Shari Barrett - Page 21

The need for personal isolation during 2020 appears to have led to a plethora of solo shows being developed and performed online and in person in which performers create mostly autobiographical tales meant to unify their own experience with the rest of us. So when I heard about Rachel Parker's world premiere of her darkly funny, moving The Wolfe & The Bird premiering at the Matrix Theatre on September 18, I decided to ask her about its development as well as the many characters which play a part in her story via voiceover artists.

Meet the Kentwood Players cast of Christopher Durang's hilarious comedy VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, opening at the newly refurbished Westchester Playhouse on Friday, September 17 to Sunday, October 10. The cast features (from left) Isabella Petrini (Nina), Chris Morrison (Vanya), Valerie Sullivan (Sonia), Jeff Dewitt (Spike), Sarilee Kahn (Masha), Giovanni Navarro (Spike) and Susan Stangl (Cassandra). .Photo by Shari Barrett

Audition submissions for the Kentwood Players production of ALL TOGETHER NOW! will open on Tuesday, September 28-Thursday, September 30, 2021. Auditions are open to all ethnicities, genders and ages (over 18) and must be submitted digitally and should include one uptempo song and one ballad from the Broadway theatre repertoire. Please include your resume and photo. Auditions should be submitted to weisbarthsusan@gmail.com 

In the 50s and 60s during the Cold War nuclear panic, mathematician Tom Lehrer became an international comedy sensation as he sang twisted tunes that satirized war, pornography, race, kink, death, religion, the environment, education and politics. I've been a fan of Lehrer's creative musical musings for many years. So I decided to chat with comedian and actor Allan Murray who tickles the ivories and brings Lehrer and his acid-tinged ditties to life during this year's Hollywood Fringe Festival in his World Premiere of THE LAYERS OF TOM LEHRER.

During the past year's shutdown, Kentwood Players has been diligently working on significant repairs, renovations, and upgrades to the Westchester Playhouse. And now, Kentwood Players, one of the longest continuously operating Los Angeles theater groups, is pleased to announce the re-opening of VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, a comedy by Christopher Durang, on Friday, September 17 and continuing through Sunday, October 10, 2021 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00pm.

I first discovered the Dollface Dames troupe of high-class, Burlesque entertainers in 2017 and have enjoyed their show-stopping style of entertainment at several venues around town since then. But 2020 brought on major changes for all in-person entertainment, so how have the Dollface Dames been keeping their unique brand of Burlesque available to audiences during the shutdown and what's next for them? To find out, I spoke with Lola Boutée who founded the group in 2008.

Torrance Theatre Company presents NUNSENSE: THE MEGA-MUSICAL with music, lyrics, and book by Dan Goggin. The musical runs for two weekends August 13-21 at the James Armstrong Theater, 3330 Civic Center Drive in Torrance, 90503. Join the Little Sisters of Hoboken as they try to raise some much needed funds for the convent by presenting a 'talent' show. Catchy tunes, tap-dancing nuns, a wise-cracking puppet, and some of the funniest sisters you've ever seen guarantee a great night at the theatre for everyone!

Kentwood Players latest Virtual Theater Series production, CASTLES IN THE ZOOM by John Mabey, directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, premieres on Sunday, July 25 at 8pm and will stream through Sunday, August 22. Jami Bartlett as Jordan and Shawn 'Lefty' Plunkett as Avery are featured in this funny and touching account of two people who meet at a surprise birthday party on Zoom. The only problem is they are the only ones invited!

​Director Caitlin Lopez, the Associate Artistic Director of Ophelia's Jump Productions (OJP) who also serves as Improv Director for the company elaborates, 'Twelfth Night tells the story of Viola who has washed up on the shores of the vibrant and uninhibited Illyria after a shipwreck. In this modern queer fairytale, she and a cast of colorful characters all must discover what it means to truly love and embrace their heart's desires.' I decided to speak with Caitlin about both her directing and appearing in the production, as well as her background with the history of OJP.  ​

After the Brazilian, Afro-European and North American montages of the digital play “The Art of Facing Fear” in 2020, the company Os Satyros is premiering The World United version in June/July 2021, presented live with actors from Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Korea, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA and Venezuela, who will each perform from their homes, directed by Rodolfo García Vázquez, director of Brazilian company.

