Author Archive
ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO
Friday, November 23rd, 2007RECOMMENDED
All This, And Heaven Too is an entertaining look at gay life over 40 viewed through a musical comedy lens. As the production’s soft shoe opener “Trolls” (the show’s original off-Broadway title) proclaims, gay men past a certain age are considered “mean and crabby, soft and flabby.” As All This, And Heaven Too reveals, they also have a zest for life, and more of an appreciation for the freedoms and the greater acceptance society has granted them post-Stonewall than “those little twits who don’t even know who Ethel Merman was.”
(read more)
AS THOUSANDS CHEER
Monday, November 19th, 2007
Fans of those Saturday Night Live sketches spoofing George Bush, Paris Hilton, and
Brangelina (that’s Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) might be surprised to learn that way
back in 1933, an Irving Berlin Broadway musical used the very same format to
lampoon President Herbert Hoover, heiress Barbara Hutton, and film stars Douglas
Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Crawford.
(read more)
YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Kaufman and Hart’s 1930s You Can’t Take It With You is probably my all-time
favorite comedy classic, and any chance to see a production of it is one I can’t
pass up. In years past I’ve seen excellent revivals by (among others) the Colony,
Actors Co-Op, and the Geffen, and I’ve watched the video of the 1983 Broadway
revival more times than I can count. I even got to fulfill an actor’s dream by
portraying Mr. Kolenkhov at the Center Theater in Whittier earlier this year. Thus,
you can imagine what a treat it was for me to see the Rubicon Theatre
Company’s production of this screwball gem.
(read more)
ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE
Friday, November 16th, 2007NOT RECOMMENDED
Imagine a play without a plot or assigned speaking roles. Imagine a script which
does not specify particular locations, simply lines of spoken dialog which the
director can assign to whichever actor he chooses and scenes which take place
wherever the director’s imagination take him. Imagine this kind of play and
you’ve got British playwright Martin Crimp’s Attempts on her Life, the first joint
undertaking of Chris Covics’ Unknown Theater and Bart DeLorenzo’s Evidence
Room.
(read more)
RAY CHARLES LIVE
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
Combining the appeal of the Oscar-winning hit film Ray with the dynamic live
theater format of Jersey Boys, the Pasadena Playhouse has a surefire hit on its
hands with Ray Charles Live!, written by Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Sheldon
Epps, and featuring over two dozen hits made famous by the man of soul himself.
(read more)
TONIGHT AT 8:30 PARTS 1 & 2
Sunday, November 11th, 2007
Q: Where can you see 4 dozen of the finest actors in the country performing live and
on stage 8 one-act plays by legendary playwright/song writer Noel Coward?
A: At Antaeus Company’s twin productions of Tonight At 8:30 Parts 1 and 2.
(read more)
DAWN’S LIGHT: THE JOURNEY OF GORDON HIRABAYASHI
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
It’s rare that all elements of a production (writing / acting / directing / design)
come together as perfectly as they do in East West Players’ world premiere
production of Jeanne Sakata’s Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi.
That this production not only engrosses, entertains, and moves an audience but
also educates and informs them as well makes it a must-see.
(read more)
SYLVIA
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
Olympic gymnast. Broadway musical theater star. Dog. A strange trajectory to
be sure, but that’s the path which has brought Cathy Rigby to her starring role
in Sylvia, A.R. Gurney’s comic tribute to “Man’s Best Friend.” Rigby plays the title
role, that of an adorable mutt who finds herself a new master in a Manhattan
park and a new home in a New York city brownstone. Given Rigby’s marvelously
winning performance, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that this is her first
straight play. Hopefully it will lead to many more.
(read more)
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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