Ellen Dostal - Page 14

'Spirit tells me lots of things. It likes to talk.' And talk it did to J.B. Murray, a man who believed that the Holy Spirit came to him in a vision and called him into the service of the Lord. At the age of 70 this illiterate Southern farmer began to paint and write non-semantic script (a kind of written language of his own) on every surface he had available to him - scraps of paper, wood paneling, old stove tops - all of them would eventually become covered with the beautiful and peculiar images that filled his head from his visions.

It's all about the love story in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and this one has at its core the epic romance of the ages - Mark Antony and the notorious Queen of the Nile - two dramatic individuals consumed with passion of whom much has been written. It's a perfect choice for Kingsmen Shakespeare Company's final offering of the 2014 summer season and delivers another lovely night of Shakespeare under the stars just a short drive up the 101 to Thousand Oaks.

REDCAT opened its eleventh annual New Original Works Festival this weekend with a trio of intriguing pieces incorporating movement, dance, music, and a variety of theatrical elements that push the boundaries of thought and creativity. Together they make up the first of three programs that will be offered now through August 9. Each weekend will introduce a new selection of works.

It is a chilling conclusion when Kimberly Scott repeats the text of the prologue again at the end of ROMEO AND JULIET while standing over the dead bodies of the lovers. You can hear the bitter warning in her voice as she slowly looks from one end of the stage to the other at two fathers who have paid the price of their feud in blood. As her weighty words hang in the air, the lights dim and Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles's magnificent production fades out.

There is no redemption in OTHELLO. Shakespeare has provided no late opportunity to undo what has been done, no chance to make amends for the terrible wrongs lavished upon the innocent, and no way for the audience to feel anything but horror for the treachery that has filled the stage for two and a half hours.

Within the courtyard of the historic Pico House in downtown LA, the Downtown Repertory Theater Company is in the midst of offering its sixth season of classical works. Led by artistic director Devon Armstrong, they have taken on Chekhov, Marlowe, Odets and numerous plays by Shakespeare, all while encouraging actors to tackle roles they might not otherwise have the opportunity to play.

Yes, it takes a village. Shakespeare Orange County has pulled out all the stops, and even enlisted a not-so-secret weapon, to accomplish an extraordinarily beautiful debut in its first official production under new artistic director John Walcutt

Over the past ten years, Independent Shakespeare Co. has staked its claim on the city of Los Angeles with its 'of the people, by the people, for the people' brand of Shakespeare. Built from the ground up by two regular people (Melissa Chalsma and David Melville) who love what they do, they have created a fiercely loyal following that can't get enough of their kind of real-people theatre.

In Theatricum Botanicum's ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, the action begins and ends with a song. At rise it is the somber lamentation that accompanies a funeral procession and at the play's conclusion, an uplifting madrigal 'Sing We Enchant It.'

It never ceases to amaze me how effectively the members of Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group can create an atmosphere in their incredibly intimate - make that tiny - black box. You would think a small space might limit their options but they have proven, over and over again, their innate ability to suggest time and place using even the simplest of objects.

I have to say...I really loved this crazy new rock musical. In my book, it's the kind of show that embodies all that is best about the Fringe, with its unconventional characters, sly direction (by Aaron Lyons), pert choreography (by Michelle LaVon), and wicked twist on a relevant message.

The title of Jacob Sidney's futuristic Hamlet refers to the Dane's dead father Maximus, a character who never appears live on stage but only materializes as part of Hillary Bauman's black & white anime projections on a screen behind the actors. The audience sees the ghost fade in and out behind them while a mirthless Hamlet peers out over the audience and responds to his father somewhere out in the empty wasteland beyond us

This summer, Shakespeare's delightful and romantic comedy is given a Downton Abbey-twist with elegant and sumptuous costumes and the ringing sounds of the early twentieth-century music hall as Independent Shakespeare Co. presents Shakespeare's Twelfth Night or What You Will, directed by ISC's artistic director Melissa Chalsma.

After a particularly long laundry list of names in which Helen of Troy jumps out as the only familiar one, Chorus Leader Rob Nagle says in a completely deadpan voice, 'Don't worry... that's the last name you'll recognize tonight,' and everyone bursts into laughter.

This original one-act pop musical aims high and often hits its mark although it may not be the musical you think it's going to be. While it contains a fair amount of wry humor, don't expect the kind of silliness you found in The Pokemusical, the team's entry into last year's Fringe Festival. This twist on the Frankenstein story has a more sophisticated harmonic structure and a richer musical texture that gives it an added edge.

You may think you've seen it all before but GENERATION ME isn't just another story about teen suicide. In all honesty, this new full-length musical from three first-time writers is the surprise of the festival. It has moments - a lot of them - that will knock the wind out of you, and for much of the performance I attended, the audience was so quiet and so engaged you could hear a pin drop.

Vanessa Claire Stewart's Stoneface, the Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton, first produced at Sacred Fools Theatre Company in 2012, finds fresh life in a newly remounted production simply titled STONEFACE at Pasadena Playhouse. With a bigger budget, more space in which to play, and clearly enhanced with an eye to continuing its life beyond Los Angeles, it should be set for a rousing success.

A frightening thing happens when a woman plays the title role in a gender-reversed King Lear; the betrayal and revenge between mother and sons takes on an added level of horror. What was already tragic to begin with, as originally written for a father and daughters, now feels even more threatening in the reverse.

This is the kind of musical even non-musical theatre folks will love! Forget any idea of skipping it because it is a hilariously fun send-up of the 1950s and sci-fi B-movies directed by Dan Spurgeon and choreographed by Anna Safar with spot-on cheeseball precision, featuring a cast that knows how to play the comedy without ruining it.

Michael Sterling celebrated the 8th anniversary of his popular Supper Club, Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal, on Monday, June 9th, continuing a tradition he began in 2006 to honor his dear friend and mentor, Rosemary Clooney. Sterling promised her that he would make sure future generations would be able to hear the music of Broadway and the Great American Songbook in LA. A man of his word, he has presented over 600 shows since closing his doors at his original venue at Vitello's and opening at The Federal in 2012.