Ever wonder what it's like to be blind? Find out on Thursday, July 29, at 8PM when you join an online/virtual performance, 'Private Eyes: A Blind Experience,' an unforgettable event in which audience members become detectives who must use their senses to help solve a mystery case - all while blindfolded! This hour-long interactive audio drama will be performed entirely by blind actors from ArtsUp! LA's nationally recognized program, Theatre By The Blind.

Are you ready to get back onstage in front of a live, indoor audience at the newly renovated Westchester Playhouse?  Kentwood Players is casting the role of CASSANDRA in Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directed by Susan Stangl and produced by Alison Boole and Myron Klafter. Now is your chance to join in the fun!

It's been quite a year and our new Board of Directors looks forward to an exciting 2021-22 Season with our continuing YouTube Channel programming including KP Live Interviews, Special Events and our Virtual Theater Series. And most importantly, the re-launch of our home theater, THE WESTCHESTER PLAYHOUSE, this Fall.

With live theatre slowly returning to Los Angeles, Theatre Palisades veteran director Sherman Wayne is presenting 'When Shakespeare's Ladies Meet' by Charles George, which was safely recorded live on April 24th on the Theatre Palisades stage. The one-act 30-minute play is now streaming on the Broadway on Demand platform June 1 through June 5. And the group's Youth Theatre Program is presenting 'Disney's Aladdin Jr.' this summer.

During the past year's pandemic shutdown, Kentwood Players has been working on very necessary upgrades to their home, the Westchester Playhouse, so that when the time is right to reopen it will be totally up-to-date and compliant with all necessary safety protocols to ensure the enjoyment of live indoor theatre again! To assist in raising funds for the ongoing and much-needed major renovations, the public is invited to attend A NIGHT WITH GILBERT & SULLIVAN, a very special online benefit event of music and entertainment written by the Kings of Patter, presented on the Kentwood Players You Tube channel on Friday, May 28 at 7pm at youtube.com/kentwoodplayers

Here is my interview with Gloria Gifford about presenting LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS live-streamed online as well as her Gloria Gifford Conservatory and how she is managing to keep her students active during the past year.

I have been following talented writer/director Michael Leoni who so brilliantly tells stories about young people struggling to find their place in the world from his World Premiere play FAMOUS at the 11:11 Experience in WeHo (now his next film in post-production), to his first film AMERICAN STREET KID, and now WHEN TODAY ENDS. Here are some thoughts he shared about the creation of his latest film.

How a director envisions a production makes all the difference in its prestation to an audience, starting with casting and continuing through rehearsals and all technical aspects of the show. I spoke with Branda Lock on bringing her vivid imagination and directing skills to George Bernard Show’s PYGMALION, filled with unique Lock-inspired changes to the casting which promise to shed new light on this classic tale of class struggles in Shaw’s time.

Antaeus Theatre Company highlights the culture and history of six additional Los Angeles neighborhoods with Season Two of its popular 'The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles' podcast series, set to launch May 20. Here are my interviews with the four female directors who discuss their own personal histories within the Zip Code Plays they direct. (Gigi Bermingham, Jennifer Chang, Saundra McClain, and Bernadette Speakes)

A BINTEL BRIEF, comprised of a selection of sixty years of letters from the lower East Side of New York to The Jewish Daily Forward, a popular local paper among the Yiddish speaking immigrants, is being presented online by Pacific Resident Theatre, I wanted to find out more about how the production was conceived, directed and produced to find out if anyone on the team also shares a family story similar to mine. Here is what producer Marilyn Fox shared with me.