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Theater Review: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.)
IS LOVE REALLY ALL YOU NEED? “Love” appears three times in the title of this three-act play, and there are three separate time periods and settings, all of which are directed with solid, assured focus by David Muse, impressively in his 14th year as Studio Theatre Artistic Director. Written by the prolific British playwright Mike…
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Recommended Concert: SING AND SWING: OUR AMERICAN SONGBOOK (North American Tour, Jan. 25 to March 30, 2024)
SINGIN’ AND SWINGIN’ ACROSS THE LAND They only need one name: Ella, Judy, Bing, Dean, Peggy. These were the artists who brought the music of Gershwin, Ellington, Porter, and Berlin to life. Now, Jazz at Lincoln Center presents Sing and Swing: Our American Songbook, which relives and recreates some of the classic pairings in jazz…
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Highly Recommended Theater: THE NOSEBLEED (National Tour Jan 25 – Feb 8, 2024 at The Walker, REDCAT & The Wex)
The Nosebleed, the Obie Award-Winning Show from Playwright and Director Aya Ogawa now on national tour The Walker, Minneapolis (Jan. 25-27); REDCAT in L.A. (West Coast Premiere Feb. 1-3, 2024); The Wex, Ohio State (Feb. 8-10, 2024) The Nosebleed (Brian Rogers) As part of its 2024 national tour, the profound and beautiful 2022 Obie Award-winning The Nosebleed…
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Highly Recommended Concert: CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT (Samueli Hall at Segerstrom)
Hooray and hallelujah! Long before her CDs Ghost Song, The Window, and Dreams and Daggers — winning three consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album after being nominated in 2014 for her WomanChild — I have always been a fan of jazz vocalist and song interpreter extraordinaire Cécile McLorin Salvant. But seeing her live…
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Highly Recommended Dance: GISELLE (Dutch National Ballet; Only in Cinemas on January 21, 2024)
For years, moviegoers were able to experience some of the world’s most exquisite ballet productions in movie theaters. Then came the pandemic, with its impact on cinemas. At the same time, the Ukraine war changed the face of ballet worldwide. Now, Iconic Events and Pathé Live returns to offer one of the most beautiful and…
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Theater Review: MJ The Musical (First National Tour)
MJ WANTS TO BE STARTIN’ SOMETHIN’ – AND DOES MJ The Musical, now on its first national tour, raises the bar for the bio-musical. It far exceeds a mere revue of Michael Jackson’s iconic music and performance choreography. Set in the rehearsal hall for Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous World Tour, the story follows a documentarian from…
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Theater Review: THE BAND’S VISIT (The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston)
AN UNEXPECTED AND BEAUTIFUL VISIT Once, not very long ago, a group of musicians came to Israel from Egypt. You probably didn’t hear about it. It wasn’t very important. These sentences, projected on a screen, are the opening of The Band’s Visit, the musical that won 10 Tony Awards in 2018. Directed by Paul Daigneault…
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Theater Review: BABBITT (World Premiere at La Jolla Playhouse)
BOTH BRODERICK AND BABBITT NEED A BOOST The La Jolla Playhouse is creating lots of buzz with the premiere of its adaptation of novelist Sinclair Lewis’s 1922 social satire Babbitt. The play is sold out for its run, which has already been extended to December 10. Much of the show’s audience appeal obviously resides with…
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Music / Concert Review: AMERICAN RAILROAD (Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens; U.S. Tour)
TUNNEL VISION In this first program post-Yo-Yo Ma artistic directorship, the American Railroad national tour by Silkroad Ensemble presents an evening of newly composed and arranged music with a slew of fresh faces joining the illustrious ensemble. Under the direction of banjoist, fiddle player, vocalist and multi-Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens, the ensemble features a cast…
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Theater Review: MAMMA MIA! (25th Anniversary Tour)
THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC The theater-going public may never get enough of Mamma Mia! Since the Swedish musical opened in London in 1999 there have been 50 productions throughout the world and the international audience now exceeds 65 million. The ABBA-based musical is playing a one week visit to San Diego and judging by…
