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Los Angeles
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Highly Recommended Cabaret: LARRY OWENS’ SONDHEIMIA (Pasadena Playhouse)
SONDHEIMIA: IT’S A STATE OF MIND In this curated concert, musical theater actor Larry Owens explores time, love, and ambition through the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, with music director Josh Kight on piano. Words are the name of the game with Owens’ spectacular Sondheimia, which recently played Carnegie Hall. The preternaturally gifted performer…
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Highly Recommended: RRR Fan CelebRRRation LIVE (Theater at the Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles)
ARRRE YOU RRREADY FOR THIS CELEBRRRATION?! Anyone who hasn’t watched RRR yet, do yourself a favor and see this masterpiece. Sure it’s available streaming, but the best way to watch this audacious, mind-blowing, original, fun-filled picture — think Slumdog Millionaire, Bollywood, Bruce Lee blockbuster, Gone with the Wind epic — is on the big screen…
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Theater Review: PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE (Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica)
HELP WANTED AT THE LAPIN AGILE As I wrote last Sunday in my review of Sunday in the Park with George: “art isn’t easy.” Having just now seen Picasso at the Lapin Agile, I’ll add to that Sondheim quote: “’”especially comedy.” Opening last night at The Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, this 1993 comedy…
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Music Review: YUJA WANG & LANG LANG (LA Phil)
The Los Angeles Philharmonic hosted two of the most proficient and popular concert pianists this week, both of whom proved why they are considered top-tier. In an exhaustive exhibition of Rachmaninoff — four piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini — superstar pianist Yuja Wang joined Gustavo Dudamel for a two-weekend set…
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Theater Review: HAROLD AND MAUDE (Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood)
HAROLD AND MAUDE ARE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER It has been decades since I saw, or even thought about, the classic 1971 movie Harold and Maude starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon. Do you remember it? It’s the black comedy directed by Hal Ashby about a deadpanned death-obsessed 20-year-old who has an emotional and…
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Highly Recommended Theater: GREY GARDENS (Musical Theatre Guild at The Alex in Glendale: One Night Only, Monday February 27)
MUSICAL THEATRE GUILD GOES DARK (WELL, GREY) WITH THE STUNNING MUSICAL, GREY GARDENS One Night Only: Monday, February 27 at 7:30pm The 2006 Broadway musical version of the cult 1975 Maysles Brothers’ documentary Grey Gardens is a dream come true for its fans. And if you want to see this musical — as eccentric as…
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Theater Review: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Pasadena Playhouse)
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE JUST GETS BETTER WITH TIME “Art isn’t easy,” sing the cast of players in Sunday in the Park with George; the words are most notably sung by the artist-protagonist himself — or perhaps, his creator. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Sunday won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama…
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DANCE REVIEW: BYOULNORRI (DaEun Jung; 2023 Dance at the Odyssey)
PLAYFUL SINGULARITY DaEun Jung‘s Byoulnorri closes Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s dance festival, 2023 Dance at the Odyssey, with playful austerity. The hour-long concert is performed in two parts, Byoul (별): “star,” a solo performance by the Choreographer herself, and Norri (놀씴): “play’, a four men ensemble work. DaEun Jung, a trained performer of Korean traditional dance,…
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Theater Review: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (A Noise Within in Pasadena)
SWINGTIME SHAKESPEARE Everyone will make much ado about Guillermo Cienfuego‘s delightful take on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which opened last weekend at A Noise Within. This comedy has it all: sparring partners, deceit, mistaken identities, many overheard conversations, love, and my favorite comedic character in all of Shakespeare: Dogberry, a pompous, scattered constable who…
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Art Recommendation: NJIDEKA AKUNYILI CROSBY (The Hilton Als Series at The Huntington)
