The new comedy musical, Mr. Saturday Night, starring stage and screen legend Billy Crystal, just began previews on Broadway last night, March 29th and will officially open on Wednesday, April 27th.
Having a dream is like running with scissors. Just one false step and the journey, or even your life, can be over. I asked SALVAGE director Damian D. Lewis about his own dream and how much he was willing to do to achieve it. The same theme runs through SALVAGE centering around Harley, a singer-songwriter whose wife is expecting their first child and his journey to deciding what is more important - pursuing his dream or accepting the responsibilities of family life.
There were many highlights in this show, but memorable for me were Clint’s haunting vocal and narrative for “Nature Boy” and Stritch’s wistful rendition of “Somewhere Along The Way.'
Last night on the Wick stage these celebrated entertainers presented their tribute to Nat King Cole titled “Straighten Up and Fly Right” and it was a masterclass in musical expertise and show biz excitement.
Getting on the phone with Albert Poland totally swept me away and into the world we love for a glorious 45 minutes...
This Spotlight focuses on Jon Lawrence Rivera, co-founder of Playwrights' Arena with Steve Tyler in 1992 during the LA Riots. At the time, and for at least two decades, we were the only theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing new works for the stage written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights to be enjoyed by adventurous minds. I first discovered Playwrights' Arena when their 2017 production of Bloodletting was selected to be presented during Center Theatre Group's 2018 Block Party at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.
RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL originally opened Off-Broadway in 1992, created as an over-the-top dark comedy spoof of the films The Bad Seed and All About Eve, and well-known Broadway musicals Gypsy and Annie. Similar to the dark comedy in musicals such as Little Shop of Horrors and Sweeney Todd where characters are murdered and then eaten, RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL centers on 8-year old Tina Denmark, who knows she was born to play the lead in her school's third grade show and will do anything to win the part. And I do mean anything. Now onstage at Theatre Palisades, directed by Alta Abbott who first fell in love with the show during its 1993 West Coast premiere at the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills, I can only say that the over-the-top production sometimes seemed so dark that the comedy became invisible.
The Bodyguard is a new musical based on the smash hit 1992 film! Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer hired to protect superstar Rachel from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don't expect is to fall in love. A breathtakingly romantic thriller, The Bodyguard features a host of irresistible Whitney Houston classics including Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest selling songs of all time - I Will Always Love You.
