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Los Angeles
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Music Review: DUDAMEL CONDUCTS GERSHWIN AND COPLAND (LA Phil at Disney Hall)
THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN GRAFFITI It’s difficult to determine just what makes music American; and if a symphonic program is to be labeled “American”, which composers might be on the shortlist? Under the blanket title Dudamel Conducts Gershwin & Copland, this thrilling evening also included short works by Barber and Previn, all four composers giving us…
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Theater Review: YOGA PLAY (Laguna Playhouse)
THE CORE IS THERE, BUT THE POSE IS OFF Not only is yoga a gentle exercise and a Hindu spiritual discipline, it’s also an $83 billion international industry. Meet Joan (Susi Damilano), a new marketing director of Jojomon, a yoga merchandise conglomerate. She actually could care less about yoga; she’s going for numbers and new…
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Jazz Review: CHICK COREA TRILOGY W/ CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE & BRIAN BLADE (CAP UCLA at Royce Hall)
TRILLIANT The first time I saw Chick Corea play was at Disneyland on the Tomorrowland Stage in the mid-1970s. I was entranced watching the solo pianist with brown afro and mustache, as he was offering a type of jazz I had never heard before. My upbringing consisted of mostly big band and swing, so when…
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Theater Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Pasadena Playhouse)
A GREEN NEW DEAL As Little Shop of Horrors teaches us: sometimes you just need fresh blood. In that vein, the Pasadena Playhouse more than delivers. Their audacious revival of the quirky cult classic – directed with exemplary vision by Mike Donahue – offers audiences something they may not have realized they craved. In this…
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Theater Review: BARNUM (Musical Theatre Guild at the Alex Theatre in Glendale)
I LIKE YOUR STYLE P. T. Barnum claimed there’s a sucker born every minute, but composers like Cy Coleman come along only once in a lifetime. His vigorous score was in the capable hands of musical director Jan Roper for Musical Theatre Guild’s staged reading of Barnum at the Alex Theater. Score, book and lyrics…
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Theater Review: NEVER IS NOW (Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles)
NEVER TAKE FOR GRANTED THE PHRASE “NEVER AGAIN” Wendy Kout, the playwright of Never Is Now asks the question, “What happens when people from diverse backgrounds experience the firsthand accounts of ten survivors who were labeled ‘undesirable’ and thrust into Hitler’s systematic genocide?” She shows us exactly what happens in a very powerful, emotional and…
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Theater Review: A PLAY IS A POEM (World Premiere by Ethan Coen at the Mark Taper in Los Angeles)
SHOWTIME AT THE VANITIES Ethan Coen’s A Play Is a Poem at the Mark Taper Forum strikes me as neither a poem, nor, strictly speaking, theater. I don’t know what it is. For the most part the five short playlets come across as sketches — and not in a good way. Coen attempts to project…
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Opera Review: LA BOHÈME (LA Opera)
A LOW RENT BOHÈME It’s hard to go wrong (in general) with Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera—a relatively light tragedy buoyed with easy-to-love characters, provocative music, and a lot of humor. The latest production that opened LA Opera’s 2019/2020 season manages somehow to offer a production that left me dry-eyed at the end, which never happened…
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Theater Review: KISS MY AZTEC (La Jolla Playhouse)
SHOULD EVERYONE KISS MY AZTEC? IT DEPENDS: For fans of John Leguizamo, the notion of a full-length musical written by him is a thrilling draw. Whether a fan from his numerous edgy one-man Broadway shows like Ghetto Klown and Latin History for Morons, or his dramatic roles in Carlito’s Way and ER, or his comedic…
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Theater Preview: GRUMPY OLD MEN — THE MUSICAL (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts)
FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT; IT’S GOING TO BE A GRUMPY RIDE John and Max are elderly neighbors in a cold Minnesota town. They both live alone in their homes since their wives have died, and exchange stories about how their friends are now dying when they are not busy insulting each other. They have a…
