Don Grigware - Page 59

Storytelling on stage is at its theatrical best when all the technical elements utilized blend together so smoothly that you take for granted that they are there at all. Such is the case with the amazing War Horse, based on a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo in which a young boy Albert (Andrew Veenstra) attempts to groom his foal Joey to adulthood as a farm horse, only to lose him to the ravages of World War I in England and France. Boy gets horse, boy falls in love with horse, boy loses horse, but... If you love animals and understand and respect what transpires deepdown between man and beast, you will love War Horse, as, in spite of the war horrors depicted, love is at the very core and champions above all else. Now in its US tour, War Horse is fortunately with us at the Ahmanson through July 29 only, and this beautiful production must not be missed.

It's been a few years since I have experienced fine dinner theatre in LA, and never have I been part of one presented in a truly intimate setting and that includes one-on-one interaction with the actors throughout. Such is the case with Coast Anabelle Entertainment's Here's Killing You, Kid!, a murder mystery whodunit by James Daab that opened deservedly to an SRO audience Friday June 29 at the Coast Anabelle Hotel in Burbank.

On Saturday June 30, Valley Performing Arts Center, Northridge played host to the exquisite Miss Barbara Cook, still radiant at 84, who is perhaps the greatest legendary singer to ever grace a stage. What can one say about this living legend that has not already been said to death? I can only add that being in her presence, as I sat in the vast auditorium, I felt like I had been invited into her living room and was sharing a gift that she was giving to me alone and then, of course, to everyone else lucky enough to be there. She made each and every one feel special.

On Sunday July 1 at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal Kritzerland presented its monthly salute to a composer, July's being renowned lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner. If you remember, My Fair Lady with lyrics by Lerner and music by Frederic Loewe, was one of the most popular musicals in the world and its original cast album sold more copies internationally than any other musical show for over a year. Then there were the flops such as Lolita My Love, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Carmelina and Dance a Little Closer. Kritzerland likes to present some of the more beautiful songs that would otherwise be forgotten because their fate was to be part of a turkey. With wonderful Shelley Markham as musical director, Bruce Kimmel assumed his monthly position at the pulpit with great singing guests Kim Huber, Jane Noseworthy, Chelsea Emma Franko - winner of this year's LA's Next Great Stage Star 2012, Gordon Goodman, Dennis Kyle and special guest Andrea Marcovicci.

On Friday June 22, Robyn Spangler brought back her revered show in honor of Linda Ronstadt - Why I Love Linda Ronstadt - to the Gardenia for one night only. After reviewing the CD last November, I was more than impressed with Spangler's talent and easy listening vocal quality. But what she gave me in person as a performer far surpassed my imaginings! Accessible, friendly with an aura of poise and self-confidence, Spangler is a vibrant night club singer who fully engages and entertains her audience. I had such a good time, when the hour was over, I wanted to cry out for more...more Nelson Riddle, more Gilbert and Sullivan! Leaving an audience wanting more is a sign of a truly great cabaret artist, and Robyn Spangler fills the bill.

Jitney is the eighth play in August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle and recently completed a critically acclaimed run at SCR (South Coast Rep) in Orange County. It has now transferred to the Pasadena Playhouse through July and certainly stands tall as one of Wilson's earliest and best kitchen sink dramas. The production has sensational acting and direction by Ron OJ Parson and balances enough humor with the heartache of real life to make it thoroughly absorbing and entertaining fare.

Douglas Carter Beane's Tony nominated Best Play of 2007 The Little Dog Laughed, with its satirical take on happiness Hollywood Style, especially in its depiction of gay relationships, is timely, topical and most welcome in LA, where ironically there's still enough animosity and money stacked up against same sex marriage. Now at the Secret Rose Theatre in NoHo, Blazeco Productions offers a highly earnest endeavor.

Some New York critics panned Million Dollar Quartet for what they called a dearth of dramatic tension onstage, but it went on to receive a Tony nomination for Book of a Musical in 2010 anyway, and based on the overly passionate delivery of the sizzling tour artists, there's enough fire and fever to bring audiences to their feet and shakin' at the Pantages through July 1. On opening night there was indeed an extra long standing, and swaying, ovation to 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'.

For religious fanatics & theologians The Savannah Disputation should hold plenty of interest, as Evan Smith has written a smart exploration of Catholic versus Fundamentalist beliefs. Do you really know your faith inside out? Can you interpret the Bible with intelligence, keeping an open mind? Or do you accept tenets blindly, permitting them to govern everything you say and do? For those less religiously inclined or whose religion does not include Jesus, think twice before attending this play. But if you're into drama purely for its entertainment value, there is no dispute as to Savannah's remarkable four person cast, sharp direction by Cameron Watson and offbeat piquant humor.

Somewhat reminiscent of Steel Magnolias and Same Time Next Year,Tony Abatemarco's Beautified has an undeniable charm peppered with unforgettable tinges of reality. Like Bernard Slade's STNY (Same Time Next Year) it takes us through several decades from the late 60s to the present, concentrating on the relationships of hairdresser Mike (Rob Brownstein) and a client Candy (Karen Austin) as they each experience a series of crises and personal changes. Unlike STNY,these two people are not lovers, but close friends, and the play has a third character, Sally (Joanna Strapp) who ironically becomes quite the little observer of inappropriate behavior. Currently onstage at the Skylight Theatre, Beautified, despite its accentuation of the exterior, offers a journey of dynamic interior proportions.

