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Tony Frankel
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Los Angeles Music Preview: TRIBUTE TO LAURIDSEN (Los Angeles Master Chorale)
LAURELS FOR LAURIDSEN With dozens of worthy events to choose from this Sunday, March 16, the choice to see Los Angeles Master Chorale’s all-Lauridsen program at Disney Hall was a no-brainer. Yet a fascinating thing happened recently; a few friends and family members asked, “Who is Lauridsen?” I tell them he is one of the…
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San Diego Theater Review: EDGAR & ANNABEL and FAR AWAY (ion theatre company)
THE FUTURE LOOKS BLIGHT While there are a few missteps in both playwriting and direction, ion theatre’s presentation of two one-acts definitely held my attention. The only similarities between the plays is that they are penned by female British dramatists and that they take place somewhere in an uncertain and dystopian future. But there is…
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Los Angeles Theater Preview: CIRCA (Broad Stage in Santa Monica)
COME JOIN THE CIRCA Brisbane-based Circa creates circus that moves the heart, mind and soul. The company discovers, cultivates and presents works and experiences from the living heart of circus, which makes it vital, challenging and delightful. The ceaselessly inventive outfit, guided by safe danger and fuelled by love and respect, will make its Broad…
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San Diego Theater Review: DETROIT (San Diego REP)
THE ACTUAL CITY OF DETROIT HAS FEWER PROBLEMS THAN THIS PRODUCTION After watching San Diego REP’s production of Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit, most audience members will be dumbstruck that this black comedy was a 2013 Obie winner, let alone a Pulitzer Prize finalist. But rest assured, it is indeed a very good if somewhat problematic play….
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Long Beach / Los Angeles Opera Preview: THE DEATH OF KLINGHOFFER (Long Beach Opera)
LBO MAKES A KLINGHOFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE The big story this weekend isn’t the appearance of John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer. Since its arrival in 1991, the opera has been encircled by controversy. Based on the true-life hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985 by Palestine Liberation Front terrorists, the title refers…
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Los Angeles Opera Preview: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Los Angeles Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion)
I LOVE LUCIA Lucia di Lammermoor, Gaetano Donizetti’s darkly romantic tale of honor, betrayal, loss and madness, opens this Saturday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and plays through April 6. Directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer with scenic and projection design by the amazing Wendall K. Harrington (Tony-winner for The Who’s Tommy), this all-new production by Los…
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San Diego Theater Review: THE WINTER’S TALE (Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park)
SHAKESOPHRENIC, OR SCHIZSPEARE American director Barry Edelstein knows his Shakespeare. Before being appointed Artistic Director of the Old Globe 16 months ago, he was Director of the Shakespeare Initiative at New York City’s Public Theater, which means he not only directed Shakespeare but oversaw all of the company’s Shakespeare productions, including Shakespeare in the Park….
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Los Angeles Music Review: AVALON STRING QUARTET (The Music Guild)
I FOUND MY LOVE WITH AVALON Based in Chicago where they have been the quartet-in-residence at the Northern Illinois University of Music in DeKalb since 2007, The Avalon String Quartet offered patrons of The Music Guild such a seamless performance that any catch-all adjectives’”“brilliant,” “kudos”’”fail to elucidate my experience. For once, my notebook was set…
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Regional Dance Preview: LAC (AFTER SWAN LAKE) (Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa)
THE LAKE EFFECT In 1993, H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover appointed Jean-Christophe Maillot as the head of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. Backed by his experience as a dancer under Rosella Hightower and Hamburg Ballet’s John Neumeier, Maillot’”the previous choreographer-director of the National Choreographic Centre of Tours’”has since created more than 30 pieces, including several great…
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San Diego Opera Preview: A MASKED BALL (San Diego Opera at the Civic Theatre)
INTRIGUE? I’M GLAD YOU MASKED The poster of San Diego Opera’s production of Verdi’s A Masked Ball claims “Based on a True Story.” This is not hyperbole. When their production opens on Saturday with a not-to-be-missed cast, the opulent setting you will see is the court of King Gustav III in 18th-century Sweden. This is…
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Los Angeles/Regional Music Preview: THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC (Segerstrom Concert Hall)
