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RECENT THEATRE AND OTHER PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS
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“A CHILD LEFT BEHIND”: PLAYWRIGHT/PERFORMER ALAN AYMIE SPEAKS UP (05/04/2012 Theater Review in Beverly Hills by M.R. Hunter)
Amid steep budget cuts, teacher layoffs and disenfranchisement within school districts, one educator is intent on making a difference in his one-man show, “A Child Left Behind.”
As a parent and a teacher, Alan Aymie’s one-man show is heartfelt, informative and moving. It doesn’t attack the system by pointing blame but reveals the deep cracks from which children of various backgrounds and individual needs are slipping through...
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WHY ARE WE SO HUNGRY FOR THE HUNGER GAMES? (04/27/2012 Film Review in Los Angeles by Mark Share)
Child sacrifice seemed to go out of style after the ancient Greek king Agamemnon kills his daughter Iphigenia for something as ephemeral as a good wind to assist the Greeks on their voyage to sack Troy. His wife Clytemnestra made the point by killing him when he returned home.
The earliest part of the bible that forms the basis of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions makes an express point that modern, monotheistic God does not desire such offerings, when God tells Abraham to spare his son Isaac. But now, in the 21st century, the world is mad to fill the multiplexes to view a filmed depiction of a world, a post-apocalyptic United States, where child sacrifices are the entertainment spectacle of the year. Whatever happened to the Super Bowl and the finales of various talent shows goes unmentioned...
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SPRING AWAKENING RETURNED ALREADY (04/27/2012 Theater Review in Hollywood by Mark Share)
It's not been long since Spring Awakening arrived at the big Ahmanson Theatre after winning all those 2007 Tony awards on Broadway and showed everyone how entertaining it is to portray teen sexual exploration in a world of cruel and clueless grownups sung to a pop-rock score.
The formula gave us the show Glee,and now, returning the favor, we have a small theater revival of "Spring Awakening" as though the high schoolers themselves were putting on the show.
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THE ULTIMATE ICEBREAKER: “NAKED BEFORE GOD” (04/19/2012 Theater Review in Hollywood by M.R. Hunter)
Geter’s absurd microcosm of a former porn star family is the kind of show that drops its drawers, bends over and delivers without the benefit of any lube. Forget finesse or foreplay. It’s crass, over-the-top satire without any substance, but it is ridiculously funny.
While the premise of an aging porn star mom trying to make quick cash through a born-again tell-all book and reality TV show is as superficial as a one-night stand, Geter’s zingy dialogue does turn out some tricks...
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THEY WON’T STAY DEAD! IN “URBAN DEATH” (04/05/2012 Theater Review in Los Angeles by M.R. Hunter)
If you recognize the tagline to this classic zombie film, then you’re the perfect victim for Zombie Joe’s Underground inurbane “Urban Death” back by popular demand.
Pregnant women and those suffering from heart conditions should probably pass on this immersive sensory experience as total darkness precedes each scene. For everyone else who enjoys things that go bump in the night, you won’t be disappointed...
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THE PERFECTIONIST: HERSHEY FELDER IN LINCOLN - AN AMERICAN STORY AT THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE (04/02/2012 Theater Review in Hollywood by Mark Share)
Hershey Felder is a perfectionist and a genius. Felder’s ambition and artistic success exceed all reason. He writes, composes, and stars in his own shows.
Of course Felder gets standing ovations...
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IMPROV IN THE REGENCY MODE - "JANE AUSTEN UNSCRIPTED" AT THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE (03/28/2012 Theater Review in Pasadena by Mark Share)
The improv theater company called “Impro Theatre” has brought their popular Jane Austen Unscripted to the small space at the Pasadena Playhouse, and it is a smile laugh-filled evening whether or not you’re familiar with the six novels and the countless films of the novels, including Pride and Prejudice and Emma.
It is heaven for Austen fans and anyone who likes to laugh.
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A FANTASTICAL ODDITY AT THEATRE/THEATER (03/28/2012 Theater Review in Hollywood by Mark Share)
There’s a new serious play in the modernist style, with thoughtful direction, clever sets, and dedicated acting at Theatre/Theater. Also complete nudity.
It is Damon Chua’s, intelligent, difficult, long, and elaborately titled "1969: A Fantastical Odyssey Through the American Mindscape".
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THE SPIDEY PROJECT: WITH ZERO MONEY COMES A FUNNY PRODUCTION (03/22/2012 Theater Review in Los Angeles by M.R. Hunter)
Apparently, audiences can’t get enough of Spider-Man whether it’s the tricked out, aerial and injury prone version on Broadway or the Underoo-wearing hero on a 99 Store budget variety, Spider-Man in whatever form continues to draw audiences into his multifarious onstage web.
At least with “The Spidey Project” you won’t have to worry about one of the actors falling on your head, because this cardboard set parody isn’t swinging through the rafters, but it is a lot of fun...
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 COLORBLIND: “THE MANY MISTRESSES OF MARTIN LUTHER KING” AT EST/LA (03/22/2012 Theater Review in Los Angeles by Samuel Bernstein)
The story of Andrew Dolan’s new play, The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King, has nothing to do with Martin Luther King directly—but in another sense, it has everything to do with Dr. King. It seeks to define his legacy through the lives of modern people. What do we think about race in America? What do we say? What do we hide?
Simon is a white professor and writer, surrounded by African Americans, who imagines himself colorblind. In some ways that’s true. Regardless of race or upbringing, he expects everyone to meet the same high standards: His. Yet he is astoundingly blind to the issues of color that affect those whose skin color actually differs from his...
