Don Grigware - Page 34

With this concise Wikipedia description in mind let's say that Michael John LaChuisa has taken liberties in composing his musical version of La Ronde called Hello Again. The musical first premiered off-Broadway in 1993. Liberties taken primarily are placing 10 scenes and characters in different time periods of the 20th century in a non-chronological order...and utilizing simulated raw sex in many of the scenes. When the whore (a very enticing Michelle Holmes) gets her hooks into the soldier (Cesar Cipriano), it is 1900. In the next scene the soldier comes onto the nurse in 1940. Mores changed with the times and sexual practices diversified, particularly in the 60s and 70s with Woodstock an open haven for hippies and rampant sex, and then later homosexuals coming out of the closet. Within these varying time periods, LaChuisa introduces a variety of musical styles that somehow manage to tie the stories together, making them more colorful and exciting. Now in a rare revival at Chromolume Theatre, Hello Again is receiving a fine production with even direction by Richard Van Slyke and a fantastic cast of 10 actors.

Actor PATRICK PAGE has been dazzling Broadway and regional theatre audiences for many years playing the original roles in The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Spider Man, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame among many others. He has had an extensive career playing Shakespeare. Now at the Mark Taper Forum, he is about to open in a new play entitled ARCHDUKE about the events leading up to WWI. In our talk he shares his feelings about the play and proclaims his favorite role to date.

Actor/singer Davis Gaines is perhaps the most revered singing star on Los Angeles stages. He is the longest running Phantom in Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Phantom of the Opera and is about to return to Man of La Mancha. The new production from McCoy/Rigby plays the Valley Performing Arts Center at Cal State Northridge Friday, May 5, Saturday May 6 and Sunday May 7 and then moves to La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in early June. In our chat Gaines discusses musical theatre and his favorite roles from Broadway to LA.

Actress Christine Pedi is well known for her theatre/cabaret appearances as well as TV and SiriusXM radio. Her finest hour has come in Forbidden Broadway with her glorious singing impressions. She took time out from her busy schedule to talk about her upcoming appearance in LA for the last S.T.A.G.E. benefit on Saturday May 13 at the Saban Theatre.

It is easy to find a play today about family dysfunction but one with a totally unpredictable and engrossing story line? Think again! Brent Beerman has come up with one called A Dull Pain Turned Sharp now onstage at Group rep in NoHo. The title may sound offputting but what audience have in store is witnessing a wonderful bonding experience with a top notch cast and meticulous direction from Kay Cole currently through June 4.

Indeed, West Side Story is the most acclaimed musical. And, ask musical actors/actresses what is their favorite Broadway musical of all time and most concur, West Side Story. Why? It has phenomenal music by Leonard Bernstein, with concise poetic lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a tight and gripping book by Arthur Laurents. The brilliant choreography established in 1957 by Jerome Robbins will never be forgotten. The book presents one of the most powerful love stories ever, next to Romeo and Juliet. With all these elements complementing one another, from the first downbeat of the orchestra and the appearance of the Jets creeping in one by one on a half-lit stage, the show pulls you in and doesn't let go for its two and a half hours ... and its message and images of love linger long after the curtain falls.

At the E Spot Lounge, upstairs at Vitello's, Studio City on Tuesday April 18, Amy Brothman and Dianne Fraser produced a delightfully eclectic evening of song and storytelling under the supervision of musical director Michael Lavine, titled simply Michael Lavine & Friends. What a treat! Lavine, who lives most of the year in New York, is a director, performer, coach and musical genius par excellence. He has produced a CD also entitled Michale Lavine & Friends, which, like the show, offers rarely heard songs from less familiar Broadway shows. Some of these are musical gems, and for one reason or another, never hit the charts.

Actor Patrick Mulryan, a member of the Fiasco Theater Company, is currently playing Jack in their touring production of Into the Woods at the Ahmanson through May 14. He took time from his busy schedule to talk about the role and his blossoming theatre career. Patrick, you are having such a great time playing Jack that the joy you are feeling transcends the footlights. What is your honest impression of him? Define his character traits and flaws.

From the moment the strains of Verdi's La Traviata were heard in the wings and Edward Gero as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia entered through a part in the curtain pretending to conduct the orchestra in a joyously bemused state, I sensed we were in for a treat. How right I was! In and around the courtroom ... a perfect place for passion and theatrics, this is John Strand's The Originalist, a somewhat factual play set in Washington from 2012-13. The piece boasts intelligent writing, and a grande performance from Gero as Scalia, as well as great work from Jade Wheeler and Brett Mack, all of whom leave an indelible mark by making us think. You actually leave the theatre refreshed ... and somewhat hopeful about the future of our political system.

