Gil Kaan - Page 33

Following in the hallowed footsteps of the choreographic greats that he's worked with, the ever busy choreographer Mark Esposito has added his choreographic Midas touch to the cast of twenty performers of RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL, just opening yesterday at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Director Patricia McGregor returns to the Geffen Playhouse after her successful directorial stint of Dominique Morriseau's SKELETON CREW last year. This time, Patricia directs the west coast premiere of LIGHTS OUT: NAT 'KING' COLE (now, already in previews), co-written by herself and Coleman Domingo. Patricia took some time after a long day of rehearsals to chat with me over the phone.

East West Players solidly world premieres playwright Anna Moench's MAN OF GOD , a witty, biting account of four teenage Korean girls on a prayer mission to Thailand under the guidance of their male pastor. What starts off as a mish-mash of teenage bickering and clashing personalities smoothly morphs into a serious depiction of sexual tragedies and their responses.

Prolific director Michael Michetti maintains his steady productivity of theatrical output with THE JUDAS KISS at Boston Court Pasadena, beginning previews February 15, 2019. After attending many of the shows he's helmed over the years, cosmic forces finally brought Michael and I together for this interview.

A frequent creative fixture of Los Angeles Theatre, as well as, in theatre communities nationwide; Gilbert Glenn Brown will next be sharing his acting acumen and gravitas on the Garry Marshall Theatre stage reprising his role of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning THE MOUNTAINTOP, beginning February 6, 2019. I managed to catch Gilbert for a few moments between juggling his many acting commitments to answer a few of my queries.

Funny lady Julia Sweeney brings her latest one-woman show JULIA SWEENEY: OLDER & WIDER to the Geffen's Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater stage for a limited comedy engagement February 5 through February 10, 2019. I had the pleasure of delving into the comedic genius of this Saturday Night Live/The Groundlings alumnus, getting some very insightful responses.

What does a black Christian man and a white Jewish man have in common? Griffin Matthews, a black Christian man, and Matt Gould, a white Jewish man, are co-directors of a non-profit, co-writers of a docu-musical, and co-parents to a beautiful little boy. Their theatre piece WITNESS UGANDA (based on their non-profit UgandaProject) will begin February 8, 2019 at The Wallis. They took some time out of their combined multi-tasking to answer a few of my inquiries.

Choreographer extraordinaire Matthew Bourne, already a force of nature in the British dance arena since 1988, turned the international dance world upside down with his ground-breaking SWAN LAKE in 1995. His unique take on CINDERELLA will land at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre beginning February 5, 2019, as part of its international tour. I had the wonderful occasion to interview Andrew Monaghan, who's dancing the dual lead role of Cinderella's heroic pilot Harry, as well as, The Prince.

Being the daughter of the first Jewish Miss America, Barra Grant sailed through her childhood rebellious and harboring a contentious relationship with mom Bess Myerson. Not until Barra had a daughter of her own, did she understand her mom's methods more clearly. Barra has turned her lemon of her childhood experience into the lemonade of her theatre piece MISS AMERICA'S UGLY DAUGHTER, which begins February 8, 2019 at the Greenway Court Theatre. I had the chance to illicit some bon mots from this enduring writer/performer.

The west coast premiere of playwright Laura Maria Censabella's PARADISE receives a strong mounting at the Odyssey Theatre, blessed with the sturdy acting chops of Medalion Rahimi and Jeff Marlow in this singular two-hander. Vicangelo Bulluck ably directs this important, not-oft-told story of a Muslim girl having to weigh her options of family obligations vs. personal goals.

Add Martin McDonagh's THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN to the already lengthy resume of stellar productions that the always dependable Antaeus Theatre Company manages to assemble on their stage. Steven Robman sure-handedly directs his talented Irish-brogued ensemble of seven (The Fripple Frapples cast of the double castings) at a quick, smooth pace; vividly illustrating McDonagh's smart, witty and brutal tale based on the real-life filming of the 1934 documentary Man of Aran. Buried in the 'news' the town gossip Johnnypateenmike spreads, the arrival of a film crew from America looking to make a movie on the neighboring Inishmore piques everyone's interest.

