Author Archive
THAT PERFECT MOMENT
Friday, January 1st, 2010
It was 1969, aka the Summer Of Love, and an aspiring San Fernando Valley rock band was about to get its first big break as opening act for The Buckinghams, whose “Kind Of A Drag” had hit #1 two years before. Ultimately, however, fame escaped The Weeds, and even now, twenty-five years later, that one summer remains the high point in the lives of its four members. True, all four 50something friends have gone on to varying degrees of career success, but as the years have passed, that summer a quarter century ago has acquired a golden glow for “the greatest rock band that nobody’s ever heard of.” It was a summer filled with “cheap dope and easy women,” a time when the four friends gave themselves “permission to dream.” If only they could go back in time, or somehow bring back that perfect moment in each of their lives.
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SEE HOW THEY RUN
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
What would regional and community theaters do without British farce? It’s hard indeed to imagine a theater season without a Ray Cooney comedy like Run For Your Wife, a Joe Orton confection, Michael Frayne’s Noises Off, or a laugh-getter by the almost impossibly prolific Alan Ayckbourn. The granddaddy of all contemporary British farces may well be Philip King’s 1945 gem See How They Run, and those wanting to experience British humor at its funniest are hereby advised to catch the King classic’s spiffy new production at Glendale Centre Theatre.
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WHITE CHRISTMAS
Saturday, December 26th, 2009
Cabrillo Music Theatre’s December gamble—a four-day, seven-performance post-Christmas staging of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas—has paid off in a terrific production, directed with imagination and flair by Todd Nielsen and starring some of the Southland’s finest triple-threat talents.
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Monday, December 21st, 2009
After 45 years of staging Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol around holiday time, the folks at Glendale Centre Theatre have learned how to do Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim right. Brenda Dietlein’s adaptation, with original music and lyrics by Steven Applegate and Byron Simpson, is bright, funny, tuneful, faithful to the original, and never dull or stodgy.
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A VEGAS HOLIDAY! SONGS FROM “LIVE AT THE SAHARA”
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Louis And Keely are back in town at NoHo’s El Portal Theatre with A Vegas Holiday! Songs From “Live At The Sahara,” an evening of the hits that made stars of Louis Prima and Keely Smith. They’re also the songs that made Louis And Keely: Live At The Sahara one of L.A. musical theater’s greatest success stories in recent years.
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SANTASIA—A CHRISTMAS COMEDY
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Santasia—A Holiday Comedy is back for its 9th annual potpourri of skits, videos, musical production numbers, and recollections of Christmases past—and what a show it is, whether you’re someone who’s enjoyed the all-male cast’s wackiness in years past, or a newbie like me. Of all the Christmas shows I’ve seen this season, Santasia is quite possibly the best blend of comedy and heart.
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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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