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Los Angeles
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Theater Review: ALADDIN (National Tour)
A BROADWAY AMUSEMENT PARK THAT FLIES LIKE A CARPET “Open sesame” indeed. It’s “Abracadabra” times ten as the arrival of Aladdin in Hollywood feels as triumphant as Prince Ali’s magnificent entrance into Agrabah at the top of the second act. A theme park of a musical, Disney Theatrical Productions’ eye-popping transformation of the 1992 film…
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Los Angeles Art Preview: L.A. ART SHOW (Los Angeles Convention Center)
ART YOU TAKE PART IN I never in my wildest imaginings would have thought Los Angeles to become a mecca for art. But the combination of a rich cultural stew, the burgeoning arts life of downtown L.A., an explosion of galleries (of which Culver City was at the forefront), the opening of the Getty, better…
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Los Angeles Music Review: DEBUSSY, RAVEL, & BEYOND (Matthias Pintscher, Renaud Capuçon and the Los Angeles Philharmonic)
“MAR’EH” GETS A “M’EH” While musicians and devotees of “new” music may find Matthias Pintscher’s mar’eh cool, the patrons at Disney Hall were not having it at the opening night last Friday. Truly typical of way too many modern works, mar’eh (with an also-typical all-lowercase title spelling) is a violin concerto that’s an atmospheric stew-of-notes perfect for a melody-free…
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Los Angeles Theater Preview: BUGABOO & THE SILENT ONE (Lounge Theatre in Hollywood)
THANKFULLY, NOT SO SILENT Based on her three previous theater outings alone, it’s fitting that writer/director Marja-Lewis Ryan has recently been tapped to be showrunner and executive producer of he upcoming The L Word sequel series. L.A. is lucky to have Ryan, who loves to keep working in theater even as her career in film…
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Theater Review: LUZIA (Cirque du Soleil on tour)
MEMORIES OF MEXICO, LUZIA UNLEASHES A RAIN OF JOY The Cirque du Soleil just made a run for the border ’” and not the Canadian one — as the Montreal-based human circus lavishes its unstoppable imagination on our neighbor to the south. Luzia, the latest (ad)venture under the redesigned white-and-gold Grand Chapiteau (its tent planted in the…
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Los Angeles Theater Preview: HOW THE PRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! (Troubadors at El Portal Theatre)
A PRINCH ASSAULT For 22 years, the Troubadour Theater Company (aka The Troubies) has amalgamated freely altered classics with music of a particular artist, creating riotous sketch/improv/entertainments that are liberally seasoned with an air of Commedia dell’Arte; this gives the immensely talented players the opportunity to act, sing, dance, improvise, and perform feats of acrobatic…
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Los Angeles Music Review: BRUCKNER’S SEVENTH; MOZART’S PIANO 23 (Michael Tilson Thomas, Khatia Buniatishvili and the Los Angeles Philharmonic)
SEVENTH HEAVEN While he existed in the Romantic Era, “Romantic” isn’t necessarily the word that springs to mind when I hear an Anton Bruckner Symphony (except perhaps his Fourth, actually titled Romantic). His giant mesmerizing symphonies, nine in total, are closer to religious experiences (a devout Catholic who never married, Bruckner dedicated his unfinished Ninth…
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Dance Review: SOFT GOODS (Karen Sherman)
SOFT GOODS’ SMOOTH SELL Karen Sherman’s Soft Goods presents the audience with a new perspective on dance by focusing on what happens behind the curtain. The show is set up like a play that explores the stagehands’ job, the dancers’ rehearsals and the less-than-pleasant interactions between the two groups as they come together to create a…
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Los Angeles Music Review: TCHAIKOVSKY’S FIRST PIANO CONCERTO (Sergio Tiempo, Xian Zhang and the Los Angeles Philharmonic)
TIEMPO’S TANTALIZINGLY TEMPESTUOUS TEMPO Sergio Tiempo is the real deal. When a pianist can take a work as familiar as Tchaikovsky’s 1874 First Piano Concerto and turn it into an exciting Olympic event, I’m more than sold. Appearing at a packed Disney Hall this morning (in a program that runs through Sunday), the very cool…
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Los Angeles Dance Preview: THE NUTCRACKER SUITE (American Contemporary Ballet)
BUSTING A NUTCRACKER Before you grumble and run screaming, “Not another Nutcracker Suite!” — trust me when I tell you that American Contemporary Ballet has something up its red-fur, white-trimmed sleeve with an all-new imagining that presents new choreography while putting you directly inside the Land of the Sweets. When I was told patrons will…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD (The Wallis in Beverly Hills)
