Don Grigware - Page 23

Well-known TV personality and show host Mario Lopez returns to the stage as Zach in A Chorus Line at the Hollywood Bowl at the end of this week. In our chat he talks about doing the role on Broadway in 2008...and  the challenges of performing onstage.

One thing you may be sure of in attending a Jeanne Page concert: you will have a good time. The lady is a dynamic singer, giving it everything she's got and really enjoys doing it. She has such fun

Evenings of short one-acts are the rage at Equity-waiver theatres! In the black box theatre upstairs at Group rep you you are invited to come see Nine Winning One-Acts, plays that stretch a mere ten-fifteen minutes in length. The mini plays were chosen from over 160 entries from across the United States and written by various unknown playwrights. The evening is divided into two acts with five plays comprising Act One and four in Act Two. There is no single theme running through them, so if I had to describe the conflicts ...why ... life, death, dating, marriage, love, gay relationships, infidelity, euthanasia...and even cat abuse, though mild, thrown into the fray. The evening is Group rep's way of utilizing more company actors and directors, many of whom work less on the theatre mainstage, and for the most part, it's pleasantly stimulating and entertaining fare.

Actor Randy Harrison is touring with Cabaret as the Emcee and will be at the Pantages performing the show July 19 - August 7. In our chat he discusses the role and what Cabaret means to him. Describe the experience of playing the emcee in Cabaret. What makes this role such a coveted one?

Perhaps Kander and Ebb's best musical, apart from Chicago, Cabaret has it all: a fine book, deliciously diverse characters, dynamite music and a subtext that will not quit. The subtext being: either compromise or get out if you value your life, the latter, to be sure, the wiser. This is Berlin, circa 1929/30, before Hitler, just as Nazi pressure hits the fan. Now a national tour based on Roundabout Theatre's 2013 revival docks at the Pantages for a mere 3 weeks with a glorious cast headed by Randy Harrison in a big, broad and devilishly fun performance as the Emcee.

The name of the game in show biz is never to settle for greatness, but rather to go that extra mile and make it better. Such is the case with Recorded in Hollywood. In its transferal from a smaller Hollywood space to the Kirk Douglas Theatre,  the show provides a book by Matt Donnelly and Jamelle Dolphin that opens up even more than before to tell the true story of record producer John Dolphin. The story takes place from 1948 to 1958 in South Central, Los Angeles, when blacks were arrested for the slightest infractions of the law. Since I did not see the initial production, I am basing my opinions on this newer version. It is slick, a very slick show with a dynamic, triple threat ensemble headed by Stu James, directed superbly by Denise Dowse and choreographed to the max by Cassie Crump. The bad feature is that it only runs through August 7.

Watching Cabrillo Music Theatre's The Little Mermaid on the Fred Kavli stage is an enjoyable treat, almost like viewing the Disney film ... it's so alive and scintillating. All the color and splendor of the ocean is onstage, and that has a lot to say about this production's creative team. All the technical aspects of the show are working smoothly, in sync. Cabrillo may be assuredly proud of their production. The sad thing is it only plays a week more, until Sunday July 24.

True-to-life eccentrics tend to make the most riveting dramatic/comedic characters. In 1975 Albert and David Maysles produced an award-winning documentary called Grey Gardens about Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (Big Edie) and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (Little Edie), aunt and cousin respectively of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The film was eventually rated among the top 10 greatest documentaries of all time, and provided the basis for a the musical of the same name, produced off and on Broadway in 2006. The musical, with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie, shows the socialite family in its heyday in East Hampton, New York in Act One. Act Two is their demise into total poverty. The estate inhabited by the reclusive mother and daughter combo was condemned by the board of health, and the two women gained notoriety for their delusional, certifiable behavior. Now at the Ahmanson through August 14, Grey Gardens explores the fiercely fiery relationship between the two Edies, offering Betty Buckley (older Big Edie) and Rachel York (younger Big Edie/Little Edie) their most cherished roles to date.

Not in the least hard to fathom that the Dreamgirls' 35th anniversary concert presented under the auspices of Chris Isaacson Presents Broadway Under the Stars was a sellout. With Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine and Jennifer Holliday all headlining, who would not want to be there to marvel at the ageless talent of these amazing Broadway superstars? Directed by Iona Morris, choreographed by Lee Martino and musically directed by Kenneth Crouch, the evening also featured a bevy of other singing and dancing talents such as Frenchie Davis, Matt Zarley and a special fun appearance by Mary Wilson.

Based on a 1980s film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is terribly silly and much of the dialogue & lyrics imbued with an overabundance of sexual innuendos, but that's AOK, as this is not Stephen Sondheim, but a jazzy, feel good, laugh out loud type of show. As many times as I've seen it, I always fall directly into the trap...like most audience I'm hooked, especially if the two male leads are properly cast. In this new production at MTW, Davis Gaines plays Lawrence Jamison, the king of cons, and could not be more perfect. At his side is Benjamin Schrader as Freddy Benson, the rubber-faced comedic schmuck who pleads with Jamison to take him on and teach him the ropes, the tricks of the trade. These two head up a glorious cast under the uber skilled direction'choreography of Billy Sprague Jr., and what results is a triumphant hit for MTW... through July 24 only.

