David Friedman News

When you lose most of your digestive system, what more is there to fear?

UCSB's LAUNCH PAD program was featured in the March 2013 issue of American Theatre magazine as an innovative model of new play development in the US. While professional theatres are not always able to take a risk on producing new work, the university offers a playwright the chance to see the play produced in a safe environment with students who are deeply engaged and hungry to learn how this process works. Since its inception in 2005, the department has developed and produced 9 plays with the playwright in residence.

Singer and Actress Jane Kinsey's hit one-woman musical cabaret show "The Kinsey Report: The Doctor Is In" will make it's desert debut at the Arthur Newman Theater at The Joslyn Center in Palm Desert at 2 PM for one performance on Sunday, June 29, 2014. "This show, which highlights the neuroses of various patients through an eclectic mix of songs along with some very clever patter, has been playing to sold out audiences throughout the Los Angeles area with glowing reviews", says Les Michaels who has known Ms. Kinsey and been a fan of her work for over 10 years, and produces this series of cabaret shows currently in it's 5th season.

If you are even a semi-regular reader of this column of reviews, you know that about every three or four months, I post a compilation of observations of shows from the previous quarter of the year. This cabaret critiquing mash up happens for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I admittedly see too many cabaret shows for the amount of time I have to promptly review them (and then, of course, the usual writer's procrastination sets in). So I have to prioritize the timeliness of the reviews based on the prestige of the performer, the length of a show run, the strength (or lack thereof) of the performance, etc. The quality of the shows in these compilations—which can range from a half dozen to a dozen reviews in one shot—are usually a mixed bag of outright raves, qualified positives, and constructive pans (I'm not a fan of the word “negative” in the reviewer lexicon). With that in mind here are a collection of cabaret show reviews going back to the start of a very harsh winter.

It took Lucie Arnaz her entire professional life to get booked for a solo nightclub/cabaret show at the Cafe Carlyle. It turned out to be worth the wait-for herself and her audiences-and her weeklong run at the stylish club (that began on April 13 and ends with shows tonight at 8:45 and 10:45) would no doubt have made her famous parents--Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz--beam with pride. Lucy might have erupted into a joyful crying jag, while Desi would have kvelled in his signature rapid-fired Spanish because when it comes to her performance on a cabaret stage, Lucie Arnaz doesn't 'got some 'splaining to do.'

As the daughter of one of show business' most prominent couples, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, Emmy Award-winning singer/actress Lucie Arnaz has forged a distinct career of her own. She has had starring roles on Broadway, television and film, and has won awards including an Emmy, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. She brings her new show, Spring is Here, to The Carlyle for a limited five-night engagement, through April 19.

As the daughter of one of show business' most prominent couples, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, Emmy Award-winning singer/actress Lucie Arnaz has forged a distinct career of her own. She has had starring roles on Broadway, television and film, and has won awards including an Emmy, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. She brings her new show, Spring is Here, to The Carlyle for a limited five-night engagement, tonight, April 15 through 19.

Stamford's Palace Theatre has awarded the 2014 Emerging Young Artist scholarships to deserving Fairfield County high school students. And for the first time, The Palace has given four awards: a $2,000 Grand Prize, a $500 Second Prize, a $250 Third Prize, and a new $150 Promising Young Artist award. This year's Grand Prize winner is Greenwich High School's Anna Black, the Second Prize winner is Darien High School's Alison Lui, the Third Prize winner is Fairfield Warde High School's Connor Levinson, and the Promising Young Artist is Ethan Riordan of Stamford.

As the daughter of one of show business' most prominent couples, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, Emmy Award-winning singer/actress Lucie Arnaz has forged a distinct career of her own. She has had starring roles on Broadway, television and film, and has won awards including an Emmy, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. She brings her new show, Spring is Here, to The Carlyle for a limited five-night engagement, April 15 through 19.

Broadway Theatre Project (BTP) will feature a slate of prolific performers, directors, choreographers, composers, casting agents and other professionals from Broadway and Hollywood as part of the Project's roster of Teaching Faculty for its 2014 session, as announced today by the BTP's Artistic Directors Debra McWaters and Darren Gibson.

Show Palace Entertainment presents La Cage Aux Folles, running tonight, March 13 through April 20, 2014.

NiCori Studios and Productions presents Shows Ta Go Ya! & Other Songs of Bobbie Horowitz will be at Stage 72 at the Triad on Sunday, March 30 and April 13 at 4pm.

