Happy 100th birthday, Tennessee Williams 1
Mar
22
2011

Two terrific Tennessee Williams shows are on right now, and what a lovely way to gain exposure to our great southern playwright, born March 26, 1911, who would turn one hundred years old this Saturday had he not choked on the cap of his eyedrop squeezer in 1981. But that’s a story for another time. ...
Honoring America’s greats: National Medal of Arts

President Obama this morning honored some of our nation’s great artists in a ceremony at the White House. Receiving the 2010 National Medal of Arts were Robert Brustein, the theater producer and critic; Van Cliburn, the pianist; Mark di Suvero, the abstract expressionist sculptor; poet Donald Hall; and the pioneering dance organization, Jacob’s Pillow Dance ...
But enough about me, what do you think about me? Celebrity Autobiography! at the Broad Stage 1

An all-star cast of Florence Henderson, Laraine Newman, Ileana Douglas, Eugene Pack, Julian Sands, Jonathan Silverman, Jennifer Tilly, and more, read snippets of real celebrity autobiographies to the great pleasure of a café-style audience in the Eyde performance space behind the Broad mainstage. It’s a wicked funny review with a rarin’-to-go pick-up cast: Celebrity Autobiography. ...
What a piece of work is Hamlet!

I am attending “The Trial of Hamlet” this evening to determine the competency of the defendant to stand trial for the murder of Polonius. United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will adjudicate this mock trial of Hamlet, Crown Prince of Denmark. The trial takes place tonight on the USC campus. [Justice Kennedy was nominated ...
Hippies invade Hollywood! 3

Nostalgia loons decked out for flower power attended the closing weekend of the Pantages Theater’s fabulous production of “Hair.” wishes it were still 1968 where do i go? follow my heart … hippie chicks flower child peace baby ready for be-in just dropped acid Hair Tour Read my story on “Hair”‘s dancing including an interview ...
‘She asks me why, I’m just a hairy guy’ 2

HAIR has roots in Hollywood, and we don’t mean hair roots. We mean theatrical roots. In 1968, the West Coast premiere production opened on Sunset Boulevard, just two blocks from the Pantages, about six months following the production’s Broadway opening. The Aquarius Theatre, re-named in honor of one of the show’s hit songs, would be ...
Quiz: Find Jane Fonda in the photo 1
Jan
18
2011

The sensational Jane Fonda — looking good enough to send us scampering to exercise class — in rehearsal for five-time Tony nominated production of “33 Variations,” opening February 9, 2011, at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre. Written and directed by Moisés Kaufman, previews begin January 30 for the new piece; performances continue through March 6. The lovely ...
OCPAC reborn as Segerstrom Center for the Arts

The erstwhile Orange County Performing Arts Center — Costa Mesa, California’s artistic mecca worthy of the 1.5- hour caravan southward from Los Angeles — entered a new era yesterday. In a burst of fireworks — $100,000 worth it is rumored — the center honored its founding patron Henry Segerstrom in a special way. Dropping its ...
Our shared racist past surfaced in “Neighbors”

People can be color-blind when it comes to race. In fact, skin color doesn’t even matter. Based on that idealistic credo — the legacy of the civil rights movement and ’60s egalitarianism — Richard and Jean Patterson, an interracial couple who are the subject of a brilliant new play, “Neighbors,” marry. He’s black, she’s white. ...