Don Grigware - Page 74

On Sunday February 6 LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011 held its finale at Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's beginning at 11:30 am. 20 contestants competed in a nonstop round and then the audience and judges voted for the top 5. Points were added together for the entire six weeks of the competition which began January 2. Those named were Michael David, Reba Buhr, Emily Goglia, Judy Mora and Matthew McFarland. There was a thrill-packed final round of singing and then Judy Mora emerged victoriously as the winner. James Lent served as musical director.

For those of us who watched The Lawrence Welk Show regularly every Saturday night from December 1955 through 1967, The Lennon Sisters were the darlings of the airwaves. Here was a quartet of singers - Dianne, Peggy, Kathy and Janet - emanating sweetness and beautifully balanced harmony, who catapulted to stardom mainly through these weekly TV appearances. They did have success with a recording of 'Tonite You Belong To Me', but it was primarily TV and Mr. Welk, as they still so politely refer to him, that gave them their big break. Now, 55 years later, Dianne and Peggy have retired, leaving Kathy and Janet and their younger sister Mimi, who joined them in the late 90s, as a trio. They look terrific and sound better than ever.

Playwright Pedro Antonio Garcia will bring his fascinating Firehouse, based on a real-life incident, in a World premiere, to the Whitefire Theatre, with artistic director Bryan Rasmussen as director, opening Friday, February 4. The piece will play Fridays only at 8 pm. In our conversation Garcia talks about his roots, how the play developped and its prospects for the Los Angeles audience.

On Sunday January 30 comedienne/singer Maxine Lapiduss brought a new show to Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's and received what few performers ever do in LA cabaret - a thunderous heartfelt standing ovation. This is one funny lady who can sing up a storm and make you laugh until your pants split. What an entertainer! Backed by an eight-piece orchestra under the musical direction of wonderful Michael Orland, Lapiduss wowed the SRO room with her nonstop hilarious comedy about life in LA, the fear of living and the need to change. Funny, yes, and with the delivery of a caring yet sarcastic next-door neighbor, she is down-to-earth, sassy and easy to like.

In his lovely 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 (Gwen Van Dam) proves just how healing a return to one's roots, however brief, may be. Group rep utilizes a fine cast, achieving an overall excellent representation of Foote's rarely seen work.

Australian actor/singer/director David Campbell, whose recent CD On Broadway is fast approaching international success, was in New York this past weekend as an ambassador for G'Day USA and to promote his family album Floodlight to be released in stores in Australia February 1 and already a hit on iTunes. The album is a $4.95 contribution to aid the flood victims in Australia. In our conversation Campbell talks about the album, his background and his busy schedule in Australia as artistic director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

On Sunday evening January 23, Jason Graae brought his electric 80th birthday tribute to Jerry Herman called Perfect Hermany: The Songs of Jerry Herman to Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. Graae has long been a favorite comic actor/singer, because what he does on stage is totally Graae. No one makes you laugh constantly quite like Graae: he defies description; you must be in a room with him to fully appreciate the breadth and scope of his enormous talent. Adding to the comic anecdotes and songs during the 75-minute set were two solos on the oboe and one on the piano. Lee Tannen directed and John Boswell served as musical director/accompanist extraordinaire.

Van Amstel stars along with guest hostess Niecy Nash (Jan 21-23), Jane Seymour (Feb 4-6) and possible other celebrity hosts, 20 top dancers and two American Idol finalists, singers Gina Glocksen and David Hernandez at the classy El Portal. The show is so electrically charged that it is guaranteed to keep audience members jumping for joy.

Robert Mulligan's 1962 film of Harper Lee's magnificent novel To Kill a Mockingbird is for me one of the greatest black and white films ever made. Christopher Sergel adapted the novel to the stage in 1990, and the play respects Lee's keen vision of humanity and keeps intact the poetic beauty of her words. The Prodco's production @ The Lex, the first play in their new home, ardently resonates the timeless message of tolerance and friendship.

Pre 20th century, the horse, unlike the dog, was man's most vital companion. Travel, simply getting around, would have been practically impossible without the horse. Today we tend to forget that fact and also tend to overlook the genuine beauty of this most precious animal. Now in a spectacular show - no, event - Normand Latourelle, creator of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, brings man and horse together in a breathlessly singular way in Cavalia. This awesome event returns to Los Angeles in Burbank for the first time since 2004 and resides under the White Big Top, the largest traveling tent of its kind, until February 13 only, before its tour.

Mon dieu! When they said Traces was one-of-a-kind and would knock me out of my seat, they weren't kidding! This is an acrobatic/dance-mixed, very physical performance. The troupe of 7 amazing people, not unlike the clowns, aerialists and gymnasts of Cirque du Soleil, all rolled into one, offer a jubilantly loose performance structure and set forth an innocently novel intent. Indeed, there is no malice intended, despite initial warnings that anything dangerous might happen and in spite of an ending that places the performers' safety first and foremost. There are really only good humane thoughts. Remember: they are part clown trained to make people smile and maybe, even think a bit. But happily just a little, as entertainment is the top priority. Through February 20 the Ricardo Montalban stage serves as home to this Canadian based group, ingeniously guided by not one but two directors Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider.

