Shari Barrett - Page 46

FRANK is one of the quirkiest I have seen in quite some time, centering on Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), a young wanna-be musician and songwriter who tries his best to find inspiration for his songs in the ordinary moment-to-moment happenings in his humdrum life. Then one day as he is sitting on his regular bench eating his regular sandwich from the local deli, he notices a man being pulled from the ocean and his life changes forever.

On the first Sunday of each month, Bruce Kimmel hosts the KRITZERLAND show at Sterling's at The Federal in the heart of the NoHo Arts District. The evening starts with a variety of dinner selections, full bar service, and lots of time to mingle and chat with old and new friends. Starting at 7pm, each revue has its own theme, with a variety of performers taking to the stage to entertain the enthusiastic crowd who loves show tunes. The 48th KRITZERLAND show on 8-3-14 presented a salute to some incredible female lyricists of the musical theatre

Any actor can tell you what his or her dream role would be and how much they long to play it whenever they can. For Rocky Miller, his 20-year wait to play Don Quixote was well worth it as he fully embodies the heart and soul of Miguel de Cervantes and his Knight of the Woeful Countenance from the moment he takes to the stage in MAN OF LA MANCHA at the San Pedro Theatre Club, directed with emotional depth by Drew Fitzsimmons and choreographed for the small stage by Victoria Miller.

When the patriarch of an Italian family is in his last days, his relatives gather in Tuscany to celebrate life, love, and to rediscover the bonds that hold them together. Among the crowd is Luigi's young American niece, Anna, who soon discovers that her uncle is the key to a world of freethinking and a familial relationship that she has always longed to have. Woven with poetry and memories, the reunion unveils the intergenerational connection of family.

NO HOMO tells the tale of Luke and Ash, two 20-something Los Angeles urbanites who have known each other since childhood, identify as heterosexual, and live together as roommates even though their relationship pushes the boundaries of gay life. Can two men really be the best of friends, love each other, and not be gay? Given the fluid nature of sexuality today, does it really matter which way you go?

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is located in the historic West Adams District of Los Angeles and houses the pre-eminent collection of Oscar Wilde materials in the world, including a typed copy of "Lady Windermere's Fan" with Wilde's handwritten notes from 1892, the year this comedy of manners was first produced. Thus it is the perfect site for Wilde's brilliant examination of status, family values, gossip and loyalty, presented by Chalk Rep..

As the title implies, SACRED ELEPHANT is concerned with man's relationship with the planet's largest land mammal. Ancient, intelligent, social and beautiful, the pachyderm has captured the imagination of man for millennia. Indeed, the elephant has approached the status of a deity in some cultures. So powerful a creature is the huge beast that it has only one natural enemy: man. But it is also up to us to be sure this intelligent and loving pachyderm will thrive so we, in turn, can do the same.

The setting is Paris in the 18th Century with THE GAMESTER performed in rhymed couplets. But don't let the timeframe, language or fabulous costumes fool you. This story of true love, schemes, casual lusts, machinations, treachery and too many casinos feels as modern as today. After all, haven't we created whole cities and casinos galore aimed to pull in gamblers night and day? And don't we have Gamblers Anonymous for those who simply cannot stay away?

When I heard The Aerospace Players were going to present A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, I almost decided not to see it as I have seen it twice before and never really understood why the show was just not as funny as it ought to be. Now I know why - those other shows did not have Darrell Clark playing Pseudolus and he made all the difference! Clark's abundant physicality added so much more to the crazy humor of the show that even the silliest jokes seemed new and fresh, generating lots of laughs and when appropriate, sufficient groans.

On Sunday, July 20, the Kentwood Players performance of SORDID LIVES had 4 very special guests in the audience: playwright Del Shores and original cast members Ann Walker, Newell Alexander and Rosemary Alexander. After enjoying the show, they visited with the Kentwood cast and posed for photos on the set.

Each year, Long Beach Playhouse closes its Mainstage Season with a musical. This year it's presenting the popular classic, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein. When it opened on Broadway 50 years ago in 1964, the musical was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won nine. In 1971, it was made into a movie, produced and directed by Norman Jewison, starring Chaim Topol who was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Tevye the Milkman.

While there is speculation that Twelfth Night was written for the 12th night of Christmas by request of Queen Elizabeth, a holiday which celebrates revelry by turning the world upside down, with masks, music, dance, celebrating a moment where servants are masters, masters are servants, and not all seems as it should be. While there is no proof for this speculation, it was certainly the author's and this production's comic inspiration.

The world premiere of Peter Lefcourt's play THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT takes an in-depth and often comic look at two couples, a pair of ex-spouses and their new mates. When the four get together for the first time in years, it blows up in a delightful mess of romantic complications proving you should never underestimate the power of designer shoes on matters of the heart.

Kentwood Players will present 'Sordid Lives' by Del Shores from tonight, July 11 to August 16, 2014 for a six-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm with Sunday matinees at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Kirk Larson and produced by Lori Marple-Pereslete and Virginia Mekkelson by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

This black comedy about white trash centers on a colorful family from a small Texas town who must come to grips with the accidental death of the elderly family matriarch during her clandestine meeting in a seedy motel room with a much younger, married neighbor. The woman's family must deal with their own demons while preparing for what could be an embarrassing funeral. This play is filled with adult situations and language

Fans of sketch comedy TV shows such as The Red Skeleton Show, the Jackie Gleason Show and the Carol Burnett show will certainly recognize the many farcical vaudeville comedy bits in MAMA WON'T FLY, written by three of the most produced playwrights in America, Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, and directed by James Rice at Little Fish Theatre in San Pedro.

Back by popular demand after sold-out houses last summer, Chalk Repertory Theatre, the Los Angeles-based production company that is a leader "in the growing conversation about the shape of immersive theatre," will re-mount Oscar Wilde's LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN at UCLA's William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles this summer for 5 performances.

Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, Chief Sitting Bull, and Frank Butler will appear in Haven Academy of the Arts production of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The family-friendly musical presents a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860-1926), a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and her romance with sharpshooter Frank Butler.

The MaD JaCKRaTS in 'Makin' a Movie' Improvisation is the first in an ongoing monthly series on the third Sunday of each month. From show to show, you will meet some outrageous characters, both new and recurring. You get to throw them into any situation with your suggestions. It's guaranteed to be a unique and entertaining experience each time!!!

Bialystock and Bloom! Those names should strike terror and hysteria in anyone familiar with Mel Brooks' classic cult comedy film. Now as a big Broadway musical, THE PRODUCERS once again sets the standard for modern, outrageous, in-your-face humor. The 2001 Tony Award Winning Best Musical based on Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, has been wowing audiences around the world, and now at the Morgan Wixson Theater in Santa Monica through August 2, 2014.