Show Palace Entertainment presents La Cage Aux Folles, running March 13 through April 20, 2014.

For the first DG Conservatory of the new year, the Dramatists Guild is thrilled to team up with the writers who created Behind the Music-al, Kyle Ewalt and Michael Ian Walker, today, February 11, 2014, at 6:00 p.m.

Today we are talking to a legendary leading lady famous for a few of the most iconic roles in some of the most memorable musicals of the 1980s and 1990s as well as a versatile vocalist and concert performer set to make her cabaret debut later this month - the ingratiating and amusing Randy Graff. Looking back at originating the role of Fantine in the original Broadway production of mega-hit mega musical LES MISERABLES and singing the unforgettable 'I Dreamed A Dream' eight times a week (and on the best-selling cast recording) as well as recounting her Tony Award-winning work in the endlessly entertaining Cy Coleman/David Zippel musical comedy CITY OF ANGELS, Graff share stories from behind the scenes and gives us a rare look at theatrical history in the making and her elemental role in both productions. Additionally, Graff opens up about some of her other most fondly remembered work, including her fantastic turn in Ed Kleban's A CLASS ACT, William Finn's FALSETTOS, Cole Porter's HIGH SOCIETY, the stage play and documentary MOON OVER BUFFALO co-starring Carol Burnett, the most recent revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and much more. Most importantly, Graff generously outlines what we can expect from her upcoming solo shows at NYC hotspot 54 Below titled MADE IN BROOKLYN, in what will actually be the stalwart star's solo show premiere. In addition to all of that, Graff also touches upon some of her big screen and small screen work, ranging from LAW & ORDER to RENT, as well as recounts some theatrical tales involving theatre greats such as Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, John Simon and more. All of that and much, much more awaits in this rich resume recounting retrospective with one of Broadway's best!

For the first DG Conservatory of the new year, the Dramatists Guild is thrilled to team up with the writers who created Behind the Music-al, Kyle Ewalt and Michael Ian Walker, on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Dramatists Guild's New York office, in the Frederick Loewe Room, 1501 Broadway (between 43rd and 44th Streets), Suite 710. This free seminar is opening a limited number of seats to the public and reservations are required.

Rachel Frederickson, a 24-year-old voice-over artist from Los Angeles, CA, became 'The Biggest Loser' and won $250,000 in last night's live season 15 finale on NBC.

Therefore, Bob O'Hare's Recovery at Don't Tell Mama on the evening of November 17th may well be one of the greatest surprises beheld in many a moon....It's not simply the fact that O'Hare's truly-lovely voice emerges as never over-coached and with a really terrific natural sound. It's not simply that he's made truly impeccable choices in terms of material, both for not being terribly precocious but also very carefully selected. It is, in point of fact, that this really is what an act is supposed to represent both as what cabaret was in its heyday and what the art form is supposed to be from this point on....The evening's first true high-point rears its head with 'One Step' by Malby and Shire, featuring a spectacular patter sequence, followed shortly thereafter by 'Journey to the Past' by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Award-winning director Eric Michael Gillett once again proves himself as a master of the genre here...O'Hare emerges as triumphant at every turn. The guy has very simply been through hell and back, and it never shows. He couldn't be more quick with a smile or generosity of spirit, and it's truly one of the feel-good evenings of this or any other of the several last cabaret seasons. Should Bob O'Hare and Recovery return, please visit the process. It couldn't possibly be more worth visiting.' - Andrew Martin, NiteLifeExchange

Season 15 of “The Biggest Loser: Second Chances” comes to an exciting close as the 15 contestants reunite to show off their amazing transformations, and the winner is revealed in the must-see live finale airing Tuesday, February 4

Kirby Rosplock, PhD has set out to demystify the information that surrounds ultra-high-net worth (UHNW) individuals and the family office, a dedicated business to manage an individual's or family's wealth, with the first holistic guide written for families and their advisors. A well-regarded, research expert in family office and family wealth matters with numerous published studies on the subject, Dr. Rosplock has gathered, culled and distilled research from a multitude of sources. The 432-page book, The Complete Family Office Handbook/ A Guide for Affluent Families and the Advisors Who Serve Them(ISBN: 978-1-118-36730-8) will be released by Wiley/Bloomberg on January 28, 2014.