Don Grigware - Page 62

They've done it again, by George, or should I say, by Will! They've topped themselves once more! The Troubies emerge super victorious with their presentation of Shakespeare's perhaps first ever play Two Gentlemen of Verona to the tunes of the rock band Chicago, renamed - you guessed it - Two Gentlemen of Chicago. Now at the Falcon, it's Shakespeare but in a fashion quite unlike anything the Bard imagined. The original play has a dog Crab, and Roosevelt the Pug (in picture above) lives up to his scene stealing image, making him a new canine star. Cast with the usual Troubie zanies Matt Walker, Beth Kennedy, Rick Batalla, Morgan Rusler and guest Rob Nagle as Valentine and Rue the Pug, Two Gentlemen of Chicago becomes more satisfying than what those other Two Guys offer... well, ok, if that's pizza, then this is like the best darn treat on the planet!

The musical Oliver!, like Annie, presents challenges galore for a small theatre, first of all because of its very large cast, a good portion of whom are children. Unless they are top of the line performers who have had at least some experience singing and dancing, the show could scream dismal failure. Such, thank heavens, is hardly the case with the Kentwood Players' fine production whose cast are mostly top notch under the skilled guidance of director Harold Dershimer.

Mandy Patinkin and Patti Lupone, legendary stage stars that they are, have more than a few tricks up their theatrical sleeves. However, the true grit of an artist shines through when he does not use any of them, but rather says the words, sings the songs and bares his soul.

Actress Olivia d'Abo is BWW's Best Lead Actress Award winner for Entertaining Mr. Sloan. She is best known for TV's The Wonder Years and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Few may know that she is also an accomplished musician. In our chat, d'Abo speaks fiercely about her passions, showing just how consummate a performer she truly is.

Based on a concept album by the punk rock band Green Day, American Idiot, like Rent before it, revolutionizes musicals as it is one of a chosen few to combine genuine rock music with a narrative. It is big, bold and uninhibited in structure and style, and with next to no dialogue whatsoever, is able to convey the rage and joy experienced by its trio of male pals and their women. At the Ahmanson until April 22, the Tony nominated musical may not be everyone's cup of tea, but its roar should be acknowledged and appreciated on its own terms. Green Day's frenetic score certainly matches the glaring videos and images projected onto multiple screens all over the set that illustrate just how excruciatingly unpleasant life can be.

Funnylady MaryPat Donovan has been playing Sister for almost 20 years in her Late Nite Catechism, and it has spawned five sequels. The latest entitled Sister's Easter Catechism is full of silly, gossipy, laugh-out-loud anecdotes, mixing in popular secular issues with religion via totally clean humor... all of which will obviously mean more to you if you were brought up a catholic and understand the implications. All those rules and regulations were enough to turn a person off ... and its insistence on total commitment/abstinence... oy! Is Christmas or Easter the most important holiday?, queries Sister. Christmas is surely more alluring with Santa and all the presents; Easter - despite the bunny and copious candy - offers suffering, death and resurrection, making it less appealing but more symbolic of what Catholicism is all about. Christ's death and eventual Resurrection explain the reason for His renowned birth. It doesn't have to make total sense; nothing in Catholicism is necessarily logical. Now onstage at the Laguna Playhouse, MaryPat Donovan is once more a thoroughly engaging nun, who not only entertains but makes us think about our purpose in life.

On Sunday evening March 18 petite, lovely Reba Buhrmade her long awaited cabaret debut at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's with Will He Like Me? A Loves Story. Miss Buhr was one of the top five runners up of LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011 and is currently the host of Disney 365 on the Disney Channel. She also plays several roles at the Disneyland Resort including Jasmine in Aladdin! A Musical Spectacular.

'People who smile at nothing are capable of anything', claims rigidly proper Charlotte Bartlett (Karen Ziemba), cousin and ward/chaperone to Lucy Honeychurch (Ephie Aardema) in the world premiere musical whose book is taken from the novel by E. M. Forster and the 1985 Merchant/Ivory film A Room with a View. In 1908, Brits followed propriety to the letter; rules and regulations governed very closely the way they spoke and acted. So, when they traveled to Florence, Italy or anywhere outside of Britania, for that matter, as is the case in Act I, they carry their Baedeker or guide book and refer to it, as a religious fanatic would a bible. Now onstage at the Old Globe, San Diego, A Room with a View is a beautifully written and executed musical by Marc Acito and Jeffrey Stock with impeccably detailed staging by Scott Schwartz. It also boasts a phenomenal cast and magnificent art direction, with exquisite sets by Hedi Ettinger and period perfect costumes by Judith Dolan.

On Friday March 9 and Saturday March 10, three legendary Broadway talents 'put on a show' for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre called Doin' It For Love...and what a fabulous show it was! Under the musical direction of David Geist, the three greats - Lee Roy Reams, Kaye Ballard and Liliane Montevecchi - did a couple of tunes together to open 'There's No Business Like Show Business' and 'You're All the World to Me' and then proceeded to do their individual cabaret acts.

