CINEPHILIA
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
New York cinephiles Johnny and Arden are 20something “friends with benefits,” or at least that’s how Johnny would refer to his “recreation” with Arden. She, on the other hand, considers their four-and-a-half years’ worth of occasional sex + conversations about movies a “relationship.” Imagine her dismay upon learning that Johnny plans to move to Los Angeles, that he’s already started packing, and that worst of all, it’s because he met a girl three weeks ago and the move out west is to be with her. Then there’s Johnny’s roommate of five years, Plato, who despite dating girls seems even more in love with Johnny than Arden is…and far more distraught about Johnny’s impending departure. Add to the mix the arrival of Johnny’s new girlfriend Natalie, and you’ve got Cinephilia, 80 absorbing minutes of clever conversation and twisted relationships.
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TWIST
Saturday, December 1st, 2007
The Tony and Oscar winning family classic Oliver and the recent award-
winning off-Broadway musical Twist share the same basic Charles Dickens
plotline. For those living under a rock, it goes as follows: An orphan boy named
Oliver Twist, abandoned at birth, raised in an orphanage, later sold to a
mortician, and eventually taken in by the rapscallion Fagin finds ultimate
wealth and happiness. That’s where the resemblance ends. Unlike the G-
rated, Focus on the Family approved Oliver, Gila Sand and Paul Leschen’s
Twist gives the Dickens classic a subversively gay S/M musical twist. I loved it!
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THE FULL MONTY
Saturday, December 1st, 2007
I’ve seen five (count’em) five productions of The Full Monty, and I have to tell you,
this is a show I just keep liking more and more. My love affair with TFM (well, it was
just a “like affair” at first) began with the first national tour and continued a couple
years later with a fine non-Equity tour. Then came two large-theater regional
productions, including this year’s superb Musical Theater West version, and finally,
yesterday, my first 99-seat TFM, a production which marks a hugely successful
debut for the just formed Theatre7.
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ATLANTA THE MUSICAL
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Atlanta The Musical is a gorgeous new theatrical work, both intimate and
epic, historical and immediate, filled with powerful performances,
memorable tunes, and a timeless story of love in the time of war.
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ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: THE MUSICAL
Sunday, November 25th, 2007
Young girls in Orange County will love The Chance Theatre’s production of Anne
of Green Gables: The Musical. Based on the first and most famous of Lucy Maud
Montgomery’s eight Anne Shirley books, this adaptation by Joseph Robinette and
Evelyn D. Swenson adds songs to what has already been a 1919 silent movie, a
1934 Hollywood film (starring interestingly enough Anne Shirley), a 1956 TV
production, a British mini-series in 1972, a four-hour TV movie in 1985 which
spawned two sequels, and even a Japanese anime series. (And who knows how
many other versions are out there?)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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