Don Grigware - Page 69

A devoted fan of Charles Pierce and his unforgettable Katie Hepburn illusion, I'm forever curious as to what new artists will do with this icon and her astonishing career and life - will they simply steal from others or really endeavor to put their own creative stamp on it? Peter Mac, who has been wowing audiences as Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli for the past few years, is memorable in his world premiere theatrical piece A Date with Kate. How does his Kate stand out? He does have the quaky voice, shaking head and walk down pat; the wig, the turtleneck with over the shoulders red sweater and kaki slacks getup hit the mark, but in the final analysis, what makes it all click? Somehow, someway he is able to create an illusion that is so totally honest that after five minutes, you swear you are in the company of dear Kate. Mac goes for genuine integrity and telling the stories as frankly as Kate herself told them in her autobiography Me, Stories of My Life, and it is this truth and his versatile and inimitable acting talent that win us over. Funny, yes! Heartbreaking, yes! This is not a campy impersonation, but the real thing... as Hepburn herself once said, 'I'm absolutely fascinating!' - and we are no less than completely convinced via the magic of Peter Mac.

Singer Lee Lessack was my choice for Best Cabaret Artist - Male for 2010 for his Chanteur merveilleux. Now he is releasing the CD Chanteur on August 9. He discusses the show and CD in depth in our chat.

Another wonderful evening of song from Kritzerland, Bruce Kimmel's production label, at the Gardenia on Wednesday August 3, this time saluting the music of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, and congrats are in as this show marks Kritzerland's 12th consecutive show in its series at the Gardenia! Schmidt and Jones penned The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, among the most famous, and less so: 110 In the Shade, Collette Collage, Celebration and even a musical entitled The Bone Room. On hand to perform were musical director John Boswell and special guest Rex Smith, Lauren Rubin, Michaelia Leigh, Will Collyer, Camille Saviola, Michael Hawkins, 13 year-old Melody Hollis and even Guy Haines - I mean, Bruce Kimmel himself - singing. And I'm here to tell you, he didn't sound half bad! Kimmel as always introduced the evening with interesting composer trivia and anecdotes. The music showcased included well known tunes and lesser known or unfamiliar ones. Schmidt and Jones may not have had the popularity of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, or Kander and Ebb, but one thing is certain they sure did pen some eclectically beautiful songs!

Actress Dee Wallace, best known as the mother of Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore in Steven Spielberg's E.T., is not only an award-winning actress but renowned acting coach and healer. The healing part of her career came out of the needs of her own personal turmoil. She has written three books, the latest called Bright Light. In our chat, she talks about the roots of her healing process and its components, Bright Light and her best loved work onscreen.

Fans of Broadway tenor Sean McDermott are in for a real treat with the release of his latest album You're Not Alone McDermott possesses a distinctly beautiful vocal instrument that can soar to the rafters and beyond on standards like Rodgers' and Hammerstein's 'Younger Than Springtime' or Streisand's 'Piece of Sky' from Yentl. In fact, his previous CDs My Broadway and Piece of Sky concentrated 100% on Broadway/film tunes. You're Not Alone is definitely more contemporary pop, but within the realm of clearly defined musical traditions, boasting mostly original compositions that explore the quest for love and exude the kind of musical style that is ideally suited to McDermott'sd range and bravura delivery.

Ann Hampton Callaway jokes about her Diva of America status in the music world, but it is a well known fact that this lady is a singer's singer. Like Barbara Cook in the world of theatre, although many, many years her junior, Callaway is the top in the world of jazz/pop and all singers flock to hear her perform. Her meticulously clear phrasing, magnificent range, ability to scat and overall great vocal instrument make her a fantastic night club singer and recording artist. In her set at Catalina Jazz Club July 28-31, Callaway had a rather short list of songs, but what she did to enhance each and every tune was nothing less than remarkable.

Lovers of mystery find magic in the works of Agatha Christie, who not only knows how to weave together detailed clues to a juicy crime but more importantly how to make it into a sophisticated, classy entertainment. Like The Mousetrap, one of the longest running plays in UK theatre history and last season's Black Coffee at Theatre 40, Spider's Web is elaborately organized and amazingly enjoyable from start to finish, especially this production at Theatre 40, which puts director Bruce Gray and Christie together once more. Its large engaging ensemble simply sparkle.

