“Patty The Revival” at Highways. Smart and wonderful. Go! 1
Unlike the 28-year-old theater wunderkind Patrick Kennelly, whose electro-opera “Patty the Revival” I very much enjoyed at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica last night, I was a vulnerable ten-year-old sponge when “The Patty Duke Show” hit the airwaves circa 1964. Ka-thunk. That’s the sound of television pablum landing on my undefended prepubescent brain. And ...
Dances for a Variable Population occupies Times Square
May
18
2012
“We were in the middle of the most chaotic place in the world. A place that when you are there you want to leave. We’re there and people are taking the moment in and participating like crazy. Our workshops are so crowded. People get inspired by seeing seniors dance, it’s really moving. They want to ...
The unlikely coaches of classical ballet 1
May
17
2012
Tamara Karsavina coaches Margot Fonteyn in “Le Spectre de la Rose” Joan Lawson teaches Royal Ballet boys (courtesy Richard Slaughter) Nijinska rehearses Les Noces for the Royal Ballet revival of 1966. (Thank you, Richard Slaughter, former Royal Ballet principal dancer)
Investing in artists: winners of the 2012 Alpert Awards
Los Angeles arts honchos gathered at the oh-so-cool Santa Monica digs of the Herb Alpert Foundation for a joyous occasion on Friday April 10. A generous buffet luncheon celebrated 18 years of Herb Alpert and Lani Hall’s philanthropy. And Irene Borger, the award program’s long-time director, gave her annual recognition to five deserving mid-career creators ...
Herb Alpert & Lani Hall, outstanding arts philanthropists, oversee 2012 Alpert Awards
The Herb Alpert Foundation and California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) have awarded the 18th annual Alpert Award in the Arts to five exceptional mid–career artists. The award, a prize of $75,000, recognizes past performance and future promise to artists working in Dance, Film/Video, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts. Herb Alpert, the legendary musician and ...
“Choreography by Jack Cole” on TCM September 10 4
On Monday, September 10, 2012 Turner Classic Movies will dedicate an evening to the brilliant creativity of Jack Cole. The evening features four films choreographed by Cole — he himself dances in two of them. I co-host the September broadcast with TCM’s Robert Osborne. Films on the slate: Tonight & Every Night (1945) – 8 ...
BYOB – Bring Your Own Blanket – to “Oscars Outdoors”
May
7
2012
In an act of magnanimous good citizenry and cultural benevolence, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has unveiled its new screening venue and summer on-the-lawn film series. Impressive. It’s located on Vine Street south of the ArcLight Cinema. Click the photo to view the build-out. The “Oscars Outdoors” open-air theater is part ...
Remnants of “The Players” found in anthropological dig of L.A. nightclub property 4
Our story concerns the film director Preston Sturges, whose great legacy is his canon of laugh-out-loud, politically tinged screwball comedies: “Sullivan’s Travels,” “The Palm Beach Story,” “The Lady Eve,” among them. The former private home where Sturges’ bar/restaurant, The Players, once operated still stands at 8225 Sunset Boulevard. In the 1940s it formed a Triangle ...
Miriam Rochlin’s handstand
May
1
2012
Dear Miriam Rochlin, the lifelong dancer and Los Angeles dance instructor who died not two weeks ago, had a wonderful way of keeping fit. Thank you, Karen Goodman, for sharing the photo. Karen’s essay on Miriam’s life here. Obituary in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal.