Don Grigware - Page 67

Once you enter the world according to Phil Olson, there's no turning back. Be prepared to have a good time, or bust! Their fourth Don't Hug Me musical in a row, Don't Hug Me, I'm Pregnant - they referring to the Olson brothers Phil and Paul - is as usual obscenely silly and over-the-top, but a definite charmer, no matter how tired the pregnant jokes become. Now at the Secret Rose Theatre the show is guaranteed to please and has big bit written all over it. Ya, sure, you betcha!

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were the iconic comedy duo who made it possible for comedians like Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke, Jim Carry and Adam Sandler to find their niche. Their intense chemistry, comaraderie and timing were impeccable. No one could do a five-minute sketch about putting up a ladder or pasting a billboard with the exact physical skill, dexterity or panache quite like Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. In Tom McGrath's play Laurel and Hardy, we see the funny and not so funny side of both men who brought wealth and fame to the Hal Roach Studio. At the Falcon Theatre until October 2, Laurel and Hardy are truly knocking 'em dead.

Cirque du Soleil's Iris written & directed by Philippe Decoufle Kodak Theatre until 2021

I usually choose not to review workshop productions, but, in regard to Deborah Johnson's Tsarina, breaking the rule proved worthwhile. The show has such great potential. It's incredible to think that other composers have not seized the opportunity to write a musical play about this most vibrant time frame of Russian history culminating in the Bolshevik revolution and in 1917 the downfall of Nicholas (Patrick Dillon Curry) and Alexandra (Kelly Derouin), the last czars in Russia.

Judging by opening night at the Old Globe, San Diego, fan reaction to Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show is every bit as over-the-top silly as the attention paid to the 1975 cult film retitled The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Rocky Horror is a 1973(London)/74(LA)/75(Broadway) sendup of early sci fi, class B horror films and offers a curiously appealing view of some gay and wildly campy transgender lifestyles. Fans dress up as Rocky, Dr. Scott, Frank 'n' Furter and the Phantoms and scream obscenities and corny comments at the characters on stage. They also cover their heads with newspapers to avoid the rain, wave flashlights back and forth and move instep to 'The Time Warp' in the aisles. It was 1977 midnight showings of the film that started this audience participation trend, which shows no signs of stopping.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary Odalys Nanin's Garbo's Cuban Lover, in its third revival, currently at the Macha Theatre in WeHo, still copiously exudes the passion of Cuban writer Mercedes de Acosta (in Hollywood from 1931 until her tragic illness & death in 1968) for her art and the supposed love of her life, Greta Garbo. Based on the rumored lesbian relationships that de Acosta had with Garbo, Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, Eva Le Gallienne and others, Lover is Nanin's lovingly woven fictional account of how she believed it happened.

Irrepressible actor John Leguizamo certainly needs no introduction. A star of TV, such films as Carlito's Way, To Wong Foo and Moulin Rouge, and on Broadway with his own plays Mambo Mouth, Sexaholix...A Love Story, Klass Klown, and most recently Ghetto Klown, Leguizamo will be reviving Ghetto Klown @ the Ricardo Montalban Theatre on Vine St in Hollywood September 30-October 16. Ladies and gentlemen: the one and only, John Leguizamo!

Steven Berkoff's abrasive, but hilariously on-target look at people who kvetch their way through life is being given a skillfully sharp production by SeaGlass Theatre, under the even direction of Ian Vogt, now onstage through October 16 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks.

Winner of the1992 Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score of a Musical, Falsettos should also have walked away with honors as Best Musical. The show has it all: beautiful music by William Finn, great storytelling by Finn and James Lapine and a message for the ages about love, in all of its forms. Is it because of its size - with only a two person orchestra - that it lost Best Musical? Inconceivable, for any reason! Currently on stage at the Third Street Theatre, Richard Israel's astoundingly staged production brings the kind of joy that is at once fun-filled and heartwarming. Divided into March of the Falsettos - Act I (1979) and Falsettoland - Act II (1981), the play allows the audience to experience pre-Aids, and then its onslaught and ultimate devastating affects on the world.

Like God of Carnage before it, ever ready to expose raw emotions to the very core, Poor Behavior, a world premiere by Theresa Rebeck is a starkly real, sometimes funny and thought-provoking play bound to create controversy. Morality, now there's the rub. Whether 'tis better to live one's life complacent and nice, or break free of goodness, just once, in the hopes of finding a viable alternative for happiness. Now onstage at the Mark Taper Forum, Poor Behavior is tautly directed, consummately acted theatre not to be missed.

