Don Grigware - Page 24

Ibsen's Hedda Gabler steeped in 19th century realism has never been presented with more visual splendor than in Antaeus' current production. It is their last in the NoHo space before moving to a new theatre in Glendale in the fall, but that is hardly the reason to see it. It is memorable all by itself for its splendid translation by Andrew Upton (2004) and glorious casts under the sterling direction of Steven Robman. Hedda (Nike Doukas in the Pistols ensemble) lives in a fantasyland, a world of her own creation, one which to her is remarkably perfect and beautiful. The opulent home of her husband professor Jorgen Tesman (JD Cullum) is to her, shabby and boring. She hates it as much as her marriage to him, so she envisions in her own mind how she wishes her life to be, controlling the destiny of those around her, viewing even death in terms of its beauty and ... freedom. Delusional or not, she refuses to give in to the will of others and thus remains the quintessential literary tragedienne of the 19th century.

Grey Gardens/Ahmanson Theatre/July 6 - August 14, 2016 Based on the 1975 documentary of the same name, the story recounts the fall from uppercrust society of mother and daughter Edith Bouvier Beale, eccentric cousins of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who lived in poverty in East Hampton, New York. This is the long-awaited west coast premiere of the Tony winning musical, and it will star Rachel York as 'Little Edie' and Betty Buckley as 'Big Edie'. www.centertheatregroup.org Beautiful - The Carole King Musical/Pantages Theatre/June 22 - July 17, 2

Los Angeles, CA - Acclaimed actresses EGOT winner RITA MORENO, PIPER LAURIE with three Oscar nominations to her name, and JUNE SQUIBB, who received a 2014 Academy Award nomination for her performance in Nebraska, will be part of the 32nd annual Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (STAGE), Sondheim No. 5, taking place on Saturday, June 18th at the beautiful Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.  Performances will be at 2:00pm and 8:00pm and benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Does Abe Burrows' now classic show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying still hold up theme-wise? Well, nepotism will always rear its ugly head and those that climb the corporate ladder will continue ruthlessly to step on those beneath them and on those by their sides as well. So, the answer is partly yes! Judging by Friday's young audience at GCT, who were laughing quite heartily, ... Business is curiously entertaining, even though it belongs to the 60s. More about this later. Directors Danny Michaels and Orlando Alexander have pulled out all the stops to make the production work, and every character actor - just about the entire ensemble - are 'spot on' well cast. Once again GCT does not disappoint.

Actress FELICITY WREN currently stars in the world premiere quirky romantic British comedy BABY OH BABY through June 4 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, Califorini.  Felicity has a Masters Degree in Acting from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London and her Honors Degree from Bretton Hall College. She is proud to have worked extensively in theatre in the UK, been the muse for 4 plays for amazing playwright Glyn Maxwell and a writer /performer with her own comedy sketch show Greedy (London, Edinburgh & NYC).  Recent TV - "Contingency" for New Street Pictures.  Felicity also stars in upcoming comedy feature films, "The Trap" and "The Man You're Not" whilst producing with her LA company: Dangerously Funny Productions. by Steve Peterson

Loesser Known: The Stories and Songs of Frank Loesser premiered at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal Sunday May 22 with lovely singer Heather Lundstedt O'Neill doing the honors. Lundstedt O'Neill has a beautiful, classically trained soprano voice that she utilizes supremely, lending her an awesome range. She also possesses a wonderfully delicious sense of humor that added so very much to this, her first LA cabaret appearance. She sang lesser known as well as hit songs from the Frank Loesser Songbook and told brief stories about his family and career....but concentrated more on the singing. Joining her were The Beverly Belles, friends Tiffany and Leah for one song and also guest star Jonathan Hawkins who performed one duet with Lundstedt. Sensational musical director John Boswell was at the piano and Randy Landas on bass throughout the 75 minute set. 

On Thursday May 19 consummate singer Pat Whiteman presented An Evening of Pat Whiteman & Grammy nominated songwriter Harriet Schock at the E Spot Lounge at Vitello's in Studio City to a sold-out house of arduous music lovers. Although not as well known as the others, Harriet Schock has been compared to Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon. Her pop songs are that good, for example 'Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady' which gave Helen Reddy a great big hit back in the 70s. Who better to interpret her incisive emotional messages than virtuoso Pat Whiteman? The evening was a divine songfest of original material with a 6-piece band, including Schock at the piano and electronic keyboard, and two backup singers. There were also special guests: Gary Lynn Floyd, who has an uber expressive singing style perfect for Schock's music...and movie composer Misha Segal who co-wrote the gorgeous 'First Time on a Ferris Wheel' with Schock.

What a lovely surprise! I know that Bruce Kimmel is quite the clever gentleman and would not expect anything less than superlative work from his camp, but stepping down to the college campus level to review is not something that I particularly savor. These actors, with the exception of Robert Yacko and April Audia, are students, not yet professional performers as such. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed, not by the singing, but at least by the acting and overall drive and energy of the performers who delivered a mightily informative, nostalgic and fun show. It's called L.A. Now and Then, and it's a revue with songs and monologues that take a glance back at Los Angeles through the years and compare past with present cultural values. Kimmel as director maintains a great pace throughout: no lags; the show moves!

The great musician Corky Hale needs no introduction. She and her husband composer Mike Stoller have worked with everyone in the music business including Sinatra and Steisand. She is currently producing a revue entitled I Only Have Eyes For You about the music of Al Dubin. It will open at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre Friday May 13. In our chat Hale talks about the show, Dubin and about her incomparable show business life.

