Don Grigware - Page 84

Singer Quentin Elias makes a splashy debut in THE BLVD currently @ The Macha Theatre in WeHo. In our interview, he talks about his love of France, New York, his music and his latest passion for acting.

The annual gala for the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival, held at the Electric Lodge in Venice on Thursday March 25, was sheer delight.

Most actresses who play legendary stars have to beware of too much affectation and mimicry. Cissy Conner knows well, as she is no stranger to portraying legends. Her performance as Marlene Dietrich a few years back was nothing short of stellar and brought her an Ovation nomination as Best Actress. Now Miss Conner is essaying Kate Hepburn in Matthew Lombardo's Tea at Five at the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center. Conner is such a reliably fine actress that her Hepburn, like Dietrich, becomes an exceedingly memorable turn.

What a glorious little show so full of possibilities! Performed by eight men, delivering monologues made famous by Meryl Streep from many of her iconic films, there is something for everyone in this piece: comedy, drama, laughter, tears - and even audience participation. Yes, there are two quiz games with prizes, where audience members are asked to answer trivia questions about Ms Streep and to match her famous quotes to the films in which they originated. I had completely forgotten that she graduated from Vassar with a major in costume design. It seemed back then that our heroine didn't deem herself pretty enough to make it as a movie star. What a delectable twist of fate.

Alexandra Billings, my pick for Best Female Cabaret Artist of 2009, celebrated her birthday at Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's on Sunday March 28. This unpredictably outrageous comedienne/actress/singer, who can belt out a tune with the greatest of the great, never ceases to amaze me.

Thankfully director David Lee is giving us a presentation of Forum @ Reprise based on the 1972 Broadway revival. Why? Because it includes 2 delightful songs not in the original 1962 New York production: 'Farewell' and 'Echo Song'. These 2 numbers add that extra special touch to Lee's dynamically directed version, which puts the s in silly and could not possibly get any better.

The hit films Sunset Boulevard and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? have so much in common. They are both set in humongous decaying Hollywood mansions inhabited by faded movie stars. Mad About the Boy Productions has very entertainingly connected the two scripts for an onstage parody @ the Macha Theatre - and has succeeded quite well in satisfying our appetite for bizarre camp.

Middle-aged women will love A. R. Gurney's play Sweet Sue about a woman's desire for a younger man. Currently on stage at Group rep, Sweet Sue receives a fine, extremely well-acted production helmed by artistic director Ernest Figueroa.

'There are moments in life that jolt you off the steady path; slam you into deep, dark waters, and leave you hanging out to dry on a power line. As jarring and dehumanizing as these experiences can be, they provide us with the terrible but sometimes wonderful opportunity of choice. How we choose to emerge from these moments, define us as human beings. And, as artists, we can choose to repaint these ugly and painful scenes on bright, humorous, magical canvasses.' - Sara Kumar

On Sunday March 14 Tamra Lamese Dozier, Dana Shaw, Sheila Ferrari and Melissa Smilow presented their show Sex, Love & Whine @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's to a packed house, but half hour to curtain... all was not in their favor. During dinner, the lights went off on the entire block of Tujunga Ave, forcing guests at Vitello's to eat and chat by candlelight and putting the impending 7:00pm show at risk. What to do when mics are electric too? Not to be seen or heard; whether 'tis nobler to perform... that is the question! At 6:50 Michael Sterling took the stage and addressed the anxious crowd explaining the situation that there was no backup generator in the building and that the DWP had given no word as to when power would be returned...but, that the four ladies wanted the show to go forward and would present their show, accompanied by their combo orchestra onstage... all with the limited lighting of candles...and at half price for patrons, Sterling encouraged them to return to see an uninterrupted show, that would be rescheduled at a later date. The audience cheeredand ON WITH THE SHOW!

Artistic director Ernest Figueroa has been steadily making changes at Group Rep @ Lonny Chapman since he began the position September, 2009. 'Ernest's intent is to keep Lonny's legacy alive while moving the membership of the theater forward with new and innovative ideas,' said Janet Wood, newly elected Board President. 'With his vast theater experience as a producer, director, playwright and actor, Ernest has both a strong artistic sensibility and solid business savvy. In addition, he epitomizes an exciting energy and direction for our theater. Already, everything is moving forward at a fast clip, with a new board, a new season, new ideas and untold possibilities.' It is a rebirth of sorts for the 36 year-old theater company. In our interview he talks about the changes and their overall effect on the progress of the company.

Two character plays either work effectively or not at all. There's no in between. It takes a tight rapport between the actors to create a believable scenario. Chad Borden and Robert J. Townsend have such a chemistry that works divinely in The Story of My Life, a musical drama that is sweetly poetic and universally relevant. Havok Theatre's loving production could not be better.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels book by Jeffrey Lane; music by David Yazbek Interact Theatre Company @ NoHo Arts Center directed by Richard Israel through March 21

Slick, sleek, glitzy best describe the brand new tour production of the 1981 runaway hit Dreamgirls. Making use of the latest technology, the sometimes glaringly bright show is in your face from the top and never eases its pace for a split second. Why the excess? Today's audiences demand it.

The Spanish verb dispensar means to absolve or pardon; dispenso means I absolve or I pardon. It may be that Tony Tanner's slant on the Don Juan legend is just that: he forgives the man for living his life the way he did, and for that reason chose the name Dispenso for his character. Maybe. Don Juan Dispenso is a contemporary look at the myth, in which Dispenso makes his way across Europe in the 20s and 30s bedding a variety of women who remained nothing more than conquests to him. In his mind, if he fell in love, he lost control. And he refused to lose control.

Director David Lee has won 9 Emmy Awards for producing, directing and writing such TV megahits as Frasier, Cheers, Wings and The Jeffersons. He has also directed award-winning productions on stage here and in New York, such as Can Can @ the Pasadena Playhouse. In our interview, he talks about the Reprise Theatre Company, his direction of their upcoming A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, opening March 17, and other theatrical favorites.

The Antaeus Company ensemble offers a devilishly dark and venemous Cousin Bette to relish. I haven't had such fun since Nicholas Nickleby.

Legendary star Ginger Rogers is long overdue for a musical show in her honor. Overshadowed by dancing partner Fred Astaire, she was known to have said 'I did everything he did only backwards in high heels'. Thus, we have the basis for the title of this classy, snappy new musical at ICT which is an instant audience pleaser.

I loved the four gals playing the Broads - all talented - but the show needs a major overhaul. Too many jokes are tired old cliches - and singing about side effects from medications? Audiences do not find that entertaining as many experience these very problems on a daily basis. No one was laughing the night I attended, because most of it wasn't funny! And death? Who wants to be reminded that funerals are like weddings, but at least at weddings you can smell your own flowers? Also not funny, guys! Especially for the majority of the audience - over 65!

Frank D. Gilroy's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Subject Was Roses depicts a dysfunctional family circa 1946 whose son returns from WWII... a man. The strained day-to-day relationship between the mother and father changes for the better with his return, but only briefly, as buried feelings surface inducing intensely explosive confrontations. The universal themes of love and freedom remain as clear and untarnished as they were in the 60s, and this new production comes full circle for Martin Sheen, who also costarred in the original Broadway version in 1965 as son Timmy.