Los Angeles

STAY FOR DINNER, WON’T YOU? She’s an ancient crone who lives in a tiny cottage deep in the forest, feared by those near and far.   She brews strange elixirs and ointments, and is rumored to have turned little boys into piglets to feed on during her midnight feasts.   Her rivals end up drowned in the…

KOSKY’S QUEEN AND CASTLE On the surface, there isn’t much that unites Henry Purcell’s 1688 Dido and Aeneas and Béla Bartók’s 1918 Bluebeard’s Castle, except perhaps that men are not to be trusted. But when you see Barrie Kosky’s fiery fabrication of these two short operas, presented by LA Opera beginning Saturday, expect to be…

ABDURAIMOV TRIUMPHS IN DISNEY HALL DEBUT In the past five years, I have encountered only a handful of fresh-to-the-scene soloists who completely enraptured’”those who combine the old-school magnetic quality of superlative technique with energetic experimentation, soul, and discovery. Among the electrifying performers that have made me literally lean forward in my seat are cellist Alisa…

ORLANDERSMITH CAN SEE  FOREVER There is a timeless quality to stories about families, particularly families riddled with alcoholism, drug addiction, bitterness, hatred, sadness, and lost dreams. Whether in the canon of literature (O’Neill anyone?) or through personal experience held close to a shamed soul, these tales have a “forever” quality. Which brings us to Forever, Dael…

FOR BETTER OR WORSE Based on her own experience with a dying father and marital breakup with playwright Hamish Linklater (whose The Vandal  is currently running in Chicago), Jessica Goldberg created Annie, a restaurateur whose troubled marriage is put on the back burner when she returns to her family’s Ohio home to bid farewell to her…

SOME MAGIC IS ADDED, SOME MAGIC IS TAKEN AWAY South Africa’s Isango Ensemble is undoubtedly full of talented actors, singers, and musicians, but doesn’t quite have the specialized skills required to pull of Mozart’s masterful The Magic Flute (Impempe Yomlingo). While the production doesn’t aim for a straightforward rendering of the original, it does retain…

BITCHY, BITCHY If you like your camp served by the bucket, then this outlandish tour de farce is steaming with it. Imagine if you will one of those appalling movies from the 1990s in which a group of Mean Girls reign supreme and battle for the role of Top She-Devil in their school’s cheerleading squad….

JOURNEY ON Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes comes to Disney Hall this weekend, October 9-12, to join conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale in an assuredly uplifting program: The Beethoven Cycle Finale. By presenting Beethoven’s Fifth and final Piano Concerto, Andsnes offers the final leg of The Beethoven…

MORE OF A LOCAL THAN AN EXPRESS Written and conceived by Emmy-award winning producer Bill Borden (High School Musical, Desperado), Locals Only! is a new musical that follows the story of two star-crossed lovers who amorously pursue their blossoming love relationship amidst a culture clash that arises between their respective beach and Valley posses. The…

THIS CAPRICCIO IS NO CAPRICE The brooding romanticism of Capriccio’s opening sextet sets the tone for the introspection that is to follow. Instead of a dramatic overture and crowd-pleasing arias, composer Richard Strauss (1864-1949) aims to say something meaningful about opera itself. In that sense, it’s an incredibly self-conscious and self-referential work’”postmodern even. Essentially an…

TRICKSTERS WHO ARE A TREAT From Vegas extravaganzas to intimate parlors, my favorite magicians are those with personality and humor. Even when tricks are well-rehearsed and mindboggling, slick illusionists tend to omit the magic that comes from a rapport with the audience. Regardless of impressive sleight-of-hand or how many animals emerge from a coat pocket,…

SWAN IN A MILLION Featuring a live orchestra, The Australian Ballet’s Swan Lake comes to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion this weekend, October 9-12, 2014. While this is one of the world’s favorite ballets, expect this rendition’”created by Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy’”to be unlike any that have come before. This dazzling production is one of The…

A TRANS-PORTIVE EXPERIENCE AWAITS YOU When I saw the trio of headliners who will be performing for one night only at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, I had to do a Little Rascals double-take. I have considered myself lucky to have seen each one separately, but to have all three together is a confluence of…

SWEET SONGS UNSUPPORTED Tarell Alvin McCraney’s 2012 Choir Boy is a tantalizing, underdeveloped play-with-music not entirely improved by Trip Cullman’s direction, now at the Geffen a year after the production’s Manhattan Theater Club bow. Jason Michael Webb’s tasteful vocal arrangements sound terrific via Fitz Patton’s crisp sound design, but the very assurance and gravity of…