Even though, we are just coming to the end of January, I can already nominate a prominent candidate for Most Horrid Theatrical Character of 2019 - Paige Connor, the matriarch in Taylor Mac's HIR. Paige condescends to her husband Arnold (long since stricken by a stroke) and orders him around like a slave (or an untrained chimpanzee). Paige has eliminated doing any everyday household chores (like cooking, dusting, or laundry) in retaliation to the orderliness Arnold used to demand. She 'nurtures' or 'empowers' her transgender teenager Max by encouraging Max to follow mom's ways of thinking - an unrealistic utopian view of the future, with the avoidance of any financial responsibilities, while all the while belittling and torturing Arnold. But it's during the final minutes of the second act that Paige tops all of her previous horridness.

Actress/filmmaker/author/philanthropist/model Isabella Rossellini will be bringing her latest theatrical event LINK LINK CIRCUS to The Broad Stage for a quick, three-performance run starting January 25, 2019. With decades of successfully gracing screens, cinematic and television; Ms. Rossellini makes her first return to the theatrical stage since her triumphant 50-city tour of GREEN PORNO in 2015. The ever-busy Ms. Rossellini managed to find a few moments to exude her excitement of her latest projects.

The west coast premiere of Brian Letscher's SMART LOVE rivetingly posits a truly sci-fi event as a real-life situation in which you're forced to come face-to-face with some serious moral dilemmas. Anchoring this strong cast of four, Melissa Weber Bales totally inhabits the fairly recently widowed Sandy, who's freshly found a new zest for life in Vic (a most memorable Scott Conte in the show's smallest part).

The couple behind (and front and center of) THE EMPTY NESTERS, JW Walker and Pamela Gaye Walker certainly validate the adage 'A couple that works together, stays together.' With a working and personal relationship spanning decades, JW and Pam take time from their respective day jobs, (he producing at Disney/Pixar Studios, she running their production company Ghost Ranch Productions) to bring THE EMPTY NESTERS to the Zephyr Theatre (beginning January 17, 2019) a play they both have a heartfelt connection to. These two multi-taskers were gracious enough to carve out some time to answer my queries.

A re-occurring staple of Tracy Letts' plays, Ian Barford heads the cast of LINDA VISTA, already in previews at the Mark Taper Forum. Ian allocated some of his down time between shows to answer a few of my queries.

Stephen Daldry's multi-award-winning revival of J.B. Priestley's AN INSPECTOR CALLS will land at The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts January 22 through February 10, 2019 as part of its international tour. This production, the longest running revival of a play in history, has already been seen by over four million theatregoers worldwide. I had the most lovely opportunity to chat up Jeff Harmer (who limns the role of patriarch Arthur Birling) on his history and experiences with this and other INSPECTORs.

The West Coast Premiere of playwright Bryony Lavery's two-hander STOCKHOLM pulses with the intense acting abilities of the totally-committed Jamie Wollrab and Kimberly Alexander as the two role-playing lovers Todd and Kali. Directed by Kim Rubenstein, this role-playing starts off as fun, flirtatious and sexy; then takes an abrupt turn into a liaison wrought with suspicion, jealousy, and sadomasochism.

A veteran of television writing (L.A. Law, Outlanders, to name a few); Anne Kenney branches out of her comfort zone creating LAST CALL, a semi-autobiographical theatre piece based on her own family situations - some sad, some very funny. I had the chance to peek inside Anne's always creative brain just before LAST CALL begins previews January 12, 2019.

Aficionados of evolution theory debating will be mesmerized by the world premiere of playwright Matt Chait's A MISUNDERSTANDING. Others will be most appreciative of the four actors' deep commitments to their respective characters and very lengthy speeches.