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RONALD K BROWN EVIDENCE - AHMANSON THEATRE (03/18/2012 Theater Review in Downtown LA by Kelly Hargraves)
Music and text fuel Ronald K. Brown’s storytelling. Ranging from classical and world music to pop and hip-hop, Brown’s work rides the music...
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"MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT" THE KIND OF SHOW THAT YOU CAN ENJOY SEEING AGAIN AND AGAIN AND KEEP SMILING THROUGH IT ALL (03/01/2012 Theater Review in Hollywood by Kelly Hargraves)
“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” are words that have echoed through pop culture since Monty Python and the Holy Grail brought them to us on movie screens in the 1970s.
Most in the Pantages’ crowd knew the words, even the young, but some didn’t know where they came from. Perhaps they thought those singing had seen this show before.
That in fact seemed to be the case for a lot of audience members who have made it their own “Holy Grail” to follow this exuberant work on Broadway, at a previous LA engagement at The Ahmanson Theatre and now, once again, for a one week engagement until Sunday March 4, 2012 at the Pantages Theatre...
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 DOMINGO’S GRAND FINALE: VERDI’S SIMON BOCCANEGRA (02/24/2012 Opera Review in Pasadena by Mark Share)
The legendary tenor and the General Director of the LA Opera, Plácido Domingo, is 71 years old. He has long planned a dignified conclusion to his extraordinary singing career, which is the title character in Verdi’s medieval political opera, Simon Boccanegra. It’s a brilliant choice, because the character, excluding the prologue, is not an ardent lover, but rather a father, with a big death scene from slow-acting poison, and the part has no traditional arias, instead being written with orations and arguments delivered in a comfortable baritone.
In fact, ease and confidence pervades Domingo’s masterful physical and vocal performance, and his ascendance from privateer to Doge of Genoa, and then reconciliation with his estranged daughter and political nemesis make perfect theatrical sense. Domingo has played this part around the world over the past few years and now brings it to his home company; it is a triumphant return...
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 THE UTTERLY EDWARDIAN BALL (02/24/2012 Review in Downtown LA by M.R. Hunter)
The Absinthe flowing was a rare treat;
Its tonic strong, its flavor bitterly sweet.
The Belasco is an exquisite venue
For an Edwardian Ball and bizarre retinue.
The Corsets were nothing short of fantastic
And made gentlemen more than enthusiastic.
The Dancing included waltzes on every floor
As well as Jitterbugging and Flappers and more.
The Edwardian theme was glamour and glitz
Dark in its tone, a sort of macabre blitz...
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DOMA THEATRE COMPANY KICKS OFF ITS FIRST OFFICIAL SEASON WITH A BASH (02/17/2012 Theater Review in Los Angeles by M.R. Hunter)
The DOMA Theatre Company announced its first official season at the Arena Nightclub with a bash as big and bold as their Broadway-style musical lineup.
If DOMA can make as big a splash with their shows as they did with their season opening soirée then this company plans to leave its mark.
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OUTRAGEOUS, LIFE-CHANGING "ART" (02/10/2012 11:11:00 AM Theater Review in Pasadena by Mark Share)
The Emmy Award-winning director David Lee brings a light comic touch to the revival of Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning play Art. Even for those who may not have enjoyed Reza’s more recent, and more prickly God of Carnage, there is much to appreciate in the pathos, humor, and torrents of clever words and speeches that make up the modern classic, Art.
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"FAIRY TALE THEATRE 18+" IS PEE IN YOUR PANTS FUNNY (02/09/2012 Theater Review in Los Angeles by M.R. Hunter)
I’m going to open my review with some sage advice: Don’t drink anything before this show as there’s no intermission and you’ll likely wet your pants from all the gut-wrenching laughter. Also, (and this is for the ladies), plan to schedule a Botox injection to rid yourself of those new laugh lines you'll have after this show.
Other than that, all the advice you’ll need about how to circumvent the tricky waters of adulthood is in this clever mash-up of moralizing tales UNsuitable for younger audiences but a crack-up for everyone else who could benefit from absurdly wise guidance.
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BUGS IN THE BIG TOP! CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S OVO AT THE SANTA MONICA PIER (01/26/2012 Theater Review in Santa Monica by Mark Share)
They have no spines! They are amazing! The international contortionists and acrobats are back at the pier under the Grand Chapiteau. Ovo, meaning egg, presents the company as insects scurrying manically around, fighting and falling in love.
They are like a favorite band that returns with some new songs, in the style you already love...
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“WHO’S YOUR DADDY?” STILL RUNNING, STILL POPULAR (01/19/2012 Theater Review in Burbank by M.R. Hunter)
At the risk of becoming the last call critic, I saw Johnny O’Callaghan’s wildly successful one-man show now extended through February 19 at the Victory Theatre in Burbank.
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CASEBOLT & SMITH - BORN ENTERTAINERS AND SKILLED MOVERS IN O(H) AT THE ACTOR'S COMPANY THEATRE (01/19/2012 Dance Review in West Hollywood by Kelly Hargraves)
I turned gay watching Joel Smith dance the other day. No really, I did! I couldn’t stop watching Joel’s half naked, perspiring body dance. His partner Liz Casebolt had warned me (in song, no less) that if I stared too long I would “turn gay” and I did it anyway!
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Despite her clever, knowing way of anticipating what a helpless audience member like me would do, and the musical warning, I did it anyway! I bet I wasn’t the only one, either...
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