Ellen Dostal - Page 20

As an attempt to increase its cultural relevance, involve the community, and expand its audience base, Shakespeare Orange County's ROMEO & JULIET is an admirable venture. Directors Mike Peebler and John Walcutt have integrated several hometown groups to appeal to its neighboring communities: the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association, the 40-year-old folklorico group Relampago del Cielo from Santa Ana, the Korean Social Club of Orange County, and students from the Orange County School of the Arts.

TARZAN THE MUSICAL is the latest winner in a string of ambitious musicals by the Dawson producing team at 3-D Theatricals (Gretchen, Daniel, Jeannette and T.J.). Perhaps it isn't surprising that a family run company would know the kind of heart it takes to bring to life a Disney adventure musical about the power of family and finding one's place in the world. In any case, TARZAN is one big show that succeeds beautifully under their care.

Seeing a play where Shakespeare's unfortunate characters escape the city and seek refuge in the Forest of Arden is even more enjoyable when experienced in the idyllic setting of Theatricum Botanicum's natural outdoor theater. Every time I go, I am reminded what an oasis it is in a city overwhelmed with urban sprawl.

When the subject is Shakespeare's bittersweet comedy TWELFTH NIGHT, the metaphors and analogies come easily to director Rebecca Taichman, who uses words like 'epic,' 'complex,' 'Mozartian' and 'perfect.' 'It's truly bottomless,' she says. 'I thought I knew everything about the play, and I just keep unpeeling layers.'

Spectacle wins out in Cameron Mackintosh's latest tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. Less reinvented than it is repackaged, the crowning glory of this production is its lavish costumes and sets (by Paul Brown and Maria Bjornson respectively), and the lush sounds of its 17-member orchestra (under the direction of Richard Carsey).

BRIGHT SWORDS has three essential elements that make it one of the most polished, intelligent, and satisfying productions at Fringe: an elegant performance by Ryan Vincent Anderson, a beautifully written, smart, funny, human script by playwright Rick Creese, and stylish, impeccably focused direction by director Jeffrey Wienckowski.

This theatrical parody of a TV favorite has Fringe hit written all over it! Get your tickets now because the theater only has about 40 seats and the show is going to sell out. It should. Gus Krieger's writing is smart, compact, wickedly funny, and exactly what you hope it will be when you picture a Walter White world with William Shakespeare dialogue.

I confess to being very confused by the production. In this modern twist on Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet, women play men and men play women. Or rather, women play male characters as men and men play female characters as women…I think.

A sexy cast of beautiful people inhabits Green Day's punk rock opera American Idiot, in a ferocious glory|struck production that opened last weekend at The Vortex. Directors Topher Rhys and Jen Oundjian (who also choreographs) take full advantage of the concert venue space and go for a panoramic experience, moving the action offstage whenever possible. The concept enhances the surround sound feel of the show and if you approach it from a concert mindset it will be easy to go with the flow. In a way, by chopping up the visual space to include playing areas all around the space, it enhances the disconnectedness we see in the characters. Plus, there is a certain kind of bond an audience feels with an actor when he is dripping with sweat and singing his guts out right next to you.

KJazz is throwing its third annual benefit concert at the Music Center's Walt Disney Concert Hall on Saturday, June 27th at 8pm. The show will feature a Swinging Tribute to Count Basie by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band and special guests Lee Ritenour, Gregg Field, and the Sara Gazarek Band.

Each summer in Griffith Park, Independent Shakespeare Co. presents fully-produced large scale performances for hundreds of people on a nightly basis. Instead of the expensive dinner and a movie scenario, families flock to the park for a more neighborly picnic and a play. It's friendly, affordable (the play is free), and fun...and that's about as good as it gets on a summer night in LA.

Turning a profit in the theatre business is challenging at best but it isn't surprising that MOTOWN THE MUSICAL easily recouped its initial investment during its run on Broadway, or its outlay for the First National Tour, now playing at the Hollywood Pantages. The popularity of the Motown sound is undeniable. Even if you wanted to, it's impossible to keep from being carried away by the irresistible groove of the music. And why would you even want to try?

Director Denise Devin knows how to set a mood. Her one-hour Shakespeare adaptations condense the Bard's source material into compact, efficient theatre capsules that are perfect for those who want their Shakespeare short and sweet - or in this case, dark and bloody - with enough time left after the show to head out on the town.

Two famous brothers. One historic collaboration. Gershwin. Theirs was a name that would forever represent the early twentieth century music of the Jazz Age by capturing the heart and soul of the American people. Music drove George, the charismatic life-of-the-party musician who created sophisticated compositions like An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue, while Ira, the older and quieter of the two, was happier in the company of words. Together they created a prolific body of work that includes some of the most beloved standards today like 'Fascinating Rhythm,' 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off,' and 'Love is Here to Stay.'

The Huntington Library will host a two-day Shakespeare conference Friday and Saturday, April 17 – 18: Rethinking Shakespeare in the Social Depth of Politics. Cost is only $25 (free for students). The “new social history” has exploded the myth that the culture of Shakespeare's society was one of obedience. In this special event, social historians and literary critics will reposition his works in the culture wars of the period, and reassess Shakespeare's presentation of power and authority. Space is still available but seating is limited.

Betrayal lurks around every corner when a ruler's ability to rule comes into question. Whether real or imagined, its weighty presence stands as a cautionary phantom in A Noise Within's JULIUS CAESAR. Directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliot and Geoff Elliot have turned Shakespeare's thought-provoking political drama into a powerful expose on the less noble actions of men, anchored by two terrific performances and a commanding industrial design.

Mary Zimmerman makes her long-awaited San Diego directing debut with an enchanting theatrical spectacle with live music and sumptuous visuals, THE WHITE SNAKE. The Southern California Premiere of The White Snake, written and directed by Zimmerman, will runs through April 26 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

What if Shakespeare's Macbeth wasn't the end of the story? It's intriguing, isn't it; to consider a world in which Lady Macbeth might have survived, for she would most certainly not have gone quietly into the night. Playwright David Greig thought so too and, beginning March 27th, LA Shakespeare lovers will have a chance to see his modern day sequel to The Scottish Play when the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company bring DUNSINANE to The Wallis in Beverly Hills.

A striking image hovers above the action in HENRY IV, PART ONE at The Antaeus Company. It is a partial rendering of the planets orbiting the sun which serves as a constant reminder that this is the journey of a king-in-the-making. As Prince Hal, also known as Harry, slowly transitions from party boy to royal warrior, its glow becomes more and more noticeable until it finally overtakes the stage.

A luscious new 4K digital restoration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1951 Technicolor film TALES OF HOFFMAN (in English) will be screened at The Cinefamily, March 13 - 19. This new restoration is supervised by Martin Scorsese and Oscar winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker, wife of director Powell and Scorsese's longtime film editor, and contains eight minutes of never before seen footage along with newly restored footage not seen since the 1951 release.