Don Grigware - Page 72

Don Grigware

  Don Grigware was a writer for BroadwayWorld through December 2019.                                                    

     Don Grigware is an Ovation nominated actor and journalist/writer whose contributions to theatre through the years have included 6 years as theatre editor of NoHoLA, a contributor to LA Stage Magazine and currently on his own website:
www.grigwaretalkstheatre.com
  
   Don hails from Holyoke, Massachusetts and holds two Masters Degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Education and Bilingual Studies. He is a teacher of foreign language and ESL.

   Don will soon be entering his eleventh year with BWW, currently serving as Senior Editor of the Los Angeles Page. He received a BWW Award for Excellence in 2014 as one of the top ten Regional Editors around the globe.

   Don is also an author/playwright and recently published Books I, II & III of his children's fable Two Worlds Together: Donnelly's Greatest Christmas. You may purchase copies of the two volumes at  amazon.com A trilogy of one-acts in a collection called Holiday Madness was recently revised and re-published, also on amazon.com. Both the story and plays are available on kindle as well as in paperback. 

There are still creative writing projects on the horizon, including publishing a collection of scary mini-plays - 10-15 minutes in length - and publishing a sequel to Two Worlds Together, entitled Donnelly Tackles Technology. There is also a play in mind about my mother and her card-playing friends called Old Maid? Hell!  Stay tuned for the rest of 2019, 2020 and beyond for more fun and games...and challenges!
 






Carrie Hart Brings Rodgers & Hart to Sterling's
Carrie Hart Brings Rodgers & Hart to Sterling's
May 3, 2011

On Sunday May 1, Carrie Hart presented the music of Rodgers and Hart in a program entitled Spring Is Here @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. This businesswoman's in depth involvement in music and the human spirit led her to develop a one-woman show The Courage of the Creative Spirit, in which she tells the inspiring stories of the composers of the golden age of Broadway and then sings their timeless music. Spring Is Here devoted to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart is the first in a series of individual evenings, and accompanied by the Leslie Sharp Trio, Hart performed most admirably to a warm, intimate audience.

BWW Reviews: Illusionist Ivan Amodei is a Class Act @ the Beverly Wilshire Hotel
BWW Reviews: Illusionist Ivan Amodei is a Class Act @ the Beverly Wilshire Hotel
May 3, 2011

World class magician, comedian and illusionist Ivan Amodei is settling into an extended engagement at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel with his hit show The Magic of Ivan Amodei, Intimate Illusions. Accompanied by virtuoso cellist Irina Chirkova, who musically underscores everything Amodei says and the appropriate mood it implies with hilarious single chords, Amodei dazzles his 60 member audience with his original sleight of hand. It's all conveyed with a great down-to-earth, in-your-face sense of humor and dynamic one-of-a-kind showmanship.

David Ives' Quirky One-Acts @ Crown City Theatre Thru 5/1
May 1, 2011

One thing certain about writer David Ives is his ability to compose short plays with an unparalleled quirky style that is at once entertaining and reflective. All in the Timing, now onstage @ Crown City Theatre in NoHo, is composed of six one-acts, the first three light and frivolously frothy, the second three of a more artful and philosophical nature. As the title implies, each playlet requires expert concentration and delivery on the part of the actors. The cast is most decidedly up to it, and direction from both William A. Reilly and Ben Rovner is top of the hill, making the evening a definite crowd pleaser.

 Burn the Floor Ignites @ the Pantages
Burn the Floor Ignites @ the Pantages
April 28, 2011

Although an avid fan of dancing, I have never considered myself an expert. Hardly. But...I know when I am moved, moved to the brink...and Jason Gilkison's dance spectacular Burn the Floor, now on tour and at the Pantages until Sunday May 8 only, has enough vitality and style to keep audiences jumping for joy. Yes, there are many similar dance shows, but this one's definitive!

Temperamentals Plays @ The Blank
Temperamentals Plays @ The Blank
April 28, 2011

Not since Bent has there been so much media attention and interest in a play about homosexuality than currently exists with regard to Jon Marans' The Temperamentals. Still running off-Broadway the play is now onstage at The Blank Theatre Company with an appealing cast, direction and certainly intriguing and controversial subject matter that will keep audiences coming to see it. Done in a rather fast paced docudrama style, The Temperamentals, as gays were called in the early 50s, long before Stonewall in 1969 enticed them out of the closet, the play, despite being a curiosity piece of fine intellectual proportions, never maintains a high enough emotional involvement, at least in this production.

