VARIATIONS ON A THEME: THE BEST

posted on November 25th, 2007 at 12:07 PM by Steven Stanley

The Chance Theatre threw a block party in June and two hundred people
attended.  After seven hours of “boisterous fun” and interaction, 100 short
plays were submitted to the Chance, all based on the theme “The Best.” Of
the initial 100, 6 were eventually chosen to make up an evening of theater
entitled Variations on a Theme: The Best.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Orange County

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: THE MUSICAL

posted on November 25th, 2007 at 12:04 PM by Steven Stanley


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?)
(read more)

posted in Musical, Orange County, WOW!

THE DESK SET

posted on November 24th, 2007 at 11:55 AM by Steven Stanley

William Marchant’s The Desk Set is an entertaining 1955 Broadway comedy which
revolves around one of the 50s’ biggest fears. No, not fear of communism or of
nuclear war, but rather the fear of the machine replacing man at the workplace.
Here, the machine is a gigantic (especially by today’s standards) computer called
E.M.M.A.R.A.C, nicknamed “Emmy,” and the workplace is the Reference
Department of IBC, a large radio and television broadcasting company in
midtown Manhattan.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, North Hollywood, Not Recommended

ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO

posted on November 23rd, 2007 at 11:51 AM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
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)

posted in Hollywood/West Hollywood, Musical, Recommended

AS THOUSANDS CHEER

posted on November 19th, 2007 at 11:48 AM by Steven Stanley


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)

posted in Burbank/Glendale, Concert Staged Reading, WOW!

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU

posted on November 17th, 2007 at 11:45 AM by Steven Stanley


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)

posted in Comedy, Ventura County, WOW!

ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE

posted on November 16th, 2007 at 11:43 AM by Steven Stanley

NOT 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)

posted in Comedy, Hollywood/West Hollywood, Not Recommended

RAY CHARLES LIVE

posted on November 14th, 2007 at 11:39 AM by Steven Stanley


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)

posted in Musical, Pasadena, WOW!

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