Regional

COMEDICAL, TRAGICAL, IMPROVISATORICAL Impro Theatre’s long-form improvisational theater is among the most impressive of the performing arts. At South Coast Rep, the group proffered a full-length Tennessee Williams play which is made up on the spot. For every Tennessee Williams UnScripted during the short run, the performers show up with nothing but dramaturgic know-how and…

CHOOSING TO SEE THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC IS A WALTZ It may be the easiest decision you’ll make in a long time. If you want to hear one of the greatest orchestras in the world, the illustrious and rightly celebrated Vienna Philharmonic will be performing at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall this Monday, March…

BASKETBALL MUSICAL IS ONE BIG PENALTY You wanna know how great the Chance Theater is? They actually made it a palatable experience to sit through one of the most half-baked and frivolous new musical comedies I could imagine. With only a dribble of sophisticated wit and attractive songs, book-writer Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu) and his…

ORANGE COUNTY GOES GREEN, I.E. VERDI Opera is alive and well in Orange County! Since the demise of Opera Pacific (1985-2008), Pacific Symphony, aided by Pacific Chorale, has emerged as the company’s most likely heir. Its current production of Verdi’s La Traviata is the final production of a successful three-year experiment initiated in 2010 by…

THERE’S NOT AN APP FOR THAT Enough already. First, I applaud The Dallas Opera for taking a chance on Tod Machover’s  new experimental opera Death and the Powers, as well as the diligent cast and crew. I also commend Los Angeles’ cool new opera company, The Industry, for presenting the “world’s first live interactive opera,” and…

THIS ELIXIR IS A TONIC FOR WHAT AILS YOU Some artistic works are such a product of their time that it is difficult for later generations to understand them without spending a considerable amount of time studying the work’s context. Others are immediately recognizable because they resonate easily with contemporary audiences. Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir…

LIGHT SHINES IN SCR’S PIAZZA On general principle, it’d be very easy to dislike The Light in The Piazza. Let’s say you don’t consider stories about rich people in crisis having any relevance to you. Or if you chaff at the notion of those wealthy types traveling to Europe and falling in love with a…

IF I LOVED YOU At a time when many ballet companies are commissioning short dance pieces, it’s refreshing that John Neumeier’”since 1973, when he became Artistic Director and chief choreographer of the Hamburg Ballett [sic]’”continues to develop story ballets. His latest sweeping narrative which arrived at Segerstrom Hall last night is Liliom, based on Ferenc…

THE FOREIGNER HAS GOOD REASON TO STAY PUT Some theatre is staged to raise our awareness.   Some theatre is designed to tell a story that will move us emotionally.   Some theatre is intended to share a different viewpoint.   All of this is good.   On the other end of the scale, some theatre exists for nothing…

A SHOSTAKOVICH FESTIVAL Through February 8, 2014, a dizzying array of events celebrating Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich is being presented by Pacific Symphony and Chapman University. Starting tonight, Russian powerhouse pianist Alexander Toradze, recognized as a masterful virtuoso with deep lyricism and intense emotion, joins Pacific Symphony to introduce a journey into the music of…

A TWISTED TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE Imagine yourself transported back to 1955:   Forming values in the image of Father Knows Best; solving family problems as cleanly as Ozzie and Harriet; and living in the perfect suburban community with like-minded neighbors.   When compared to our complicated, isolating, 21st-century push-button lives, we may feel a nostalgic longing  to…

TAKE A CHANCE Merrily We Roll Along is a notoriously difficult musical to get right. Even with Sondheim’s magnificent score, the nature of the show’”its lopsided cynicism and moving-back-in-time device’”has hampered every production I have seen. Except one. And while I truly loved Chocolate Factory’s small-scale West End revival, which screened nationwide last October, Chance…

MANHATTAN TRANSFERS TO ORANGE COUNTY FOR THE HOLIDAYS When it comes to vocal power, the jazz-pop quartet consisting of Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, Tim Hauser and Cheryl Bentyne, better-known as The Manhattan Transfer, have certainly set the industry standard for tightly wound harmonies. The amazing part is that as they approach their 40th anniversary (Bentyne…

AN ANIMATED AND LIVELY FLUTE The Magic Flute was written specifically for the common man, and thus was structured as an exaggerated amusement so that special effects could be employed. Mozart’s accessible music is among the most popular in the repertoire; it’s youthfully melodious yet stretches for transcendent classicism. Emmanuel Schikaneder’s libretto is known as…

YOU CAN’T TWIN THEM ALL There is nothing more fascinating for this Broadway musical aficionado than a flop’”but not for gloating purposes. It’s natural to wonder “What were they thinking?” with any train-wreck, but I’m obsessed with this particular branch of theater: With so many elements, a musical is one of the most difficult art…

WHIPPED INTO A FRENZY If I had any doubts prior to attending San Diego REP’s production of Venus in Fur  (an on-again, off-again playwright; two characters; two directors), they were vanquished within minutes of curtain. This funny and fascinating look into the world of dominant/submissive relationships proved itself to be one of a handful of “must-see”  shows…