Don Grigware - Page 36

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 1930, before Hitler, but just as Nazi pressure hits the fan. Crown City Theatre's new revival production, with a small ensemble of 11, has a completely new look with slick direction from Gary Lamb.

With the arrival of a two-disc studio recording of the complete Kander & Ebb score of And The World Goes Round from Kritzerland Records, there's reason to shout and sing out loud.Starring powerhouse vocalists Brent Barrett, Jason Graae, Christiane Noll, Kristin Towers-Rowles, Kyra DaCosta and musical director Joshua Eli Kranz, the discs offer more than two hours of simply sensational music.

Singer Jane Monheit will appear October 19 at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills singing the jazz of Judy Garland. Her latest CD - there are 9 - is called the heart of the matter (cover pictured above). Since high school, she has been dazzling audiences world-wide with her beautiful multi-ranged voice. For a young singer to concentrate on jazz and the classics is in itself quite extraordinary in this day and age. Monheit graduated with a BA from the Manhattan School of Music winning many prizes and is a two-time Grammy nominee. She is married to drummer Rick Montalbano Jr. and has one little boy.

A new play by award-winning playwright Luke Yankee will receive its world premiere at UC-Irvine this November. The Last Lifeboat is the untold story of J. Bruce Ismay, the owner of the White Star Line at the time of the sinking of the Titanic, whose decision to save himself rather than go down with the ship made him the scapegoat for one of the greatest disasters of all time. An ensemble cast playing multiple roles tells this epic tale which explores not only the tragedy itself, but the sensationalized trials and aftermath of the night that changed the world forever. The production will be directed and produced by Don Hill, Vice Chair of the UCI Drama Department.

Jersey Boys, called a jukebox musical, is an uber well-structured, Tony Award-winning show presented in a documentary-like format. It tells the true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, retaining most of their original musical hits. There are lots of laughs, great rock and roll music and a realistic look at how the group got started in 1963, the difficulties they faced in staying together, their eventual breakup and ultimate survival. Director Clint Eastwood kept pretty close to the book of the show in his recent film adaptation, and the musical score, generated by its lead actors along with some tracks of the real Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is dynamite. The show has played world wide and now returns on tour to the Pantages for 3 weeks only. Judging by its reception opening night, Jersey Boys keeps on captivating its audiences, young and old. This cast under the original direction of Des McAnuff is every bit as supreme as the original including the first national tour.

Phil Olson grew up in Edina, Minnesota, home of the first indoor mall. After graduating from Dartmouth, and with a strong sports background, Phil tried out for the Chicago Bears. After his 'summer with the Bears,' he went on to receive an MBA from The University of Chicago and pursued a business career while writing plays and screenplays. Phil lives in LA where he writes and produces plays.

In his timeless and invigorating script The Trip to Bountiful Horton Foote engages our attention with his keen appraisal that 'The world can't be bought'. Believing the best things in life are free - well, almost..., elderly Carrie Watts (Cicely Tyson), in her Tony-winning role, proves just how healing a return to one's roots, however brief, may be. This Broadway revival directed by Michael Wilson also stars Vanessa Williams from the original New York production and Blair Underwood replacing Cuba Gooding Jr. It's a stellar cast, achieving a truly beautiful representation of Foote's infreqeuntly seen work.

Tarell Alvin McCraney quite ingeniously explores the inner workings of a contemporary posh big city prep school by pitting five underclassmen against each other as they attempt to find unison in the school's choir. Nothing has changed in the course of the school's longevity; problems that once were a priority, still are. Choir Boy is dexterously directed by Trip Cullman and has a near to perfect acting/singing ensemble, now at the Geffen through October 26 only.

Actor Randy Harrison, best known for playing Justin Taylor in Showtime's Queer as Folk (2000-2005) is rehearsing Amadeus Mozart for the play Amadeus to bow in Santa Barbara at the Ensemble Theatre on October 11. In our chat he talks about the play, his role, his tastes in music, as well as a bit about Queer as Folk. What was life like, briefly, during Queer As Folk? Did you know at first that this show was unique and groundbreaking? You guys had so many fans. I know because I interviewed Gale Harold when he did Orpheus Descending a few years ago, and the fan response to the interview was incredible. I had comments from all over the world.

Renowned author/biographer James Spada, who has penned best-selling books on Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis and Peter Lawford, to name a few, has a new coffee table book which will hit the book stands mid October, entitled Streisand in the Camera Eye. I have seen an advanced copy, and it is simply beautiful...'Hello, gorgeous!' Barbra would say as Fanny Brice. Fans of Barbra will adore this one and even if you are merely fond of her work, like me, you will be blown away by the beauty of these rarely seen photographs accompanied by short descriptions of the time and place by Spada. It's a real page turner, and each photograph is more eye-catching, more vivid than the last.

I revert to childhood when I see a Mel Brooks movie or show. The sillier the better: the sight gags, the double entendres, the more the merrier. The New Mel Brooks Musical, Young Frankenstein is a real rip-roaring hoot of a show from start to finish as produced by DOMA with a great cast and zippy fast-paced direction and fine staging from Marco Gomez.

