Ellen Dostal - Page 10

Horror houses are not my thing. Knott's Scary Farm, Reign of Terror, Universal's Halloween Horror Nights...you can keep them. But tell me a good ghost story and I'm in. Put me in the middle of an immersive theatrical ghost story as artistically beautiful and complex as it is otherworldly and I'm in heaven. That was the experience I had at THE KAIDAN PROJECT: WALLS GROWN THIN, a co-production by Rogue Artists Ensemble and East West Players staged in a secret location I'm certain has never been used like this before.

Thousands of souls have their final resting place in Altadena's Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery but, once a year in the fall, the living invade the domain of the dead. That's when Unbound Productions' WICKED LIT takes over the grounds and creates a site-specific theatrical experience based on classic and original horror stories. It is unlike any other kind of theatre or Halloween event you've ever seen and it is seriously the coolest thing you can do in Southern California. Ask anyone who's done it.

OUR TOWN is Wilder's most well-known work, a classic of the American theatre that presents the cyclical nature of life in three acts and a town called Grover's Corners, where birth, death, love, and marriage, are shown in their most mundane glory. The brilliant simplicity of the work cannot be overstated.

BANGING LANIE is a 21st century John Hughes-style comedy starring Allison Powell that explores what happens when a girl takes her virginity into her own hands. The film is currently raising funds on Kickstarter and tonight at 7pm PST/10pm EST, Powell will go LIVE on Facebook in what promises to be a hilarious and eye-opening conversation.

In 1970, Maria Callas posed for Blackglama's iconic What Becomes a Legend Most ad campaign. The famous black and white Richard Avedon photographs shot against a simple gray background captured the glamour and allure of black mink featuring some of the most iconic faces in the world. It was indeed a look, and Callas knew it was for her.

The Old Globe has opened a window and let in a beautiful breath of fresh air in its latest world premiere musical, BENNY AND JOON, by bookwriter Kirsten Guenther, composer Nolan Gasser, and lyricist Mindi Dickstein. Based on the 1993 MGM film starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn, it focuses on three characters, each insulated by their unique circumstances, and how they ultimately overcome their limitations to live the life they've always wanted. Love, family, compassion, and understanding are the foundation of the piece and, as they grow, so do we.

While watching Crystal Sep lveda perform during the opening of Pacific Standard LA/LA's Condemned To Be Modern exhibit, I couldn't help but think of a quote by Frank Lloyd Wright: 'Space is the breath of art.' Poetic in its simplicity, it is an observation that is particularly eloquent when considering the way this collection of artists is recontextualizing architecture through the lens of the visual artist.

It's official. I have a new favorite thing, and it is called MUSE/IQUE. You would too if you'd been in the audience for GLOW/TOWN, the third in a 3-part series celebrating Motown and its roots Saturday night at Caltech. From the structure of the program to the sophistication of the environment, Artistic Director Rachael Worby and company have created a musical experience in a class by itself.

He walked from Cincinnati to Los Angeles in 1884 and then he built a castle in Highland Park with stones from the nearby arroyo. Charles F. Lummis, first editor of the LA Times, knew how to make an entrance. Now the historic site will get a starring role in one of Shakespeare's most dramatic plays, MACBETH, for two weeks in September, when Benjamin Pohlmeier and his Junction Theatre Company mount a site-specific production using the castle as its backdrop.

The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs celebrates the release of its gorgeous new hardbound art book, COLA 20, this Saturday night (August 19) with the help of Daedelus and friends at LA's downtown Grand Performances. The one-night-only community event is part of Grand Performances' free outdoor summer concert series on the California Plaza and will feature music by Deejay Daedelus and guests Sara Gazarek, Baths, Natasha Agrama, Mousey McGlynn, MariGo and more, reinventing electronic music live. But the real star of the show is LA's flourishing art scene, captured in the pages of COLA 20.

If you were captivated by the film Hidden Figures and its story of the women known as 'human computers' who saved John Glenn's NASA space mission, get ready for Lauren Gunderson's play SILENT SKY, opening this month at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

ISC sets TWO GENTS in the 1950s, accompanied by a live band on stage playing an infectious rock 'n' roll score. Musical director Dave Beukers' arrangements are bright and sexy with a beat that's perfect for dancing (think Elvis Presley during his Sun Records days or Jerry Lee Lewis). It's a choice that admirably complements Shakespeare's early play - thought by many to be his first - and the erratic appetites of youth.

Every theatre production comes with its share of backstage drama. One Hit Wonderland, the Broadway musical comedy depicted in Gary De Leon and Greg Lisi's indie film OPENING NIGHT is no exception. Sex, drugs, and crazy characters collide in this rousing tongue-in-cheek comedy full of splashy production numbers and entertainment in-jokes. It's a movie for, and about, theatre people - their quirks, their insecurities, and above all, their passions.

Theatre Palisades Youth invites you to 'be their guest' for a special presentation of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR. opening July 28th at Pierson Playhouse in Pacific Palisades. Forty members of the youth theatre group are getting ready to tell the tale of an adventurous young girl and a prince trapped under a spell who find that the power of love can overcome any evil. Director Lara Ganz helms the production and lets us in on the behind-the-scenes workings in this charming interview.

Our hearts go out to the members of Kingsmen Shakespeare Company who are mourning the unexpected death of John Slade. John was directing this summer's production of JULIUS CAESAR set to open July 21st. The show will go on with the festival's founder stepping in to bring his colleague's vision to the stage.

London Calling, The Clash's third album, is considered by many to be one of the band's greatest achievements. It is also the title of a musical that has been knocking around for the last decade, now being presented at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Using songs by The Clash, it is the story of four bandmates who share a dream of making it big. According to the program it is not based on The Clash's rise to fame but on the writers' own experiences of, 'A youth spent playing in bands, living in squats and pursuing dreams…'

What a difference one decision makes. Turn a corner, say hello, say nothing, leave - even the smallest of choices has the power to alter our future. In CONSTELLATIONS, Nick Payne's exquisite play for two, now on stage at Geffen Playhouse, we watch the various stages of a couple's relationship play out as a series of overlapping alternate realities.

I'm sorry if you missed Art-In-Relation's production of IT'S ONLY LIFE this past weekend because you missed hearing a remarkable musician play his own magnificent songs in a tiny 50-seat theater. To have that luxury is a rare occurrence, even for a city like Los Angeles. It was a breathtaking evening with the composer at the piano expressing, as only one who has written a song truly can, the most intimate nuances of a piece. For a lover of music, it was transcendent.

Set to an upbeat '80s-style pop rock score, TURBULENCE! is a screwball mash-up of Friday night SyFy comedy classics and Saturday morning cartoons with colorful characters and bright, energetic choreography. Two musical departures - a hokey country 'Hoedown Throwdown' style number (priceless) and a beautiful a cappella choral piece add variety. The friendly rough-and-tumble nature of the work is a good fit for those looking for an escape from the more cynical/slit-your-wrists drama one often finds at the Fringe. This is comical territory, bold and fun-loving. It won't tax any brain cells but the rowdy good time it delivers is all you need.

Unbound Productions producers Jonathan Josephson, Paul Millet and Jeff G. Rack have already proven they can create smart theatre based on classical literature. Their wildly popular Wicked Lit horror series at Mountain View Mausoleum has developed a loyal legion of fans who keep coming back year after year. Now they've taken their outdoor immersive theatre experience and expanded into the mystery genre, mounting their first major production under the moniker Mystery Lit with HOLMES, SHERLOCK AND THE CONSULTING DETECTIVE. Written by Josephson, directed by Millet, and designed by Rack, it combines three of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries into one epic whodunit.