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Music Review: DUDAMEL CONDUCTS HARRY POTTER (John Williams Spotlight, LA Phil)
COMPARED TO FANTASIA, NOT SO FANTASTIQUE Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic concluded its orchestral season and its Spotlight on John Williams series on May 19 with a family-oriented program: Dudamel Conducts Harry Potter. Williams’ music is always an exciting proposition, but the program, the first half of which was dominated by another composer,…
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Cabaret Review: CAROLYN MONTGOMERY: GIRLSINGER, A CELEBRATION OF ROSEMARY CLOONEY (54 Below)
THE BLOOM IS ON THE ROSEMARY Midway into her cabaret show, girlSINGER, A Celebration of Rosemary Clooney, Carolyn Montgomery explains the meaning of the show’s name. When Clooney dropped out of high school to begin her career touring with the big bands, such women were called “girl singers,” no matter what their age. Back in…
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New York Cabaret Review: NOW AND THEN: THE STORIES (Sally Mayes at Green Room 42)
MAYES YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES Cabaret great and Tony-nominee Sally Mayes has been presenting a series of career retrospective concerts at the intimate Green Room 42 on the 4th floor of Yotel near Times Square. Each performance of this series is a one off, and those fortunate enough to catch Now And Then: The…
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Film / Concert Review: STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK–FILM WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA (SF Symphony)
SF SYMPHONY STRIKES BACK When you watch a film in theaters or play a video game at home you simply cannot recreate the power, emotion and feel of a live orchestra. As a result most music gets remembered by a few bars of catchy melody despite being, in some cases, hours long and in most…
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Music Review: VíKINGUR ÒLAFSSON: THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS (Colburn Recital at Disney Hall)
FINDING GOLD IN GOLDBERG VI once said in a review of pianist Víkingur í“lafsson that if you want to see a modern-day Glenn Gould-like master at the keys, here’s your chance. Well, the test really came the other night when í“lafsson returned to Disney Hall for his rendition of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which many claim…
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Recommended Cabaret Series: SUMMER CABARET SERIES, MAY 2024 (Coachella Valley Rep)
CV REP’S 2024 SUMMER CABARET SERIES STELLAR LINE-UP FOR MAY A summer of great music, charismatic personalities and unspoken theatre insider-only stories galore starts when COACHELLA VALLEY REPERTORY’s 2024 SUMMER CABARET SERIES begins on May 15. Cabaret headliners for May are “America’s Tenor” MAXIMO MARCUSO (May 15), Broadway Tony Award-winner FAITH PRINCE (May 16), Broadway’s…
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Jazz Concert Review: DUETS: DIANNE REEVES, CHUCHO VALDÉS, JOE LOVANO (International Tour at Berklee)
TWO MEN AND A LADY: JAZZ ROYALTY TIMES THREE Celebrity Series of Boston’s 2023–2024 season is drawing to a close and among the final performances was the excellent Duets, featuring Dianne Reeves (vocals), Chucho Valdés (piano), and Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone). The evening began with Valdés alone with his grand piano on the stage of…
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Concert Review: ANNA LAPWOOD (Organ Recital at Disney Hall)
LAPPING UP LAPWOOD British organist Anna Lapwood brought gold sparkles to her LA Phil debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the final stop of her 2024 US tour (her international tour continues). She could hardly contain her excitement, calling the hall’s organ “so much more than I ever hoped it could be!” Lapwood, the 28-year-old…
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Concert Review: NO MORE WATER / THE FIRE NEXT TIME; THE GOSPEL OF JAMES BALDWIN (Meshell Ndegeocello presented by CAP UCLA at United Theatre on Broadway)
MESHELL, MY BELL “Free like a bird,” the Swahili meaning of the eclectic singer-songwriter and rapper Meshell Ndegeocello’s last name (pronounced N-dee-gay-o-cello), describes the essence of her No More Water/The Fire Next Time; The Gospel of James Baldwin performance at The United Theatre on Broadway presented by CAP UCLA. Inspired by American writer and civil rights…
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Event Review: AN EVENING WITH DAVID SEDARIS (Tour)
WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN SEDARIS Storyteller and humorist David Sedaris began by “walking us through” his outfit: a pair of plaid culottes and a jacket that “looks like I lost a fight with a bear.” It did indeed consist of a lot of strips, like a wearable vertical blind. He then introduced the ASL…
