Tony Frankel

THE DROUGHT ENDS THIS WEEKEND You may know the term “Jukebox Musical” from the ridiculous amount of new Broadway musicals which take previously published songs’”most often popular hits that audiences will recognize’”and squeeze them into a new libretto. The sad truth is that even the dumbest of books is tolerated for rabid fans of the…

THE PYROTECHNICS AFTER THE FOURTH OF JULY As if the blazing heat wave last week wasn’t enough of an indication that summer is upon us, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is opening the first week of its classical season at the Hollywood Bowl. It’s still tough to beat the communal experience of sitting under the stars…

THE WORST OF THE BEST Let me say that I have no idea what I just saw. Clearly, some very clever folk have come up with the very clever idea to spoof a Fringe Festival, which Fringe Festivals certainly deserve. Two very silly and rarely believable hosts, played by Jacob Smith and Lauren Flans (the…

IT’S VERY CLEAR, FEINSTEIN IS HERE TO STAY No one can argue that Michael Feinstein has singlehandedly reinvigorated the American Songbook for the 21st century, but this beguiling raconteur is also a consummate showman who is so knowledgeable and adorable that you may just want to pinch his cheeks. This is why he is a…

THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MAX AND ELSA Greetings my lovelies! Garrulous Greta here with some glorious news. You may remember not long ago I received a letter from a fan of The Sound of Music (and who isn’t in love with that glorious 1965 film?’”and if you aren’t we don’t…

MASTERFRINGE THEATRE When Barnaby Hughes reviewed a previous Magnum Opus production of Surf Dogs Unite  for Stage and Cinema, he wrote that the show “will leave you doubled over with laughter.” Even knowing my own writers, I somewhat doubted that clichéd statement. But last night, I saw the players take  an actual awful screenplay about misfit high…

MARRIED TO SONDHEIM When I first saw Marry Me A Little in the mid-1980s, it was a revelation. But not because of the story. This revue uses trunk songs of Stephen Sondheim, songs which–at that time–were relatively unknown (many have since been performed in the show they came from (Saturday Night) or at any given…

WHAT A DOG The term “Dog Days” refers to the hottest period of the year, the sultry part of summer when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises in unison with the sun. It’s a time marked by sluggishness. Opera is going through its own dog days in which the majority of new works I’ve seen are…

I WOULDN’T MOUSE IT FOR THE WORLD Saturday June 13 is one of those magic days for entertainment choices in Los Angeles. Along with theater, dance, opera, the L.A. Film Festival and the Hollywood Fringe Festival, classic film is represented across town in classic movie palaces. Chaplin’s masterpiece City Lights is showing at the beautiful…

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT It was one of those magical evenings in the theater that shall live with me forever. When Kulunka Teatro’s André & Dorine appeared at the Los Angeles Theatre Center for only three performances back in September, 2012, I considered myself among the lucky few privileged enough to have witnessed such…

IN HARLEM’S WAY We never meet the titular Our Lady of 121st Street, a no-nonsense New York nun who had a profound effect on the characters in Stephen Adly Guirgis’s 2003 play. Nor do we meet, as it were, the plot. At rise, a middle-aged boxer shorts-wearing white man’”his suit is conspicuously missing the pants’”stands…

THE SUM OF THESE Pí„RTS It really was a bit of a revelation. I was always interested in choral music, from Barbershop four-part harmonies to the more intricate passages of Tallis, but I distinctly remember the thrill when first I heard the work of the modern Estonian composer Arvo Pårt. A friend popped a cassette…

COMMERCIAL WITHOUT COMMERCIALS Imagine if the ‘70s sitcom Good Times did not hit TV until 2007. Now imagine a 3-episode arc about the coming out of a black man who brings his white boyfriend home for his brother’s wedding. Toss into the racial and gay humor some dysfunctional family drama revelations and old-fashioned sight gags,…

GO FACE THE MUSIC+DANCE Assuredly, Artistic Director Lincoln Jones’ American Contemporary Ballet (ACB) has become the go-to organization for thrilling dance in Los Angeles. Along with his muse Theresa Farrell (ACB’s associate director), Jones offers two programs that are always accompanied by live music. The polished technique of the company’s dancers combined with highly original…

MOVIES THE WAY THEY WERE MEANT TO BE SEEN 28 years ago, a handful of volunteers from The Los Angeles Conservancy, a nonprofit that recognizes, preserves, and revitalizes the historic architectural of L.A. County, dreamt up Last Remaining Seats, a summertime program which presents classic films and live entertainment in historic movie palaces. The brilliantly…