Don Grigware - Page 66

Hairspray, can't get enough of that Hairspray! 60s girls lacquered up their dos - hair, that is, with oodles and oodles of it until their hair was a sticky, gooey mess; well, the musical of the same name has been seen close to a half dozen times in the last several months, and few seem to tire of it...why? It's a stroll down memory lane, it's nostalgia... that is pleasant - even when it's about issues that aren't... like segregation, it's a far cry from the unpleasantness in today's world, so it goes down easier... and, it has all those crazy song and dance tunes of the era...well, an original score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but one that sounds exactly like the hit tunes of the 60s. Musical Theatre West's (MTW) current production of the now classic Hairspray is about the best there is or has been, bar none! With an evenly spectacular cast, super direction by Larry Raben and stupendous choreography by Lee Martino, its star shines ever so brightly.

On Sunday October 30 Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's presented a unique treat in cabaret with the dual sounds of Broadway's Randall Phillips and pop singer Jerry Sharell in Together Again. Musical direction was by the wonderful Todd Schroeder on piano with Bill Brendle on keyboard, Jack LeCompte on drums, Tim Christensen on bass, and Tony Mandracchia on guitar.

The Mystery of Irma Vep, written by Charles Ludlam in 1984 and a sensation off Broadway and beyond into the 90s, certainly lives up to its subtitle A Penny Dreadful. That's actually a good thing! A Penny Dreadul was a 19th century British fictional publication, usually printed in papers and magazines as a serial (in consecutive installments), aimed at cheap sensationalism. In all its campy style and ludicrousness, Irma Vep aims to thrill, even overkill, tickling one's fancy with its heavy emphasis on vampires, ghosts and werewolves. This perfect for Halloween treat, directed in brilliant, resourceful style by Jenny Sullivan will play on at the Rubicon in Ventura through Sunday November 6 only.

For those ardent fans of Frank Sinatra, Come Fly Away is a must see. For dance fans who can't wait to watch Dancing with the Stars every week on TV, here's your chance to get out of that armchair and go see some exciting dancing up close, on a real live stage. Plus there's a big band center stage playing along with Sinatra's recorded vocals so that big brassy sound can be savored live. At the Pantages through November 6 only, yes indeed, Come Fly Away is bound to enchant music and dance lovers of all ages.

The New American Theatre presents Five Beauties, 5 one-acts by Tennessee Williams. Five Beauties is extended to November 20, playing Sunday eves at 7 pm beginning October 23rd. This extension is in rep with their new production of William Hoffman's award-winning 80s play As-Is, set to open November 5.

Who is Peter Mac? Calling himself a tribute artist Mac dons the dresses of Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Peggy Lee, Tallulah Bankhead and Kate Hepburn, to name a few, and through each character, he exudes a dose of charm, a splash of sweetness, a whole lot of warmth, intelligence and a superabundance of humor ... all of which add up to one glowing personality, one creative force of nature, one uniquely infectious style, one dynamic talent that is ... Peter Mac. If you don't believe me, go see for yourselves! Mac unquestionably puts on one helluva satisfying show. It's cabaret, but much, much more. There's singing, there are amusing anecdotes and even a scene or two that make for ... a truly spectacular evening of theatre. It could be on any stage, but on October 21, 22, it just so happened to be at the Gardenia in Hollywood.

If you mention you're from the Bronx, eyelids rise, as one has come to expect to see the lowest of lowlife. John Patrick Shanley's early one-act Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (The Apache Dance) presents Roberta (Juliet Landau) and Danny (Matthew J. Williamson), two savory characters with rage, hatred and violence oozing from every pore. Two extremely unhappy individuals who want to be left alone, when forced to communicate - well, you get the picture; things can only get better. Shanley's lyrical, spiritual parable of salvation comes totally unexpected. One never envisions the outcome that slowly unfolds, and under John McNaughton's stellar direction and with magnetic performances from its two actors, Shanley's play could not be in more adept hands.

The musical The Robber Bridegroom was a phenomenal success on Broadway in the mid seventies and catapulted Barry Bostwick and Patti LuPone to Broadway stardom. It was also one of the first hits for writer Alfred Uhry who would later go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Driving Miss Daisy. Now onstage at ICT, Long Beach, the revival of Bridegroom is fast becoming a smash hit with audiences. But, you'd better hurry; it closes November 6!

Like it or not, Jane Fonda, as political activist, helped stop the Viet Nam War. Whether she thwarted our winning is of a lesser priority than her goal to stop the killing. Many vets remain purists and hate the fact that her intervention that led to her nickname 'Hanoi Jane' made them look bad, when they were there to fight and believed in what they had been trained to do. Before Fonda and Robert DeNiro were to start filming Stanley and Iris in Connecticut in 1988, 13 years after the war ended, a contingent of veterans opposed her working there, and in true renegade spirit Fonda met with them for what turned out to be an embittered discussion at an Episcopal Church in Waterbury on June 18 of that year. With fictional dialogue by Terry Jastrow and backed by actual screen footage of Fonda and news coverage of the period, Jastrow's play Jane Fonda in the Court of Public Opinion becomes riveting drama at the Edgemar Center for the Arts. Riveting due to tight direction from Terry Jastrow, his script that presents both sides of the argument evenly... and a dynamite ensemble of actors led by Anne Archer as Fonda.

