A VERY BRADY MUSICAL
Friday, June 6th, 2008The Brady Bunch is (are?) alive and well and on stage at Theatre West in the brand new A Very Brady Musical. With music and lyrics by Hope and Laurence Juber and book by Lloyd J. Schwartz and Hope Juber, A Very Brady Musical mixes multiple plots with catchy songs to create a mostly entertaining evening of tuneful entertainment.
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THE BLOWIN OF BAILE GALL
Sunday, June 1st, 2008
Ronan Noone’s The Blowin Of Baile Gall deals with racism and xenophobia in Ireland, but it could just as easily be set anyplace in the United States where people frustrated with their own failures and inadequacies find it necessary to stereotype and demonize those who are “the other.” It could be about African Americans angry at Korean grocers taking over businesses in “their” neighborhoods, or Latinos detesting the gentrification of their neighborhoods by upscale gays, or Caucasians complaining about “illegal immigrants.” Sound familiar?
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NYMPHONY IN 12D
Saturday, May 24th, 2008NOT RECOMMENDED
Apartment 12-D tenant Brick Wilson (Rusty Hamrick) is the biggest up-and-coming opera singer in the Ansonia Hotel, which isn’t saying much. His best role so far has been that of the bearded lady in a zarzuela. Brick is frequently visited by a beauteous (though occasionally invisible) nymph (Beth Whitney), whose mission is to inspire him to greatness. Unfortunately for the nymph, Brick is gay, so her beauteousness is pretty much lost on him.
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BOISE U.S.A.
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008RECOMMENDED
The 1950s are often thought of as “happy days” for the U.S., yet a closer look reveals a not so happy picture for many Americans of the era. Segregation was the law in the once Confederate South, liberal minded Americans were being branded Communists by Senator Joe McCarthy and his ilk, and in Boise, Idaho, another albeit less famous witch-hunt was underway.
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PIPPIN
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
East West Players has a long tradition of staging well known musicals which would normally feature “traditional” casting, shows like Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, and Sweeney Todd, and casting them with Asian actors who might under other circumstances be overlooked for the roles. This year, it’s Stephen (Wicked) Schwartz whose work is center stage, and the results are, as might be expected from EWP’s sterling track record, sensational.
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A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS
Sunday, May 11th, 2008
Playwright Thomas Gibbons completes his trilogy about black/white relations in the United States with A House With No Walls, the latest production of the Robey Theatre Company. The Robey, which was named after the great African American actor/singer/civil rights pioneer Paul Robeson, dedicates itself to producing plays about the African American experience. A House With No Walls fulfills the Robey’s mission with an engrossing drama which spans over 200 years and features black and white characters with a wide range of political points of view. It is likely that virtually everyone in the audience will identify with at least one of the people on stage. That Thomas Gibbons happens to be white is merely a footnote, so authentic and well-written are his characters.
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AND HER HAIR WENT WITH HER
Friday, May 9th, 2008
Tonya Pinkins and Tracie Thoms are two actresses who could get together on a stage and captivate audiences merely by reading the proverbial phone book. Performing in a winner of a play like Zina Camblin’s And Her Hair Went With Her, the duo is theatrical magic.
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THIRD GRADE REUNION
Friday, May 2nd, 2008When not busy with his communications major/advertising minor, USC senior Brent Lomas has a passion for musical theater. Lomas currently serves as one of the artistic directors of SC’s Musical Theatre Repertory, which in January debuted a splendid production of Sunday In The Park With George. A finalist in the USC Jonathan Larson Songwriting Contest, Lomas is currently putting the finishing touches on the book, music, and lyrics of his very first musical, entitled Third Grade Reunion. This past weekend marked the show’s initial workshopping, to an audience of enthusiastic parents, friends, and supporters of musical theater.
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