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Highly Recommended Dance: ANNA KARENINA (Joffrey Ballet at the Dorothy Chandler in L.A.)
LEO TOLSTOY TURNED TO LEAPS AND TWIRLS IN THIS NARRATIVE BALLET MILESTONE FROM JOFFREY BALLET, COMING TO L.A. JUNE 21–23, 2024 With a brand new score created by 39-year-old wunderkind Ukrainian-born composer Ilya Demutsky, who replenishes the rhapsodic romanticism of Shostakovich and Prokofiev, and genius choreographer Yuri Possokhov, who finds new depths in dance, Anna…
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Theater Review: HAIRSPRAY (National Tour at the Hobby Center in Houston)
HAIRSPRAY: HIGH-STEPPIN’ AND HIGH HAIR IN HOUSTON Returning to the Broadway at the Hobby Center series for one week only, the high-stepping, toe-tapping, raucous romp good time known as Hairspray the musical. Join “The Nicest Kids in Town” for a three-hour escapade through history, teenaged angst, a powerful message against the evils of segregation and the…
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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Jazz Concert: SAMARA JOY (McCallum Theatre in Palm Springs)
A JOY TO BEHOLD COMES TO MCCALLUM ONE NIGHT ONLY, SATURDAY JUNE 15 AT 8 The jazz world has been abuzz about the 24-year-old New Yorker Samara Joy since she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019, and rightfully so. After releasing her eponymous debut album and then her first album with Verve…
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Highly Recommended Cabaret: WILL HE LIKE ME? (Phillip Chaffin at Coachella Valley Repertory in Palm Springs)
PHILLIP CHAFFIN’S 2018 ALBUM WILL HE LIKE ME? BECOMES A FULL-LENGTH STAGE SHOW Philip Chaffin, who has the perfect honeyed baritone for those swanky musicals of the 20s and 30s, embarked on an adventure that was rather trailblazing when his 2018 album Will He Like Me? came out (so to speak). (See my review.) It’s…
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Theater Review: FUNNY GIRL (National Tour at Segerstrom Hall)
THERE’S A STAR IN THIS DUSTY OLD COUCH OF A MUSICAL Funny Girl — the musical narrative of the ugly duckling turned Ziegfeld star turned tragic heroine — takes center stage once more. With beloved songs written by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, Isobel Lennart‘s 1964 book was updated by Harvey Fierstein for Broadway in…
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Cabaret Review: LUCIE ARNAZ: I GOT THE JOB! SONGS FROM MY MUSICAL PAST (Tour)
WHAT CAN I SAY EXCEPT, “I LOVE LUCIE” It has been said that the greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling and Lucie Arnaz is masterful at it. In her career of forty-five plus years in musical theater, Arnaz has amassed an impressive array of anecdotes and songs which she shared with…
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Dance Review: DEREK HOUGH – SYMPHONY OF DANCE (Tour at Rady Shell in San Diego)
HOUGH’LL HUFF AND HE’LL PUFF AND HE’LL BLOW YOU AWAY For those of you who’ve somehow missed all of the 31 seasons of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, two of the male dancers have crossed over from mere participants to celebrity status, on and off the show. Dark, handsome Maksim “Maks” Chmerkovskiy earned a reputation…
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Theater Review: WONDERFUL JOE (Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes at The Nimoy
RONNIE BURKETT HAS THE WORLD ON A STRING You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Santa as a beer-bellied, Silverlake bear puppet twerking in a nightclub with Jesus and the Tooth Fairy. Wonderful Joe, presented by Ronnie Burkett, OC, and his Theatre of Marionettes this past weekend at The Nimoy in Westwood, was an experience I…
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Opera Review: ELĪNA GARANČA (Recital Tour at BroadStage)
On the auspicious evening of Friday, May 10, 2024, the audience at BroadStage in Santa Monica was graced with a recital of exceptional caliber, featuring the illustrious mezzo-soprano ElÄ«na GaranÄa, whose performance was augmented by the symphonic grandeur of a full orchestra. ElÄ«na GaranÄa, whose reputation as a preeminent mezzo-soprano in the classical music sphere is…
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Art Exhibit Review: AUSCHWITZ. NOT LONG AGO. NOT FAR AWAY. (International Tour at The Castle in Boston)
INCONCEIVABLE. SHOCKING. NECESSARY. Visitors to the exhibit Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. — now stopping at The Saunders Castle at Park Plaza in Boston as part of a world tour — are able to view more than 700 artifacts, photographs, personal stories, and other information on display. Among the artifacts are hundreds of…
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Music Review: VíKINGUR ÒLAFSSON: THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS (Colburn Recital at Disney Hall)
