Shari Barrett - Page 15

Beginning at a rather leisurely pace, JITNEY takes its time introducing us to the cast of characters working and hanging out together in the one-room gypsy cab business office run by Becker (Steven Anthony Jones), a former mill worker who prides himself on owning his own business. His employees, who we learn about via their individual stories as they interact with the other characters, allow the audience an intimate view of the Pittsburgh working-class struggling to keep afloat in a time of great social change during the city's period of so-called a?oeurban renewal,a?? as the city tries to shut down businesses -- including the cab station -- to make way for a new, more upscale modern building

From the moment you enter the theater, it's obvious something dramatic is about to take place during BEFORE with its black walls and set pieces begging for lights and color to awaken the spirit and envelop the misty atmosphere within its walls. And following the initial blackout, Pat Kinevane explodes with never-ending energy during his 90-minute physical performance piece about love, loss, and parental responsibilities in the face of overwhelming odds.

Santa's North Pole Village is coming to the heart of Downtown Los Angeles this holiday season from November 30 through December 30 when Wisdome.LA  transforms its 35,000 sq. ft. art entertainment park into the magical world of the North Pole for what will be the city's largest immersive holiday experience for families and children of all ages.

From the people who brought you 2018's critically acclaimed SILENCE! The Musical a?" Bucket List Theatre is re-launching their Bucket List Cabaret series starting with their Dark & Dirty seta??NSFW has never been so fun!

Open Fist's clever, hilarious World Premiere musical adaptation of Neil Simon's MUSICAL FOOLS is a hilarious musical adaptation of his play, Fools, with book and lyrics by Simon, and music and lyrics by Phil Swann and Ron West, a veteran comedy genius from Chicago's Second City, who has directed the laugh fest like a Monty Python version of Fiddler on the Roof performed by the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. Off-the-wall hysterical choreography by Louisa Kendrick Burton greatly enhances the comedy, with musical direction by Jan Roper often adding in the flavor of Eastern European Klezmer music.

The play adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Andy Garcia, produced in association with Frank Mancuso and Andy Garcia, and directed by Doug Hughes, honors the original story in which disillusioned World War II veteran Frank McCloud (Danny Pino) travels to a hotel in Key Largo to pay his respects to Nora (Rose McIver), the young widow of a fallen solider, who now runs the hotel with its owner, her blind father (Tony Plana) who claims to have a?oeseena?? and heard it all during his lifetime. What McCloud doesn't count on is being confronted by an entirely different type of battlefield with mobsters who have overtaken the hotel, led by the ruthless Johnny Rocco (Andy Garcia, who dominates the stage channeling Al Pacino in The Godfather to the hilt), who is waiting for the culmination of a drug deal. As a hurricane barrels toward the Keys, tempers flare and gunfire blares, forcing McCloud to face his demons in order to take down a monster.

Taking place exactly five years after the events of last year's production, the site-specific thriller SAFEHOUSE '82 once again immerses audiences in the culture and atmosphere of its particular era, right down to the 1982 copies of Playboy Magazine sitting on the living room table. This time, however, guests are asked to play a much more significant role in the story, with our choices directly impacting: the show's outcome as well as the fates of key characters. Thurs, vastly different endings are possible depending upon how the audience works together to complete the evening's mission.

Combining a sad Irish mythological tale of four sisters doomed to live together silently as swans on a lake with a modern tale of a modern man suffering in silence from debilitating depression while living alone in a house soon to be lost after the death of his beloved mother on the shore of that same lake, is the essence of the Keegan-Dolan's tale, reminding us to do what it takes to reach the light and joy when the bell rings in our mind and allows us to express the release of negative emotions and let childlike joy enter our lives.

Acclaimed experiential theme park, Wisdome.LA will host a four-night festival of live, immersive musical experiences dedicated to Pink Floyd's iconic album, 'Dark Side Of The Moon', and to the music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead from November 7th-10th, combining musical art and eye-popping visuals with 3D sound in a 360-degree virtual reality experience.

Making its debut as The Wallis' first foray into contemporary circus, Australian company Circa brought HUMANS, its tribute to what it means to be fiercely human, offering a thrilling and heart-stopping performance by ten acrobats from this award-winning contemporary circus ensemble who pushed the boundaries of physical possibilities during their extraordinary 70 minutes of exquisitely choreographed athletic artistry.

RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL originally opened Off-Broadway in 1992, created as an over-the-top dark comedy spoof of the films The Bad Seed and All About Eve, and well-known Broadway musicals Gypsy and Annie. Similar to the dark comedy in musicals such as Little Shop of Horrors and Sweeney Todd where characters are murdered and then eaten, RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL centers on 8-year old Tina Denmark, who knows she was born to play the lead in her school's third grade show and will do anything to win the part. And I do mean anything. Now onstage at Theatre Palisades, directed by Alta Abbott who first fell in love with the show during its 1993 West Coast premiere at the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills, I can only say that the over-the-top production sometimes seemed so dark that the comedy became invisible.

