Gorgeous! Ruth St. Denis headdress in Denishawn costume show 2
The headdress from Ruth St. Denis’s 1919 Chinese-inspired “Kuan Yin,” with buttons, feathers and artificial pearls. credit David Dashiell for the New York Times. Dance writer Gia Kourlas writes in the New York Times about an exhibit of 30 costumes worn by Denishawn dancers under the aegis of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. The ...
Our pick: Daryl Sherman swinging at the Gardenia 1
Though she writes original songs, few contemporary artists have scoured the hidden corners of the Great American Songbook like singer-pianist Daryl Sherman. She’s a regular at New York’s Algonquin Hotel who gracefully straddles jazz and cabaret singing, essaying songs from both renowned and neglected tunesmiths like Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Walter Donaldson, Jimmy McHugh, ...
Capezio, in 130th anniversary, throws huge dance party in Las Vegas
Jun
19
2018
From our friend Ann Marie deAngelo, the impresario supreme and executive producer/director of The Capezio 130th Anniversary and Capezio Awards in Las Vegas comes a slew of superb photography in what looks to have been a pretty spectacular celebration of dance of all genres. The event, held May 14, 2018 at the Smith Center in ...
So fake — and so fantastic. Marilyn’s porthole scene in ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’
Jun
19
2018
I don’t make movies. I don’t know how they make them. I just go see ’em. A recent big-screen viewing, hosted by Laemmle Anniversary Classics, of the delicious Technicolor comedy, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, had us laughing, as ever, at the great comic scene between Marilyn Monroe, George ‘Foghorn’ Winslow, and Charles Coburn. In the scene, ...
Faster than a speeding bullet … Liza Minnelli soon at Segerstrom
That’s how she was marketed, in 1966, by The Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel — as the soaring star that she was. Liza Minnelli, born on March 12, 1946 to Judy Garland and movie director Vincente Minnelli, went on to a very public, very distinguished career as a singer/dancer/actress. We’ll catch up with Liza ...
Be-thigh-ed themselves in India
What prudes! It’s just a little leg! Okay, it’s a lotta leg…The clipping at bottom is from the Los Angeles Times, Nov 9, 1954.
Long Day’s Journey: a family feud, familiar fodder for Americans
Jun
14
2018
Every family has its problems. Every problem spurs its drama. I anticipate my upcoming visit to The Wallis to see Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night as a microcosm, a kind of deep dive into a Petree dish — a ‘family drama’ the likes of which our nation is undergoing now. A highly controversial ...
Wild rhythms of Japan & India to tumble from Ford Amphitheatre stage
Ask the average American theater-goer or music listener to describe Japanese taiko drumming and you’ll probably hear a description something like this: solemn men in loin cloths and sweat bands who beat oversized drums in unison — loudly and interminably. Brian Yamami has spent his last 18 years trying to change that perception. He’s a ...
Live, again, on Hollywood Boulevard: Jackie Wilson
Kind of a stunning cultural moment to attend the first-ever Hologram-only theater right on the tourist strip of Hollywood Boulevard. A block from the Egyptian Theatre, it’s a wholesome entertainment addition to the ‘hood. Last week, we attended a debut screening of a hologram-homage to a great r&b/early-rock artist, Jackie Wilson. Now, gosh. This strip ...
Be sublime! instructs ‘Bayadere’ coach Susan Jones
Jun
11
2018
It was nice to hear from Susan Jones, the impassioned ballet mistress of American Ballet Theatre who lately admits to a special assignment indeed. “For weeks we have worked on every detail of La Bayadère Act 2 Shades,” she shares on Facebook, referring to the famous sequence that opens the second act of “La Bayadère,” ...