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Los Angeles
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Dance Review: WOOLF WORKS (American Ballet Theatre – North American Premiere)
WOOF! WOOLF WORKS WORKS! Virginia Woolf’s novels have had a profound impact on literature, inspiring adaptations in ballet and opera. These adaptations face the unique challenge of capturing the innovative narrative structures and exploration of inner lives that are central to Woolf’s work. Wayne McGregor‘s Woolf Works, originally choreographed for the Royal Ballet but now…
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Theater Review: KAIROS (East West Players)
A HEARTBREAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL MINDFUCK “He was immortal, so he couldn’t die, but this pain, it was agony — it was a wound that would never heal. So he begged the other deities to make him mortal. He knew that death was the only way to stop the pain.” Sylvia Kwan Laughter and pain are always…
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Theater Review: FAT HAM (Geffen Playhouse in Westwood)
Then trip him that his heels may kick at heaven Hamlet soliloquy / Shakespeare Fat Ham by James Ijames — who received a Pulitzer for his play — is an unbridled, entertaining, and funny take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, outrageously turned on its ear. Elsinore castle is transported to a lovely house in a suburb of…
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Theater Review: FUNNY GIRL (National Tour)
KATERINA MCCRIMMON IS A BRIGHT NEW FUNNY GIRL BUT THE TOUR IS LIKE BUS-AND-TRUCK Funny Girl is a captivating musical that tells the story of Fanny Brice, a renowned comedienne and entertainer during the early 1900s. This production delves into her journey to fame, her tumultuous relationship with gambler Nick Arnstein, and her remarkable resilience…
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Theater Review: THE WITNESS ROOM (The Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks)
WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION Taking place within the confines of a witness room in Manhattan Criminal Court, four obdurate NYPD officers who have “done all this before and know what to say” are coached by the Prosecuting Attorney, who is fact-checking their testimony prior to a drug suppression hearing. She has instructions on what they…
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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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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: 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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Theater Review: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (Theatre Palisades)
A VIEW TO GREAT THEATER Theatre Palisades has a hit on their boards with a true-to-life production of Arthur Miller’s landmark drama from 1955, A View from the Bridge, sharply directed by Cate Caplin. What stands out in 2024 about this primal script is how much Miller anticipates today’s xenophobic anti-immigrant witch hunts ’” rancor…
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Theater Review: THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT (Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice)
FOR THEATERGOERS DESIRING A COAT OF LOVE, THIS SHOW IS BESPOKEN FOR Sometimes friends or even co-workers can become more like family than your relatives. Such is the case in Wolf Mankowitz’s The Bespoke Overcoat, inspired by Nikolai Gogol’s famous short story “The Overcoat“ about a long-suffering, poor warehouse clerk who seeks to obtain a…
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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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Music Review: PHILIP GLASS: THE PIANO ETUDES (Timo Andres, Maki Namekawa, Anton Batagov, Lara Downes, Jenny Lin at Disney Hall)
FOR SOME, THIS GLASS IS HALF-EMPTY. MINE OVERFLOWETH. Although Philip Glass‘s works can be described as minimalist, he prefers to describe himself as a composer of “music with repetitive structures.” He also noted, “If I’m to be remembered for anything, it will probably be for the piano music, because people can play it.” He conceived…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: ONE OF THE GOOD ONES (Pasadena Playhouse)
CULTURAL COMEDY GOLD, THIS PLAY REALLY IS ONE OF THE GOOD ONES In a landscape where minority narratives often revolve around stereotypes of poverty and struggle, One of the Good Ones emerges as a refreshing portrayal of affluent Latiné experiences. Written by Gloria Calderón-Kellett, a Norman Lear protégée known for her work on the Netflix…
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Recommended Screenings: FILMS OF PATRICIA ROZEMA – A RETROSPECTIVE (Toronto, NYC, L.A.)
Considered part of the informally defined collection of independent filmmakers to make up the Toronto New Wave in the 1980s and early 1990s, filmmaker, television director, artist, and educator Patricia Rozema (b. 1958) found breakout success at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival when her first feature, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, nabbed the Prix de la…
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Concert Review: BERNADETTE PETERS (Tour at Luckman)
SAINT BERNADETTE After she hung up her late-Victorian hat after taking over for Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway, the inimitable Bernadette Peters made her West End debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends on the West End, which ended on January 6, 2024. Now, she has embarked on another concert tour, making her first…
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Music Review: LEGACY: DEBUSSY + HAMELIN (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at The Wallis in Beverly Hills)
WHAT’S ON THE MENU? FRANCK AND HAMELIN Finally, I got to see pianist Marc-André Hamelin in person, thanks to the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, which presented him in two of four salon pieces that made up Legacy: Debussy + Hamelin — a program which which played last Saturday at The Wallis, a great venue for LACO’s…
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Dance Review: COPPÉL-I.A. (Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo)
AN UPDATE COPPÉLIA ABOUT A.I. IS ALL INTELLIGENCE AND NO ARTIFICE Coppélia — a comic ballet from 1870 with music by Léo Delibes and libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter — is produced quite often, either in a classical vein a la Giselle, or with updates to make the story relevant to a particular era. Opening tonight…
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