For many, Tennessee Williams' first play The Glass Menagerie remains his finest. Semi-autobiographical, the play takes place in St. Louis during the Depression and depicts the relationships between a restless alcoholic/shoe factory worker/wannabe writer, his overbearing mother and his psychologically deficient sister - all of which stems from Williams' actual background. Williams finds his voice in Tom. (Christian Durso)

My association with Scott Dreier dates back to a cabaret for his first album named aptly Scott Dreier.  I was exceedingly impressed with his fine voice, boyish charm and affability.Then followed his show Doris and Me, which I reviewed once in Escondido and later in Los Angeles. The show about Doris Day and his love for her went beyond what I would call an ordinary cabaret presentation. He literally blew me away. It is really two shows in one: a biography of Doris's career told through the songs she made famous and then a semi-biography of Dreier, who grew up from a young age loving Doris Day, her songs, and her movies. It is the second show that makes it all work so beautifully, because, as fans of Doris Day, we see and appreciate the effects that her persona has had on all of us. As an individual Scott Dreier is expressing what we all feel, that intense love and admiration for one of the greatest screen legends of all time.

Ashley Argota , whose credits include The Fosters; True Jackson, VP; Lab Rats and Michael Viruet (pictured) , boasting Pitch Perfect and Hunkappella, are set to star in a hyper-styled new musical entitled Hipster Sweatshop. Argota and Viruet play love interests from opposite sides of the track in this musical set in downtown LA's hottest jewelry boutique. Viruet, who plays the sexy delivery guy Jesus for whom Argota's Siri falls hard, says that Hipster Sweatshop is "a fun concept with some great characters. Its duets will blow your socks off!"

Playwright John Pielmeier's Agnes of God, written in 1982, was based upon a real life police case of a novice nun in Boston, accused of murdering her baby. Coyote StageWorks just closed a stellar 10 performance only run of the play at the Annenberg Theatre in Palm Springs. Under the direction of veteran actor/director Don Amendolia, Agnes of God proved itself as topical today as it did in the 80s, and Broadway is ripe for a revival.

Once in a great while an extraordinary performer comes along, one that not only moves us, but also affects meteoric changes within our culture. Peter Allen, born Peter Woolnough in 1944 in Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia and who died young in 1992, was one such mega-talented singer/dancer/musical composer, who appealed to a wide audience.Not at first, mind you; it took a few years in the 60s for him to realize his bisexuality and to understand who he was.

On Thursday April 21, Prime Time Players presented their second of three Magical Musical Matinees at the Whitefire Theatre. It was a delightful show full of talented people 60 years young or older. There was dancing, singing and comedy all wrapped up with a pink bow in the name of Jackie Goldberg, the Pink Lady. Goldberg stands for Senior Star Power 'Get Up, Get Out and Get a Life!' The talent in this show are prime examples of people who are still vital and full of performing glee.

Playwright Phil Olson, who is best known for his outrageous Don't Hug Me musical comedies, is taking a look at a typical American family on Thanksgiving Day in A Nice Family Gathering, currently onstage in the black box theatre of Group rep in Noho through May 29.

Wham! Pow! Boom! Up and away, it's Superman! Growing up in the 50s I couldn't wait for the next weekly adventure-filled installment of Supie and Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and the Daily Planet on the small television screen. It was thrilling to see a man go into a telephone booth and change from street clothes into tights - even if they were baggy - and fly off - imagine! - to save the world from crime and destruction. It didn't matter that it was pure fantasy and that he he was only a comic book hero. Superman brought lots of excitement into our young lives. In 1966, the same musical composers who wrote the successful Broadway hit Bye Bye Birdie, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, penned It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman! The New Musical Comedy and in spite of the great reviews, it did not catch on with the public, so quickly fizzled. Now 50 years later, what a camp to look back and laugh at all the silliness and innocence of that era, for the Superman musical is loaded with clumsy, goofy, campy laughs. Now onstage in a rare revival ... It's Superman receives a terrifically entertaining production at the Grove Theatre in Upland.

The longest running musical in the world The Fantasticks is always at its best when produced and performed with simplicity. When I first saw it in New York in the 60s, it was performed in a cabaret space against a brick wall, with the suspension of a paper moon above. You can't get much simpler than that. In their revival Crown City Theatre keep it simple with minimal blocking from director Lisaun Whittingham and boasting a fine cast...

Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks has the uncanny ability to get under your skin and really make you feel the turmoil and misery of the black soul. In her latest play, now onstage at the Mark Taper Forum through May 15 entitled Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3), Parks takes the audience back to 1862 and the slave involvement in the Civil War starting with the anticipation and fear of going off to war, then witnessing the horrors of the actual war itself, and the aftermath for returning soldiers and their families. Under the sturdy hand of director Jo Bonney, the cast is amazing... and the play is mostly fascinating to watch, mainly because Parks' style does not repeat itself from part to part.

Local Playwright Willard Manus' Joe & Marilyn: A Love Story, a new play about the troubled relationship between baseball great Joe DiMaggio and Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, debuts this Saturday, April 23rd at 8:00 pm, runs April 23 - May 22, produced by John Lant and Anne Mesa, directed by T.J. Castronovo and starring Rico Simonini and Emily Alicia Low, produced by Write Act Rep@TheBrickhouse Theatre in North Hollywood. The play was developed at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit (West Coast), where Manus and Castronovo are fellow-members. He shared with us a bit about the play and quite a bit about his life.