CANNED PEACHES IN SYRUP

posted on October 11th, 2007 at 4:30 PM by Steven Stanley


Seeing a show at the Furious Theatre in Pasadena is a virtual guarantee of a 
brilliantly acted and staged production. Dámaso Rodriguez and his furiously 
fearless band of thespians invariably pick edgy and topical pieces of writing 
which they bring to vivid life upstairs at the Pasadena Playhouse, and Canned 
Peaches in Syrup is no exception.  Set in the not so distant future, in a world 
where food and water are so scarce that half the remaining inhabitants of our 
planet have turned to cannibalism to survive, Canned Peaches is, as they say, 
as topical as today’s headlines. It’s also an outrageously funny comedy, and a 
love story a la Romeo and Juliet to boot.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Pasadena, WOW!

HEAT & HOSTILITY

posted on October 7th, 2007 at 11:55 AM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Kevin Delin’s Heat & Hostility is an amusing look at men and women and sex, in a series of 14 sketches, featuring an attractive and talented young cast of performers. Here’s a preview of some of the “heat and hostility” that’s in store for you:

(read more)

posted in Comedy, Los Angeles, Recommended

THE NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WATCH

posted on October 6th, 2007 at 4:22 PM by Steven Stanley

NOT RECOMMENDED

In Craig Alpaugh’s The Neighborhood Crime Watch, a pair of burglars break into a
Canoga Park home.  One wears pantyhose over his head, the legs dangling over
his face like long rabbit ears.  The other is elegantly dressed. They are brothers,
improbably so as the elegantly dressed one looks thirty to forty years older than the
one wearing the panty hose, once he has removed them.  Older brother would
rather die than go back to prison he says. After all, “prisons are filled with
dangerous criminals and elected officials.”  The burgling brothers have been
nicknamed “The Brunch Bandits.”  Their motto is “We dine and then we steal,”
though all they can find in the kitchen of this house is a boring tuna fish sandwich.
(In an early break-in, there wasn’t a thing to eat, so they ordered pizza.)
(read more)

posted in Comedy, North Hollywood, Not Recommended

DROOD

posted on October 5th, 2007 at 4:16 PM by Steven Stanley


Does anyone remember the Weather Girls’ big disco hit entitled It’s Raining
Men? Well, these days in SoCal, it’s raining Droods, with productions of the
Rupert Holmes Broadway smash opened or opening just about everywhere.
The one that’s captured the most attention and already inspired a bunch of
deserved raves is the one currently wowing audiences at Sacred Fools. In the
words of The Weather Girls, “Hallelujah!”  
(read more)

posted in Los Angeles, Musical, WOW!

SWIMMING TO THE MOON

posted on October 4th, 2007 at 4:07 PM by Steven Stanley

NOT RECOMMENDED

The Beatles’ hit “When I’m 64” came out in 1967, the same year that Jim
Morrison recorded the most famous Doors hit, “Light my Fire.”  Interestingly, had
he not died under mysterious circumstances in 1971 (at the age of 27), Jim
Morrison would be turning 64 this year.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, Not Recommended

SHIPWRECKED!

posted on September 30th, 2007 at 1:48 PM by Steven Stanley


Whether you are eight years old or eighty, run, don’t walk to Costa Mesa and
delight in the sheer magic of live theater at South Coast Rep’s world premiere
production of Donald Margulies magnificent adventure story, Shipwrecked! 
What would cost Hollywood a couple hundred million dollars to achieve, the
geniuses behind this production and its three supremely gifted actors (doing
the work of the proverbial “cast of thousands”) achieve at a fraction of the
cost, with equal or greater entertainment value.
(read more)

posted in Comedy, Orange County, WOW!

TOO OLD FOR THE CHORUS

posted on September 29th, 2007 at 1:45 PM by Steven Stanley


Something awful happens in America when you turn 50. You get a letter from
AARP which, according to the five Baby Boomer stars of Too Old for the Chorus,
notifies you that you are “officially old.”  You see John Travolta on the cover of
AARP Magazine and think in shock, “When I was 23, he was the same age as
me!” This is the dilemma in which “Shirley,” “Glenn,” “Bobby,” “Faith,” and
“James” find themselves in TOFTC, the tuneful musical revue currently playing at
the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
(read more)

posted in Downey/La Mirada, Musical, WOW!

THE ROOM

posted on September 28th, 2007 at 1:42 PM by Steven Stanley


Twentieth century history comes vividly to life in Michael Franco’s fascinating
(and informative) world premiere drama, The Room.
(read more)

posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

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