Hardly an easy task to successfully mount Ernest Thompson's heartwarming and funny On Golden Pond with the 1980 film starring Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda still so vivid in the mind! Well, I'm here to say that the current mounting at the Colony Theatre is of 5 star calibre all the way and not to be missed.

Perhaps the best known musical of all time - and perhaps the best - Rodgers' and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music has remained a family favorite since the 50s. Number one, the score is to die for; secondly, the book is dramatically fulfilling with a real life family being torn asunder by the ravages of fascism. Touches of real intertwined humor add to the appeal. Cabrillo Music Theatre, under the skillful eye of Lewis Wilkenfeld, is once again reviving the show, and the production is thoroughly worth your while, if for no other reason than to catch Shannon Warne's superior performance as Maria, and for some truly glorious singing.

A couple of years ago a winning salute to Frank Sinatra called My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra by David Grapes and Todd Olson was on stage at the Laguna Playhouse. It has gone on successfully to hundreds of productions worldwide. Now the same duo Grapes and Olson present I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett at the Laguna Playhouse through August 21. I liked the Sinatra piece a lot; I loved the latest one tributing Tony Bennett. Maybe because Sinatra has received many tributes and Tony Bennett, none - and as the boys say, 'It's high time. Long overdue!' Important to remember that this is not a Bennett impersonation nor are the arrangements necessarily exactly like Bennett's; it is a loving salute to his music. Ingenious Vince Di Mura is once again musical director of this stylish little theatrical concert featuring the talents of three terrific actors/singers, who make the show shine even brighter.

On Sunday July 24, actress/singer Kristin Towers-Rowles debuted her one-woman cabaret A Lovely Lineage at Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to resounding success. The amazing singer, who is the grand daughter of legendary MGM musical star Katharine Grayson and Broadway veteran Johnnie Johnston, saluted them both as well as her musical comedy performing parents Patty and Robert Towers. Although the young descendant of American show business royalty has a stupendous background, her life has not been that rosy. Playing a role onstage in a show called Veggie Tales, Towers-Rowles popped a disc in her back from wearing a 50-pound costume and was told she would never appear on stage again. She made a near complete recovery and although she still is in pain, exclaims, 'If I have to hurt, I might as well hurt on stage.' It is this unsinkably brave spirit that is present in her beautiful singing voice, in her glowing personality and overall captivating aura. She has an infectious sense of humor as well.

In the Hollywood Bowl's production of Hairspray August 5, 6 and 7, directed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, John Stamos will play the super suave TV Host Corny Collins. Stamos starred on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Cabaret, Nine and Bye Bye Birdie and is known for his television work on Full House and ER, and this season on Glee and Law & Order: SVU. In our chat, he talks about Corny and his favorite theatrical ventures.

There are singers...and then there are great singers, the best singers...like soul, R&B legend Freda Payne. This lady is not only a sensational vocalist but on top of that, intelligent, warm and beautiful. Her 'Band of Gold' was a # 1 Bestseller and gold record back in 1970, but what many do not realize is that Freda Payne can scat and sing Ella...Fitzgerald, that is, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington...and Lena Horne. Payne's a great pop vocalist, yes, but it is in these areas of jazz and the unforgettable standards of the Great American Songbook where she truly excels. In her hour, forty-five minute set at the Catalina Jazz Club on Sunday evening July 17, she payed a glowing tribute to Ella, Sarah and Lena, showing the way Freda is now, wisely leaving her own hit tunes as encores and memories of what she used to be.

Gal pals love/hate, hug/spar with equal measure...sometimes simultaneously. It's not a game we're talking about, but true friendship: being yourself in the presence of your best friend, sometimes stepping on toes, or other times, giving gifts... confiding deep desires, sharing secrets; at all costs, going beyond the call of duty...plus one further... in Kari Floren's Revisiting Wildfire now onstage as a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre...(we must include) never abandoning your ideals and personal happiness for the sake of the other's. There's too much at stake and in the last analysis, you are number ONE. Some will not agree.

