OPUS
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
Tales of rock bands’ acrimonious breakups are the stuff of legend—think Smashing Pumpkins, The Doors, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, and of course The Beatles. Michael Hollinger’s Opus, now in its Los Angeles premiere at the Fountain Theatre, makes it clear that the world of classical music is no less volatile—and perhaps even more so.
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TOWN WITHOUT PITY
Monday, June 28th, 2010
In that brief period between the “Lollipop, Lollipop” 1950s and the British Invasion of 1964, teen idols like Dion, Ricky Nelson, and Bobby Vee were topping the charts with their blend of All American good looks and bubblegum pop.
And then there was singer-songwriter Gene Pitney.
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OKLAHOMA!
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Musical Theatre Of Los Angeles follows its much praised downsizings of Ragtime The Musical, West Side Story, and Cabaret with one of its biggest challenges yet, a 99-seat production of Rodgers And Hammerstein’s very first collaboration—1943’s Oklahoma!
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SHAHEED: THE DREAM AND DEATH OF BENAZIR BHUTTO
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Say the name Benazir Bhutto to a cross-section of Pakistanis and you’ll probably get as many different points of view as those expressed by the characters who people Anna Khaja’s Shaheed: The Dream And Death Of Benazir Bhutto.
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STREEP TEASE
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Meryl. Meryl. Meryl.
Is there any need to add a last name? Can there be a movie fan alive today who doesn’t know straight away that the Meryl in question is the most Oscar-nominated actress (or actor) in Academy Award history? (That’s 16 nominations in case you’ve forgotten.)
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SUPERNOVA
Friday, June 4th, 2010
Mabel Davies is trying to make the most of her Midwest hell of a life in Timothy McNeil’s World Premiere drama Supernova—but it sure as hell isn’t easy. Her inattentive, loutish husband John spends his days plunked down in front of the tube before heading off to his graveyard-shift factory job, leaving Mabel alone at home to fend for herself. Son Kip used to be the apple of both his parents’ eyes, but as his eighteenth birthday approaches, the surly youth wastes his days and nights drinking, getting high, and spouting right wing militia catchphrases. (He’s also carrying on a secret sexual affair with the Davies’ recently separated next door neighbor Fran, twice his age.) No wonder Mabel finds solace in her nightly phone calls with Joe, a lonely watch salesman in far away California.
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ROAD TO SAIGON
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Three Filipina divas take center stage in the musical memoir Road To Saigon, now in its world premiere engagement at East West Players.
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MATT AND BEN
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
No one except the co-authors themselves knew the true story behind Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Academy Award-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting until well over five years after Oscar night 1998—not until August 21, 2002, that is, when Mindy Kaling and Brenda Wither’s Matt & Ben opened at the New York International Fringe Festival.
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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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