On Friday March 9 and Sunday March 11, debonair Broadway tenor Brian Stokes Mitchell graced the stage of the Broad in Santa Monica for an intimate concert of standard tunes and Broadway favorites. Called by some critics the last Broadway leading man, Mitchell, or Stokes, as he prefers to be called, is handsome and possesses an astoundingly rich vocal instrument, but it is his warm, up-close charismatic approach to the material that is most winning. He makes you feel like you are at home with him, his wife and eight year-old son, as he shares some of his favorite tunes and embarrassing moments onstage. There's the time when he was performing Kiss Me Kate on Broadway and forgot the lyrics to 'Where Is the Life That Late I Led'. He looked down into the orchestra pit for assistance from musical director Paul Gemignani, who looked back at him and shrugged. Stokes proceeded in our presence to essay the number reading the lyrics from a tiny notebook which he pulled from the breast pocket of his suit jacket. It is this type of small human touch that characterizes the man and makes him vulnerable and totally likeable.

On Sunday evening March 4, Bruce Kimmel presented the 19th Kritzerland show, the third and final one at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's. Commencing April 1, Kritzerland will continue at Sterling's in its new venue Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal. Sunday's show was a salute to the lyrics of Ira Gershwin, boasting the glorious talents of musical director Shelly Markham and singers Shannon Warne, Damon Kirsche,Jane Noseworthy, Melody Hollis and Lauren Leigh Barker. Special guest was the remarkable Andrea Marcovicci (photo above) whose grande acting style really sets a song apart and makes it a sizzlingly unique experience on a cabaret stage. Kimmel told delightful anecdotes about Gershwin's collaborations with brother George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Jerome Kern, Burton Lane, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, among other musical composers. The program offered well known songs, but with an emphasis on those lesser known tunes that are really little gems, totally worth remembering. Thanks to Kimmel and Kritzerland for keeping all this wonderful music alive and vibrant.

On Saturday evening March 3, consummate Broadway actress/singer Bernadette Peters performed an SRO concert at Valley Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cal State Northridge. Originally set for October 15, An Evening with Bernadette Peters was rescheduled to March 3 because of Peters' costarring role as Sally in the latest Follies revival on Broadway.

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov directed by Andrew J. Traister translation by Paul Schmidt @ Antaeus Company through April 15

On Sunday evening March 4, Bruce Kimmel presented the 19th Kritzerland show, the third and final one at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's. Commencing April 1, Kritzerland will continue at Sterling's in its new venue Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal. Sunday's show was a salute to the lyrics of Ira Gershwin, boasting the glorious talents of musical director Shelly Markham and singers Shannon Warne, Damon Kirsche, Jane Noseworthy, Melody Hollis and Lauren Leigh Barker. Special guest was the remarkable Andrea Marcovicci (photo left) whose grande acting style really sets a song apart and makes it a sizzlingly unique experience on a cabaret stage. Kimmel told delightful anecdotes about Gershwin's collaborations with brother George Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Jerome Kern, Burton Lane, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, among other musical composers. The program offered well known songs, but with an emphasis on those lesser known tunes that are really little gems, totally worth remembering. Thanks to Kimmel and Kritzerland for keeping all this wonderful music alive and vibrant.

Actress/singer/comedienne Kaye Ballard remains one of the great living legends of stage, screen and television. She did comedy and sang with bandleader Spike Jones. She was the costar of TV's The Mothers-In-Law and The Doris Day Show, and the very funny film The Ritz among many others and too many Broadway musicals and road shows to mention. This lady brings mirth and goodwill wherever she appears. Animals are close to her heart, so it is no wonder that she, Lee Roy Reams and Liliane Montevecchi are mounting Doin' It For Love, for two nights only at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre March 9 and 10 to benefit PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). In our chat she talks about PETA, her love of animals and offers choice bits about her accomplishments and costars.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley's latest one-act The Jacksonian is a no-holds-barred look at the decadent middle-class values of the residents of Jackson, Mississippi in 1964. Now in its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, the complicated nature of The Jacksonian may shock or jolt you, but its moody, high on intrigue structure will also keep you fixated from beginning to end.

Lee Blessing gives us a three-dimensional look at baseball legend Ty Cobb in his fiercely honest one-act Cobb now onstage at Group rep in NoHo. Superbly staged by Gregg T. Daniel and gloriously acted by an ensemble of four, Cobb is represented at the beginning, middle and end of his life by three actors who play simultaneously around and against each other, as the man, like all men, attempts to sum up his life and make sense of his accomplishments.

Noel Coward's wit is timeless. Many do not realize the extent of his repertoire, which includes comedy, drama and musicals. His works are irresistible, especially his now classic Private Lives that works to perfection when properly cast. In the latest revival by Table For Two at GTC Burbank, Jules Aaron has assembled a superior ensemble that mesh together like clockwork.

Needing no introduction, popular TV star of the 60s, 70s and 80s impressionist Rich Little, who is known for his impressions of Ronald Regan, Jimmy Stewart, George Burns, Richard Nixon, among others, will appear at the Welk Resort in Escondido Wednesday February 29 thru Sunday March 4. In our interview he gives us a little preview of his latest solo show Jimmy Stewart and Friends, which he hopes to eventually take into New York.