Perhaps Kander and Ebb's best musical, apart from Chicago, Cabaret has it all: a finely detailed book, deliciously diverse characters, dynamite music and a subtext that will not quit. The subtext being: either compromise or get out if you value your life, the latter, to be sure, the wiser. This is Berlin, circa 1930, before Hitler, but just as Nazi pressure hits the fan. Reprise Theatre Company's stellar new revival production has the brilliant stamp of Broadway director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

Edward Albee won a Pulitzer for Seascape in 1975, and it is no surprise. Concerned with uneven communication in relationships - like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A Delicate Balance before it - Seascape shows a married couple at odds on how to spend their retirement. Not nearly as dysfunctional as George and Martha in Virginia Woolf, Nancy (Arden Teresa Lewis) and Charlie (Alan Schack) have quite a pleasant, even keel relationship, but, as in most, one mate eventually gives in passively to old age while the other wants to keep living. Charlie prefers 'to rest' whereas Nancy wants to explore new horizons as 'we've earned a little life.' Instead of introducing into the game another 'normal' couple like Nick and Honey in Woolf?, Albee throws caution to the wind, brilliant writer that he is, and pits Nancy and Charlie against two members of the animal kingdom, lizards Leslie (Paul Gunning) and Sarah (Kristin Wiegand) with hilarious, thought-provoking and exciting results. Theatre West is mounting a handsomely tailored and thoroughly intelligent production of Seascape, based on the trimmed down 2005 New York version. Direction, cast and production values are all first-rate.

Vaudeville is a bygone era. Much of its music is forgotten. Seems a pity, since it provided the roots of musical theatre as we know it. Bill Castellino and Mike Burstyn have created Al Jolson at the Winter Garden not only to pay homage to the great entertainer but to keep the memory of this time period vibrantly alive. Now on stage at the El Portal in North Hollywood, Jolson is somewhat illuminating as well as highly satisfying entertainment.

Female impersonators dress in drag and sing or tell jokes, and that's the show. Jim Bailey sings. Charles Pierce was funny in a dress with a joke or anecdote. Peter Mac is much more. His impersonation becomes theatre with a mission. Becoming Judy allows him to portray Judy Garland and also to sing as himself, but way more than that, it offers a message of hope for all gay men trying to cope and make sense of their lifestyle.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were the iconic comedy duo who made it possible for comedians like Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke, Jim Carry and Adam Sandler to find their niche. Their intense chemistry, comaraderie and timing were impeccable. No one could do a five-minute sketch about putting up a ladder or pasting a billboard with the exact physical skill, dexterity or panache quite like Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. In Tom McGrath's play Laurel and Hardy, we see the funny and not so funny side of both men who brought wealth and fame to the Hal Roach Studio. At the Falcon Theatre until October 2, Laurel and Hardy are truly knocking 'em dead.

On Sunday September 11 Cristina and Matthew Ballestero, real-life siblings, presented their first cabaret Sibling Rivalry @ Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's to a packed house of screaming fans. Both Cristina and Matthew were in LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011 and came exceedingly close to being runners-up. Each has a distinct personality and an enormous talent...and those talents are every bit as different as their personas. Combined there was enough energy to blow the roof off Vitello's. Cristina's voice has a tremendous range, but she is concentrating her efforts in the pop field; Matthew has a big bold baritone/tenor instrument that is perfectly suited to Broadway standards.

On Wednesday September 7 Bruce Kimmel's Kritzerland at the Gardenia celebrated its first anniversary honoring the work of Frank Loesser. Loesser, if you recall, wrote Guys and Dolls, considered by many to be one of the most perfect musicals of all time. He also wrote music and lyrics for 1962's Pulitzer Prize winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying currently receiving a sold out revival on Broadway starring Daniel Radcliffe, or as Kimmel referred to him, Harry Potter. Loesser's The Most Happy Fella, my personal favorite, incurable romantic that I am, has some of the most gorgeous songs of all time like 'My Heart Is So Full of You' and 'Somebody Somewhere'. Participating in the evening were an all female contingent: Laura Wolfe, filling in wonderfully and on short notice for the previously announced Shannon Warne, Kim Huber - such a great singer - Alet Taylor, Ruth Williamson - wonderful character actress and singer - Kelsey Scott, and of course, prolific little Melody Hollis, who has been appearing in Kritzerland shows for several months. And last but hardly least, musical director extraordinaire John Boswell.

Appearing at The Ford Amphitheatre as part of Chris Isaacson Presents New York's Finest - The Leading Men of Broadway concert September 16, Tony Award winner, singing sensation Levi Kreis is on his way to becoming one of our nation's top hit vocalists. He talks about the concert, his appearance in Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway and other musical endeavors.

The following self-help books by actors and coaches inspire confidence, by assisting one with acting technique or in better handling the issues/obstacles of every day living. They all have the following in common: creativity, organization and common sense.

Chris Isaacson Presents New York's Finest -The Leading Men of Broadway directed by Sam Harris @ the Ford Amphitheatre on September 16. Harris certainly needs no introduction. His brilliant performances on stage/TV over the years have dazzled audiences worldwide. In our chat, he talks about this exciting show and other theatrical interests.