Shari Barrett - Page 23

Subtitled 'A Light Comedy About Dark Jews,' we meet Bubby as she prepares a much-too-salty matzo ball soup for Rosh Hashana dinner in a period-perfect kitchen as the center piece of a realistic two-story set designed by Joel Daavid in anticipation of her entire family gathering to celebrate the holiday. Even her son and grandson will be there, a special evening (she hopes) as the two have not spoken to each other in years. But after continuously forgetting to bring home the chicken for dinner, Joey's alcoholic father David finally shows up at the table, causing alliances to be challenged and hopefully, new beginnings to be forged. And leave it to Zayda to show up at just the right moments to forward the story and add his own insights into his family's history and character. Oy vey!

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to re-invent yourself and completely start over as someone else? Perhaps, like me, you spent a lot of time in another country, speaking another language and watching yourself become more like the citizens who live there, totally comfortable in your new skin and personality. It's a journey of self-discovery and re-invention during which your true inner self is allowed out for perhaps the first time, one in which you can create a more fully free persona and spirit to guide you through the transition. Perhaps the easiest way to let such a thing happen to you occurs when you move to another place where no one knows your name or past, allowing you to live fully in the present and create an entirely new future for yourself as the person you always wanted to be. Such is the tale written and performed by Corinne Shor in I AM SOPHIE.

SILENCE! The Musical is an award-winning, unauthorized parody of the hit movie 'The Silence of the Lambs' with Music & Lyrics by Jon Kaplan & Al Kaplan, Book by Hunter Bell, presented by Bucket List Theatre from October 11 to November 3, 2018 at the Let Live Theatre (at The Actors Company) in Hollywood, directed and choreographed by Amanda Conlon with musical direction by Edgar Cardoso, presented under the auspices of the Actors' Equity Association Los Angeles Self-Produced Project Code. Featured in the cast are Jesse Merlin (Dr. Hannibal Lecter), Amanda Conlon (Clarice Starling), Nick Dothee (Buffalo Bill), Sherry Mandujano (Catherine Martin), Brian Dyer (Jack Crawford), Kevin Michael Moran (Dr. Chilton), Courtney Bruce (Ardelia, Lamb), Philip McBride (Papa Starling, Lamb), Suzanne Slade (Senator Martin, Lamb), Jesse Gavin (Stone Rockbrockmanrock, Lamb), Jeff LaGreca (Bimmel, Lamb), Michael C. Silva (Miggs, Lamb), Patrick Pizzolorusso (Jack Crawford understudy).

This satirical musical hoedown about living the American Dream tells the tale of what happens when the town gets convinced by the new Preacher as their "For Profit Prophet" and the son of a reality TV producer from Hollywood, Peter Martinez (Jamie Daniels), that the way to its salvation, fame and fortune is through being the subject of a new "Reality TV" show so the Preacher can raise funds to build a new "Mega-Church" in town to spread the gospel and bring more citizens into his flock. After all, he claims, "If they believe 'The Bachelor' is real, they'll believe anything."

In the wake of recent #MeToo headline events redefining gender roles (particularly for women) and issues of consent, PIZZA MAN by Darlene Craviotto, which debuted in 1982, seems timelier than ever. While statistics are only quoted once in the play with Newsweek saying 'a rape is committed every 7 seconds,' the United States Department of Justice research claims about 20 million out of 112 million women (18.0%) in the United States have been raped during their lifetime, with only 16% of all rapes reported to law enforcement. No doubt these rapes were committed almost exclusively by men. But is it possible for a woman to rape a man? Such is the question asked during PIZZA MAN.

Climbing the corporate ladder has always been easy for some and difficult for others. This somewhat-dated story, given how the 'Me Too' movement has changed the male-female office environment these days, follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called 'How To Succeed In Business' to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive, tackling such familiar but potent dangers as the company 'Yes' men, backstabbing co-workers who want to succeed by causing you to fail, sexy secretaries looking for love and marriage, high-level executives who use their power to seduce sexy secretaries in private offices and at office parties, office-wide caffeine addiction, and, of course, true love.

