Tony Frankel

  A BIRDIE THAT TAKES WING Having no intention of reviewing, I bought a couple tickets to a  non-union production of Bye Bye Birdie, but the entire affair had me so damn giddy that I can’t be quiet about it — and you have until April 1 to catch it.  It’s as welcome as flowers that bloom in…

MORE THAN JUST VARIATIONS ON A THEME “Why did the great German composer Ludwig van Beethoven write 33 variations on a trivial little waltz by a mediocre amateur composer?” On the surface, the question itself may seem trivial, but playwright Moisés Kaufman expands the mystery of the 33 variations into a drama that makes us…

ELIXIRICIOUS At first it seemed as though a tragic circumstance had befallen Pacific Opera Project’s production of  The Elixir of Love last night. One hour before the show,  at the height of a heavy storm, a transformer blew in front of the Highland Park Ebell Club; there  would definitely be no electricity for the show. A stroke of…

SHE’S BA-A-A-CK AND SHE’S FA-A-A-ABULOUS Charles Busch’s Die, Mommie, Die! is equal parts comic melodrama, Greek tragedy and Hollywood kitsch’”and all campy noir classic in the vein of 1960s gothic horror films like Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte. I saw the first production at the Coast Playhouse back in 1999 starring the playwright, the great Wendy Worthington,…

A GUY WALKS INTO A CUCKOO’S NEST… Jazz pianist, TV personality, actor, author, film composer and arranger Oscar Levant (1906-1972) was quite possibly one of the quickest wits on record. His sophisticated and often vicious put-downs (a style made famous by members of the Algonquin Club), whether self-deprecating or shot bow-and-arrow style at others, were  a…

ZOOT SUIT  FITTED FOR A NEW GENERATION When Zoot Suit  was originally commissioned and developed by  Center Theatre Group in 1978, it  played for nearly a year in Los Angeles’”first at the Mark Taper Forum, then at the Aquarius in Hollywood. It went on to become Broadway’s first Chicano play, was made into a major motion picture and became…

KNEEHIGH RETURNS TO  THE WALLIS I wonder if L.A.  residents know how ridiculously lucky they are to have the Wallis Annenberg Center, an outfit so prestigious that Britain’s Kneehigh  is bringing 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, their latest hit show, to the Bram Goldsmith Theater.  946 explores everything we thought we knew about the D-Day landings in…

FOUND IN THE STARS Lost in the Stars is quite possibly composer Kurt Weill’s magnum opus for the American Theater. The score is prime Weill, characteristically mixing high operatic style with lowdown showbiz pizzazz. Based on Alan Paton’s poetic and popular novel Cry, the Beloved Country,  the piece’”while not considered a commercial success’”had a respectable 281-performance…

WHEN IS FAKING IT OK? If someone should recommend Sierra Madre Playhouse’s production of Bee-Luther-Hatchee to you, they’re not off the mark. My advice would be that you walk, don’t run, to see it. Two main issues keep this from being an impactful evening. One: This isn’t a great play; Act I is all set-up…

GUESS WHO’S NOT COMING TO DINNER? At first, we have no idea why a well-to-do couple has invited another couple and their son over for dinner. The hostess Debora (Ann Hearn) is on edge from the start, but  her politician husband Michael (Grinnell Morris) appears somewhat laid back. A forced amicability arrives  with the guests, Tam (Jennifer…