Ellen Dostal - Page 20

Bill Castellino returns to the Odyssey Theatre this month to direct and choreograph IONESCOPADE, based on the work of playwright Eugene Ionesco (Rhinoceros, The Bald Soprano, Exit the King); a project that reunites him with his old pal, musical director Gerald Sternbach.

The Hollywood Fringe Features continue with a look at a successful sketch comedy musical based on a popular contemporary movie star and a racy cabaret brought to you by a good ole' dame 1940's style. NATALIE PORTMAN, THE MUSICAL and THE RUBY BESLER CABARET.

More musical news from the Fringe as we travel through time with The Time Machine Musical and The Real Housekeepers of Studio City!

Janet Miller is about to launch her new theatre company, aptly named the Good People Theater Company, with A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE at this year's Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Hollywood Fringe coverage continues with a look at a musical satire based on the world of pocket monsters and a popular musical about four friends writing a new musical. And in big news, the brand new Hollywood Fringe Festival App is now available for free download.

The third annual Hollywood Fringe Festival, Hollywood's fearless celebration of the emerging arts is back June 13 - 30, 2013, and over the next couple of weeks I'll be featuring some of the musical productions hoping to entice audiences to see their latest work. First up are Michael Shaw Fisher and Exorcistic: The Rock Musical Parody Experiment, and Andrew Potter's The Road to High Street.

All of its pieces add up to Shakespeare's Richard III but Zombie Joe's version directed by Denise Devin is certainly an oddball mix. Picture a thin, pale Duke of Gloucester (W. Lochridge O'Bryan) with hollow cheekbones and sunken eyes who looks to be barely out of his twenties, a Lady Anne (Anna Gillcrist) with the essence (and visual resemblance) of Julia Stiles, and a wild-eyed Margaret (Tina Preston) with the haunted look of the almost dead, and you get the idea.

The 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival, an 18 day-long explosion of theatrical events, will take over Hollywood June 13 - 30, 2013 and that means I'll be starting my Fringe coverage of what to see in some specialized areas. First up, it's a look at what you Shakespeare lovers will find at The Fringe.

"How this lord is followed!" exclaims a Painter in reference to Timon of Athens early in Act I of the play that bears his name. Director Charles Pasternak interprets the line quite literally by having his throng of greedy hangers-on trail behind Timon as he moves about the stage, billowing en masse like a bridal gown's train that sweeps and glides with every turn.

Zombie Joe's Underground is getting ready to open RICHARD III on May 10 and what a wild ride it promises to be. The North Hollywood theatre company has become well-known for its action-packed, explosive adaptations of Shakespeare's classics and director Denise Devin is having a field day doing the research for this one.

Misha Bouvion takes on Shakespeare's epic poem Venus and Adonis in a one-woman theatrical production presented by The New Circle Artists, Saturdays through May 11.

Joss Whedon's hip, cool trailer for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING has been making the rounds in advance of the film's release in theatres on June 7, 2013. Like a beautiful art piece, the black & white modern telling of Shakespeare's comedy is visually stunning; a smart, contemporary setting for the merry war between Beatrice and Benedick.

The freshest revival of a classic in years has opened at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and this one is most definitely not your grandmother's movie musical.

Ask Brent Crayon what it's like to music direct for composers such asJohn Bucchino and Stephen Schwartz and the answer may surprise you

Occasionally a play comes along that, no matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about. Such was my experience over the weekend with THE BARGAIN & THE BUTTERFLY, inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Artist of the Beautiful', conceived & directed by Katharine Noon for The Ghost Road Theatre Company.

D'Ysquiths are dropping like flies in The Old Globe's world premiere musical, A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, and each time one dies, Monty Navarro moves one step closer to becoming the ninth Earl of Highhurst.

A look at the composer's journey and the director's vision of THE TROUBLE WITH WORDS.

Shakespeare Orange County has announced that their 22nd season will include TWELFTH NIGHT or WHAT YOU WILL and THE TRAGEDIE OF MACBETH. The award winning professional theatre company performs in the 550-seat Festival Amphitheatre in Garden Grove, CA.

Get your game on in 2013 with musical theatre classes offered by Ryan Scott Oliver, Matthew Murphy, and Georgia Stitt.

Top picks for 2013. Keep in mind that not all of the usual suspects have announced their seasons so I'll have more info to come, but for now, here's a look at some Southern California Shakespeare productions not to miss.