Actress/singer/dancer/director/choreographer KAY COLE is known for her award-winning work in the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line, which garnered the Tony, Pulitzer Prize, Drama Desk, and Theatre World awards -among others. Other credits as director/choreographer include hundreds of plays and musicals in New York, LA and London. Visit her website for a complete list: www.kaycole.net She is currently directing Group rep's production of a new play by Brent Beerman A DULL PAIN TURNED SHARP that will open Friday April 21. She also has a CD called Souvenir just released by Kritzerland Records. We know you did the trailblazing A Chorus Line in 1976 for Michael Bennett. It opened new doors for you and many other artists and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. You have been a triple threa

Playwright Brent Beerman is A UCLA MFA graduate;his Gabriel's Rapture won the Corner Stage National Theater Contest; Millionaires opened Off-Broadway; Dancing in the Shadows won the Pacificus Foundation of Los Angeles Literary Award; his libretto for Jesus' Daughter and Womin, touring Europe and the United States, were featured on CNN. In Los Angeles, Another Washington Affair was recently directed by Kay Cole. A Dull Pain, Turned Sharp was a prizewinner at the MOXIE Films New Play Competition and a reading featured at the HOWL festival in New York City. He is the director of theater at Crescenta Valley High School which annually produces over 14 plays with five guest directors. Written by Steve Peterson

Into the Woods/book by James Lapine/music & lyrcs by Stephen Sondheim/Fiasco Theater Company Production Tour/Ahmanson/directed by Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld/through May 14 I first saw Into the Woods in 1987 when it premiered in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre. At that point, the Witch was not the leader of the pack; in New York the role was enlarged in 1988 and Bernadette Peters played her on Broadway. The play which cleverly intertwines favorite fairytales Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstock, and Rapunzel with a new story The Baker and his Wife, somehow left me cold. The

Writer/Director/Producer Gordon Bre4ssack is a veteran of the NY Off-Off Broadway scene as a member of The Playhouse of the Ridiculous. He toured Europe three times with that group and was with them in 1971 when they were all arrested for obscenity in Brussels. He came to Los Angeles in 1983 and was soon hired at Hanna-Barbera writing such shows as 'Scooby- Doo' and 'The Smurfs'. He went on to Warner Bros. Animation and won three Emmys for his work on 'Animaniacs' and 'Pinky & the Brain.' His two previous plays in LA, 'Fuggedaboudit' and 'Missing Dick' were audience and critical favorites. by Steve Peterson

On April 1 and 2 GMCLA presented its spring concert  at the Alex Theatre in Glendale He Had It Coming, a compilation of Broadway tunes with special guest star Tony winner and Emmy nominated actor/singer Alan Cumming and a few magnificent surprises. Needless to say, the show was one of their longest, running almost two hours and a half including intermission, but was well worth it.

The last time I laughed, really laughed at something funny, I didn't stop to ask myself what made it funny. The various classifications of comedy through the ages have never seemed that significant to learn unless I were a professor of comedy or were looking for a few items of fun trivia to share at a cocktail party. Reed Martin and Justin Tichenor love to abridge as in their Reduced Shakespeare and the History of America, both of which seem to work just fine with audiences, but if you reduce comedy, doesn't it take the fun out of funny? For the first half of The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), currently onstage at the Falcon Theatre, I felt like I was in a classroom instead of the theatre. Lists and lists of the funniest people, funniest double acts, etc were thrown at us as if we were students preparing for a major exam on the subject. But by the time the first act came to an end, in a scene filled with strobe lights, a Mack Sennett chase replete with cream pies flying and cops falling down took center stage, and what he had been hearing about started to make sense. Comedy is the slap, the pratfall, the schtik, the slapstick produce the laugh-filled relief that we get from the pressures of everyday living. Under the fast paced direction of Jerry Kernion, three geniuses of physical comedy Marc Ginsburg, Mark Jacobson and last. but hardly least Zehra Fazal prove that they can put on a show and make us laugh.

Artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington DC Molly Smith directs John Strand's The Originalist about the Supreme Court onstage at the Pasadena Playhouse beginning April 11. The play focuses on a clerkship between a young woman and recently deceased Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia portrayed by Edward Gero. It fits the times to perfection as the two characters spar on a grand scale to defend their interpretation of the truth as written in our constitution. In our chat, Smith talks about the play, its mission, this co-production and also about her work at Arena Stage.

In Part I of this interview, Ana Isabel Ordonez gives us a glimpse into her next project and the elaborate process her brilliant mind goes through in its organisation and execution. In Part II, she discusses the Leah Tutu Unsung Heroes Award, which took place in November last year.

Carousel is Rodgers and Hammerstein's favorite musical. Produced on Broadway in 1945 with John Raitt and Jan Clayton in the roles of Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan, it was R & H's second hit in a row, Oklahoma! being the first, with a string of others to follow. Any Rodgers & Hammerstein musical is among the very best there is in the annals of musical theatre history. The incredibly beautiful music alone is enough to keep an audience riveted, but Hammerstein's books were also laden with topical themes and much food for thought, as with Carousel that becomes a sort of parable for love, forgiveness and redemption. In their current beautifully mounted revival of Carousel, MTW may be assured of a gigantic hit.

Parisian charm is precious, incomparable. Even though the action of An American in Paris takes place in 1945 after World War II had taken its toll, it is still lively, colorful and full of breathtaking romantic excitement. Fans of the 1951 film with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron will not be disappointed because the choreography of the live musical by director Christopher Wheeldon is magnetic as are the leading players Garen Scribner as Jerry Mulligan and Sara Esty as Lise Dassin, both ballet dancers. If you love great dancing, that is reason enough to see An American in Paris currently at the Hollywood Pantages through April 9.

On Sunday March 19 I paid a visit to Archway Studio Theatre in Burbank for the matinee performance of Romeo and Juliet. It was the last performance and my very first time at Archway, who are known mainly for their presentation of the classics. Needless to say, I was blown way by the production, the direction and the entire ensemble who all invested themselves so dearly in their roles.