HAIR was written more than 50 years ago by Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot and broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of 'rock musical' as well as using a racially integrated cast and inviting the audience onstage to join in the a?oeBe-Ina?? finale. But at the time it opened off Broadway at the end of 1967, it seemed unlikely that HAIR would be relevant five decades later. A product of the hippie counter-culture, sexual revolution, and Vietnam War protests of the late 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-war movement, while its profanity, depiction of the use of illegal drugs, treatment of open sexuality, irreverence for the American flag, and full-frontal nude scene caused much comment and controversy at the time. Yet today it seems what was shocking has become so common place that even a few children were in the audience at the performance I attended.

Beginning on a basically empty stage with a large center rug and one wooden stool, Birbiglia begins by talking about the first thing he bought as an adult for his first apartment a?' a new couch - and how much he loved sleeping on it. As he gushes about how he loved being wrapped in its warmth, that little stool literally becomes his beloved, overstuffed companion where he reads, writes, eats and sleeps. That is until THE NEW ONE arrives and changes everything!

For those not familiar with the term, polyamorous relationships are those in which the participating persons agree all parties involved may participate simultaneously in more than one serious or casual romantic or sexual relationship with the knowledge and consent of all partners. It's more than just a a?oehall passa?? in which monogamous couples agree to allow their partner to be with one other person. And those two lifestyle choices are the focal point of Playwright Brian Reynolds' world premiere play MONO/POLY now at the Odyssey Theatre through November 10.

As the tension mounts to its bloody end, audience members, especially the few who get invited into the scene within Macbeth's castle, are drawn into the characters' lives and motives, all the while experiencing the evocative moody atmosphere of haunted, stone-walled castles. Kudos go out to the entire design team from Runco's sets, Avery Reagan and Wesley Chew's lighting design, Joseph a?oeSloea?? Slawinski's sound design, to A. Jeffrey Schoenberg's costume design which work brilliantly together with the talented acting ensemble to transport audiences into a sensory experience none will ever forget.

I have been following magician Siegfried Tiber for several years, marveling at his mind-boggling sleight of hand magic and illusions. His latest show, RED THREAD presented by Atlas Obscura, offers a theatrical exploration of the concepts of chance and chaos, with Siegfried guiding participants through an unlikely journey during which he manages to blur the line between the improbable and the impossible. And afterwards. I found myself wondering if seemingly random decisions made are really our own, made of our own free will, or if they are somehow predetermined.

For those too young to remember, from 1957 to 1962 The Everly Brothers sold more than 35 million records and had 35 Billboard top-100 singles, 26 in the top 40, and to this day, carry the record for most Billboard charting hits of any American Duo. Their success at that time was only rivaled by Elvis. The Zmeds are absolutely thrilled to be able to contribute to a cause that supports the recognition and preservation of the intimate origins of America's greatest Rock 'n Roll sibling duo, stating, 'We are not impersonators. Our aim is to honor the aesthetics of the Everly Brothers' iconic sound and their unique place in music history, all while having a little fun telling our own personal story.' And that they certainly did with great style, talent, and humor.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, offers audiences a toe-tapping trip back to the golden age of musicals, and took Broadway by storm, winning five Tony Awards. It spoofs musical-comedy fanatics and the genre itself, often called one of the wittiest, craziest shows ever to hit Broadway. The very entertaining production at Santa Monica's Morgan-Wixson Theatre through October 13 is directed by Kristie Mattsson, produced by Michael Jackson Heimos, with music direction by Daniel Koh, and choreography by Niko Montelibano.

Elton John has been a powerful name in music for more than 40 years, and is currently enjoying another wave of popularity. Now, more than ever, there is demand and desire to step back in time and experience the sights and sounds of this amazing artist. In tribute to his greatness, Kenny Metcalf has wowed international audiences during live performances, often in his hometown of Los Angeles with or without his band, and is known for performing a technically accurate Vegas style production, featuring the wildly popular music, costumes and antics of Elton John. And he never disappoints!

Directors for MAMMA MIA! at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, Keenon Hooks and Fred Helsel, with Fred Helsel as Producer, Keenon Hooks as Choreographer, and Mazie Rudolph as Musical Director, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this musical is just as much fun in a smaller theater thanks to the talented cast who really enjoy every moment they appear onstage, with a lively band that really enjoys performing the ABBA score. The overall enthusiasm displayed by all draw the audience in to the action, especially by the finales when everyone was up on their feet, singing and dancing along.