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Los Angeles
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Theater Review: EVITA (Musical Theatre West in Long Beach)
AND EVITA KEEPS ROLLING IN That great balcony scene is back. No, not R&J. It’s the one with Eva Duarte Perón’s valedictory aria “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina.” As this princess of the pampas in a prom dress chokes, then belts out, the second-act opening of the 1978 musical, all the right buttons get pushed: The…
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Los Angeles Theater: CUISINE & CONFESSIONS (The 7 Fingers at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica)
WORKING UP YOUR APPETITE Bringing the aesthetics of classical theater to the realm of the contemporary circus, the fearless performers of The 7 Fingers (also known as Les 7 Doigts) explore life’s big questions while preparing food on a set equipped with a functional kitchen. I first reviewed this astounding troupe’s Traces back in 2011….
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San Diego Theater Review: 9 TO 5 (San Diego Musical Theatre at Spreckels Theatre)
I COULD WATCH 9 TO 5 24/7 In 1980, an unlikely film trio, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton, was the center of 9 to 5, an amusing feminist romp with lovable characters. Years later, Patricia Resnick took the screen play she co-authored and created the book for the stage version, featuring new music by Parton,…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (Geffen Playhouse in Westwood)
ALTERNATIVE FACTS Eugene O’Neill is one of those gigantically influential artists whom it is often difficult for later generations to enjoy. The innovations he cribbed from Ibsen and Chekhov can feel very dated now; they were a throwback even in 1956, when contemporary critics saw past the mean realism of Long Day’s Journey into Night…
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Los Angeles Theater Photo Preview: ZOOT SUIT (Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum)
ZOOT SUIT FITTED FOR A NEW GENERATION When Zoot Suit was originally commissioned and developed by Center Theatre Group in 1978, it played for nearly a year in Los Angeles’”first at the Mark Taper Forum, then at the Aquarius in Hollywood. It went on to become Broadway’s first Chicano play, was made into a major motion picture and became…
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Los Angeles Cabaret Preview: ANDREA MCARDLE: ’70S AND SUNNY (Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood)
GET READY FOR “TOMORROW” The sun will come out on February 13, 2017, when Andrea McArdle lands at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood with her newest cabaret show ’70’s and Sunny. Manhattan in the 1970s was a hybrid of highlights and hedonism. Overrun with sex shops and financial turmoil, the city was at…
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Los Angeles Dance Preview: JESSICA LANG DANCE (The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre)
LANG LANDS IN LA LA LAND Jessica Lang has no doubt made a name for herself in the dance world as an independent choreographer, but dance patrons in Los Angeles may find this in-demand dancemaker difficult to place. Because the majority of troupes that visit here offer programs by the company’s namesake (Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch,…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: DEBUSSY: HIS LETTERS AND HIS MUSIC (Julia Migenes at the Odyssey Theatre)
THE MUSIC AND THE WORDS BEHIND THE MUSIC With astounding chromatic structure and continually shifting tonalities and rhythms, Debussy’s music has always mystified and transported me. Certainly many are familiar with “Clair de Lune” a piece from the piano composition Suite bergamasque; La Mer, a unique mix of tone poem and symphony; and Prélude í …
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Los Angeles Theater Feature: 946: THE AMAZING STORY OF ADOLPHUS TIPS (The Wallis)
KNEEHIGH RETURNS TO THE WALLIS I wonder if L.A. residents know how ridiculously lucky they are to have the Wallis Annenberg Center, an outfit so prestigious that Britain’s Kneehigh is bringing 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, their latest hit show, to the Bram Goldsmith Theater. 946 explores everything we thought we knew about the D-Day landings in…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: LOST IN THE STARS (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and CAP UCLA, Royce Hall)
FOUND IN THE STARS Lost in the Stars is quite possibly composer Kurt Weill’s magnum opus for the American Theater. The score is prime Weill, characteristically mixing high operatic style with lowdown showbiz pizzazz. Based on Alan Paton’s poetic and popular novel Cry, the Beloved Country, the piece’”while not considered a commercial success’”had a respectable 281-performance…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE (Sierra Madre Playhouse)
