Ellen Dostal - Page 5

Say what you will, The Hypocrites have found a way to transform traditional theatre into a form of entertainment that appeals to folks who'd rather go to a party than sit in a theater. And they've done it using Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. No joke.

It takes an awfully long time to get to the point in Philip Whitchurch's original one act play directed by Julia St. John. Set during a fictional night in the lives of William Shakespeare (played by Whitchurch) and his wife Anne (Sally Edwards) at their home in Stratford-upon-Avon, the story reveals a couple in their later years, bickering but still clearly in love, yet it takes nearly half the play and a frustratingly slow plod through its exposition to get there.

Here's a holiday gift Shakespeare fans will love Discount Tickets for SHAKESPEARE HIS WIFE AND THE DOG, coming to the Broad Stage January 18 28, 2018. This new comedy by Philip Whitchurch runs an hour and 3 minutes with no intermission and it looks terrific!

Last year Casa 0101 produced a lovely dual language version of Disney's Aladdin, which was so popular it extended its run and eventually transferred to a larger venue. Hoping to repeat that success, they have set their sights on another Disney classic but, this time, the production proves too ambitious an undertaking for the company.

Of all the holiday stories written, it would be hard to find one more well-known or popular than Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The redemption of a miser named Scrooge whose heart has forgotten the meaning of charity has been adapted, musicalized, spoofed, and dramatized in every medium imaginable, and, like all good cautionary tales, returns as a warning each December.

This year for the holidays, The Wallis has traded its typical musical theatre fare (Into the Woods/2014, Guys & Dolls/2015, Merrily We Roll Along/2016) for something a little less traditional but even more imaginative and fun Vesturport Theatre's THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD by playwright David Farr.

For the last 25 years, Gerardo Alessandrini has paid homage to the Great American Musical in the best way he knows how, by skewering it relentlessly. It is an arena where nothing is off limits no diva, no composer, and no quirk of the genre, which is why his FORBIDDEN BROADWAY revues are as beloved as any book musical to grace the Great White Way. Now, the biggest game-changer since Rogers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, or Stephen Sondheim came on the scene, has given him fodder for a new installment in his popular franchise - Lin-Manuel Miranda and his multi-Tony Award-winning mega-hit, HAMILTON: An American Musical.

Open Fist Theatre Company's revival of Ron West and Phil Swann's musical comedy DELEARIOUS has a lot going on. The production contains three storylines in three different time periods twisted together in a fast-paced, boisterous style that was an award-winning hit for the company in 2008. Nine years later, it still packs in more story than you can possibly keep straight but it also offers up plenty of laughs to go along with it.

Theatres have a way of becoming an artist's second home. It doesn't matter if you are a director, designer, actor, or volunteer the countless hours you invest and the close proximity in which you do your work often create friendships that last a lifetime. And each time you step back through those doors you feel like you're coming home. No one knows this to be true more than Joseph Leo Bwarie, whose current home away from home is the Garry Marshall Theatre in Toluca Lake. Bwarie has been connected with the theatre (known formerly as The Falcon) and the Marshall family for many years, and he recently stepped into a co-artistic directorship of the newly-rechristened theatre, along with another longtime Marshall associate, Dimitri Toscas.

Director Michael Michetti is the man of the hour. He has directed some of LA's most compelling productions and, for the past fifteen years, helped The Theatre @ Boston Court become one of the premier theatres for new and innovative work. He currently has a trio of shows on his directing calendar that all explore important and relevant issues to today's audience, regardless of when they were written.

Horror houses are not my thing. Knott's Scary Farm, Reign of Terror, Universal's Halloween Horror Nights...you can keep them. But tell me a good ghost story and I'm in. Put me in the middle of an immersive theatrical ghost story as artistically beautiful and complex as it is otherworldly and I'm in heaven. That was the experience I had at THE KAIDAN PROJECT: WALLS GROWN THIN, a co-production by Rogue Artists Ensemble and East West Players staged in a secret location I'm certain has never been used like this before.

Thousands of souls have their final resting place in Altadena's Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery but, once a year in the fall, the living invade the domain of the dead. That's when Unbound Productions' WICKED LIT takes over the grounds and creates a site-specific theatrical experience based on classic and original horror stories. It is unlike any other kind of theatre or Halloween event you've ever seen and it is seriously the coolest thing you can do in Southern California. Ask anyone who's done it.

OUR TOWN is Wilder's most well-known work, a classic of the American theatre that presents the cyclical nature of life in three acts and a town called Grover's Corners, where birth, death, love, and marriage, are shown in their most mundane glory. The brilliant simplicity of the work cannot be overstated.

BANGING LANIE is a 21st century John Hughes-style comedy starring Allison Powell that explores what happens when a girl takes her virginity into her own hands. The film is currently raising funds on Kickstarter and tonight at 7pm PST/10pm EST, Powell will go LIVE on Facebook in what promises to be a hilarious and eye-opening conversation.

In 1970, Maria Callas posed for Blackglama's iconic What Becomes a Legend Most ad campaign. The famous black and white Richard Avedon photographs shot against a simple gray background captured the glamour and allure of black mink featuring some of the most iconic faces in the world. It was indeed a look, and Callas knew it was for her.

The Old Globe has opened a window and let in a beautiful breath of fresh air in its latest world premiere musical, BENNY AND JOON, by bookwriter Kirsten Guenther, composer Nolan Gasser, and lyricist Mindi Dickstein. Based on the 1993 MGM film starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn, it focuses on three characters, each insulated by their unique circumstances, and how they ultimately overcome their limitations to live the life they've always wanted. Love, family, compassion, and understanding are the foundation of the piece and, as they grow, so do we.

While watching Crystal Sep lveda perform during the opening of Pacific Standard LA/LA's Condemned To Be Modern exhibit, I couldn't help but think of a quote by Frank Lloyd Wright: 'Space is the breath of art.' Poetic in its simplicity, it is an observation that is particularly eloquent when considering the way this collection of artists is recontextualizing architecture through the lens of the visual artist.

It's official. I have a new favorite thing, and it is called MUSE/IQUE. You would too if you'd been in the audience for GLOW/TOWN, the third in a 3-part series celebrating Motown and its roots Saturday night at Caltech. From the structure of the program to the sophistication of the environment, Artistic Director Rachael Worby and company have created a musical experience in a class by itself.

He walked from Cincinnati to Los Angeles in 1884 and then he built a castle in Highland Park with stones from the nearby arroyo. Charles F. Lummis, first editor of the LA Times, knew how to make an entrance. Now the historic site will get a starring role in one of Shakespeare's most dramatic plays, MACBETH, for two weeks in September, when Benjamin Pohlmeier and his Junction Theatre Company mount a site-specific production using the castle as its backdrop.

The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs celebrates the release of its gorgeous new hardbound art book, COLA 20, this Saturday night (August 19) with the help of Daedelus and friends at LA's downtown Grand Performances. The one-night-only community event is part of Grand Performances' free outdoor summer concert series on the California Plaza and will feature music by Deejay Daedelus and guests Sara Gazarek, Baths, Natasha Agrama, Mousey McGlynn, MariGo and more, reinventing electronic music live. But the real star of the show is LA's flourishing art scene, captured in the pages of COLA 20.