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Theater Review: BLUES IN THE NIGHT (North Coast Rep in Solana Beach / San Diego)
NO ONE’S WEEPING ABOUT THESE GREAT BLUES Everything comes out in blues music: joy , pain , struggle. Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance. – Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis The blues is a style of music, created in the early 1900s in the deep South. Not surprisingly, The origins of the blues are poorly documented. According…
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Theater Review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (Wildsong at OB Playhouse)
SPELL “DELIGHTFUL” “D-E-L-I-G-H-T-F-U-L” — DELIGHTFUL! OB Playhouse used to do all of their own productions, but nowadays it is primarily a rental space. When I saw that The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was going to play there, I wondered if it would be from OBP’s most frequent renter, Wildsong Productions. After all, Wildsong…
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Theater Review: THE ART OF BURNING (Huntington Theatre, Boston)
THE ART OF BURNING WITH RAGE Fast-paced and gripping, laced at times with humor, The Art of Burning opens with an ominous threat: “Sometimes you have to kill the things you love to save them,” Patricia (Adrianne Krstansky) announces, putting the audience on alert. The ominous implications of this statement build when we hear Patricia…
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Theater Review: GREASE (La Mirada Theatre)
GET READY TO BE GREASED UP The year is 1959, when rock and roll was giving birth to the Sexual Revolution and the turbulent 1960s were about to burst on the scene. Record companies were releasing over a hundred singles every week and the country was about to radically change. In its original raunchy incarnation,…
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Theater Review: GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER? (Theatre 40)
GUESS WHAT SHOULD BE ON BROADWAY? A hit at their home theater on the Beverly Hills High School campus, Theatre 40’s production of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? has been remounted at the gorgeous Greystone Mansion on a Beverly Hills bluff overlooking L.A., a choice setting for the Bay Area hilltop home of a wealthy…
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Theater Review: BROTHERS PLAY (Legacy LA)
A LOST TRIBE OF BROTHERS Because a child who has been sexually abused often knew and trusted the perpetrator, only about a third of the cases are reported. Many remain silent. As if the act itself wasn’t traumatic enough, childhood abuse often has a wide range of effects in adulthood — drug use, impulsive risky…
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Theater Review: HEAR HER SING FOR FREEDOM (Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA)
THIS FREEDOM RINGS In a weekend of numerous uplifting events celebrating the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Hear Her Sing for Freedom stood out for bringing forward the life and role of Coretta Scott King, who married Dr. King in 1953. Coretta Scott was a serious vocalist and political…
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Theater Review: PRELUDES (Lyric Stage in Boston)
PRELUDE TO A BREAKTHROUGH The Lyric Stage Company brings powerful performances to Dave Malloy’s remarkable evocation of the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s struggles with a creative block through hypnotherapy. Rachmaninoff himself is portrayed as two characters. One called Rachmaninoff (Dan Rodgriguez) sits at a white baby grand through most of the show, providing a stunning shower…
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Theater Review: MEAN GIRLS (National Tour)
STILL TRYING TO MAKE FETCH HAPPEN The musical adaptation of the 2004 teen comedy film Mean Girls opened on Broadway in April 2018 and was one of the many victims of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in an early closure on March 11, 2020. The musical book and the original film are written by veteran comedian…
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Theater Review: THE EMPIRE STRIPS BACK (International Tour)
IT’S OK TO GET SAUCED FOR STUNNING SAUCY STRIPPERS AND SPECTACULAR SAUCERS, OR MAY THE TORSO BE WITH YOU Forget about Broadway or the latest Marvel Comic movie. The fun, hip and cool burlesque Star Wars parody ’” which isn’t just for fans of the franchise ’” is the show to see live onstage. Since the…
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Theater Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR (New Cast for 2022-2023 Tour)
ROCK ON I still have the soundtrack album that I bought when I was 14. I saw the movie when I was 16. I saw the Broadway Revival in my late teens. Today, just over fifty years after Jesus Christ Superstar premiered on Broadway, I had the pure pleasure of seeing it again at the…
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Theater Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (North American Tour)
THIS MOCKINGBIRD SOARS To Kill a Mockingbird is an American masterpiece that has transcended time and medium, and which will continue to impact our cultural zeitgeist, reflected by the opening night sold-out crowd for this 2018 theatrical wonder, a sell-out for its Broadway run and now on tour at Segerstrom Hall. Patrons responded audibly and…
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Theater Review: MIDWINTER REVELS: A SOLSTICE CELEBRATION – TALES FROM ELLIS ISLAND (Sanders Theater at Harvard and Online)
LET THE REVELS’ SUN SHINE IN TO YOUR HOME Like the waning of the old year and the arrival of the new that it celebrates, The Revels organization has returned to the stage in 2022 with a new name and new elements that express the organization’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion while retaining the…
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Theater Review: LIFE OF PI (American Repertory Theater in Cambridge)
COME FOR A THEATRICAL EVENT; STAY FOR THE STORY The eye-popping special effects of Life of Pi are reason enough to see this show. When video, lighting, and sound designers Andrzej Goulding, Tim Lutkin, and Carolyn Downing transform the solid stage of at A.R.T. not into dew, but a liquid — a spontaneous gasp and…
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Theater Review: 2 PIANOS, 4 HANDS (North Coast Rep in Solano Beach)
2 PIANOS + 4 HANDS = 194 HAPPY ATTENDEES Around twenty years ago, piano bars started featuring “dueling pianists,” who would go back and forth, taking turns playing pop songs and, occasionally, interacting. It was all the rave for a little while, so it wouldn’t be surprising if theatergoers thought that’s what this show (written by Ted…
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Theater Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (A.C.T.)
CAROLING THROUGH THE AGES For two generations, a yearly outing to see A Christmas Carol has been a feel-good tradition for San Francisco families. American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has staged adaptations of this famous Dickens story continuously since 1976, with few gaps until COVID, changing up the production on a regular basis to keep it…
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STEPS TO BUILD YOUR ACTING CAREER
Acting is one of the most fulfilling careers for those who love the arts. It is a chance to express yourself, your emotions, and your beliefs to the world. However, it is also one of the industry’s most competitive and demanding fields. It is not enough to simply be talented; you must also know how…
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Theater Review: LITTLE WOMEN, THE BROADWAY MUSICAL (Chance Theater in Anaheim)
LITTLE WOMEN IS A BIG TRIUMPH FOR CHANCE The four March sisters come alive on the stage of Bette Aitken theater arts Center in Anaheim. The Chance Theater’s returning production of Little Women, The Broadway Musical — book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, music by Jason Howland — is a triumph, as well…
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Theater Review: THE BROTHERS PARANORMAL (East West Players)
WHO IS HAUNTING WHOM? Ghosts, paranormal investigators, and a loving couple that just moved to their new home — it sounds like a reality TV series for binge watching. The Brothers Paranormal at East West Players turns out to be anything but. Instead, audiences are treated to a wonderful, heartfelt, humorous and gut wrenching drama…
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Theater Review: CHARLES DICKENS’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL (A Noise Within in Pasadena)
A HOLIDAY GREETING CARD COME TO LIFE The story that encapsulates the spirit of Christmas perfectly has had countless adaptations, from The Muppets to Disney. This beloved novella, originally published in 1843, has stood the test of time and continues to be celebrated today. The film Spirited starring Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell adds to…
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