“Dreamgirls”‘s Moya Angela to sing national anthem at Dodger Stadium 2
Apr
26
2016
It’s Oh say can you see & And I am telling you — all in one fell swoop. We’re all looking forward to four performances of the Tony Award-laden “Dreamgirls” at the Valley Performing Arts Center in early May. And now all the more so — having learned that the production’s star, Moya Angela, will ...
Shakespeare anniv brings murder, lust & madness
Apr
5
2016
One thing we wholeheartedly revere about the British, our former colonial masters, is their theater! Um… their theatre. That’s why we’re so looking forward to attending the big Britweek party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Arts entitled Murder, Lust, & Madness, in honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. Noted Shakespeare ...
Fonda & Friend feted by Pasadena Playhouse
Mar
16
2016
The inestimable Jane Fonda, two times an Oscar winner and an inspirational figure to many women, together with her significant other, record producer Richard Perry, will be honored at an annual fundraiser at the historic Pasadena Playhouse. Billed as “the best party in Pasadena,” this happy occasion merits a wish, You go girl! And you ...
The Mikado gets a transfusion: Robert Allan Ackerman’s BLOOD 1
David Bowie would be proud. Within opening minutes of Robert Allan Ackerman’s highly original work of musical theater — it is promoted as a political thriller, to which we say pish tosh — this alluring and initially repellent (he grows on you) figure of glam rock played by Takaaki Hirakawa commands center stage of the ...
Architects discuss the art (and politics) of performing arts centers
Performing arts centers define our cities and serve as architectural landmarks. These landmarks can rapidly transform the cultural and economic fabric of a city, bringing renewed prosperity as well as design inspiration. What is the essence of an iconic performing arts center? Enjoy a lively discussion combined with a memorable concert, and light refreshments. Moderator Thomas Small, ...
Costumes! Vivid colors bump up Cirque KURIOS charm
Stunning costumes, in gorgeous hues, contribute only one of many memorable production elements of Cirque du Soleil’s KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities, written and directed by Michel Laprise. A terrific holiday outing for the family, the two-act show is now on view in the old-tyme Grand Chapiteau erected in the big old parking lot of ...
Chita Rivera tells it like it is prior to her PBS “Great Performances”
A very fun exercise on Thursday’s Facebook had Chita Rivera — Broadway doyenne, empress and icon, a queen of the art of song-and-dance — chattering on line in a PBS-hosted forum with (among others) Grover Dale of Answers4Dancers with whom she performed in the original production of West Side Story. Chita’s words strike me as ...
Chicago troupes bring “The Art of Falling” to Los Angeles
It’s not immediately obvious why Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and The Second City improv troupe collaborated on “The Art of Falling,” coming to the Ahmanson Theatre next weekend, except that both companies are based in Chicago. So I asked Michael Solomon, Associate Vice President of Programming at The Music Center, if he knew why. “Both ...
A chat with The Broad Stage’s new director Wiley Hausam
Prominent in the crowded field of Los Angeles performing-arts houses is The Broad Stage, where a lively smorgasbord of arts offerings forged a high-profile presence since its debut — in an enviable Santa Monica location — in 2008. Wiley Hausam, a newcomer to Los Angeles, will soon take up the mantle of artistic and executive ...
American theater classic, “Fences,” in affecting Long Beach production
A neglectful husband, three times a father, a self-righteous best friend, a guilty brother, a hungry paramour, a proud homeowner … also a garbageman and a failed athlete who’s outrightly selfish, bitter and mean to his son. (We discover that ultimately he’s a noble human being.) That bundle of conflict describes all the ways in ...