Next week, the Pantages Theatre will be hosting the L.A. Premiere of Million Dollar Quartet. Million Dollar Quartet is set on December 4, 1956, when an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley together. Sam Phillips, the "Father of Rock 'n' Roll" who was responsible for launching the careers of each icon, brought the four legendary musicians together at the Sun Records storefront studio in Memphis for the first and only time. The resulting evening became known as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll jam sessions in history. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET brings that legendary night to life with an irresistible tale of broken promises, secrets, betrayal and celebrations featuring an eclectic score of rock, gospel, R&B and country hits including; "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "Sixteen Tons," "Who Do You Love?," "Great Balls of Fire," "Matchbox," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Hound Dog," and more.

Vanessa Claire Stewart's world premiere homage to silent screen legend Buster Keaton Stoneface succeeds on many levels, first and foremost of which is its brilliant recreation of silent movies by cast and crew. The execution of gags and physical comedy is tough to pull off; here its click by click precision timing almost defies description.

On Monday June 11 there were enough sparks to set Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal on fire as Jason Graae and Tony Award winner Faith Prince seized the stage with the premiere of their new show The Prince and the Showboy to an adoring packed house.

The more I see Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, now Leading Ladies), the more I realize that he is one of a dying breed of American farceurs. How many presently exist? In the UK, yes, there are many. Farce is their specialty, but not in the US. So, that given, Leading Ladies is a uniquely special ode to the theatre, to Shakespeare and to that band of traveling actors who make little money but devote their lives to entertain us, and to comedy put forth at a breakneck pace. Thanks to Ken Ludwig and his Leading Ladies our lives are that much brighter. Now in a splendid production at ICT, Long Beach, Richard Israel exhilaratingly guides a fiercely talented cast through July 1.

To celebrate what would have been Judy Garland's 90th birthday, Peter Mac has composed a brand new phenomenally original show - in the form of a play - like hisEvening with Kate Hepburn, in which he relates stories and anecdotes from Galand's multi-faceted career in vaudeville, on the concert stage, at MGM and on television. It's a meticulously researched, complete life bio, there are 9 costume changes & 4 wigs and it's simply grande entertainment for one and all. The show will run all this month and most likely into the first two weeks of July. Cake was served after Saturday and Sunday's performances, June 9 & 10 with a sing-a-long 'Happy Birthday, Judy' tribute.

It pleases me no end to learn how a show improves during the course of its Broadway to tour transfer. Such is the case with the musical The Addams Family, whose Broadway run was clouded with negative reviews and less than powerful performances from its two talented stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. When the stars are unhappy with the material, it doesn't play well. Now with Douglas Sills and Sara Gettelfinger as Gomez and Morticia Addams heading a marvelously happy cast, The Addams Family rocks joyfully from beginning to end.

50s musicals were known for their levity and hit tunes, not for substance, so when a musical such as The Pajama Game had something to say to working class America about standing up and fighting for what they're due, it highly appealed to a middle-class audience... without really meaning to, it served as a precursor of meatier shows to follow in the decades ahead. Of course, Pajama Game is still light... and romantic - it's what audiences craved - with Babe (Karen Volpe) and Sid (Michael Dotson) finding romance and true love while they duke out their differences as labor and management. Now in a pleasantly gleeful production at DCLO (Downey Civic Light Opera) a joyously tuneful piece of nostalgia lives on, as just that - nostalgia, as it does belong to another time and place!

Scott Caan's No Way Around But Through, described as a dark romantic comedy, is indeed quirky. It exudes an affably offbeat humor while drumming a painstaking determination to get at the truth. One cannot deny its exceeding verbiage at questioning the point of living, as it becomes repetitious and way overdone, but its premise and resolution, or temporary remedy, are full of hope. Now onstage at the Falcon Theatre, No Way...playing until July 8, will most likely find its most attentive audiences among the now generation.

The time: 1661. The place: London, England. It was illegal for women to perform onstage in any capacity. Women's roles were played by male actors, and there was no one more illustrious than Edward Kynaston (Ben Rovner), whose atypical livelihood came to an abrupt standstill. This is told via a splendid theatrical style of the period in Jeffrey Hatcher's superbly written Compleat Female Stage Beauty, currently receiving an outstanding production at Crown City Theatre.

Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan. Yes, indeed! I have seen Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan as well, but Rigby adds so much more to the character simply because of her physicality. A gymnast can do physical feats and tricks that an ordinary actor cannot. So if Peter Pan can turn sommersaults in mid-air or literally climb the walls of the Darling children's bedroom, if she is played by Cathy Rigby, there is no wonder. Oh, but that is so wrong, for Peter Pan is filled with wonderment, and Rigby, apart from all the physical stuff she adds, is a total joy to behold whether she is flying or not. She and the show are pure magic. Now onstage through June 24 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Peter Pan will never grow up, thank heavens!