Author Archive
CAVE QUEST
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010RECOMMENDED
Did you ever see that Coca Cola commercial from 1970s, the one that had a couple thousand peace-seeking grownups and kids warbling “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony”? Well, that’s basically Justin Yi’s motivation in climbing to the top of the Himalayas in Les Thomas’ new play Cave Quest. To be more specific, the young Asian American wants to teach the world to “find inner peace” by means of a $49.99 video game. The key to Justin’s achieving this goal is a “legendary” Buddhist nun named Padma—who just happens to have started out a small-town Fresno girl named Ruby Riyono.
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THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
For Andrew Lloyd Webber fans, there’s no better place to be this week than at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. A sextet of Broadway stars and a full onstage symphony orchestra join forces to perform thirty of Sir Andrew’s most famous compositions, making for a spectacular two hours of song.
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MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Some productions belong to the actors, some to the writer, some even to the designers. Then there are Sondheim shows directed by Oanh Nguyen. These productions belong to the director, and the latest Sondheim/Nguyen collaboration, the composer’s 1981 Merrily We Roll Along, is no exception. That’s not to say that Nguyen’s cast aren’t delivering fine performances. They are. That’s not to say that his design team haven’t produced some brilliant work here. They have. But what sets this Merrily apart from others is Nguyen’s vision. You may have seen Merrily We Roll Along before, but you haven’t seen this Merrily We Roll Along.
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CELADINE
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
The titular leading lady of Charles Evered’s Celadine runs a London coffee house, writes plays, occasionally does a bit of spying, and still looks fabulous well into her forties. Assisting her at the coffee house are Mary, a former hooker, and Jeffrey, a young hunk with a penchant for cross-dressing and for crawling under his boss’s skirt. Completing Celadine’s entourage in the play’s West Coast premiere at the Colony Theatre are Elliot and Rowley, the former a handsome young actor, the latter an ex-lover. If Celadine’s young daughter Marie were still alive, the lady would seem to have it made—the very picture of a modern 21st Century woman, right?
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BARK! THE MUSICAL
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
You’re my man, I’m your pet. We’re as close as two can get. You love me to the end. That’s why you are dog’s best friend,” sings Rocks, the Jack Russell pup in Bark! The Musical, the smash hit returning to the L.A. area for the first time in nearly four years in a supersized staging by Civic Light Opera Of South Bay Cities that merits five barks out of five.
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DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Take a 1964 Marlon Brando-David Niven-Shirley Jones comedy (Bedtime Story), remake it in 1988 with a new title (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and an even funnier trio of leads (Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headley), turn it into a 2005 Broadway musical starring John Lithgow, Norman Leo Butz, and Sheri Rene Scott which scored eleven Tony nominations and one big win for Best Actor Butz, then assign director extraordinaire Richard Israel to downscale it to 99-seat dimensions and you’ve got Interact Theatre Company’s sensational L.A. Intimate Theater Premiere of the hit musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, just opened at the NoHo Arts Center.
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WHY TORTURE IS WRONG AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Meet the cast of characters of Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them, Christopher Durang’s absurdist screwball war-on-terror romantic farce, now getting its West Coast Premiere by The Blank Theatre Company. There’s:
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SOUVENIR
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
While it may be true that “America’s Got Talent,” a glance at YouTube clips of failed American Idol auditioners proves that the seriously delusional are alive and well and attempting in vain to sing on-key in these United States. Some have even gone on to make records. Hong Kong immigrant William Hung titled his first CD “Inspiration,” though it’s doubtful that the final result was divine. Back in the 1960s, Pomona housewife Mrs. Elva Miller (known affectionately as “Mrs. Miller”) blithely and cluelessly massacred such 1960s hits as “Downtown” and “A Lover’s Concerto” in her vibrato-heavy, wobbly, off-key mezzo.
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Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
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