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Tony Frankel
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Highly Recommended Concert: RHAPSODY IN JAZZ: ORIGINAL 1924 VERSION OF RHAPSODY IN BLUE & MORE GERSHWIN (Conrad Tao; Christopher Rountree/wild UP; The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra at The Soraya, Saturday November 16)
GERSHWIN’S RHAPSODY IN JAZZ Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue turns 100 this year, so the piece is receiving a fair amount of attention: Just this week, CBS Sunday Morning ran this segment, and earlier this year, columnists for the The New York Times and Los Angeles Times debated the merits of a work entrenched in the American psyche….
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Highly Recommended Screening: KISS ME, KATE (In U.S. Cinemas Beginning November 17, 2024)
A SCREENING TO PUCKER UP FOR Following an acclaimed summertime run at London’s Barbican Theatre, the cinema release of the smash-hit production KISS ME, KATE brings the magic of this musical masterpiece to an even wider audience around the world, playing in U.S. cinemas beginning November 17. Tickets are available now at Kiss Me Kate Cinema During…
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Theater Review: RENT (Jaxx Theatre)
It’s amazing that this earnest, energetic, enthusiastic ensemble doesn’t spontaneously combust navigating the tiny playing area between viewers on both sides in an alley theater configuration. It’s truly a remarkable feat while executing the large crowd scenes and tight choreography. Rent has a romantic history: Jonathan Larson, its author and composer, died suddenly of an…
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Highly Recommended Theater: HOME ALONE-LY HEARTS CLUB BAND (The Troubies at the Colony in Burbank)
I’M DREAMING OF A PSYCHEDLIC CHRISTMAS Well, Halloween is here soon, but you know what’s really scary ’” aside from Christmas items for sale at Costco before Valentine’s Day? By Thanksgiving, tickets will no doubt be sold out for The Troubies’ newest Holiday Show, Home Alone-ly Hearts Club Band, which plays December 5-22, 2024. For those…
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Extras: UNLOCK YOUR FORTUNE: HOW TO CLAIM YOUR FORTUNE COINS SIGN UP BONUS
Playing at Fortune Coins always comes with exciting benefits. This post focuses on the welcome offer, which is available immediately after registration. Keep reading as we discuss what’s included in the promo and how to receive it. About the Fortune Coins Welcome Bonus At Fortune Coins, all new players get a welcome bonus of 630,000…
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Theater Review: GLORIA (Chance Theater)
GLORIA, HALLELUJAH! Unless you can see Gloria at The Chance Theater tonight or tomorrow, this may be a review of record, as it ran only two weeks after opening night, but I tell you this is what theater should be: unique, sharp, funny, adventurous. The author, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, continues to be one of contemporary theater’s…
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Music Review: LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (Edward Gardner, conductor; Randall Goosby, violin; The Soraya)
GOOSBY + GARDNER = GOOSEBUMPS There was a happening at The Soraya in Northridge on October 10. I call it that for three reasons: The London Philharmonic Orchestra; violinist Randall Goosby; and The Soraya itself. This strikingly beautiful concert hall on the campus of CSUN easily has the best sound of any large performance venue…
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Highly Recommended Theater: SYMPHONY OF RATS (West Coast Premiere, The Wooster Group at REDCAT in Los Angeles)
In Symphony of Rats, a President of the United States has strange encounters of the phantasmagorical kind. Surrounded by his presidential aides, he plunges into a series of incidents where he meets otherworldly beings, among them a giant rat with a special message. October 18-20 & 22-23, 2024, the legendary Wooster Group transforms REDCAT in downtown L.A. into a sort of mad laboratory for their latest deliriously trippy production Symphony of Rats, directed by Elizabeth LeCompte,…
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London Theatre: KING OF PANGEA (King’s Head Theatre)
Directed by Richard Israel, (Civility of Albert Cashier, Floyd Collins, 110 in the Shade), King of Pangea, the spellbinding new musical with book, music, and lyrics by Martin Storrow, will have its world premiere at London’s King’s Head Theatre in 2025. King of Pangea Straighten Your Crown Productions (Nicole LaFountaine) 16th & 8th Productions (Jaime Bartolett and…
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Theater Review: GREEN DAY’S AMERICAN IDIOT (Deaf West and Center Theatre Group at Mark Taper Forum)
IDIOT IS AS IDIOT DOES Unlike the jukebox musicals Mamma Mia and Escape to Margaritaville, which invented stories around the songs of ABBA and Jimmy Buffett, American Idiot ’” inspired by the eponymous 2004 rock concept album by the American punk rock band Green Day ’” has a book by lyricist Billie Joe Armstrong and original director Michael Meyer with about…
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Highly Recommended Theater: AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ (Musical Theatre West at The Carpenter Center in Long Beach)
