Shari Barrett - Page 39

The undeniable chemistry between Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal is on full display again in Love Letters, a special theatrical tour that officially launched this week at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. From the moment these two entered the stage holding hands, the audience was totally ready to be swept away into a very different yet in so many way similar tale of two lovers doing their best to just love and be honest with each other throughout their lives even though most of it was spent apart. And we were not disappointed.

Another outrageous original Halloween production has come out of New Jersey. For several years at 6 Flags in the Garden State, Pete Carter developed the character of The Ghoulmaster and his production of 'Ghoulmaster's Ghosts' ran for 6 seasons at Six Flags Great Adventure's Fright Fest in Jackson, New Jersey. It was hugely successful and grew into one of Fright Fest's most popular shows. Ghoulmaster's cult-like following grew with his message of acceptance, anti-bullying, and making your dreams a reality. His bizarre androgynous appearance appeals to anyone who ever felt like a misfit, a weirdo, or a freak, especially those of us who celebrate Halloween all year round.

Theatre Palisades presents the first Los Angeles production of "The Game's Afoot or Holmes For The Holidays" by Ken Ludwig, opening Friday, November 6, 2015 and running until Sunday, December 13, 2015 at the Pierson Playhouse, located at 941 Temescal Canyon Road in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Directed by Gene Franklin Smith, "The Game's Afoot" is the winner of the Mystery Writers of America's 2012 Edgar Award for Best Play. Nona Hale and Pat Perkins produce for Theatre Palisades by permission from Samuel French. Featured in the cast (in alphabetical order) are Gail Bernardi, Matthew Godfrey, Nicole Knudsen, James Lujan, John Mawson, Maria Pavone, Maggie Peach, and Andi Wagner.

Into the turmoil of a marriage in trouble comes the enigmatic and apparently deaf Mr. Poulos, a quiet man who rents a room in the Meadows' apartment to assist them in staying afloat while Jimmy looks for work. But who is he really since he never speaks and just sits at the kitchen table all day reading Greek language newspapers? But that does not seem to matter to Jimmy and Lisa, who both start confiding their deepest secrets to Mr. P in private, hoping the experience will assist them in figuring out what to do about their mixed up lives. It's cheaper than hiring a shrink, of course, even though the self-centered couple seems to only be concerned about their own needs and not their marriage.

Legends about Hollywood stars are often difficult to prove or disprove. Such is the case about what happened to famous Shakespearean actor John Barrymore after his death. What can be substantiated is that on May 19, 1942, while recording a line from Romeo and Juliet for the show, Barrymore collapsed. He was taken to the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital and died there on May 29 from cirrhosis of the liver and kidney failure, complicated by pneumonia. It is at this point the legend begins and turns into something truly monstrous.

Premiered by Los Angeles Ballet in 2011, GISELLE is a haunting and ethereal masterwork; the perfect embodiment of the Romantic ideal to kick off its tenth season. Continuing its mission to offer world-class professional ballet to greater Los Angeles, the season will include four full-length story ballets including new productions of Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet and the return of the company's critically-acclaimed productions of Giselle and The Nutcracker.

CINDERELLA WALTZ investigates the archetypal origins of the world's more popular fairy tale, contrasting the familiar and charming Perrault version with the darker, more ancient and disturbing tale recorded by the brothers Grimm. Grotesque farce and romantic fantasy blend in a fairy tale for adults. Make no mistake - this is not a typical children's telling in that the script is spattered with some very adult language as we follow the fractured Cinderella fairy tale of a poor servant girl mourning the death of her mother as she dreams of a life of wealth and royalty. And listen closely to see just how many references to other whimsical tales you can catch!

It's not often you get to share a rare moment in time with a music legend, listening in on a conversation as if it were taking place in her living room with a good friend as she shares memories of her incredible career in the music industry. Such was the case on Tuesday evening, September 29 at the Valley Performing Arts Center at Cal State Northridge where music legend Linda Ronstadt sat down with longtime friend and award-winning producer Dan Guerrero to share excerpts from her 2013 book Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir as well as photos and stories from her childhood in Tucson, AZ, through her life as one of the most influential vocalists of the modern era.

The beloved Mary Poppins character has been on a journey with children of all ages since 1934, first as a popular children's book series by P.L. Travers, then as the 1964 Academy Award-winning and most popular Disney film of all time (after Walt Disney managed to convince the author to allow him to adapt her book), and finally as a hit stage musical which is now wowing audiences at the 450-seat Norris Theatre on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. With brand new breath-taking musical numbers and amazing flying and graphic effects, this spectacular production deserves the only word I can think of to describe it: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

DOUBLE DOOR debuted on Broadway in 1933, with a subsequent play by Elizabeth McFadden, debuting on Broadway in 1945. This later version is currently being presented at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills as the second production of their 2015-2016 season. And I advise you not to miss it as you will be kept on the edge of your seat throughout the show!