Nothing like an idyllic family portrait (at left): father Martin (Paul Witten), mother Stevie (Ann Noble), son Billy (Spencer Morrissey) and close family friend Ross (Matt Kirkwood). They are what one might call perfect. They have everything and adore one another. Martin is a prize-winning architect, Stevie is his loyal, devoted mate, Billy, although a teenager and gay, is a good kid, who is encouraged by his parents to be who he is and to embrace it. Ross, a TV interviewer, is about to interview Martin about his recent award and turning 50, when the taping is botched by Martin's sudden inability to remember anything or to put a few words together intelligibly. He has a problem and who should he turn to but his best friend Ross. When Martin confides that he is having an 'affair' of sorts, Ross is shocked not only by the fact that Martin has always been completely faithful to Stevie, but by the new object of his affection. Martin is in love with a goat named Sylvia.

Monty Python'sSpamalot/book & lyrics by Eric Idle/music by John Du Prez & Eric Idle/directed by Chuck Ketter/Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Claremont/through October 19

Amy Herzog's Pulitzer-Prize nominated 4,000 Miles explores a most difficult relationship between a grandmother of 90 and her grandson some seventy years her junior. That gap in age is very wide like the distance of 4,000 miles from Seattle, Washington to New York City which Leo (Christian Prentice) covers by bicycle. Long journeys of any type involve struggles as well as rewards, and the play is a sweet optimistic look at how two very different people can change each other for the better. Now in its LA premiere 4,000 Miles is onstage at the Sierra Madre Playhouse in an endearing and richly detailed production directed lovingly by Christian Lebano and featuring a dynamite cast of four actors.

Audiences may be somewhat confused, but nonetheless intrigued and maybe even stimulated by Jordan Harrison's world premiere play Marjorie Prime now onstage at the Mark Taper Forum through October 19. It's an insightful 80-minute one-act but would most likely work better in tandem with another one-act, to ensure a thoroughly fulfilling evening of theatre.

Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate is a timeless, delightful musical romp that can be seen again and again. It's an overblown, joyous account of two egotistical actors, once married to each other, who adore one another but just cannot be around each other very long without catastrophic, calamitous results. It's also a play within a play, as Lilli Vanessi (Merle Dandridge) and Fred Graham (Wayne Brady) are on tour essaying Katharine and Petruchio in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Above all, the silly contrived story is overshadowed by Cole Porter's divine score with some of the most glorious tunes ever composed. Kiss Me Kate is a showcase to Porter's genius. The current revival at Pasadena Playhouse, although not any better than any of the other local revivals as of late, does boast the comical presence of Wayne Brady and the stunning talent of Merle Dandridge..

Actors/singers David Burnham and Valerie Perri were critically acclaimed costars of Musical Theatre West's (MTW) Sunset Boulevard last season, but they have never sung together in cabaret until now. Together Again For the First Time premiered at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal on Sunday September 21, and with the opening number 'It's a Grand Night for Broadway' to the strains of 'Its a Grand Night for Singing', no finer words could appraise the evening. Accompanied on the piano and at various points in song by superior musical director Mark Vogel the trio knocked it out of the park.

Clever and full of campy humor, the world premiere Scary Musical The Musical has a dangerously speedy pace that will surely keep you on your toes as you enjoyably try to figure out whodunit. Now at the NoHo Arts Center and produced by NoHo ACE, the new musical has brilliantly skilled direction and choreography from James Mellon and boasts a truly killer cast, through November 9.

Charles Dickens' last novel, unfinished at the time of his death in 1870, supplied the story for the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood which won five Tony Awards when it first premiered in 1985. Although it won for Best Book and Best Score, I hardly find either completely satisfying. On the musical side, it's very much like operetta, with pretty singing, but with only one memorable song 'Don't Quit While You're Ahead'. As far as the book is concerned, it is a lengthy attempt to complete Dickens' story by allowing the audience to have its say...certainly a novel concept in 1985. Was he murdered? Was he in fact alive at the end? You decide! On the positive side, it is creative and very theatrical as a play within a play encouraging grande overplaying by the company of actors, and making it an assuredly fun entertainment. Despite mixed feelings about the play, I cannot but laud the current production at Actors Coop which is magnificently staged by director Stephen Van Dorn, wonderfully choreographed by Julie Hall and with an astounding ensemble... through October 26.

After serving sixteen years as Artistic Director of the Marin Theatre Company, Lee Sankowich resigned in 2006 to return to producing and directing independently. Among the forty five plays he directed at Marin, there were two Estate sanctioned world premieres of previously unproduced Tennessee Williams' plays. His career began with a jump start with his successful productions of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS' NEST which ran for two and a half years in New York, five and a half years in San Francisco, a year and a half in Boston, and in Israel. Since then he has worked in Regional Theatres across the country including Baltimore Center Stage, The Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Rep, Florida Stage, Geva, Jewish Repertory Theatre, City Theatre, Center Rep, San