CHOOSING TO SEE THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC IS A WALTZ It may be the easiest decision you’ll make in a long time. If you want to hear one of the greatest orchestras in the world, the illustrious and rightly celebrated Vienna Philharmonic will be performing at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall this Monday, March…
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Los Angeles Music Review: EMANUEL AX’S BRAHMS PROJECT: EMANUEL AX AND YO-YO MA (Disney Hall)
AN INCOMPARABLE DISPLAY OF THE MASTER PLAYED BY THE MASTERS Pianist Emanuel Ax’s Brahms Project continued last Tuesday night at a recital with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Perhaps the most relaxing engagement I have ever experienced at Disney Hall, three cello/piano sonatas and a new solo piano work by Brett Dean resulted in a calming experience,…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: TCHAIKOVSKYFEST: GUSTAVO DUDAMEL & ALISA WEILERSTEIN (Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall)
WEILERSTEIN TO WOW AT TCHAIKOVSKYFEST I had been following cellist Alisa Weilerstein for years, but until last March it was only on recordings and YouTube. Just before seeing her perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, I wrote, “The phenomenal American cellist Alisa Weilerstein has attracted attention worldwide for playing that…
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Los Angeles / Regional Theater Review: LYSISTRATA JONES (Chance Theater)
BASKETBALL MUSICAL IS ONE BIG PENALTY You wanna know how great the Chance Theater is? They actually made it a palatable experience to sit through one of the most half-baked and frivolous new musical comedies I could imagine. With only a dribble of sophisticated wit and attractive songs, book-writer Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu) and his…
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Los Angeles Music Review: TCHAIKOVSKYFEST (Violin Concerto & Symphony No. 2; Gustavo Dudamel, Alina Pogostkina & Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra)
THE SIMí“N BOLíVAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: A SONIC BOOM The 1812 Overture may be well-known for booming cannons, but conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela really pulled out the big guns when delivering Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 last Friday night. After Alina Pogostkina’s different spin on the oft-played Violin Concerto, the…
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Los Angeles Dance Review: 3 EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCES (L.A. Dance Project at The Theatre at Ace Hotel)
REFLECTIONS ON L.A. DANCE PROJECT The uneven and uninspiring effort presented by L.A. Dance Project last night isn’t bad news; it just means that this nascent company needs to hone its vision if it ever wants to be a world-class company. The perplexing title 3 Exceptional Performances may speak to the company’s ambitions, but the…
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Los Angeles Opera Preview: BILLY BUDD (LA Opera)
THE BLOOMING OF A BUDD IN L.A. Based on Herman Melville’s classic American tale, adapted into a libretto by English novelist E.M. Forster and writer Eric Crozier, Billy Budd tells the story of the persecution and destruction of a pure-hearted sailor by a predatory master-at-arms. It’s a tragedy of “sexual discharge gone evil,” as Forster described it,…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: LOVE, NOí‹L: THE LETTERS AND SONGS OF NOí‹L COWARD (The Wallis)
LOVE WITHOUT THE TRIMMINGS My darling, dearest Noël: It only just occurred to me that I haven’t written you since I saw your play Peace in our Time. Do forgive me, lamb chop. Let me cut to the quick as I write from sun-drenched Beverly Hills and the pool is waiting, even in the middle…
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Los Angeles Theater Preview: THE MUSIC MAN (Musical Theatre West in Long Beach)
THE MUSIC MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC MAN When Musical Theatre West announced their production of The Music Man, which opens tonight at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach, I actually got excited. I never tire of seeing this charming musical, and it occurred to me that I haven’t seen it since 2001, when Will &…
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Los Angeles Dance Review: JAMES BROWN: GET ON THE GOOD FOOT, A CELEBRATION IN DANCE (Ahmanson Theatre)
FUNK ME Director and choreographer Otis Sallid wants to illuminate how James Brown’s funky music and original dance styling has influenced contemporary culture. He engaged PHILADANCO (Philadelphia Dance Company) and then chose choreographers from around the world, letting each one choose from 33 of Brown’s songs and cultivate original works. The result is James Brown:…
Theater Review: MEN OF SOUL (Black Ensemble Theater / Chicago)
by Mitchell Oldham | July 1, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterWHY A BOX OFFICE HIT CAN STILL LOSE MONEY
by Leslie Rosenberg | July 1, 2026
in Extras, FilmTheater Preview: PROOF (El Portal Theatre / North Hollywood)
by pwsadmin | June 30, 2026
in Los Angeles, Theater
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