Walking into the smaller Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater inside the Geffen Playhouse, I admired Peter Hickok’s set for The Cake. It was so detailed that I thought I was walking into a soundstage to watch a taping of the Cake Wars baking show. The Tiffany blue walls and bright pink bakery counter were pleasing to the eye, and the two bedrooms on either side of the bakery lent an air of intrigue.
Read MoreTo kick off its 55th Season, Orange County's Tony Award-winning regional theater South Coast Repertory is presenting a charming new stage adaptation of the Jane Austen literary classic “SENSE AND SENSIBILITY,” which continues performances in Costa Mesa through September 29.
Winningly likable with plenty of sharp wits and appealing characters, this admirable stage iteration—adapted by UK playwright Jessica Swale and directed here by Casey Stangl—reacquaints audiences with the seemingly erratic and emotionally taxing task of landing a suitable mate in late 18th Century/early 19th Century England.
Read MoreSitting in the Zephyr Theatre to watch a touching one-man show by British playwright, actor and storyteller Michael Washington Brown, I felt as if I was attending a Black Studies class at a local college.
With a simple set, this multimedia experience is enhanced with images and music as Brown examines race from a global perspective. The curriculum includes a study of black history, music, sociology, and psychology.
Read MoreScreenwriter and playwright José Rivera (over 26 plays and an Academy Award nominated Motorcycle Diaries) wrote “The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona” with an interesting story line about death and communicating with loved ones in the afterlife. In the Playbill, Rivera was interviewed by Rachel Wiegardt-Egel about his inspiration for the play. About ten years ago, while looking through Harper’s Magazine, he noticed a company whose service was to connect people who are dying, with people who want to send a message to the other side. This fascinated him, and soon he began writing a creative play about exploring the afterlife where untranslatable secrets are told.
Read MoreIt was a homecoming for director Lisa Peterson of The Pulitzer Prize-winning play SWEAT as she watched her nine actors perform on opening night at the Mark Taper Forum. She was once the Resident Director at the Taper for ten years from 1995-2005. A lot has changed in the nation since she was last directing in Los Angeles, making this American drama so compelling and enlightening for the audience.
Read MoreI believe the best way to describe the sensation one gets when experiencing the Broadway stage musical adaptation of multi-platinum selling recording artist Gloria Estefan's life story is to actually use one of her very famous songs: "The Rhythm is Gonna Get You."
Read MoreAt the age of nine, while attempting to play one of Beethoven’s most recognized and beloved piece’s Fur Elise, Hershey Felder developed an interest in one of the world’s greatest composers.
Not only is Felder a brilliant actor, concert pianist, storyteller, he also is a historian. Right now at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, he is telling a masterful story about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Read MoreWhen it comes to seeing a fresh new show with low or even non-existent expectations, nothing is more pleasurable and satisfying than walking out at the end of it with a huge, beaming smile on your face and a somewhat gobsmacked feeling of "my gosh, I can't believe I really liked what I just saw!"
Read MoreLos Angelenos enthusiastically embraced the cast of “One Your Feet!” last night at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. The Opening Night of this Broadway touring show had adorning fans ten rows deep, outside the theatre hoping to get a glimpse or photo of seven-time Grammy winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her Grammy winning husband, producer-musician and entrepreneur Emilio Estefan.
Read MoreIf you've ever made your way to New York City's overcrowded Times Square, you have no doubt seen the bronze statue of a smiling George M. Cohan erected prominently at its center, surrounded by the flashing lights and loud city noises of this busy tourist destination. Below his name and the years of his birth and death is a simple etching: "Give My Regards to Broadway"—which is, of course, both the title of one of his many well-known songs as well as being an appropriate motto that fits his very existence.
Read MoreWhat does actress Amanda Peet know about playwriting? Actually a lot. In her new world premiere play at the Geffen Playhouse, she tells quite a good story with director Tyne Rafaeli and a talented cast.
The show opens with a scruffy tennis coach Jay (Joe Tippett NBC's Rise) in his 30s and a precocious 10-year-old girl Carlin (Abigail Dylan Harrison). Raised by a single mom Cyn (Mamie Gummer in HBO’s True Detective and also Meryl Streep’s daughter), Carlin takes up the game of tennis at the local park courts, and Jay notices her talent. Once a tennis star and now a bartender, he believes he can nourish Carlin’s tennis potential.
Read MoreFirst, a confession.
My favorite movie of all time happens to be "The Color Purple," the deeply moving 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel directed by Steven Spielberg.
Filled with riveting performances, marvelous period music, and an absorbing, emotionally-stirring story of resilience and spirit that spans decades, the film went on to earn 11 Academy Award nominations including two nods for its brilliant stars Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg—both of whom made their big screen debuts in the film.
Read MoreWhen I noticed a well-dressed man and a little furry dog walk into the lobby of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, I immediately recognized Jeremy Irons. His purposeful stride had a distinguished air compared to the nearby theatre attendees near the bar or waiting for the theatre doors to open. While asking a staff member if Jeremy Irons just walked in, she replied “Yes, he and Smudge just arrived.” He had about 35 minutes to dress and prepare for his role of James Tyrone in the Eugene O’Neill award-winning play A Long Day's Journey into Night.
Read MoreWalking into the Geffen Playhouse to take my seat, I was wowed by scenic designer Rachel Myers dramatic and detailed two-story set. Downstairs is a break room with metal lockers, bulletin boards, tables and chairs, and a small kitchenette. One immediately can tell this is set in Detroit with stickers of the city’s hockey team the Red Wings and football team the Lions on the wall.
Upstairs is an assembly line with automotive wheel rims hanging down. When one of the workers power up the drill to work on the moving silver rims, smoke rises and dissipates near the UAW (United Automobile Workers of America) Local 167 sign hanging over in the corner.
A chain link fence with barbed wire is partially peeking out along both the front stage wings.
Read MoreSitting in the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood, an older gentleman and two young girls sitting in the front row, step onstage to make an announcement. The man is Benson Schaeffer, the father of Rebecca Shaeffer and the girls are her cousins. Benson informs us he is the husband of the performer, and father of Rebecca. The girls (one looks like a young Rebecca) request audience members to silence their cell phones. As they go back to their seats next to other family members, the protagonist Danna Schaeffer takes the stage. This is her play, that she wrote, to share the story and honor her daughter. She begins telling the audience how giddy with excitement she and Benson were about the accomplishments of their only child. Rebecca had achieved so much at such a young age. Her world was her oyster until July 18, 1989.
Read MoreKeeping much of the original stage show's inescapable excitement and joyfulness intact, McCoy Rigby Entertainment's new local production of “NEWSIES”—which continues performances at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through June 24—is a wonderfully caffeinated jolt of a stage show, highlighted by a remarkably talented and athletically-blessed ensemble that leaps and belts one show stopping number after another. That's no exaggeration—the show had so many moments when the show had to pause for enthusiastic applause.
Read MoreIt’s not often I find myself sitting behind the playwright of the production I’m attending but that was the case as I was directly behind David Henry Hwang during his latest work, “Soft Power”. Hwang has had great luck and success at Center Theatre Group, where he premiered Pulitzer Prize finalist “Yellow Face” and his Tony-nominated revival “Flower Drum Song.”
Read MoreThe name of the show Forever Bound has so many innuendos, starting with the program featuring a large cockroach bound by tape. The opening of Forever Bound begins with a lovely redhead girl Miranda (Emily Goss) walking slowly with vacant eyes, while holding a gas mask. Is she “Forever Bound” to believe that her world is about to end? Playwright Steve Apostolina’s literary comedy turns into a chilling thriller, with a surprising moral twist.
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