FINDING GOLD IN GOLDBERG VI once said in a review of pianist Víkingur í“lafsson that if you want to see a modern-day Glenn Gould-like master at the keys, here’s your chance. Well, the test really came the other night when í“lafsson returned to Disney Hall for his rendition of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which many claim…
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Jazz Concert Review: DUETS: DIANNE REEVES, CHUCHO VALDÉS, JOE LOVANO (International Tour at Berklee)
TWO MEN AND A LADY: JAZZ ROYALTY TIMES THREE Celebrity Series of Boston’s 2023–2024 season is drawing to a close and among the final performances was the excellent Duets, featuring Dianne Reeves (vocals), Chucho Valdés (piano), and Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone). The evening began with Valdés alone with his grand piano on the stage of…
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Dance Review: MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (North American Tour at New York City Center)
A SHOW THAT SENDS OUT AN S.O.S. Director-choreographer  Kate Prince, founder of London-based hip hop dance troupe  ZooNation, created a story about survival, hope, and love. Inspired by  Sting’s hits,  Message in a Bottle premiered on London’s West End in February 2020 and revived a year later before being interrupted by COVID. Produced by Sadler’s Wells  and  Universal Music UK, it…
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Concert Review: ANNA LAPWOOD (Organ Recital at Disney Hall)
LAPPING UP LAPWOOD British organist Anna Lapwood brought gold sparkles to her LA Phil debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the final stop of her 2024 US tour (her international tour continues). She could hardly contain her excitement, calling the hall’s organ “so much more than I ever hoped it could be!” Lapwood, the 28-year-old…
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Jazz Concert Review: HERBIE HANCOCK (Disney Hall)
STILL CRAZY AMAZING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Piano/keyboard legend Herbie Hancock, whose trailblazing role introducing synthesizers and new audio technologies to jazz and funk make him one of the most influential musicians in jazz history, made it to Walt Disney Concert Hall on April 20 2024. A 14-time GRAMMY Award-winner, Hancock has been in the creative…
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Concert Review: NO MORE WATER / THE FIRE NEXT TIME; THE GOSPEL OF JAMES BALDWIN (Meshell Ndegeocello presented by CAP UCLA at United Theatre on Broadway)
MESHELL, MY BELL “Free like a bird,” the Swahili meaning of the eclectic singer-songwriter and rapper Meshell Ndegeocello’s last name (pronounced N-dee-gay-o-cello), describes the essence of her No More Water/The Fire Next Time; The Gospel of James Baldwin performance at The United Theatre on Broadway presented by CAP UCLA. Inspired by American writer and civil rights…
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Concert / Event Review: KRONOS QUARTET & GHOST TRAIN ORCHESTRA PLAY MOONDOG (The Town Hall in New York City, Tuesday April 16, 2024 at 8pm)
IT’S SO GOOD THAT I’M HOWLING AT THE MOONDOG Moondog’s music is magical and timeless, it has the power to take us to faraway places. I am here to tell you about the extraordinary concert, Kronos Quartet & Ghost Train Orchestra Play Moondog, the collaboration between The Kronos Quartet, breaking down music boundaries as they…
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Highly Recommended Opera Recital: ELĪNA GARANÄŒA (Tour at Santa Monica’s BroadStage)
ONE-NIGHT ONLY: ELĪNA GARANÄŒA RECITAL Mezzo-soprano ElÄ«na GaranÄa will be returning to Santa Monica’s BroadStage for a performance as part of their Celebrity Opera Recital series bringing noted opera talents to the BroadStage, offering local audiences an opportunity to experience high-caliber operatic performances.. The event will take place on Friday, May 10, 2024, at 7:30…
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Concert Review: PATTI LUPONE: A LIFE IN NOTES (Tour)
A LEGEND IN THE LIMELIGHT Patti LuPone’s Enchanting Evening at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion “Music holds a transformative power, the ability to encapsulate a moment in crystalline clarity,” proclaimed a visibly moved Patti LuPone, moments after her arrival on stage for her international tour stop at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to a resounding welcome, setting…
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Theater Review: SOLO: A SHOW ABOUT FRIENDSHIP (Gabe Mollica at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston and on Tour)
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Up-and-coming storyteller Gabe Mollica has brought his “sweet not sappy” 90-minute Solo: A Show About Friendship to Boston after 80 Off-Broadway performances and an excerpt on This American Life, the NPR radio show and podcast. Directed by noted monologist and queer disability activist Greg Walloch, and written as well as…
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