Talk about quirkiness and how it makes a musical rock! The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is terribly funny in a smart, slick, offbeat manner with prize worthy characterizations of lively eclectic people.It may be a tad long like the actual spelling out of words (that are not to be believed!)yet the exaggeration and contestants' varied reactions give rise to some great comic moments...and I love the audience involvement! Some of the contestants are picked from the audience and their ad-libs lend one.of.a.kind hilarity. The unpredictability in denouement is another big plus in the overall enjoyment of the show. It's like a real contest. Who will win is anybody's guess!

Singers, dancers, actors, models and instrumentalists will compete at the 20th Annual World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) July 8 - 17, 2016 in Long Beach, California. This international meet is often cited as the official 'Talent Olympics' for performers and is the only event of its kind!

GMCLA never disappoints. Their summer concert Oye Mi Canto, which took place at the Alex Theatre Saturday June 25 and Sunday June 26 featured the small Gay Men's Chorus of Cuba Mano a Mano whose singing skill and artistry blew the roof off the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Combined with GMCLA, the Latin sounds were rhythmic to the point of heart-pounding and oh so moving in every way. This is the first time the five men chorus have performed outside of Cuba on tour, and their very presence with GMCLA shows the mission of Gay Men's Choruses everywhere to come together in unity to champion the causes of gay men worldwide, especially in light of the horrific Orlando, Florida massacre two weeks ago. It's hard to beat Latino rhythms. They pull you in and make you move and groove to the

We sat down with Jamelle Dolphin and Lou Spisto, producers of the returning RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD as they prepare for the upcoming run at the Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City. Both men talk about going deeper into John Dolphin's character and adding new material to create the perfect show, which begins previews July 8.

In the opening scene of the jukebox musical Beautiful, Carole King (Abby Mueller) is seated at the piano in concert at Carnegie Hall and is describing to the audience how life takes a turn and what results is unexpected...and beautiful. In this Tony-winning show Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, we are taken through the musical history of the 60s when Carole King published music with her then husband Gerry Goffin (Liam Tobin). We see the Shirelles, the Drifters, the Righteous Brothers, for whom King and Goffin wrote tremendous hits like 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow', 'The Locomotion' and 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'. We also see the harsh personal life that King suffered due to Goffin's drinking, infidelity and mental illness. Life was successful yet painful and eventually the pair parted, with the Brooklyn-born King going on to establish herself in LA in a whole new light with 'It's Too Late', 'You've Got a Friend', 'So Far Away' as well as 'Beautiful'. Now onstage at the Pantages Beautiful is bound to please every fan of the 60s era of rock 'n roll music and bring an uplifting spark of encouragement to live out your dream.

Playwright Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer-Prize winning Disgraced is at the core a portrait of an American born  Muslim Amir Kapoor (Hari Dhillon) and a treatise on Islamophobia, but it is first and foremost an entertainment, and as such, its big ideas take less priority. In structure and excitement somewhat like Donald Margulies' Dinner with Friends and Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, the play is humorous on the surface, but underneath... like a time-bomb set to explode. It consistently builds and builds to an unexpected climax. Now onstage at the Mark Taper Forum through July 17, Disgraced is a real audience-grabber with a dynamite cast under the superb direction of Kimberly Senior.

If you have never seen a production of the Impro Theatre Company, be aware that the play you see is one-time only. With the suggestion from an audience member at the top of the name of an heirloom, the actors take it, title the play, and then create the characters and the play totally from scratch. Everything that happens is spontaneous and will never be repeated in another performance. It makes me question what the job of the director, in this case member Brian Lohmann, actually is?

Dancer Jeannine Jackson is performing with Gloria Angeles and four other ladies in The Marge Patka Summer Spectacular 2016 on Saturday June 25 at 2 pm at Reseda High School. In our chat, she talks about the show, her past career achievements, her plans for the future and her overall joy of being in show business.

Gus Krieger is a Los Angeles based writer-director-producer of stage and screen.  As writer-producer: "The Killing Room" (2009). Writer-director: "Ol' Stan Levid" (2007), "The Binding" (2016). Producer: "Would You Rather" (2012), "Fender Bender" (2016). As playwright: Deity Clutch (2011), Sherlock Through The Looking-Glass (2013), and Breaking Bard (2015), which took home the Spirit of the Fringe Award for Best Writing, out of 200+ shows. Written by Steve Peterson

Gloria Angeles became a Zumba instructor for LA Fitness approximately two and a half years ago. Through the years she has also been involved in salsa dancing and competitions. ' I had been taking tap at the Marge Patka dance studio and performed in many of her shows and had wanted to be involved in more than just tap numbers. I got my opportunity in the summer show The Marge Patka Summer Spectacular 2015.'