I was thoroughly unprepared for the impact Daddy had on me. From the title I had imagined a campy foray into the sleazy world of gay leather encompassing a slave/master experience. Comical use of Who's your daddy? came to mind. Well, how wrong could I be! Yes, indeed, the play is about gay relationships; there are even a couple of scenes in a gay bar, but Dan Via (who also plays Stew) has overall constructed a humorous, intelligent, insightful and riveting play that delves deeply into all types of relationships: friends, lovers and parents, that will appeal to everyone, gay or straight. Now onstage @ the Hudson Mainstage, Daddy, expertly helmed by Rick Sparks, will leave you ruminating.

On Sunday January 16, songbird Nita Whitaker returned to Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's for a joyfully rousing concert full of great singing and indomitable humor. I am always thrilled when a cabaret exceeds my initial expectations. I had heard Whitaker sing on her website, so I knew I was in for a pleasurable evening, but what I got was a star-stature talent that must be experienced first hand. She is beautiful, very funny and a helluva scintillating singer.

On Wednesday, January 12 Kritzerland at the Gardenia, a series presented on the first Wednesday of every month - January being the exception, and which originated in September of 2010, offered The Sondheim Albums. The series, based on Bruce Kimmel's record label and albums, honors a composer's lesser known material, oft times cut from an original score. Nine skilled singers participated in the fine evening; they were: Damon Kirsche (photo at left), Kim Huber, Zachary Ford, Juliana Hansen, Alet Taylor, Shannon Cudd, Aleah Whaley, Holly Long, and very special guest artiste Millicent Martin.

What can one add about the success of the Follies in this their twentieth season but to say one big 'Bravo'! I attend the show every season, sometimes twice - ever since 2005 - and never go away disappointed. It never fails to lift my spirits high! This year, there is a very large video screen in back of the stage that shows a montage of pictures of the careers of each and every Follies' lady during the Pretty Woman segment and continues to churn out great photos and appropriate and pretty graphic images throughout the show. It's amazing!

On Sunday, January 9 @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's singer Jeanie Brandes made, by popular demand, a return engagement to sing selections from her newest CD Jeanie Brandes ... Kisses You Awake, a heavenly mix of beautiful songs from the Great American Songbook. Accompanied by dynamic musical director Shelley Markham and his musicians Tim Emmons on bass and M.B. Gordy on drums, Brandes with her blessed vocal instrument and loving personality held her intimate audience captive with radiance and warmth. That audience included acclaimed song stylist and friend Andrea Marcovicci and comic actress Cissy Conner, who recently performed @ Sterling's. Brandes' was a lovely, laid-back evening of song.

One of a kind musicals like Hair must be experienced first hand. It's the live, up-close, in-your-face tone that gives the musical its rare fervor. First produced in 1967 by Joe Papp at his Public Theatre, eventually opening on Broadway in 1968, Hair is about the hippie generation of the 60s, whose drugs and flower-power may have been a controversial mishmash then, but now make more sense than ever; the message rings loud and clear: stop the war! There's another message underneath: trust yourself and live the life you want to live, as long as you're not hurting others! Sad to say, 40+ years later, senseless war still rages and most people live by the status quo, even if its stress is so overbearing, it practically kills them. This new touring production, based on the 2009 Tony Award winning revival, is a powerful reminder and a powerhouse winner.

Only an actor of the calibre of John Lithgow - who remains a class act after almost 40 years in the theatre - could mount the very simplistic Stories by Heart on the large Taper stage. Ideal for a smaller, more intimate venue, Stories becomes more than a retelling of two classic tales, one by P.G. Wodehouse and the other by American journalist Ring Lardner. In the hands of Lithgow the art of storytelling is put on a pedestal. We all know how vital it is to a child's education, but it can truly enrich one's life, regardless of age, and, in fact, it has been proven to encourage, nurture and increase the quality of the very process of living. Quite a feat! Well, Lithgow, self described exuberant actor, makes it ebulliently unfold.

LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011 began its six-week run through February 6 this past Sunday, January 2, 2011 @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. It was a long first show, due mostly to some unforseen technical issues, but boasts 20 very talented vocalists, well worth checking out in the weeks ahead.

Opera diva Julia Migenes performed Diva on the Verge ten years ago at the Odyssey after a triumphant London engagement; at that time she showed a bold bravura that still is tantalizingly delicious. After beginning the evening with a disclaimer that more or less states 'if you expect serious opera, you have come to the wrong venue', Migenes clearly and frankly details the practically impossible feats that are expected from a diva in an operatic performance and then proceeds to illustrate them to the audience through wickedly exaggerated yet endearingly loving renditions.