IT’S THE HOUSEWIVES

posted on September 7th, 2008 at 6:30 PM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Ever heard of the superstar rock group The Housewives? The three PTA mothers who became as big as the Beatles?  The gals who had such #1 hits as “Ironing Bored,” “The Reynold’s Rap,” and “I’ve Been Defrosting All Day”?
(read more)

posted in Musical, Recommended, San Fernando Valley

R.R.R.E.D. / THE REDHEAD MUSICAL MANIFESTO

posted on September 7th, 2008 at 6:22 PM by Steven Stanley


Though it won’t be for all tastes, R.R.R.E.D. / The Redhead Musical Manifesto is a wow of a showcase for a wow of a redheaded singer-songwriter, Katie Thompson, and her talented redheaded musical cohort Patrick Livingston.
(read more)

posted in Burbank/Glendale, Musical, WOW!

SHE LOVES ME

posted on September 6th, 2008 at 6:38 PM by Steven Stanley


A man and a woman who can’t stand each other in real life fall in love with each other in cyberspace.  Sound familiar? It should be if you’ve seen Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail. But before email, there were letters, and 35 years before You’ve Got Mail, there was the 1963 Broadway musical She Loves Me, a pre-Internet version of the same irresistible tale.
(read more)

posted in Musical, Ventura County, WOW!

SUMMER SIZZLE ONE-ACT FESTIVAL

posted on September 5th, 2008 at 6:40 PM by Steven Stanley

NOT RECOMMENDED

The Production Company is taking a break from its usual full length fare (following their much lauded Mrs. Warren’s Profession and preceding the much anticipated M Butterfly) to give 8 local playwrights the opportunity to show off their comic wares in The Summer Sizzle One-Act Play Festival (and competition).
(read more)

posted in Comedy, North Hollywood, Not Recommended

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIRE DE LUNE

posted on September 4th, 2008 at 6:42 PM by Steven Stanley


Frankie and Johnny were lovers and (as the song goes), “Oh Lordy, how they could love,” that is until she caught Johnny cheating on her “with that high-browed Nellie Bly” and shot him dead.
 
Fortunately, things are a good deal more hopeful for the lovers in Terrence McNally’s moving two-character, two-act dramedy, Frankie And Johnny In The Clair De Lune, now playing at International City Theatre in Long Beach. With the superb Libby West and Thomas Fiscella in the title roles and master director Todd Nielsen at the helm, ICT’s production proves to be one of their finest.

(read more)

posted in Drama, Long Beach/San Pedro, WOW!

VANITIES

posted on September 2nd, 2008 at 6:45 PM by Steven Stanley


Vanities, the new Broadway-bound musical at the Pasadena Playhouse, takes a tuneful, laugh-filled, and sometimes emotional look at the lives of three small town Texas women from the optimistic Camelot years of the early 1960s, through the draft card and bra burning the late 60s, and on into the swinging 70s. Based on Jack Heifner’s immensely popular three-character three-scene comedy (one of the longest running plays in off-Broadway history), Vanities (the musical) adds David Kirshenbaum’s catchy melodies and story-propelling lyrics to the mix, plus a fourth scene (bringing the women up to 1990), to create a laughter and tear-filled 90-minute musical journey through the lives of three very different best friends.
(read more)

posted in Musical, Pasadena, WOW!

LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS

posted on August 31st, 2008 at 1:02 AM by Steven Stanley


Lovers And Other Strangers is perhaps best known as the Oscar-winning 1970 movie which starred Gig Young (remember him?), Bea (then Beatrice) Arthur and Cloris Leachman (pre Maud and MTM), and featuring an unknown actress named Diane Keaton in her very first film role.  (A dollar to whoever can remember in what category Lovers And Other Strangers won its Oscar.)
(read more)

posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

INHERIT THE WIND

posted on August 30th, 2008 at 12:59 AM by Steven Stanley


Is there any play from the 1950s more relevant in 2008 than Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s Inherit The Wind?  It’s been 83 years since Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes was put on trial for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in the classroom, yet only a half dozen years ago, a suburban Atlanta school board voted unanimously to allow teachers to introduce students to “different views about the origins of life”—a codeword for “creationism,” and John McCain’s choice to be Vice President of this country is a woman who says she is open to teaching “creationism” in public schools.
  (read more)

posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

Next PagePrevious Page