Amber Cassell - Page 3

Last Monday night the touring cast of IN THE HEIGHTS performed two benefit concerts to raise funds for a Puerto Rican hospital. The concert, entitled 'Guilty Pleasures', featured over 20 members of the cast performing their guilty pleasure songs.

Quite simply put, there aren't enough good things to say about the La Mirada Theatre's recently-opened production of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. This show rocks, rolls, and leaves the audiences dancing in the aisles to a soundtrack that it's hard to believe was written over 40 years ago.

Ladies, I have wonderful news! If you've ever had to put up with the struggle of pulling teeth to get your man suited up and sit with you in the theater, take heart and take him to $trip the Play. Housed in Venice's Good Hurt bar, with a mandatory 2-drink minimum, he has the chance to get good and liquored up before the show begins. And once he sees the pole in the center of the stage, any complaints are guaranteed to cease immediately. As the title suggests, the play is about-you guess it-strippers! And it is, indeed, a play, not a boobie show. And a darn fun play at that!

Ah, Acting. Is there any more noble artform? To mimic, portray, and create life itself. It is the 'birth of the soul', as espoused by veteran screen actor Beau Bridges in his latest play Acting: The First Six Lessons. Adapted from Richard Boleslavsky's how-to book of principles on the craft of acting by Bridges and his daughter Emily, and starring them as well, the play chronicles a five-year relationship between an acting teacher and his developing young protégé. Since this play deals primarily with deconstructing the methodology behind a performance, it seems only fitting to review said performance piece in a similar manner. So here goes: the six essential principles of theatrical critiquing, as applied to Theatre West's production of Acting: The First Six Lessons.

However, in the case of The Children Theatre Group of Southern California's current production of The Pajama Game, housed in North Hollywood's Electic Company Theatre, this critic has as much enthusiasm and adoration for this troupe of child actors as any adulating relative. This production of Pajama Game is as good, and in several cases BETTER, than any other put on by a "fully grown" theatre group. To say that it is as good as one on the professional level would not be accurate, because this is professional. Everything from the costumes, to the choreography, to the caliber of talent is top-notch.

You heard it here, folks. The Fountain Theatre is by the far the best and the brightest that Los Angeles has to offer. Local and tourist alike will be hard-pressed to find a more inviting, entertaining, or all-around enjoyable experience anywhere else in the City of Angels. First timers, it is highly recommended that you get to the theatre early and go upstairs to the charming little café and grab a table, relax, and settle in for a fantastic night (or afternoon) of entertainment.

It's about time there was a stage show about Ginger Rogers, the name that has become synonymous with dancing on the silver screen. Though her films, particularly those partnered with Fred Astaire have become iconic, most people tend to forget that she got her start and ultimately built her career treading the boards on the vaudeville circuit and on Broadway. Rogers was a lady of the stage, with a catalogue of standards attached to her name from the Gershwins, Jerome & Kern, and Irving Berlin just to name a few. If the biographies of Patsy Cline and Buddy Holly have the makings of a hit Broadway musical, surely a tribute to Ginger Rogers would glide right past them. Unfortunately, Backwards in High Heels is rather unfitting, possibly even embarrassing tribute to a one of America's greatest stage and screen legends.

We all love the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Because, really, what's not to love? The seasoned, elegant, upscale, and rather dashing con man Lawrence Jameson (played flawlessly by the sleek and sophisticated Michael Caine) takes a crude, grubby, aspiring con artist Freddie Benson under his wing (Steve Martin in one of his most brilliant and memorable roles). When the master and the protégé become competitors for the heart (and the fortune) of a naive ingénue, hilarity ensues. Unscrupulous leading characters, sexcapades, a hint of romance, a beautiful French Riviera setting, and lots of lying, cheating, dirty rotten deeds. Again, what's not to love about this story? But does the adaptation of the film work as a stage musical? Well...yes and no.

