Shari Barrett - Page 37

Be prepared to be entertained by April Showers, the current reigning Miss Hollywood Burlesque at BOOBS, BOOKS AND BURLESQUE on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, at the Culver Hotel in downtown Culver City. Showers is the recipient of several awards including Most Classic and Best Singer. Funny, glamorous and classy, she is noted to be one of the best burlesque performers in Los Angeles. Also entertaining will be Maxi Millions, a multi-award winning burlesque performer known for her classic bump 'n grind style and high glamour taste. She is co-producer of Spellbound Burlesque and has performed on stages all over the U.S.

Utopia is defined as an imaginary place where everything is perfect. But what does it take to achieve perfection in just two days within the art world? City Players is proud to present the World Premiere of 'UTOPIA' by David Douglas and Martin Head on February 26, 27, March 3, 4, 5 at 7:30pm and Sunday, February 28 at 2pm at the Bootleg Theater, located at 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057. The production is directed by Katherine Whitney.

How often have you wondered what it would be like to go back in time and talk to an historical icon? Katori Hall's THE MOUNTAINTOP is a gripping and often humorous re-imagining of events the night before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that won London's 2010 Olivier Award for best new play. It's one of the best ways imaginable to honor Dr. King, Black History Month and the Black Lives Matter movement by experiencing its Los Angeles premiere at the Matrix Theatre, directed by Obie Award-winner Roger Guenveur Smith and starring Larry Bates and Danielle Truitt. I cannot imagine any two actors more suited to step into the shoes of these two characters, having worked together in a previous production of the play at San Diego Rep, also directed by Smith.

Written, directed and choreographed by three-time Emmy Award-winner Debbie Allen, Freeze Frame takes audiences on a rollercoaster ride through some of LA's toughest streets where gangs, poverty, violence, and drugs are an everyday reality. Originally commissioned by the Brisbane Arts Festival, Freeze Frame is a dynamic mix of street-tough characters sharing their stories through a series of high-powered scenes of dance, song and drama featuring more than thirty Debbie Allen Dance Academy proteges and professional guest artists.

To those of us called Baby Boomers, we grew up being entertained by television shows everyone in the family could enjoy together. There was the Ed Sullivan Show, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and many others too numerous to name. I remember watching To Tell the Truth and attempting to guess along with the panelists, one of whom was Orson Bean, who added his own humorous stamp to the show for eight years. So when I heard that his one-man show "Safe at Home, An Evening with Orson Bean" was being presented at Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice (where he has been a long-time member), I knew the stories he was going to share would be extremely humorous. And, as it turns out, deeply insightful into how he survived and thrived in the entertainment industry for so many years.

Now onstage by the Aerospace Players through February 6, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN tells the story of sharpshooter Annie Oakley (Julie Hinton, a natural comedienne who perfectly inhabits the role) and her romance with Frank Butler (Stephen Cathers). Unfortunately, Cathers has no chemistry whatsoever with Hinton, and try as she might to entice him, their romance seems implausible and totally unbelievable. Without two solid leads who really appear to be in love, or at least attracted to each other physically, the musical lacks the spark needed to fuel the plot.

'Talking to Terrorists' is a verbatim, word for word journey into the inner workings of the motivations of what makes a terrorist tick and why they do what they do. By going directly to the source, this unflinching play seeks to answer two of the most important questions of our time: why does this keep happening, and how can we stop it?

Nothing is ever quite what it seems. Matthew's wife, Lisa, is having an affair with Adrian, a British theatre director. Or perhaps the affair is part of the play being rehearsed. Or perhaps Matthew has imagined all of it simply to have something to report to Frank, his therapist. Finally, there is Cory-the mysterious woman who seems to shadow the others-who brings the story to its surprising conclusion. Or does she? The audience itself plays the role of detective in this hilarious "relationship thriller" about love, lust and the power of deception. But unfortunately, the PRIVATE EYES story is impossible to follow as it is so non-linear that you never know who to believe when.

Celebrated stars of stage, screen and television Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss star in Dearest Friend, as the famed couple perform a reading of the actual love letters of second U.S. President John Adams and his First Lady, Abigail Adams. These powerful and moving letters, written as our nation was being formed, by one of America's founders and his wife are extraordinary, moving and deeply insightful into their love for each other and for our great country.

It's been said the bond between sisters goes beyond what words can express. Thank goodness British playwright Gail Louw has managed to overcome any restrictions to that rule and written an exquisite play called TWO SISTERS now enjoying its U.S. Premiere at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills. It centers on Jewish sisters Edith and Rika who are celebrating Edith's 75th birthday on the Israeli kibbutz where she has lived since age 18, one of the early pioneering kibbutznik collective farmers who became a Socialist and stayed.