WE GET EVERYTHING BUT THE HEART Certainly one of the most gorgeous lavish sets ever seen at the Wallis, with gorgeous sumptuous costumes, and gorgeous talented athletic actors. With all of the boisterous shenanigans, you won’t be bored; there’s undeniable entertainment value. But what happens when you throw everything into a show to make sure…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: PACIFIC OVERTURES (Chromolume Theatre)
PLEASE HELLO! Remarkably, one of the most difficult things about Pacific Overtures is that Harold Prince directed the original production utilizing the ancient Japanese theater-form, Kabuki, which isn’t necessary to elucidate John Weidman’s book (can you imagine if every production of Merrily We Roll Along used a teenage cast, as Prince’s original production did?). The…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: CAUGHT (Think Tank Art Gallery in the Fashion District, DTLA)
CAUGHT IN ITS SPELL An onion-skin experience, Christopher Chen’s magnificent Caught is indeed scripted, but you won’t know that when you’re watching it. Part immersive theater, part performance art, part installation, part thrust theater, part food and drinks, and pure play, this exhilarating look into politics, propaganda, and perception is pocked with paradox. It begins…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: DECK THE HALL HOLIDAY CONCERTS (Disney Hall)
The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Deck the Hall Holiday Concerts at Disney Hall are just around the corner, and the variety this year is unmatched. I may be enchanted by the ever-popular Holiday Sing-Along (Dec. 16); I may be enraptured by jazz great Dianne Reeves’ Christmas Time Is Here (Dec. 20); I may be excited about the beat-boxing a…
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Los Angeles Dance Preview: GEORGE BALANCHINE’S THE NUTCRACKER (Miami City Ballet World Premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion)
CRACK AWAY Miami City Ballet’s new redesign of the magical George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker will feature enchanting new costumes and sets by the Cuban-American artist/designer power couple Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Balanchine’s glorious choreography, and Tchaikovsky’s beloved timeless score. The production, co-commissioned by The Music Center, will have its world premiere in Los Angeles on…
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Los Angeles Music Review: WEST SIDE STORY: FILM WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA (LA Phil’s BERNSTEIN 100)
THE MUSIC PLAYING IS, INDEED, ALMOST LIKE PRAYING As is becoming increasingly popular, films with astounding soundtracks are being shown with just dialogue and sound effects while an orchestra plays the score live; it’s cost-effective for the presenting organization and offers the spectator the chance to hear live music while waxing nostalgic over a great…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: HOLIDAY CANDLELIGHT (Pasadena Symphony)
IT’S BETTER BY CANDLELIGHT I always waited until too late to procure tickets to Pasadena Symphony’s enormously popular extravaganza, Holiday Candlelight. Consistently a sell-out in the past, they started to add an extra performance a few years ago, which allowed me to finally see what all the Ho-Ho-Ho-hoopla was about. The gorgeous concert actually exceeded…
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Los Angeles Dance Preview: MALPASO DANCE COMPANY (part of CUBA: ANTES, AHORA / THEN, NOW at The Music Center)
THE RYHTHM OF CUBA COMES TO THE MUSIC CENTER FOR ONE DAY ONLY Cuba: Antes, Ahora / Then, Now is a celebration of the art of Cuba, and Angelinos will get the chance to experience the country’s dynamic arts from November 30-December 2, 2017. Among the more than 48 world-class Cuban musicians, dancers and visual…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: BLED FOR THE HOUSEHOLD TRUTH (Rogue Machine)
WHAT WON’T YOU DO FOR A CHELSEA SUBLET? Ambiguity and nuance are qualities in a play to be greatly desired and lauded – and yet, if you do not go “ick” at least four times while watching playwright Ruth Folwer’s increasingly disturbing drama, I’m not sure what can be done with you. This is a play…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: CHRISTMAS CHORAL CONCERTS (Los Angeles Master Chorale at Disney Hall)
OUR MASTER CHORALE’S CHRISTMAS CHORAL CONCERTS AND CAROLS With the indefatigable Energizer Bunny of conducting, Grant Gershon, at the helm, Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) can easily be labeled one of the best choirs on earth, and you have a chance to see four separate holiday programs at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Naturally, you can…
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