor saxophonist and composer Jimmy Heath died on January 19, 2020 at 93. Only a few weeks before, he wound up production on his final album, capping an astounding 76 years as a pro jazz musician. Love Letter is his posthumous wonderment. This collection of ballads is…
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Theater Feature: MARSHSTREAM INTERNATIONAL SOLO FEST (The Marsh online)
MARSH’S ONLINE SOLO FEST LOOKS FOR PERFORMERS From Ann Randolph’s Loveland in 2010 to Dan Hoyle’s Border People last year, The Marsh has presented some of the greatest solo shows I have ever seen — with some of the freshest perspectives on stage. San Francisco Bay Area’s “breeding ground for new performance,” which operated theaters…
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Theater Review: THEATER IN QUARANTINE (The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy and more)
VOYAGE IN A CLOSET Whereas many theater companies are becoming experimenters with video during the COVID-19 shutdown, Theater in Quarantine has been actually transforming theater into a small space successfully. Now, Theater in Quarantine debuts its most technically ambitious production, The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy, tonight live at 7pm and 9pm EDT. This slapstick science-fiction adventure adapted from…
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Concert Feature: CHEYENNE JACKSON (The Seth Concert Series)
SHOPTALK & SONGS WITH CHEYENNE & SETH AUGUST 3 & 4, 2020 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Cheyenne Jackson is easily one of the most winning performers around. There are Broadway stars who simply cannot perform in concert without coming off as a cardboard cutout. Handsome, self-effacing, loquacious, and convivially humble,…
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Film Review: HOUSE OF HUMMINGBIRD (directed by Bora Kim)
WONDERFUL COMING-OF-AGE STORY STAYS WITH YOU So, when you hear that House of Hummingbird is about a teenage girl awkwardly coming to terms with fitting in at school, at a dysfunctional home, and flirting with her own blossoming sexuality, you may think you’ve seen it all before. But this is different. South Korean writer/director Bora…
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DVD Review: L’INNOCENTE (directed by Luchino Visconti; digital restoration from Film Movement)
L’INNOCENTE: LUSHER THAN LIFE IN A NEW DIGITAL RESTORATION L’innocente, Luchino Visconti’s final film released just two months after his death in 1976, is a worthwhile conclusion to his great career, a telling adaptation of Gabriele d’Annunzio’s 1892 novel about the decadence of the aristocracy in late 19th-century Italy. Commanding the screen, Giancarlo Giannini as…
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Album Review: CAPRICE: THE CHAMBER MUSIC OF KIM PORTNOY
THE ISLE OF CAPRICE A capriccio (Italian: “following one’s fancy”) or caprice, is defined as a piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character. The typical capriccio is one that is fast, intense, and often virtuosic in nature, but Wiki tells us that there are several etymologies that have been…
Off-Broadway Review: ARIAS WITH A TWIST (HERE Arts Center / NYC)
by Kevin Vavasseur | September 23, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: LEGALLY BLONDE (Berkeley Playhouse / Berkeley)
by Chuck Louden | September 21, 2026
in San Francisco
(Bay Area), TheaterTheater Review: TEXAS SODOMY (Whitefire Theatre / Sherman Oaks)
by Michael Landman-Karney | September 20, 2026
in Los Angeles, TheaterTheater Review: THE GLASS MENAGERIE (Center REP / Walnut Creek)
by Chuck Louden | September 20, 2026
in San Francisco
(Bay Area), TheaterTheater Review: HANGMEN (Long Beach Playhouse)
by Michael Landman-Karney | September 19, 2026
in Los Angeles, TheaterTheater Review: THE HUMANITIES (Victory Gardens Theater / Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | September 19, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: BEGIN AGAIN (World Premiere Musical / The Old Globe / San Diego)
by Milo Shapiro | September 19, 2026
in San Diego, TheaterTheater Review: JEKYLL & HYDE (Kokandy Productions / Broadway Playhouse / Chicago)
by Emma S. Rund | September 19, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: MARISOL (Open Fist Theatre Company / Los Angeles)
by Lawrence Lucero | September 18, 2026
in Los Angeles, Theater
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