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Theater Review: SKINTIGHT (Geffen Playhouse)
THE NEW NORMAL A weird dynamic takes over the house at Skintight, Joshua Harmon’s comedy, now at the Geffen Playhouse. In broad terms, it feels like a battle of the sexes — with men in the audience, straight and gay alike, cheering for Elliot (Harry Groener), a seventy-year-old billionaire clothier who defines love as something…
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Theater Interview: BEKAH BRUNSTETTER, Playwright of MISS LILLY GETS BONED (West Coast Premiere by Rogue Machine at Electric Lodge in Venice)
BONE CALL When a young Bekah Brunstetter set out to explore where she stood on issues like animal rights, faith, and even relationships, it was before she had ever learned to question what she wrote. No filters, just passion. Sex, faith, and violence are all part of the intricate package of connections in Miss Lilly…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER (Deaf West Theatre at Inner-City Arts)
A PRODUCTION WITH SOLID LIFE Phil and Alice are in love, the kind of messy, well-known, commonplace love that many couples are familiar with. They meet cute in a post office when a package full of sex toys meant for his brother bursts apart. But don’t think you are in for a romantic comedy. This…
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Theater Review: THE CHINESE LADY (Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles)
DECORATIVE CHINA I saw this beautifully sad, poignant, dark play last Saturday evening and I’m still thinking about it. Thanks to the wonderful writing, acting and directing this two-person outing based on a true story is that memorable. In 1834 a 14-year-old Chinese girl, Afong Moy (the excellent Amy Shu), arrived in New York from…
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Concert Review: BARRY MANILOW (Hollywood Bowl)
BARRY ME BACK TO THE SEVENTIES You know when glowsticks have been placed on each seat of the Hollywood Bowl prior to Barry Manilow’s extremely well-sold concert that there would be heart-wrenching numbers ahead. And there obviously were. Easy-listening, high-charting, orchestral pop tunes “Even Now,” “Weekend in New England,” and “Mandy” among them, backed up…
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Theater Review: LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS (Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles)
MORON THAT NOW One-man stage phenom John Leguizamo, who has popularized the stories of his Columbian/Puerto Rican/Bronx Ghetto peeps and their culture in semi-autobiographical shows Mambo Mouth, Freak, Spic-O-Rama, and Ghetto Klown, returns with lefty, sobering, highly entertaining monologue that brings home the tragic 3000-year history of Latino Americans. While the show is titled Latin History for…
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Theater Preview: SKINTIGHT (Geffen Playhouse)
GET SKINNED Joshua Harmon’s new play Skintight assays the nature of love, the power of attraction, and the ways in which a superficial culture persists in teaching its children that all that matters is what’s on the inside. This dramedy completed its successful run at Roundabout in NY, and opens at The Geffen Playhouse this…
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Dance Preview: FORMULAE AND FAIRY TALES (Invertigo Dance Theatre World Premiere at The Broad Stages in Santa Monica)
ONES AND ZEROS, APPLES AND POISONS, QUEENS AND WITCHES, FORMULAE AND FAIRY TALES A new dance work by Invertigo Dance Theatre is making its world premiere at The Broad Stages in Santa Monica next weekend on Friday and Saturday, September 13 & 14, at 7:30. Formulae and Fairy Tales is based on the life and…
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Theater Review: WITCH (Geffen Playhouse)
A PITCH FOR THIS RICH WITCH Written by Jen Silverman and directed by Marti Lyons, Witch is inspired by William Rowley’s Jacobian 1621 play Witch of Edmonton. The classic story follows Elizabeth Sawyer, a woman forced to the outskirts of society who finds revenge on her bullying neighbors by selling her soul to the devil. Well,…
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Theater Review: FEFU AND HER FRIENDS (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in West L.A.)
FRIENDLY FEMINIST FIRE Fefu and Her Friends is one of the most famous plays by the recently deceased feminist avant-garde playwright María Irene Fornés, a Cuban American who has won nine Obie Awards including the award for sustained achievement. After seeing this production directed by Denise Blasor, I understand why. Fornés brilliantly captures the time…
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