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Highly Recommended Cabaret Theater: TIERGARTEN (Death of Classical at the Great Hall under St. Mary’s Church)
WEIMAR, YOU ASK? HERE’S THE ANSWER Cabaret the musical, opening on Broadway in a transformed theater, may sound exciting, but here’s a highly recommended event for those who crave complete immersion in a 1920s Berlin Speakeasy with period-themed food and drinks, vintage dress, and more. In partnership with Carnegie Hall as part of their Weimar…
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Music Review: ELGAR AND VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (LA Phil; Simone Young, conductor; Gautier Capuçon, cellist)
STUDY WAR NO MORE Last night’s program at Disney Hall began with a subdued but clear strike on the chime. It came in without warning. The atmosphere is austere and solemn, and under the clear and watchful eyes of Maestro Simone Young, the LA Phil slowly unfolds the lush colors of Arvo Pårt‘s Cantus in…
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Cabaret Review: KEN PAGE (“Right Here, Right Now” at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood)
PAGE BY PAGE Anyone who gets a standing ovation merely by entering the room has undoubtedly accomplished something great. Ken Page’s illustrious career and sterling character earned him such a welcome from a room full of friends, colleagues, and admirers at the top of his cabaret show Right Here, Right Now, presented at the Catalina…
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Cabaret Review: APRIL FOOLS (Birdland Jazz Club)
FEAST OF FOOLS Nobody knows when April Fools’ Day started, but sure as shooting, on April 1st, someone is going to tell you your zipper is open or they just heard your number called on television and you won the lottery. Some say April Fools’ Day goes back to a Roman festival called Hilaria, celebrated…
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Music Review: MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS LEADS TCHAIKOVSKY (LA Phil)
The third and final performance of this program by the LA Phil with guest conductor Michael Tilson Thomas took place March 30 at Disney Hall. The orchestra was in standard setup as MTT entered the stage to very warm applause. He cheerily addressed his audience and his musicians as he set to work. First on…
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Concert Review: PATTI LUPONE: A LIFE IN NOTES (Tour)
A NIGHT OF HIGH NOTES The beloved and versatile award-winning musical theater star Patti LuPone delighted those who packed Boston’s Symphony Hall last evening with a series of high notes, low notes, and everything in between with her musical memoir, A Life in Notes, conceived and directed by Scott Wittman and written by Jeffrey Richman. Accompanied…
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Concert Review: A BROADWAY BIRTHDAY: SONDHEIM, LLOYD WEBBER AND FRIENDS! (Segerstrom Concert Hall)
A BITTERSWEET BIRTHDAY In the luminous world of musical theater, two names stand as colossi, casting long shadows across Broadway and the global stage. Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, though walking parallel paths, have carved their legacies with distinct artistic chisels, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of audiences and the annals of…
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Music Review: CAMERATA PACIFICA (March 2024 Program)
STRING THEORY Arnold Schoenberg‘s Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed in 1899. Love him or hate him (some of his challenging later music is impenetrably inaccessible given his twelve-tone technique), there are times when Schoenberg’s system of composition can reach through your soul, creating an otherworldly sound….
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Music Concert Review: MAGIC HOUR IN LOS ANGELES: AMERICA’S CULTURAL RENAISSANCE OF 1974 (MUSE/IQUE at the Mark Taper Forum)
1974: THE YEAR THAT WAS Still haven’t heard of MUSE/IQUE, Los Angeles? I first discovered this prestigious outfit in 2012 on stage at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in a program called Ebony Meets Ivory, a celebration of the piano. Since then, I have thrilled at dozens of MUSE/IQUE events, and they just get more and…
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Music Review: BERNSTEIN AND WOOTEN (LA Phil; Thomas Wilkins, conductor; Victor Wooten, bass)
WOO-HOO, WOOTEN The idea behind this past weekend’s program at the Los Angeles Philharmonic was the influence of jazz on the orchestra, featuring three pieces that cover a span of nearly 125 years. For these two performances, the Phil brought in Thomas Wilkins, Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, to conduct. First up was…
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