The Colony's current production, Celadine, a bawdy comedy set in 17th century London seems the perfect complement to this delightful space. The first thing one notices upon taking your seat is the richness and intricate detail of Stephen Gifford's scenic design. Grainy woods, antique lighting fixtures and décor, really give an authentic feel to this 17th century tavern in which the show takes place. It demonstrates a tremendous amount of pride, attention, and care invested into the feel of this production. The costumes of designer A. Jeffrey Schoenberg are equally as elaborate.

bobrauschenbergamerica is presented by the SpyAnt's Theater Company at [Inside] the Ford, a charming little blackbox theatre hidden within the bowels of LA's summer concert favorite The Ford Amphitheatre complex, which is located just east of the Universal Studios theme park. As advertised, the show is a psychedelic hodgepodge of All-American 1960's stereotypes -the dustbowl matron, a roller girl, a hobo, a clean-cut couple, the old fart in a trucker's cap, and, of course, the prostitute-singing, dancing, orating, and at one point even slip 'n sliding across a set comprised of typical American fixtures and adorned with junk.

It's all just a little harmless sex, isn't it? At least that's how it starts in David Wally's latest bedroom romp Six Degrees of Fornication, running Thursdays at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. Monique, who is engaged to Ben, sleeps with Ryan, a singing telegram man and Lenore, her fiance's sister, while her fiance Ben is sleeping with a closet prostitute named Melanie, who happens to be his sister Lenore's lesbian lover. Throw in a couple other random hookups and a lude moment with Melanie's father and there you have it. One hour and forty-five minutes of the most those awkward bedroom moments that we know all too well, and try all too hard to forget.

Orpheus Descending, one of Tennessee Williams' earlier, lesser-known plays, is a retelling of this classical Greek myth, set in Williams' trademark version of the underworld…the deep South. However, the latest revival of Orpheus, playing at Los Angeles' Theatre/Theater through Feb. 21 reminds us all why this play remains one of Tennessee Williams' less popular works.

Almost eight years after the tragic events of September 11th, the phrase "9/11" has adopted a rather sarcastic tone. It has become a running joke, a phrase tossed around ad nauseum whenever a speaker needs to add gravity or significance to whatever he or she is pronouncing. Wanna sound important? Just shout "9/11" and audiences will take you seriously. Or so the theory goes…

What follows in Gabe McKinley's EXTINCTION, presented by Red Dog Squadron, is a dissection of life's changes and the ability to evolve, where the two characters bounce back and forth between the lure of maturity and reckless abandonment. The show offers riotous laughs, hard-hitting truths, and a brutally-riveting finale that literally takes your breath away.

A Johnny Cash prison tribute cooking show concert? The concept alone should be enough to intrigue audiences into checking out All Cake, No File; the latest theatrical concoction from Los Angeles' prestigious The Actors' Gang. Set as part of the troupe's WTF?! Festival, all proceeds from the show are donated to the community outreach program, The Actors' Gang Prison Project.

West Hollywood's newest and biggest Musical Theatre hot spot is The Star Spot at Musical Monday's each and every Monday at Eleven Nightclub in West Hollywood. Hosted and produced by YouTube's Ryan O'Connor and Splash's Scott Nevins, The Star Spot at Musical Monday is gearing up for a ver exciting October!

Los Angeles, CA - On Sun, Oct 18th New York comedy personality Poppi Kramer and Broadway belter Kate Pazakis will be joining forces with LA's own comedienne Erin Foley and cabaret favorite Julie Garnye for CITY SWAP, a night of music, laughter, and friendly cross-coastal rivalry. The M Bar is located at 1253 N. Vine St., Los Angeles, CA 90038.

ECLIPSED, presented by the Center Theatre Group and opened at Los Angeles' Kirk Douglas Theatre on Sept. 20th, narrates the daily routine of a group of "wives" (women who are raped and held captive as servants) of a rebel commanding officer in 2003 war-torn Liberia. There isn't much of a storyline. The plot loosely centers around a young, educated "Girl" (Miriam F. Glover) initially staying in the wives' quarters as a stowaway, who ends up being taken as wife Number Four.