BROADWAY BOUND won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making part three the most serious of the Eugene trilogy plays in which we find Eugene and his older brother Stanley trying to break into the world of show business in 1949 as professional comedy writers while coping with their parents break-up and eventual divorce. Along the way, their material is broadcast on the radio for the first time, making the family upset to hear a thinly-veiled portrait of themselves played for laughs. Of course everyone else in their Brighton Beach neighborhood sees themselves in the characters, but that does lessen the hurt felt by their grandfather and parents when the show airs.

Kentwood Players presents Don Nigro's comedic murder mystery 'RAVENSCROFT' from tonight, September 11 to October 17, 2015, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045.

What is truly amazing - a miracle really - is the entire production began rehearsals (including learning the music as well as staging) on August 13 and opened on August 21. That this ensemble, directed and choreographed by the talented powerhouse Jeffrey Polk, was able to put the rock opera together in just over a week is astounding, given the incredible rock band and talented singers who harmonize so beautifully that you would think they had been working on the show for months. Add in the big rock stage show lighting fit for a large arena, and the resulting show is sure to appeal to all who believe in the power of faith with a real dash of musical flash.

The San Pedro Theatre Club presents the World Premiere of FRACTURED BROADWAY: MADE IN LA. This hilarious parody with a big Los Angeles point of view is a satirical romp through your favorite musicals parodied to reflect the current affairs of live theatre in Los Angeles. With 24 original parodies set to favorite tunes from well-loved Broadway musicals, everyone from would-be actors to those struggling with auditions, from directors to producers to critics, audience members to old folks reminiscing about their past theatre glory days, has their moment to shine in the spotlight.

Kentwood Players presents Don Nigro's comedic murder mystery "RAVENSCROFT" from September 11 to October 17, 2015, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. In this stylish, witty mystery-thriller, a detective investigates a murder at an English country estate inhabited by five intriguing women and finds that he is caught in a web of deceit and lies. He learns that everyone is a suspect; everyone has a motive! The mystery unfolds with comical twists and turns until the unpredictable ending reveals all.

Sister community theater groups Kentwood Players and Theatre Palisades are working in tandem this summer to present all three plays in Neil Simon's Eugene Trilogy, beginning with "Brighton Beach Memoirs" by Kentwood Players from July 10 through August 15, the just added staged readings of "Biloxi Blues" at Theatre Palisades on Saturday, August 29 at 8pm and by Kentwood Players on Sunday, August 30 at 7pm, and ending with "Broadway Bound" at Theatre Palisades from September 4 through October 11, 2015.

Twenty-nine years after it premiered, playwright Jerry Mayer's hit comedy ALMOST PERFECT has returned to the Santa Monica Playhouse playing weekends through September 27 as part of the Playhouse's three-year Jerry Mayer-a-thon, reuniting Mayer with director Chris DeCarlo. Mayer is based in Pacific Palisades and has premiered many of his plays at the venue, but this one is his first play and meant a lot to him personally - a piece that explores marriage with honesty and humor.

Playwright Lyle Kessler is perhaps best known as the author of 'Orphans' which began its stage life at the Matrix Theater in Los Angeles. Similar to the two lost brothers living in Philadelphia looking for family in that play, Kessler's new play 'The Great Divide' also centers on two very different brothers in the Fishtown area of Philadelphia dealing with the loss of their mother and overhearing father as best they can while life throws them curve balls, especially when two unexpected siblings show up and break into their family home looking for love as well as money.

In our modern dating world, there is no real way to know when a relationship has the potential to last longer than a one night stand. In THE PORCINI TEST, a contemporary play written and directed by Laureen Vonnegut, three long-time friends with hidden truths and concealed weapons banter back and forth over drinks about the merits of men, many of whom they have shared, finally deciding the best way to sift through them is to give each the Porcini test, basically asking if they know how to correctly pronounce the Italian fungi properly. If so, you're in. If not, so long!

Like modern soap operas, THE FALSE SERVANT centers on a love triangle between two women and one man. Each plans to marry him, but he is only interested in which woman can bring him the best financial arrangement. And we are told from the beginning that if your mind has room for reason, there is no room for love. Thus is set up the battle of the sexes with the only reason for love being the acquisition of money.