Shari Barrett - Page 50

In a faraway kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when an unseemly ogre - not a handsome prince - shows up to rescue a feisty princess. Throw in a donkey who won't shut up, a bad guy with a SHORT temper, a cookie with an attitude, and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand… and his name is SHREK.

SPRING AWAKENING is the 2007 Tony Award winning rock musical adaptation of Frank Wedekind's 1891 expressionist play about the trials and tribulations as well as the exhilaration of the teen years, exploring the confusion and desperation that ensue when the onrushing tide of hormones meets the ignorance of children.

A STEADY RAIN is first and foremost a story about Denny and Joey, two Chicago cops caught up in a series of violent events that alter the course of their lives and their understanding of the world they inhabit. The play is also an exploration of the special bonds of male friendship, and the forces that test those bonds.

The Los Angeles Premiere of the critically acclaimed DERBY DAY written and directed by Samuel Brett Williams explores love, family and mortality in his dark comedy set in his hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The play centers on the dysfunctional Ballard brothers who are in town for their abusive, alcoholic father's funeral. They drink, cuss and fight over family secrets and wager one last bet for the chance at finally becoming a family.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the Tony Award winning musical "Fiddler on the Roof" with book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jerry Bock, and music by Sheldon Harnick from March 14 to April 19 with 20 performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, and Thursdays on April 3, 10, and 17 at 8pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045.

On the first Sunday of each month at Kritzerland at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal, dinner cabaret nights are presented to packed houses. Due to the Oscars, this month's event was held on Monday, March 3, saluting THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWTUNE: A TRIBUTE TO HAROLD PRINCE whose career has spanned over sixty years and who, as producer and/or director is responsible for some of the greatest musical theater triumphs of all time.

While attempting to confront his career's inevitable downslide, unremarkable race car driver Bobby Horvath visits his family and friends back in Mansfield, Ohio, while trying to determine which way to go with his life. Over the course of numerous flashbacks, past and present collide as Bobby takes a serious look at where he has been and where he wants to be in the future. But if winning is all there is, it is going to be a long road for Bobby to make it to the finish line.

Patricia Ward Kelly's compelling presentation combines rare and familiar film clips, previously unreleased audio recordings, personal memorabilia, and insights culled from her hours of interviews and conversations with her husband whom she met in 1985 in Washington, D.C., where she was the writer for a television special about The Smithsonian for which he was the host and narrator. She was 26; he was 73. Soon after, he invited her to California to write his memoir. They fell in love, married, and were together until his death in 1996.

Set in Brooklyn's Hasidic Jewish community, MY NAME IS ASHER LEV is the powerful story of a young and extremely gifted painter's struggle to become an artist at any cost - against the will of his parents, community and tradition. Exploring questions of art, family, religion and loyalty, this extraordinary adaptation is a compelling look at the cost of individuality.

Debra Ehrhardt's solo show JAMAICA FAREWELL has returned to the Santa Monica Playhouse after successful runs all over the world. It is based on a mostly true story about her journey to the U.S. from Jamaica in the turbulent 1970s of the Manley era, when a careless step along the way could cost her more than she was willing to pay.

With the Winter Olympics upon us, and recent attempts to reign in NSA spying, the time is ripe for a musical comedy with a Russian accent. And that's what OBAMA SPY DRAMA, the new show from City in a Swamp Productions, provides in abundance. Along with musical parodies, the satire is filled with spy agency intrigue, romantic complications and a display of international muscle.

THE BEST OF BROADWAY concert selections include rousing renditions of Broadway show tunes, accompanied by the Center Stage Opera orchestra, led spectacularly by guest conductor Ryan Rowles. All of the soloists have rich, full voices, with standout performances by those who acted the songs rather than just standing and singing them.

What does it mean to have faith in God? What makes a family? These two questions fuel conflicting passions in the Los Angeles premiere of Matthew Lopez's THE WHIPPING MAN, directed with a deep understanding of the Jewish faith by Howard Teichman, Artistic Director of West Coast Jewish Theatre.

Broadway, television and film star CHEYENNE JACKSON will make his first appearance in the 30th Annual Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.) "S.T.A.G.E. Goes to the Movies," being held on Saturday, May 10th at the historic Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. LAINIE KAZAN, RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN, MITZI GAYNOR, and JASON GOULD will also be making their first S.T.A.G.E. appearances and Tony® Award winner BETTY BUCKLEY will make her second S.T.A.G.E. turn.

If you have never seen THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK onstage, do not miss your chance to see it at the small black box Cupcake Theater in Hollywood, directed with a skilful hand and emotional insight by Sabrina Lloyd, starring Sigi Gradwohl as Anne Frank. Lloyd and Gradwohl present Anne's two-year ordeal hiding with her family during the German occupation of the Netherlands as a story of life, not death, and it is a true depiction of raw, daily survival during the Holocaust.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the Tony Award winning musical "Fiddler on the Roof" with book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jerry Bock, and music by Sheldon Harnick from March 14 to April 19 with 20 performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, and Thursdays on April 3, 10, and 17 at 8pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045.

It's been awhile since I can honestly say I was emotionally overwhelmed by a night of theater. There are so many thoughts wandering in and out of my mind that I hardly know where to begin except to say that religion, politics and theater collide superlatively under the imaginative and quick-paced direction of Bart DeLorenzo in the Los Angeles premiere of PASSION PLAY at the Odyssey Theatre.

The play examines the nature of honesty, and its use of a play within a play is one of many levels on which the author teases the audience with the difference between semblance and reality, both in love and on the stage. Couples change partners easily and partners confront each other when the evidence points to acts of indiscretion. And it seems the women are the worst offenders.

The Hamilton Music Academy is blessed with one of the few remaining full auditoriums within Los Angeles City Schools, complete with wings that allow large set pieces to be moved on and off the stage. John Paul Luckenbach's set pieces appear to be easily and quickly moved by cast members, incorporating the changes into the show itself which kept the place flowing along at a steady pace thanks to Chelsea Field's direction.

Love and pharmaceuticals make for a strange cocktail in Kate Fodor's piercing new comedy Rx. Containing equally strong doses of satire and insight, Fodor's play strikingly portrays our over-medicated society, which has a pill to alleviate every uncomfortable emotion. A winning combination of comedy and romance, Rx pokes gentle fun at our over-prescribed culture and our need to find pleasure in everything we do.