Shari Barrett - Page 50

Debra Ehrhardt's solo show JAMAICA FAREWELL has returned to the Santa Monica Playhouse after successful runs all over the world. It is based on a mostly true story about her journey to the U.S. from Jamaica in the turbulent 1970s of the Manley era, when a careless step along the way could cost her more than she was willing to pay.

With the Winter Olympics upon us, and recent attempts to reign in NSA spying, the time is ripe for a musical comedy with a Russian accent. And that's what OBAMA SPY DRAMA, the new show from City in a Swamp Productions, provides in abundance. Along with musical parodies, the satire is filled with spy agency intrigue, romantic complications and a display of international muscle.

THE BEST OF BROADWAY concert selections include rousing renditions of Broadway show tunes, accompanied by the Center Stage Opera orchestra, led spectacularly by guest conductor Ryan Rowles. All of the soloists have rich, full voices, with standout performances by those who acted the songs rather than just standing and singing them.

What does it mean to have faith in God? What makes a family? These two questions fuel conflicting passions in the Los Angeles premiere of Matthew Lopez's THE WHIPPING MAN, directed with a deep understanding of the Jewish faith by Howard Teichman, Artistic Director of West Coast Jewish Theatre.

Broadway, television and film star CHEYENNE JACKSON will make his first appearance in the 30th Annual Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.) "S.T.A.G.E. Goes to the Movies," being held on Saturday, May 10th at the historic Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. LAINIE KAZAN, RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN, MITZI GAYNOR, and JASON GOULD will also be making their first S.T.A.G.E. appearances and Tony® Award winner BETTY BUCKLEY will make her second S.T.A.G.E. turn.

If you have never seen THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK onstage, do not miss your chance to see it at the small black box Cupcake Theater in Hollywood, directed with a skilful hand and emotional insight by Sabrina Lloyd, starring Sigi Gradwohl as Anne Frank. Lloyd and Gradwohl present Anne's two-year ordeal hiding with her family during the German occupation of the Netherlands as a story of life, not death, and it is a true depiction of raw, daily survival during the Holocaust.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the Tony Award winning musical "Fiddler on the Roof" with book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jerry Bock, and music by Sheldon Harnick from March 14 to April 19 with 20 performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, and Thursdays on April 3, 10, and 17 at 8pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045.

It's been awhile since I can honestly say I was emotionally overwhelmed by a night of theater. There are so many thoughts wandering in and out of my mind that I hardly know where to begin except to say that religion, politics and theater collide superlatively under the imaginative and quick-paced direction of Bart DeLorenzo in the Los Angeles premiere of PASSION PLAY at the Odyssey Theatre.

The play examines the nature of honesty, and its use of a play within a play is one of many levels on which the author teases the audience with the difference between semblance and reality, both in love and on the stage. Couples change partners easily and partners confront each other when the evidence points to acts of indiscretion. And it seems the women are the worst offenders.

The Hamilton Music Academy is blessed with one of the few remaining full auditoriums within Los Angeles City Schools, complete with wings that allow large set pieces to be moved on and off the stage. John Paul Luckenbach's set pieces appear to be easily and quickly moved by cast members, incorporating the changes into the show itself which kept the place flowing along at a steady pace thanks to Chelsea Field's direction.

Love and pharmaceuticals make for a strange cocktail in Kate Fodor's piercing new comedy Rx. Containing equally strong doses of satire and insight, Fodor's play strikingly portrays our over-medicated society, which has a pill to alleviate every uncomfortable emotion. A winning combination of comedy and romance, Rx pokes gentle fun at our over-prescribed culture and our need to find pleasure in everything we do.

CHALK REPERTORY THEATRE presents STUDIO CHEKHOV, a one-night only theatrical event on February 16, 2014, featuring excerpts from two of Anton Chekhov's greatest works in new versions by Libby Appel.

Over the last 12 years, the artistic team at San Pedro's Little Fish Theatre has undertaken an extensive process, this year selecting from over 600 submitted manuscripts from around the world to be included in their annual PICK OF THE VINE production. The nine plays selected this year are a theatrical sampling akin to flights of wine - delightful sips of comedy and drama that provide an opportunity to experience a wide range of unique stories in a single evening.

NIGHT WATCH is one of the best productions I have seen at Theatre 40, a brilliantly written script visualized and presented by a talented production team and cast who truly understand the material and what it takes to keep you at the edge of your seat, trying to figure out just who has done what to whom. There's an array of suspects with a twist ending worthy of O. Henry.

The opening number 'Oh, the Thinks You Can Think' is a wonder to behold with the entire company superbly choreographed to let us know the crazy Dr. Seuss ride that awaits. And what a crazy ride it is following Horton the Elephant (David Mitrano) as he fights for the small creatures of Whoville living on a clover and the egg left behind by its mother. Horton believes, and this company proves, that a person's a person no matter how small. Trust me, the smallest actors onstage are having the time of their lives and so are their proud families in the audience.

On February 15, 2014, the story of Anne Frank and her two-year ordeal hiding with her family during the German occupation of the Netherlands comes to Hollywood's Cupcake Theater, starring Sigi Gradwohl, a third-generation Holocaust survivor, as Anne Frank. THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK is a story of life, not death, and a depiction of raw, daily survival during the Holocaust. Told with wit and sentiment, this production is sure to hit home with a truth that still resonates today.

The Tony award-winning Broadway stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's famous film, THE 39 STEPS, is being presented as a slapstick romp through film noir at the Norris Center for the Performing Arts for nine performances, January 24 - February 9, directed with skillful comedic insight by Ken Parks. Combining a suspenseful spy thriller with uproarious comedy, the fast-paced whodunit is filled with action, romance and inventive staging.

LEBENSRAUM opens in present-day Germany as the country's Chancellor, through a spasm of nightmarish guilt over the Holocaust, invites 6 million Jews to come live in Germany with a promise of 'citizenship and full benefits' in the hopes that Germany can finally heal from its dark past. The logical progression of this artfully drawn script raises the terrifying possibility that history may repeat.

It's quite a treat to experience watching a playwright perform in his own work. While at first I was disappointed to be seeing an understudy in the main role, when it turned out it was the playwright Eric Rudnick playing the lead in his own play DAY TRADER at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles on January 18, I was thrilled to be in the audience.

Carly Linehan takes charge of the stage from the moment she flies onstage as Peter Pan, enthralling the audience with her high-spirited portrayal of the boy who refuses to grow up. She made it look terribly easy to fly, sing, and throw fairy dust without a care in the world. With her boyish charm and mannerisms, Linehan truly will have you believing you are watching a young boy in the throes of childhood joy and freedom throughout the ENCORE show at the Warner Brand in San Pedro.