El Portal Welcomes Simon's Prisoner of Second Avenue
El Portal Welcomes Simon's Prisoner of Second Avenue
April 26, 2011

On the heels of his 1970 hit film The Out of Towners Neil Simon crafted The Prisoner of Second Avenue in 1971, which had a more than a healthy run on Broadway and filmed in 1975 with Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft. Towners has always been my favorite as it depicts how bright and enthusiastic small town people visit and view the living conditions of New York City as less than desirable. Anything that can go wrong does and the pair cannot wait to make a fast exit. In Avenue, it's a perspective from within as New York apartment dwellers Mel (Jason Alexander) and Edna (Gina Hecht) Edison must cope with high rent, noisy neighbors, unemployment, robbery, garbage strikes, the exorbitant cost of living and trying to keep one's sanity in the process. In this new production at the El Portal, Glenn Casale's fantastic pacing as director and a superb ensemble make The Prisoner of Second Avenue more topical than ever.

Sketchy Queens @ Casita del Campo through Easter Sunday
BWW Reviews: Williams' Eccentricities in Rep @ A Noise Within
BWW Reviews: Williams' Eccentricities in Rep @ A Noise Within
April 20, 2011

1948's Summer and Smoke was rewritten in the 60s by Tennessee Williams and what resulted was a more clearly structured/themed play with the same central characters entitled The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. Music teacher Miss Alma, daughter of an Episcopalean minister, was passionately in love with her neighbor young Dr. John Buchanan and when that love was unrequited rather than become a miserable spinster, she turned to prostitution. Now in a rare and lovely production of the refined play @ A Noise Within, Williams poetic spirit is alive and well in Miss Alma, the Spanish word for soul.

BWW Reviews: Hershey Felder Brings Back Gershwin to Pasadena Playhouse
BWW Reviews: Hershey Felder Brings Back Gershwin to Pasadena Playhouse
April 20, 2011

Actor/singer/musician/author Hershey Felder's multi Award winning depiction of composer George Gershwin in George Gershwin Alone is now on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse for a limited run through May 8 celebrating a ten year anniversary. Felder fills the space with his virtuoso musicianship and creates such an extraordinary stir and love affair with his public that he is becoming almost as popular as the legendary composer himself.

BWW Reviews: CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN @ Kirk Douglas Theatre
BWW Reviews: CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN @ Kirk Douglas Theatre
April 20, 2011

As I watched Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, some painful recollections surfaced from my childhood about Ireland and its people. My mother was second generation Irish, her parents Irish immigrants who declared quite emphatically that they were happy in America and never wanted to return to their homeland, even for a visit. My mother relayed this information to me with tears in her eyes as she recalled how her mother, my maternal grandmother, would never care to endure again her harsh existence in turn of the century Ireland. The characters in McDonagh's play, circa 1934, are desperately lonely creatures, forced to take it out on those closest to them for want and need of a better way of life. Now at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. the Druid and Atlantic Theatre Company return to LA on tour in their rightfully acclaimed production of ...Inishmaan.

Rain Give Beatles New Life @ the Pantages
Rain Give Beatles New Life @ the Pantages
April 16, 2011

For those of us who lived through the 60s and saw firsthand the arrival of the Beatles in the US and their premiere on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, we know the impact that they had on pop culture and on female fans, who screamed, yelled and literally passed out while watching them. Like Elvis, they were a phenomenon and to think of how they revolutionized music over the course of the next twenty+ years! Paul, George (deceased), John (deceased) and Ringo were IT for a long time, and now the band Rain is replicating their look and musical style to the letter on Broadway and for one week only at the Pantages. Steve Landes, Joey Curatolo, Joe Bithorn, Ralph Castelli and Mark Beyer are Rain and they are as big a smash as those Liverpool youngsters who preceded them. These very same boys who played the show at the Pantages in 2009 are back once more, but will return to New York next week.

Savagely Fine GOD OF CARNAGE
Savagely Fine GOD OF CARNAGE
April 16, 2011

What Edward Albee boldly achieved with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in the 60s, fiercely influenced Yasmina Reza as she seizes the moment and goes a giant step further in her brilliant recreation of human savagery in God of Carnage now onstage @ the Ahmanson Theatre until May 29. With the complete original award-winning Broadway cast in tact, this Comedy of Manners - Without the Manners, like an explosive, tears the roof right off the theatre.

BWW Reviews: MTW Presents SUMMER OF LOVE
BWW Reviews: MTW Presents SUMMER OF LOVE
April 12, 2011

Roger Bean has delighted audiences cross country with The Marvelous Wonderettes, Winter Wonderettes and Life Could Be a Dream. Weaving the 50s, 60s and 70s hits together into a playful scenario is his specialty, and if only Hair had never existed! For, his latest endeavor Summer of Love, now onstage @ the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach has the look, feel and message of Hair : 'Make love not war'! In spite of the comparisons, Summer of Love has its moments... and a dynamite ensemble that moves and grooves.