As spring approaches, it’s a wonderful time to walk about Huntington’s Botanical Gardens. You should also check out the fascinating exhibition that I saw at The Met: Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts. And starting today, Huntington’s Art Museum will display a selection of five works by Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based artist Njideka…
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Theater Review: NIMROD (Theatre of NOTE)
THIS JOYOUS TRIUMPH IS LIKE A PIG IN SHIT Mixed with the contradictory language of William Shakespeare and Trump-speak, Nimrod is a gut-busting, refreshing, sharp, irreverent, and often cacophonous satirical play delivered by a big, superbly talented cast at Theatre of NOTE. Phinneas Kiyomura is The Bard of our time — writing in the form…
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Extras / Theater: FIVE DAYS OF BROADWAY CAMP (Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa)
BROADWAY SUMMER CAMP IS COMING June 19–23 | Students ages 11–13June 26–30 | Students ages 14–19 As a participant in Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ Five Days of Broadway camp, students of all experience levels from ages 11-19 are coached in musical…
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Highly Recommended: THE CLAYTON-HAMILTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA with SAMARA JOY (The Soraya)
THIS CONCERT WILL BE ONE FOR THE BOOKS, AND WILL BE LIVESTREAMED FOR ONLY $19 While Ms. Joy had to cancel her original date of Feb. 11, and the March 26 show now sold out, don’t despair. You can still see her, as The Soraya is offering a livestream for only 19 bucks (get tickets…
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Theater Review: THE FIRST DEEP BREATH (Geffen)
WAITING TO EXHALE Getting its West Coast Premiere at the Geffen Playhouse’s mainstage Gil Cates Theater, The First Deep Breath, a 2019 play by Lee Edward Colston II, is an overstuffed family drama that left me wanting : less. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, this double-intermissioned, 3 hour and 45 minute play takes place…
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Theater Review: RIDE THE CYCLONE (Chance Theater)
WHAT A RIDE! NOTHING GOES OFF THE RAILS IN THIS CALIFORNIA PREMIERE Ride the Cyclone is a 2008 musical by Canadians Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. Originally written as a song cycle for the Atomic Vaudeville Theatre Company, it was retooled for its 2015 critically lauded US premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Since then, the…
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Recommended Cabaret: SEVEN LOVES (Getty Villa)
A CABARET TO LOVE SEVEN TIMES MORE THAN ANY OTHER Getty Villa Museum presents Seven Loves, a Valentine’s cabaret that brings together well-known, amazing performers singing songs from Broadway, based on Greek and Roman myths, to explore the full range and complexities of love. Songs will be performed from musicals including The Boys from Syracuse, Hedwig and…
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Highly Recommended Music: CAMERATA PACIFICA (Feb. 12-17, Ventura, Pasadena, DTLA & Santa Barbara)
Camerata Pacifica is far and away the most programmatically original chamber outfit I know. In addition, the quality of the players is stunning (see my review of a program earlier this season). Based in Santa Barbara, CP performs a monthly series of concerts in Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Marino (at the Huntington), and DTLA’s Zipper…
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Highly Recommended Theater: MEAN GIRLS (National Tour at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, March 7-19)
Direct from Broadway, MEAN GIRLS is the hilarious hit musical from book writer TINA FEY (30 Rock), composer JEFF RICHMOND (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), lyricist NELL BENJAMIN (Legally Blonde) and director CASEY NICHOLAW (The Book of Mormon). The story of a naïve newbie who falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies is a “thoroughly enjoyable musical, as…
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Music Review: AX –¢ KAVAKOS –¢ MA (Disney Hall)
A QUEST FOR MUSIC AND HUMANITY On a delightful Saturday afternoon, January 28th, Los Angeles was graced by three masters at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Billed simply as Ax ’¢ Kavakos ’¢ Ma, the eponymous concert title did little to convey the content of the concert because, let’s face it, whatever these three will be…
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Opera Review: GIRLS OF THE GOLDEN WEST (John Adams and the LA Phil at Disney Hall)
HOW THE WEST WAS LOST AND BORING Under the baton of California’s own celebrity composer, John Adams, the LA Phil performed his Girls of the Golden West in a concert setting on Friday, January 27th. Premiered in 2017 by the San Francisco Opera, the work was conceived and co-created by librettist, culture maker and long-time…
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