Actor Ted Ryan's Pulling Leather is currently on stage @ the Actors Forum Theatre in NoHo. In his first full-length play Ryan has written quite profoundly about love and also plays the central character in the dramedy. In our chat, he tells about what motivated him to pen Pulling Leather.

When does a one person show click into high gear? Only when the actor in question is up to it. Such is certainly the case with Johnny Legz or John Leguizamo in his autobiographical Ghetto Klown. Klown treats more of Leguizamo's career than Freak, for example, but does trace as well the repercussions the career has had on his personal life. Now at The Montalban, funnyman Leguizamo is a must see. Why?

Where has all the Hollywood glamour of yesteryear gone? Thanks to the resourcefulness of producer, narrator and pianist Greg Schreiner, the revue Hollywood Revisited brings it all back, at least for a few fleeting moments. Revisited has become a resoundingly popular success with audiences over the past few years. On Sunday October 9, the show performed a concert at the Bellflower Civic Auditorium, just one of its many local gigs. The show performs not only in SoCal but all over the country as well as on Crystal Cruises. Schreiner, who has collected more than 350 original costumes from Hollywood films over the last decades, showcases the costumes in quite a novel way. Singers/dancers model them while engaging the audience in songs from the Golden Age of Cinema.

On Sunday October 2 handsome Broadway tenor David Burnham brought his class-A style and overflowing charisma to an evening called Mostly Broadway at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's. The evening was mainly to celebrate Burnham's newest CD One Day, on which he and musical director extraordinaire Mark Vogel present several original compositions. To say that Burnham had the audience eating out of his palm is an understatement. The theatre world - both men and women - adore him. Loving the female attention he was consistently receiving, like a craving rock star, he jumped into the audience on a couple of occasions, to tease and seduce, the second time bringing lovely Karen Roberts up to the stage with him to duet on 'Suddenly Seymour' from Little Shop of Horrors.

Tuneful and breezy with an avalanche of exuberant dancing could not better describe the family-oriented Seven Brides for Seven Brothers currently receiving a fast paced, energetic production at Glendale Centre Theatre under the expertise of Robert Marra and Lee Martino. From MGM in 1954 the film starred Howard Keel and Jane Powell and because of their beauty and director Michael Kidd's rip-roaring choreography, the movie, an Oscar nominee for Best Picture, was and still remains blockbuster entertainment. When the film became a Broadway show in the 1982, despite great work from Debby Boone and others, it failed to garner the audiences necessary to keep it afloat. Now after some 30 years, as long as we keep it in period piece perspective, Glendale's production of Brothers seems as good a choice as any for families as holidays approach.

No one can duplicate the brilliance of Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Desi Arnaz and William Frawley, the original stars of I Love Lucy on CBS from 1951-1957; they are irreplaceable. But...oh what fun it is to see what they did and a glimmer of how they did it at the Desilu Studio in 1952 as presented by Rick Sparks in 'I Love Lucy' Live on Stage now at the Greenway Court Theatre. Like the setup of last year's runaway stage hit Hoboken to Hollywood, the audience is the live audience for the taping, in Lucy's case - filming - with announcer, jingle singers and commercial actors all gearing up to put on a show in between actual takes of filming the episodes. This is a very entertaining evening thanks to the entire cast and crew whose merry mood/antics throughout create more than ample sparks.

Don't be deceived by the title Pulling Leather! It does not take place in a leather bar. Yes, it does involve sex, but most likely not in the way you think. It is actually an examination of the various aspects of love as experienced through three very different relationships. An original two-act play by Ted Ryan, which evolved out of Audrey M. Singer's Tuesday night workshop at the Actors Forum, Pulling Leather is unique but universal in that one man's struggle to fully come to terms with his destiny could be everyman's.

Once you enter the world according to Phil Olson, there's no turning back. Be prepared to have a good time, or bust! Their fourth Don't Hug Me musical in a row, Don't Hug Me, I'm Pregnant - they referring to the Olson brothers Phil and Paul - is as usual obscenely silly and over-the-top, but a definite charmer, no matter how tired the pregnant jokes become. Now at the Secret Rose Theatre the show is guaranteed to please and has big bit written all over it. Ya, sure, you betcha!

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were the iconic comedy duo who made it possible for comedians like Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke, Jim Carry and Adam Sandler to find their niche. Their intense chemistry, comaraderie and timing were impeccable. No one could do a five-minute sketch about putting up a ladder or pasting a billboard with the exact physical skill, dexterity or panache quite like Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. In Tom McGrath's play Laurel and Hardy, we see the funny and not so funny side of both men who brought wealth and fame to the Hal Roach Studio. At the Falcon Theatre until October 2, Laurel and Hardy are truly knocking 'em dead.

Cirque du Soleil's Iris written & directed by Philippe Decoufle Kodak Theatre until 2021

I usually choose not to review workshop productions, but, in regard to Deborah Johnson's Tsarina, breaking the rule proved worthwhile. The show has such great potential. It's incredible to think that other composers have not seized the opportunity to write a musical play about this most vibrant time frame of Russian history culminating in the Bolshevik revolution and in 1917 the downfall of Nicholas (Patrick Dillon Curry) and Alexandra (Kelly Derouin), the last czars in Russia.