The Paper Nautilus
Long Beach Opera launched its new Outer Limits Series with a production of Gavin Bryars' The Paper Nautious. The series will feature a theatrical exploration of musical works not intended for the operatic stage. Funded by a grant for the next three years and scheduled outside of the company's regular season, Outer Limits gives LBO's Artistic Director, Andreas Mitisek, carte blache to promote unfamiliar pieces which he feels his audience will appreciate. And, if the success of the inaugural production is any indicator, the LBO audience is in for an exciting journey.
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Ghost-Writer
In the sixth edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary hyphens were removed from 16,000 entries. Nevertheless, Michael Hollinger has left the little line in the title of his latest play, Ghost-Writer (now in its west coast premiere at Long Beach’s International City Theatre, through September 16). That Hollinger included the dash-like mark in the script’s moniker not only distinguishes it from the more customary spelling, ghostwriter, but also from the recent Roman Polanski film, The Ghost Writer. What’s more, this pesky piece of punctuation serves to underscore the persnicketiness of professional writers.
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An Iliad
It is a story that every public school literature teacher (back in a certain age) required. The Iliad, Homer’s epic poem, purports to chronicle the Trojan War, its horrors and its heroes, its gods and its goddesses, from one poet’s point of view. Unfortunately, that mythic history of the Greek pantheon and the war’s principle human players was wasted on the 20th century’s young scholars, who needed more life experience to relate to the tales of war heroes and their deities.
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Robert E. Lee: Shades of Gray
Robert E. Lee, the storied southern gentleman who became the legendary Confederate general, is the fascinating subject of playwright/performer Tom Dugan’s fact-filled presentation: Robert E. Lee: Shades of Gray, now in production at Beverly Hills’ Theatre 40.
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West Side Story
1957’s West Side Story – with groundbreaking choreography by Jerome Robbins, a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim – is a masterpiece of collaboration by some modern day masters of the musical theater. Set in mid-century New York City, West Side Story, now in production at the Chance Theater through August 19, seems a particularly timely staging for the lauded Anaheim Hills theatrical troupe.
After all, given the recent upheavals in the city of Anaheim – police shootings, ethnic tensions, and a city that’s population is one-third Latino but has not one Hispanic city council member—the parallels between this story, set 55 years ago, and current events is notable and a bit disconcerting.
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The Lonesome Travelers
The late, great James Brown once posed the melodically rhetorical question, “Do you like good music?” Now there’s a celebratory rejoinder to that rhythmic query, and it’s been on display for a week (August 26 – September 2) at the Laguna Playhouse, in the form of a concert production of The Lonesome Travelers. Indeed, if you do like good music there’s no better place to hear and enjoy it than through the revue of the American folk music tradition onstage at this soulful seaside venue.
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Blame It On Beckett
Blame It On Beckett, John Morogiello’s latest play, had its debut last autumn at New York City’s Abingdon Theatre Company. Now, under Andrew Barnicle’s straightforward direction, this backstage comedy of mixed tones and emotions is onstage, in its West Coast premiere, at Burbank’s Colony Theatre, through September 2. While Beckett may be designed with theater geeks and dedicated drama aficionados in mind, it’s possibly a bit esoteric for broader audiences.
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All the King's Men
In 1946, All the Kings Men hit the bookstands. Written by Robert Penn Warren — who later would be named our Nation’s first Poet Laureate – an Academy Award-winning film was created in 1949 from Warren’s novel. Warren initially attempted to script the story for the stage, in a so-called verse play titled Proud Flesh. It wasn’t until 1987, however, that Adrian Hall effectively adapted Warren’s novel to the boards, keeping the book’s title intact.
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Iris
Iris: A Journey Through the World of Cinema
Cirque du Soleil’s recent spectacle, the $120-million Iris: A journey Through the World of Cinema, remains on extravagant display in Hollywood at the newly named Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre). With hoards of well honed performers, and preceded by multiple lavish franchises in Las Vegas, Iris is Cirque’s first permanent installment in Southern California.
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Zoot Suit
It is a bit of SoCal history relegated to a forgotten file cabinet, seemingly as outdated as the file cabinet itself. Fortunately, the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Los Angeles riots of the early 1940s have been broughtI out, dusted off, dramatized, and brilliantly showcased in song, dance, and dialogue at San Diego’s Repertory Theatre. Unfortunately, the themes of racial tension and ethnic profiling that were the foci of the original play are relevant today. (Can you say, Sheriff Joe Arpaio?)
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