Never having seen any of the Shrek films, I come totally unbiased - green - to this material. One thing I can say for sure, I love fairy tales and any re-imagining of them, provided the characters remain true to form. In Shrek the Musical, the updating of traditional icons like Pinocchio, the Pied Piper, Wicked Witch, Sugar Plum Fairy, Three Pigs, and Three Blind Mice, to name but a few, is quite appealing stuff - and as to newly arrived Shrek, his sidekick the Donkey, Princess Fiona, Lord Farquaad... and Gingy Puppet ...they are sheer delight! Now at the Pantages through July 31, Shrek is a fun, inspirational and imaginative romp for children young and old.

Usually wild, unbridled and cutting edge, as with last year's Avalon outing L'Amour, GMCLA pulled back somewhat this year in TOTALLY...our 80s Show with more subdued, straightforward staging. Always vocally superior, the chorus sounded its usual best essaying the unforgettable hits of the 80s and showing the pop icons and news events of that time period on three screens throughout. Under the new executive direction of Thom Lynch and with guest conductor Andres Cladera, the 200 plus chorus were dress gaily in a mix of cowboy, indian, leather with appropriate headgear, including brightly colored wigs, that distinguished the late seventies and eighties. Vocal selections included those of Sting, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Paul Jabara, the Pointer Sisters, the Weather Girls, Annie Lenox, Cyndi Lauper, and Michael and Leslie Gore, among others.

Fans of the 1998 film The Wedding Singer, which proved an unqualified hit for its stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, will relish seeing the quirky story revisited on the big stage of the Carpenter Center in Long Beach. In 2006 The Wedding Singer was turned into a Broadway musical with the identical Ridgefield, New Jersey characters, but with some alterations in plotline. What counts most is the upbeat 80s humor, which the stage version retains in spades, as well as unlimited heart. MTW (Musical Theatre West)'s regional premiere does the show proud under Larry Raben's dynamite direction and sporting a rollicking cast.

On Wednesday July 6 Kritzerland at the Gardenia presented a salute to the lesser known music of Kander and Ebb - The Kander and Ebb Album - two of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. Think Chicago or Cabaret, and you need go no further. These two wildly popular shows still receive international mountings and provide us with some of the greatest Broadway pop tunes ever. Ahead of their time, Kander and Ebb produced shows with a substantially dark and biting edge not found in other composers' music and lyrics. Bruce Kimmel, whose Kritzerland recording company continues to enjoy enormous success worldwide, again served as narrator of the evening telling short, funny anecdotes about his encounters with John Kander and also detailing Kander and Ebb's failures as well as successes. Liza Minnelli's Broadway career soared because of K & E - it started with Flora the Red Menace in the 60s and continued through the next couple of decades with hits and flops such as The Rink and 1977's The Act, which began in LA as Shine It On. K & E certainly didn't fare too badly either with Liza's name on their bill. Think of what she did for the movie Cabaret with her Academy Award winning turn as Sally. However, such was not the case with their film New York, New York which received some pretty scathing reviews in the late 70s; the pair were none too pleased that a small musical The First Nudie Musical (Bruce Kimmel)fared far better than their multi-billion dollar disaster. It's always such fun for theatre lovers to hear about the down side of the business, and particularly via Kimmel's straight-forward, droll take on it.

Katie Polebaum has created an original piece of theatre that cleverly mixes the innocence of the past with the horrors of the future in D is for Dog now playing at Studio/Stage in Hollywood. What is most intriguing about Dog is its employment of video and puppetry along with the six actors in telling the bizarre sci-fi story.

Plays about the world of theatre are forever alluring. Such is the case with the world premiere of Kowalski that presents the initial meeting between Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando. Kowalski, of course, is Stanley's last name...Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, that is, which offered the role of a lifetime to the actor who turned out to be... the icon of his generation. Now at the Two Roads Theatre, Kowalski is a rich and delicious theatrical dessert played to the hilt by a devilishly delightful cast.