Playwright Henry Ong admits that when he stumbled upon Tirso de Molina's "La celosa de si misma" (Jealous of Herself) during the Playwrights' Arena (PA) for the Golden Tongues series to introduce audiences to the treasures of the Golden Age of Spanish theater between 1590 to 1681, a PA-partnership with UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, he discovered an ingenious tale of deceit and deception with fascinating characters and relentless wit. The tale of self-image, identity, and the idea of physical perfection as hoisted upon us in the media immediately presented Ong with the opportunity to set his modern adaptation THE BLADE OF JEALOUSY in Los Angeles, a place where so many of us become dissatisfied with what nature has given us and how the media says we should look causes people to continually crave and seek to attain idealized versions of our physical selves in order to gain love.

In the minds of many people, the name Hells Angels brings up images of outlaws in black leather, riding on loud motorcycles and always being up to no good just like Marlon Brando in "The Wild One." Never having met any members of that "social club" before, when I heard former Hells Angels leader George Christie was bringing his new one-man, autobiographical show OUTLAW, written and directed by Richard La Plante, to the Whitefire Theatre (after enjoying packed performances in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Palm Desert, Las Vegas and St. Louis), I figured it was about time to find out more about the much-feared riding enthusiasts from someone on the inside.

Now an award-winning writer and director, Barra Grant has created one of the most entertaining, informative, and hysterically funny solo shows I have ever seen. With her marvelous writing style and self-effacing humor, along with the brilliant direction of Eve Brandstein (who worked with Barra for 16 months to create MISS AMERICA'S UGLY DAUGHTER), this behind-the-scenes story will totally envelop you from start to finish. As she answers the many ongoing calls, beginning at two in the morning and continuing until dawn, we are taken on the journey of Barra's life, with Bess ever-present, fixated on 'improving' her daughter by attempting to mold her into a younger version of herself.

Somewhere in the world tonight there are 7 performances of the hit musical MAMMA MIA! onstage entertaining audiences. In fact, the show based on the music by Swedish pop group ABBA, has become so popular that the only continent where a regional or touring production has not occurred is Antarctica, and the show has set the record for premiering in more cities faster than any other musical in history. And after seeing the current 3-D Theatricals production, it's easy to see why audiences continue to fill theaters to experience the fun, spectacle, great music, and overall happy atmosphere generated by this feel-good musical.

Gloria Gifford is a stage-trained actress from New York City, giving her the necessary background to understand the intricacies of people caught up in a place where the traffic is loud and people live in close proximity to each other, yet still think it's necessary to always be screaming at one another to get the upper hand. Such is the case with the five characters in Stephen Adly Guirgis' 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning THE MOTHF**CKER WITH THE HAT, an urban comedy now being presented as the inaugural production at the Gloria Gifford Conservatory for the Performing Arts new location on Theater Row in Hollywood.

For the past several summers, I have attended the Festival of Arts and The Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. But this year, I also decided to also visit two other art festivals along Laguna Canyon Road rather than spend any time cruising the town as I had done before. The full-day of exploring all the artistic delights on display this year at all three locations left me dazzled by all the talent on display, while wishing I had lot of extra income to purchase and bring home many of the awe-inspiring items that caught my fancy. But the real highlight of the day was viewing the abundance of 'local color' on display in this summer's 'Under the Sun' themed Pageant of the Masters.

Even if you have seen it before, I cannot stress enough how miraculous the current production of ANNIE is at the Hollywood Bowl, directed with creative ingenuity by Michael Arden. Featured in the cast of incredibly talented triple-threat (acting, singing, dancing) performers are Ana Gasteyer as the ruthless headmistress Miss Agatha Hannigan, David Alan Grier as the refined, generous billionaire Oliver 'Daddy' Warbucks, Lea Salonga as his dedicated and caring assistant Grace Farrell, with newcomer Kaylin Hedges as Annie, who won the role over hundreds of other young girls from across the country who submitted video auditions to win role. Miss Hedges is the cornerstone of the production and her soaring, pitch-perfect voice and effervescent stage presence setting the jubilant tone for the entire ensemble.