"The Manor" is by now a Los Angeles/Beverly Hills institution, now in its 14th year and having surpassed its 200th performance in 2014. The show is a roman a clef, a fictionalization based on real events with the actual historical characters given new names. "The names have been changed to protect the guilty," is shared during the show's introduction to the audience. To lend authenticity to the tale, the show is presented in the grand and glorious architectural landmark in which the events of 87 years ago actually took place. Audience members are led from room to room in the lovingly restored marvelous Greystone Mansion as different scenes of the narrative are portrayed, leading up to a shocking and apparent murder and suicide.

Louis Prima and Keely Smith shared a larger-than-life marriage and a groundbreaking Las Vegas act featuring unforgettable songs like "That Ol' Black Magic," "Pennies from Heaven," and "Embraceable You." These songs and many others are featured in the production which has grown from a local Los Angeles-created hit at Sacred Fools Theater Company to a national musical phenomenon. After earlier award-winning and extended productions in Los Angeles and more recent acclaim in Chicago, these outsized personalities and talents have returned to the city in which the show was born. The current production is directed by Taylor Hackford, who also wrote the show with Vanessa Clair Stewart and Jake Broder, and is presented by Hershey Felder (a musical talent in his own right).

Noel Coward's plays epitomize the sophisticated wit of the era between the two world wars, and his comedy of manners "HAY FEVER" about a family whose theatrical excesses torment a group of unsuspecting visitors, epitomizes what makes Coward plays so well-loved by audiences worldwide. Considered by many to be cleverly constructed, wittily written, slightly cynical, and undeniably entertaining, the work contains all the elements that helped establish Coward's reputation as a award-winning playwright.

Veteran New York actor and writer James Lecesne portrays every character in a small Jersey shore town as they unravel the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and flamboyant 14-year-old boy who has gone missing. As he interviews the people from Leonard's life, Lecesne transforms himself into each of them with a quick turn of his body, completely changing his voice and physicality as be morphs from male to female, young to old. It is an amazing tour-de-force one-man performance that will enthrall you as several characters are brought fully to life without the use of costumes or props.

Kentwood Players proudly welcomed Mamie Hansberry, the sister of "A RAISIN IN THE SUN" playwright Lorraine Hansberry, to their production of the classic family drama on Sunday, January 10, 2016. Ms. Hansberry attended the play with several family members and shared how proud her entire family is of "everyone who has ever been a part of it." She has seen hundreds of productions in the past six decades and remarked that each member of the Kentwood Players cast "brought their own unique understanding and insights into her sister's remarkable characters."

Kentwood Players proudly presents Lorraine Hansberry's classic family drama "A RAISIN IN THE SUN" from Friday, January 8 through Saturday, February 13, 2016, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Harold Dershimer. Here's your first look at the cast! The production directed by Harold Dershimer and produced by Kathy Dershimer by special arrangement with Samuel French. Featured in the cast in alphabetical order are Rashod Davenport, Ruth Featherstone, Lawrence Hatcher, Daniel Kruger, Jean Michels, Patricia Newman, Shannon O'Connor, Damon Rutledge, Isaiah Suber, and Charlotte Williams.

Theatre Palisades presents Noel Coward's hilarious comedy "HAY FEVER" opening Friday, January 15 through Sunday, February 21, 2016 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. at the Pierson Playhouse, located at 941 Temescal Canyon Road in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Here's your first look at cast photos!

Ed and his three adult sons have gotten together to celebrate Christmas. They enjoy cheerful trash-talking, brotherly pranks and takeout Chinese, but find themselves confronting a problem that even being a happy family can't solve when youngest brother Matt seems upset about something he cannot share with his family. Their unconditional love is what matters when identity and privilege are problematic, for what is the value of being a straight white man if you have no real purpose or goals in life?

Like many Angelenos, I spent several evenings sitting back in wonder at the Planetarium shows, especially during the rock music themed productions. I recall waiting in long lines for hours in order to attend late night 'Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon' Laserium shows. Take a step back in time and see Laserium shows now taking place in their Van Nuys studio on weekends!

Even if you have never seen the movie before (could that be possible?), you can spend your holidays in Bedford Falls with George Bailey (Nathan Ondracek, who is a natural sound-alike and physically resembles Jimmy Stewart) and his loved ones as they take you through the heartwarming tale of his life. This tale of love and dreams is the perfect way to celebrate the season with your family, and acts as a reminder to us all that no one is a failure who has friends!