WHEN IS FAKING IT OK? If someone should recommend Sierra Madre Playhouse’s production of Bee-Luther-Hatchee to you, they’re not off the mark. My advice would be that you walk, don’t run, to see it. Two main issues keep this from being an impactful evening. One: This isn’t a great play; Act I is all set-up…
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Los Angeles Theater Review: LATE COMPANY (Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills)
GUESS WHO’S NOT COMING TO DINNER? At first, we have no idea why a well-to-do couple has invited another couple and their son over for dinner. The hostess Debora (Ann Hearn) is on edge from the start, but her politician husband Michael (Grinnell Morris) appears somewhat laid back. A forced amicability arrives with the guests, Tam (Jennifer…
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Regional Theater Preview: MOBY DICK (Lookingglass Theatre at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa)
A WHALE OF A PRODUCTION Moby Dick, Herman Melville’s 1851 whale of a tale (or tale of a whale), is as unsinkable as its title cetacean. It’s never been more so than in Lookingglass Theatre Company’s sensation staged and adapted by David Catlin. After an extended sell-out run in Chicago, Catlin now brings this thrilling…
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Los Angeles Concert Feature: ALAN CUMMING SINGS SAPPY SONGS (Disney Hall)
CUMMING AND SAPPY Yes, Disney Hall is a large venue for a cabaret act, but you can expect Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming to turn the venue into the most intimate hotspot when he presents Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs this Sunday, January 29 at 7:30. In addition, you can expect much more than the…
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San Diego Theater Review: BAD JEWS (Cygnet Theatre)
BAD JEWS MAKES FOR GOOD THEATRE, BUT OY SUCH AGITA There’s an old joke: “What do you get if you put three Jews in the same room? Four opinions.” In Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews, the joke is elevated to a new level when the three strikingly different people are two brothers, Liam and Jonah, and…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: DUDAMEL & BATIASHVILI (Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto & Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet with the LA Phil)
REAWAKENING A FAMILIAR CONCERTO It’s astounding to have heard countless performances of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto–both live and in recordings–and still be amazed that a newer interpretation can be so exciting, inventive, and breathtaking. Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili recently took me aback with her release on Deutsche Grammophon with the Staatskapelle Berlin (Berlin State Opera Orchestra) led by Daniel…
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Cabaret Review: JERRY HERMAN: THE BROADWAY LEGACY CONCERT (Samueli Theater at SCFTA / Costa Mesa)
JERRY HERMAN’S LEGACY ISN’T IN JEOPARDY, BUT TRIBUTE CONCERTS ARE With an evening of Jerry Herman tunes sung by Broadway powerhouses Ron Raines, Karen Morrow, Debbie Gravitte, Jason Graae and Scott Coulter (pictured left), what could go wrong? Not much. But not much was spectacular either. A pleasant outing for those strolling down memory lane, this…
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Los Angeles Music Preview: STORM LARGE SINGS THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra)
TWO STORMS HIT L.A. THIS WEEKEND You think the winter storms slamming So Cal are something? Well, singer, songwriter, raconteur, author, actor, playwright, and powerhouse performer Storm Large is joining Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for a rare performance of The Seven Deadly Sins–and they’re coming to the L.A. area for two shows this weekend only,…
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Tour Review: TORUK – THE FIRST FLIGHT (Cirque du Soleil, North American Tour)
JAMES CAMERON MEETS CIRQUE DU SOLEIL Cirque du Soleil writes a new chapter in make-believe with Toruk – The First Flight, a not so typical two-hour fantasy inspired by (but not based on) James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar. For one thing, there are no clowns (a happy relief for those who find them becoming more acrobatic…
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Los Angeles Cabaret Review: A NIGHT AT THE STORK CLUB (Three Clubs Lounge in Hollywood)
A SALUTE TO GREAT SONGS AND A GREAT CLUB Any excuse to expose selections from the Great American Songbook to a modern audience works for me. And a cabaret revue entitled A Night at the Stork Club does just that. Playing at Hollywood’s Three Clubs for one weekend only, this accessible entertainment gives a nod to…
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