Ellen Dostal - Page 18

It's an art to be able to disappear into a role. Some actors never master the task and others, like Gordon Goodman, make it look so effortless that you'd never believe that countless hours of preparation and careful study had gone into creating each unique character. That it looks so easy is a testament to how good he is at his craft.

After seeing so many versions of MACBETH, one welcomes an approach that promises to bring something new to the table. But instead of finding an intimate world that surrounds the audience, I found myself sitting in a large finished warehouse space with so much staging area between players and public that intimacy was never part of the equation.

Up-and-coming Coeurage Theatre Company makes a practice of including a Shakespeare play on its eclectic schedule each season. Following past productions of Romeo and Juliet and Double Falsehood comes their stab at Shakespeare's comedy of words, LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST.

Secondline Productions is producing a Halloween double bill featuring 30-minute musical parodies of two 80's film classics, TEEN WITCH and GHOSTBUSTER, Sundays through October 27 at Atwater Village Theatre. It's a fun series of shows directed and adapted by Brooke Seguin and featuring music by Seguin and Dan Wessels.

Propelled forward by Alex Timbers' insistent staging, Sonya Tayeh's explicit choreography and Kate Waters & Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum's athletic fight sequences, the actors ride this story fast and hard, fully aware that the journey of these two star-crossed will be cut short in a mere two hours' time.

It's no surprise that Bruce Kimmel's monthly Kritzerland series (this is show #38) has gained such a loyal following at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. For true musical lovers it is the rare opportunity to hear beautiful, funny and surprisingly touching songs from musicals you may never get to see.

Amir Khalighi's directorial debut RUMINATION is 50 minutes of bliss. Using the teachings of the 13th century poet Rumi as its center, the collaborative original work takes the audience on an inward journey - a spiral, if you will - to the center of one's self; to a place where peace exists and the source of everything we seek is waiting to embrace our weary hearts. It's heady stuff for a night at the theater and beautifully intoxicating in the way it expresses the universality of Rumi's wisdom.

A unique, three-generation collaboration brings professional actors, college students and high school drama classes together in a week-long Shakespeare immersion that culminates in a professional performance of HAMLET by the world famous Acting Company, at California State University Northridge's Valley Performing Arts Center.

There is no doubt that the HENRY VIII is a triumph for Rakata. Most productions view Henry's reign through a very English lens and Rakata brings a uniquely Spanish perspective to the story. It is an interpretation that makes sense given that Henry's divorce from the much-beloved Queen Catherine of Aragon is a sore spot in Spanish history.

A thoughtful vision by director Richard Israel, heartfelt performances, and seductive mountain music that will carry you away are what you'll find in The Burnt Part Boys

Cue the traveling music and pack up the suitcases, Prince Pericles is going on an adventure. But as Shakespeare's protagonist will soon find out, this grand tour is not destined to be full of thrilling adventures. In the search for a bride he discovers unspeakable horror, flees for his life, and is subject to two disastrous storms at sea. Then, his wife dies in childbirth, he leaves his daughter to be raised by a woman who grows to hate her, and is told on his return that she too has died.

On September 15th, 1 host, 12 singers, 2 musical directors, 1 comedian, and a packed house of friends and invited guests celebrated Michael Sterling's birthday at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. The night, appropriately titled A Sterling Affair, was a sparkling tribute to the man whose name has come to be synonymous with Los Angeles cabaret.

You will not find a more impassioned version of Shakespeare's Hamlet than the one Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company is currently offering at the Odyssey Theatre. And with the very real possibility that this may be the company's final work comes the necessity of experiencing what these dedicated professionals have created while under the influence of Shakespeare's words.

Bare became a cult hit when it premiered in Los Angeles in the fall of 2000. Originally scheduled to run for only six weeks, it ended up playing six months, and became the sweetheart of the musical theatre community, with numerous celebs in attendance and audience members making multiple visits, according to director's notes.

Thirteen years after bare, the pop opera, began its journey, bare, the rock musical, returns to Los Angeles. The glory|struck production is set to open at the Hayworth Theatre September 6 (with a preview performance on September 5).

Since 1993, the award-winning Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company (LAWSC) has carved out a unique niche in the landscape of L.A. theater. Led by Producing Artistic Director, Lisa Wolpe (pictured right), they examine contemporary issues and cultural perceptions of women through an all-female theatrical lens. In many ways it mirrors the original all-male playing company for whom Shakespeare wrote, at a time when women were not allowed to perform on stage.

PBS will close the 27th season of its critically-acclaimed American Masters series with a look at the life of one of stage and film's most prolific composers when Marvin Hamlisch: The Way He Was (working title) premieres on December 27, 2013. He was one of only two PEGOT winners ever, receiving a Pulitzer, four Emmys, four Grammys, three Oscars, and one Tony Award over the course of his distinguished musical career.

No matter what kind of a production ZJU Theatre Group is working on you can bet they'll throw themselves into it with everything they've got. Their latest, a dance performance piece called DANCING ON THE EDGE, is no exception. Staying true to their overall aesthetic of raw, creative, smartly crafted original works, it blends multiple styles of movement and dance to create an emotionally rich experience completely free of words.

Sometimes it's just a fact - fools rule. Shakespeare knew it and always made sure the fool had a prominent place in his comedies. Alyssa Bradac takes on the role of Feste, the fool, in Shakespeare Orange County's TWELFTH NIGHT and from her first entrance on her 3-wheeled bicycle to her very last bittersweet song at the finale, she owns the show.

Rogue Artists Ensemble has been performing its FREE summer family show HYPERBOLE: bard around the city over the last few weeks, offering performances at Carlson Park in Culver City, the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, and Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles. I caught their show this afternoon in West Hollywood Park, which will be the company's final location for the season. One last performance takes place tomorrow, Sunday July 28, in West Hollywood Park at 4:00 pm.