Tony Frankel

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE As promised, the Los Angeles Philharmonic program last Tuesday offered stylishness and sophistication, but guest artists Katia and Marielle Labéque added an element of fierce emotion. It was evident in the centerpiece, Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E major for Two Pianos (and Orchestra), how well the sisters complement each other.  Marielle, wearing black, had…

THE SHAPE OF THINGS After Bruce Norris’s A Parallelogram at the Mark Taper Forum, I overheard a few audience members describe the play as “cute.†For all of the play’s political incorrectness, ramblings about physics, a future plague, and fairly unlikeable (and unknowable) characters, it appears that the playwright was going for provocative philosophy, but…

THE NIGHT THEY INVENTED TINY BUBBLES After Marvin Hamlisch’s untimely passing, Michael Feinstein, who has singlehandedly reinvigorated the American Songbook for the 21st century, took over as principal conductor for the Pasadena POPS. His first concert, Michael Feinstein’s Songbook, saw the beguiling raconteur as a perfect fit for the POPS crowd which, let’s face it,…

BEAUTIFUL BOOTY Nearly 200 years ago to the day that Lord Byron published his poem The Corsair, ABT’s monumental 3-act ballet on which it is based came bounding into the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday, offering sumptuous visuals, an enormous cast and orchestra, and crowd-pleasing virtuoso performances. Le Corsaire (“The Pirate”) premiered in 1856, but…

FOUNTAIN’S FANTASTIC FLAMENCO FIESTA While classic and modern dance seem to be continually reinventing themselves, Flamenco remains a bedrock of the moving arts. As Forever Flamenco! at the Ford proved last Saturday, age and body type have nothing to do with the soulful expressiveness inherent in this traditional dance form. There are many forms of…

LITTLE MORTAL JUMP TURNS OUT TO BE THE BIGGEST THING OF THE NIGHT The lineup at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion begins with the respected and always impressive Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as they converge with the San Francisco-based Alonzo King LINES Ballet. When combined, the crowd-control extravaganza which closes the program, Azimuth, features a sprawling…

GMCLA OFFERS NOT ENTIRELY WICKED, FEATURING STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AND LIZ CALLAWAY In what is surely one of the busiest weekends for the arts in Los Angeles, let me help you make a decision. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime concert events that will not be replicated, nor will it have a long run. In fact, you…

A FEINSTEIN FIRST The untimely passing of Marvin Hamlisch was a blow to the entertainment industry, but no more keenly felt than at the Pasadena Pops where he was the principal conductor. Who could possibly replace Hamlisch, the musician extraordinaire and jovial raconteur who had vast knowledge of the American Songbook and an array of…

PHALLUS IN BLUNDERLAND Who has been accused of being a Sexual Reprobate? Satirist? Socialist? Philosopher? The precursor to Freudian psychology and existentialism? Woman-hating pornographer? An ideal of freedom? If you mentioned the American Senate circa 1915, you’re only partially right. No, the answer is the Marquis de Sade (1740 –1814), a French aristocrat, philosopher, and…