ONE OF THE ALL-TIME FEEL-GOOD MUSICALS COMES TO THE CARPENTER CENTER Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a sizzling celebration of Fats Waller’s music ’” songs that he made famous in a career that ranged from uptown clubs to downtown Tin Pan Alley to Hollywood and concert stages around the world. This delightful revue conceived by Murray Horwitz &…
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Album Recommendation: UNITY (Dan Siegel)
Veteran keyboardist/composer Dan Siegel brings together a stellar rhythm section and a roster of ace guitarists for his groove-heavy 23rd album, featuring David “DJ” Ginyard on bass and Oscar Seaton on drums. UNITY also features percussion great Lenny Castro, whose relationship with Siegel dates back to the keyboardist’s self-titled 1982 album, as does that of Tom Scott (sax),…
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Broadway Opening: MAYBE HAPPY ENDING (Musical Preview of Select Songs with Darren Criss and Helen J Shen)
Inside a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, Oliver (Darren Criss) lives a happily quiet life listening to jazz records and caring for his favorite plant. But what else is there to do when you’re a HelperBot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete? When his fellow HelperBot neighbor Claire…
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Recommended Exhibits & Performances: WAVES UPON WAVES (Fulcrum Festival 2024 in L.A. | Citywide, Oct 16-20, 2024)
Fulcrum Festival offers opportunities for discovering the fascinations, curiosities, and tensions ignited by the integrations of art and science. For over 20 years, Fulcrum Festival (formerly the AxS Festival) has presented a regional celebration across Greater Los Angeles that foregrounds the union of art and science as a powerful engine of contemporary culture. This year’s…
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Cabaret Review: IN MY LIVING ROOM (Jessica Vosk at Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine, Malibu)
LIVING IT UP IN HER LIVING ROOM In the shimmering galaxy of cabaret, few stars sparkle with the vivacity and brilliance of Jessica Vosk, who, at 40, is the real deal. You’re talking about a woman who sells out Carnegie Hall. On September 19, a raucous and appreciative audience — mainly students at Pepperdine University’s…
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Highly Recommended Theater: THE EMPIRE STRIPS BACK: A BURLESQUE PARODY (The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood)
IT’S OK TO GET SAUCED FOR STUNNING SAUCY STRIPPERS AND SPECTACULAR SAUCERS, OR MAY THE TORSO BE WITH YOU Forget about Broadway or the latest Marvel Comic movie. The fun, hip and cool burlesque Star Wars parody ’” which isn’t just for fans of the franchise ’” is the show to see live onstage. Surprised by…
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Theater Review: ONCE (Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura)
SEEING ONCE ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH Ironically, the real-life love affair between collaborators Glen Hansard, an Irish singer-songwriter, and Markéta Irglová, a Czech songwriter, fizzled after John Carney’s 2007 film became a success (well, it’s not called Once for nothing). But the Tony-triumphant 2011 stage musical, now offered in Rubicon Theatre‘s enchanting and bittersweet yet…
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Opera Review: MADAME BUTTERFLY (LA Opera)
TAKE. CUT. PRINT. A BUTTERFLY IN A 1930 MOVIE STUDIO ENTHRALLS Stage and cinema have merged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for what may be the most glorious and cogent version of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly you will ever see. Certainly, this is the most inspiring and satisfying version of this oft-produced opera that I have…
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Theater Review: TICK, TICK … BOOM! (Theatre Palisades)
IT TICKS, IT BOOMS, IT EXPLODES! Theatre Palisades has struck gold with its astoundingly entertaining and moving production of Jonathan Larson‘s Tick, Tick … BOOM! Expanding the cast from three to six, director Lindsay Johnson takes what normally feels like a song cycle and turns it into a full-fledged story, upping the emotional resonance of…
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Theater & Cabaret Review: CRIMSON & CLOVER (Cinegrill Theater at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel)
YOU’LL WANT TO SEE THIS CLOVER AND CLOVER AGAIN There’s a wonderful new show playing at the Cinegrill Theater at the gorgeous Hollywood Roosevelt that is not so easy to shoehorn into a simple definition. It’s burlesque, immersive theater, cabaret, dance show, nightclub and more. The name of the show, Crimson & Clover, comes from…
Off-Broadway Review: THE MAIDS (St. Ann’s Warehouse / Brooklyn)
by Gregory Fletcher | May 27, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE (TimeLine Theatre / Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | May 27, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: LE BAL (Trap Door Theatre / Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | May 26, 2026
in Chicago, Theater
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