A major theme running throughout THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW musical is transvestism which, according to O'Brien, was not originally meant to be as prominent as it ended up being after its original London production starring the cross-dressing, incredibly sexy Tim Curry as Frank-n-Furter. Brilliantly continuing in that tradition since the Maverick Theater's first production in 2007 is Dennis Tong, who absolutely inhabits the iconic role with every ounce of his being. From the moment he appears atop the bar in the theater and throws back his cape to reveal Frank-n-Furter's scantily dressed sexy self, you know this is going to be a night of theater you will never forget. In fact, the entire cast creates each and every character purely from their hearts.

Norm Foster has written over sixty plays which have been produced all over the world. Selections from this most-produced Canadian playwright have been included at Theatre 40 for many years, but this time the group is excited to present the U.S. Premiere of his appropriately titled new play SCREWBALL COMEDY which pays homage to this classic genre of entertainment. Emerging in the 1930s, screwball comedies were a wild new strain of fast-talking farces involving battles of the sexes and a world forever on the brink of chaos. The elements included a male and female who may be adversarial at first but are ultimately ideal for each other. Think of the classic films It Happened One Night, His Girl Friday, Bringing Up Baby and My Man Godfrey during which some farcical or slapstick action occurs, including snappy patter and crackling dialogue with bits of off-color humor thrown in, with the plot ultimately leading to the female gaining the upper hand in the relationship.

Featuring an eclectic mix of sexy, DARK & DIRTY show tunes and comedy songs, Bucket List Cabaret, the brain-child of Theatre 40 member Amanda Conlon and her husband Peter Flanigan, invaded Three Clubs on July 19, 2018 with an explosively entertaining evening of musical fun that kept its audience laughing from start to finish. I am not exactly sure how Ms. Conlon found (or perhaps created) such an amazing mix of naughty tunes, I can say each one kept me laughing at the unexpected language and subject matter throughout the entire show.

Due to Wilson's fervor when performing, with his dynamic dance moves, impassioned singing and impeccable dress, he was soon christened 'Mr. Excitement,' a title Wilson would keep for the remainder of his career. His live performances consisted of knee-drops, splits, spins, back-flips, one-footed across-the-floor slides, removing his tie and jacket and throwing them off the stage, and a great deal of basic boxing steps, advance and retreat shuffling, and one of his favorite routines, getting women in the audience to come up to the stage and kiss him. In fact, the only thing Wilson loved more than music, it seems, was women, many of whom you will meet during several interviews about his life included in THE JACKIE WILSON STORY.

Perhaps, as suggested by playwright Peter Lefcourt in his world premiere play THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARY JO KOPECHNE, she had also been drinking and could not say no to a man of considerable power and influence, a man who could help advance her career, a man she also may have admired after the death of his brother Robert the previous year. Certainly, this dilemma has become particularly prominent in the #MeToo era in which we are now living where men of power are being taken to task for making unwanted sexual advances on those working for them who go along with it for career gain. What we do know is that Kennedy survived and she did not. But who was Mary Jo Kopechne?

Featuring 18 original songs and a cast of ten (6 dogs and 4 humans), the world premiere of MUTT HOUSE: THE MUSICAL at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City recounts the story of quirky outsider Eddie Corbin (Ryan McCartan) who has managed to find a place to call home in a neglected downtown animal shelter. But when the city threatens to close the shelter, Eddie must do something he's never done before - stand up for himself and fight for what's right. With the help of six zany mutts, he faces his fears and makes an unexpected human connection in the process. It's a fun and furry musical tale for animal lovers of all ages!

Summer would not be complete without seeing at least one Shakespeare play outdoors somewhere in Los Angeles. This year I decided to spend a bewitching night in Griffith Park, selecting to see my favorite Bard comedy, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, presented by the Independent Shakespeare Company (ISC) celebrating the 15th anniversary season of free Shakespeare in Los Angeles City Parks. In 2010, ISC moved free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park to Griffith Park, the second largest city park in California. The growth in attendance has been extraordinary, certainly due in part to the quality of the productions. So grab a blanket or a lawn chair, pack a picnic, and take a short hike into Griffith Park to a land of wonder and imagination thanks to the Independent Shakespeare Company's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM - and bring the kids!