BWW Review: South Coast Rep's 41st Annual Production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL Remains Enchanting
While most Southern California theatergoers are likely more aware of the 'big deal,' direct-from-Broadway production of Charles Dickens' classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL now playing in Los Angeles featuring big star names in its roster, many should not necessarily bypass the other, less star-studded mounting now entertaining audiences in Costa Mesa through December 26, 2021---that's more subtle in its grandeur, but still just as enchanting and timeless at its core. SCR's 41st annual production now features Richard Doyle in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Photo Flash: Actors Co-op Presents Lee Blessing's A BODY OF WATER
Actors Co-op's production of Lee Blessing's “A Body of Water” with the world premiere of Blessing's new ending, directed by Nan McNamara, produced by Crystal Jackson, opened to a SOLD OUT house Friday night. The play runs now through March 15, at Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Lee Blessing's A BODY OF WATER is Coming To Actors Co-op in February
The Award-winning Actors Co-op Theatre Company will present 'A Body of Water' written by Lee Blessing with the world premiere of Blessing's new ending, directed by Nan McNamara, produced by Crystal Jackson. The play will run February 7 through March 15, at Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Photo Flash: Actor's Co-Op Presents OUR TOWN
Actors Co-op (Ovation Award-Winner 2014 Best Intimate Theatre Musical for 110 in the Shade) presents the first show in its celebratory 25th Silver Anniversary season with OUR TOWN, by Thornton Wilder and directed by Richard Israel. OUR TOWN will preview on Wednesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 15 at 8pm and will open on Friday, September 16 at 8pm and run through Sunday, October 23 at the Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St. (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.
Actors Co-Op Presents First Show of 25th Anniversary Season
Actors Co-op (Ovation Award-Winner 2014 Best Intimate Theatre Musical for 110 in the Shade) presents the first show in its celebratory 25th Silver Anniversary season with OUR TOWN, by Thornton Wilder and directed by Richard Israel. OUR TOWN will preview on Wednesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 15 at 8pm and will open on Friday, September 16 at 8pm and run through Sunday, October 23 at the Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St. (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.
BWW Review: HAMLET - A Successful Contemporized & Humanized Re-Telling
Four Clowns' founder and former artistic director Jeremy Aluma has deftly infused his Four Clowns magic directing his contemporary version of the classic HAMLET just finishing its run at the Lyceum Theater. Eschewing Shakespeare's couplets and metrics, this normal-speak HAMLET could be in any time period where fedora-ed men wear three-piece suits and ties while women can wear baggy pastel-colored pants and a beret.
'Pro99' Actors' Equity Members Send Open Letter to AEA President
Members of the 'Pro99' movement of Actors' Equity Association have issued an open letter to AEA's newly elected president, Kate Shindle, in response to her victory and to her inaugural address as president of the national union for actors and stage managers. The open letter is signed by over 400 Equity members (listed below), including such notable names as Ed Asner, Francis Fisher, Sally Kirkland and Alfred Molina. The 'Pro99' movement formed in late 2014 in opposition to AEA's rollout of a new plan that will effectively force 'intimate theaters' in Los Angeles to pay Equity actors minimum wage, go 'non-union' or even close - despite an overwhelming vote against the plan by 66% of the Los Angeles membership on an advisory referendum. 'Pro99' members around the nation, who take their name from the current AEA '99 Seat Plan' that allows members to volunteer in smaller venues, oppose AEA's new promulgated plan. They are requesting that Equity leadership put a moratorium on the plan until local members' voices can be heard, and that the union work with its members to develop an alternative plan that will more realistically address the needs of the Los Angeles theater community.
Bilingual Play THE LONG ROAD/EL LARGO CAMINO DE HOY Opens Tonight
Two years ago, with funding from The James Irvine Foundation and in partnership with Latino Health Access, South Coast Repertory launched a play-development project in Santa Ana called Dialogue/Dialogos. The project captured the stories and memories of nearly 1,000 of the city's Latino residents, which created the core of a new bilingual play, The Long Road Today/El Largo Camino de Hoy,written by Jose Cruz Gonzalez.
The Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra and Youth Wind Ensemble to Perform in Individual Spring Concerts, 3/1 and 3/9
Two captivating displays of youthful musicality take place next month as Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO) and Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble (PSYWE) perform an impressive range of music for their individual spring concerts. The students are bonded more than at any other time during the year, having recently returned from winter retreats, and have prepared some challenging repertoire to perform for the community. Led by Music Director Alejandro Gutiérrez, PSYO travels for the first time to Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo, on Saturday, March 1, at 3 p.m., to perform a concert of 20th-century music by Prokofiev, John Williams, James Newton Howard, Ginastera and more. Then, the exuberant sounds of PSYWE are heard the following weekend on Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Led by Music Director Joshua Roach, the wind ensemble performs and narrates Mussorgsky's masterwork, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” and plays exciting music by Shostakovich, Grainger, Barber and Barnes. Tickets are $12, general admission; for more information or to purchase, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.