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Highly Recommended Dance: KEEPSAKE (ISHIDA Dance Company in Houston)
THE HOBBY CENTER IN HOUSTON PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF KEEPSAKE BY ISHIDA DANCE COMPANY PROGRAM: keepsake (World Premiere by ISHIDA Dance) warm my bones (World Premiere by ISHIDA Dance) You look strange’”you look happy (by Jeremy Galdeano) If the world was ending, would you hold me tight? (by John Wannehag) ISHIDA Dance The Hobby Center…
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Jazz Concert Review: MIHO HAZAMA & M_UNIT (Tour at Samueli Hall, Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa)
AN EVENING OF CACOPHONOUS DELIGHT Grammy-nominated composer/performer/arranger Miho Hazama and her 13-piece jazz chamber orchestra m_unit landed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on October 28, 2023, kicking off the U.S. West Coast Tour showing off her vibrant new album celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her ensemble, m_unit: Beyond Orbits. Adding about six minutes to…
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Dance Review: THE LOOK OF LOVE (Mark Morris Dance Group)
TAKE A LOOK AT LOVE As part of a national tour, the Mark Morris Dance Group graced the gorgeous Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University in Orange last Saturday with its latest opus, a 65-minute dance spectacle The Look of Love. This artistic endeavor served as an homage to the illustrious Burt Bacharach, who sadly…
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Theater Review: HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Boston Center for the Arts)
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of the 1998 Pulitzer-winning drama How I Learned to Drive takes its audience on a harrowing ride through the dark land of sexual abuse and incest illuminated by moments of honesty, humor, and humanity. Director Elaine Vaan Hogue keeps playwright Paula Vogel’s best-known work moving through its complex…
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Theater Review: THE FANTASTICKS: A LOVE STORY REIMAGINED (Coachella Valley Rep)
THE NEW FANTASTICKS IS ENCHANTING, MAGICAL AND, YES, FANTASTIC Pride weekend was the perfect time for CVRep to open its production of The Fantasticks, A Love Story Reimagined. It is the opening production of Artistic Director Adam Karsten’s second season. If you want to know how he is doing, I suggest looking no further than…
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Theater Review: THE 39 STEPS (Scripps Ranch Theatre)
39 STEPS TAKEN IN CLOWN SHOES In 1935, Alfred Hitchcock released his spy thriller film The 39 Steps to much acclaim. Robert Donat played Richard Hannay, the handsome and dashing man who stumbles, purely by accident, into a crazy situation where he must save England from ruthless spies stealing military secrets. Adding to his woes…
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Theater Review: LAST SUMMER AT BLUEFISH COVE (The Bent in Palm Springs)
BY COVE, THEY DID IT The Bent in association with Palm Springs Cultural Center recently launched its second season on the heels of its successful inaugural season that began less than one year ago. The Bent’s second offering of its second season is a very short run coinciding with Pride Weekend in Palm Springs. Now…
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Cabaret Review: MANDY PATINKIN IN CONCERT: BEING ALIVE (Segerstrom and on Tour)
FINE AND MANDY! Mandy Patinkin, a venerable artist of 71years, known for his remarkable presence on the stage, in television, and on the silver screen, graced the esteemed Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa with his latest production, Being Alive. The title, a nod to the Stephen Sondheim song from the legendary…
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Theater Review: RENT (Palm Canyon Theatre)
MAKING THE RENT Jonathan Larson’s Rent is in a musical theater empyrean; indeed, productions are as ubiquitous as the stars in the firmament. The show is about a year in the life of bohemian artists struggling to survive, and if that sounds familiar, Larson based his 1997 work on Puccini’s opera La Bohème, which contrasts lavish life…
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Theater Review: THE LITTLE FELLOW (OR THE QUEEN OF TARTS TELLS ALL) (World Premiere at Cygnet Theatre in San Diego)
KEIKO GREEN IS THE QUEEN IN KATE HAMILL’S TERRIFIC NEW PLAY The Little Fellow (or The Queen of Tarts Tells All) may seem like a frivolous title for a serious play, but dramatist Kate Hamill has plenty of weighty themes in her script, now getting its world premiere at Cygnet Theatre. And with Hamill at…
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