BWW Reviews: THE ESCORT is Fine Food for Thought @ the Geffen
BWW Reviews: THE ESCORT is Fine Food for Thought @ the Geffen
April 12, 2011

Three things may be said quite frankly about Jane Anderson's plays. First of all, the subject matter is never boring. In fact, what you see is bound to create controversy especially amongst those possessing middle class values. Secondly, the protagonist is a mixed bag of strength and insecurity, but in his (her) different perspective or lifestyle, he (she) bravely faces the consequences. Thirdly, there is usually a double standard for those pointing that ugly finger at the protagonist. What they think may be good for them may not be necessarily right for others to follow, or vice versa. Now at the Geffen The Escort lives up to all three, with four outstanding performances and superior direction from Lisa Peterson.

BWW Reviews: Theatre West Mounts Winning GOODBYE, LOUIE...HELLO!
BWW Reviews: Theatre West Mounts Winning GOODBYE, LOUIE...HELLO!
April 12, 2011

Allan Manings' world premiere play about two aging stand up comedians starts off with a couple of jokes from Louis Berns (Alan Freeman) and Benjy Gordon (Steve Franken) but the tired old jokes turn sour when a deep dark secret is revealed in Goodbye, Louie ... Hello! now onstage @ Theatre West. With an outstanding cast, very detailed writing and sharp direction ...Louie becomes an engrossing winner.

BWW Reviews: Stephanie Burkett Gerson is a Hit @ Sterling's
BWW Reviews: Stephanie Burkett Gerson is a Hit @ Sterling's
April 12, 2011

On Sunday, April 10 to celebrate her new CD Once Upon a Time, Stephanie Burkett Gerson performed a CD release party concert @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to an exceedingly enthusiastic packed house. No stranger to musical theatre in LA or anywhere for that matter, as she has sailed across Europe for Disney, tall and lovely Gerson has a beautiful voice and quite a vocal range. The show, with a focus on her life and career thus far, utilized a video screen projecting photos and playbill covers of shows that Gerson has played in and which remain her favorites. There was also a cute video clip of her first performance singing to her dad at age 6.

BWW Reviews: Ionesco's Absurdist THE CHAIRS @ A Noise Within
BWW Reviews: Ionesco's Absurdist THE CHAIRS @ A Noise Within
April 12, 2011

Eugene Ionesco's classic absurdist play The Chairs (1952) has had many interpretations through the years including political and religious, from soup to nuts. Now onstage at A Noise Within in a marvelously crafted production, The Chairs boasts a tremendous trio of actors under the expert direction of Julia Rodriguez-Elliott.

Lush Private Lives @ Laguna Playhouse
April 10, 2011

Noel Coward's timeless wit is as pleasing as watercrest sandwiches or scones and butter. It's irresistible, especially in his now classic Private Lives and works to perfection when properly cast. In the new revival at Laguna Playhouse, Andrew Barnicle has assembled a glorious ensemble, one that knows how to bring out Coward's subtleties with panache, a somewhat rare quality for an American troupe.

A Fine Wait Until Dark Plays Group rep
A Fine Wait Until Dark Plays Group rep
April 5, 2011

Frederick Knott's psychological thriller Wait Until Dark first premiered on Broadway in 1966 with Lee Remick in the title role and was later turned into a film with Audrey Hepburn. As I watched the play opening night at Group rep, I couldn't help but wonder how much better the play might be if the whole first scene with the conmen were eliminated completely. So much exposition with setting up the scheme is draggy, tedious. If audience were to learn about what is happening through Susy Hendrix (Liza de Weerd) at the same time she's figuring it out, the play might be ultimately more gripping. Not that it isn't already suspenseful! As is it's the non-seeing central character and her ultra-sensory world that engage and her solitary dilemma from moment to moment that keeps us on the edge of our seats. Above all, Miss de Weerd's sensational commitment under David Colwell's taut direction makes it all the more fascinating to experience.

BWW Reviews: Revival of BURN THIS Lights Up the Mark Taper Forum
BWW Reviews: Revival of BURN THIS Lights Up the Mark Taper Forum
April 5, 2011

'I'd Rather Be Blue...thinking of you, I'd rather be blue over you ...than be happy with somebody else.' The lyrics of this famous old standard seem to sum up the deep yet peculiar attraction of Anna (Zabryna Guevara) for Pale (Adam Rothenberg) in Lanford Wilson's mysteriously unpredictable story of love Burn This (1987) now in a fine revival @ the Mark Taper Forum. With unquestionably high calibre writing, a marvelous cast and superb direction from Nicholas Martin, Burn This leaves an indelibly piquant impression long after the curtain falls.



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