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The Kentwood Players will present “Oliver!”now through April 21, with performances on Friday and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse , 8301 Hindry Avenue in Los Angeles. With music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, and based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, this much-loved British musical won several Tony Awards on Broadway and vividly brings to life Dickens' timeless characters with its ever-popular story of the boy who asked for more. The production is directed by Harold Dershimer, with musical dir...
Are you hungry yet? I hope so because with THE HUNGER GAMES you are in for a seven course meal with all the trimmings, guaranteed to satisfy even the most ravenous fan. Directed by Gary Ross and based on Suzanne Collins’ best selling young adult novel of the same name, THE HUNGER GAMES is not only a faithful adaptation of the book, but excels with high production values, vivid visual imagery, thought provoking detail on topical social and political issues as relevant today as in the futuristic R...
This is a big week for movie releases and there’s quite an assortment from which to choose. In the mood for some laughter myself, I’ll give you a glimpse of two of my favorite films of 2012, both opening March 16th - CASA DE MI PADRE and, the funniest film of the year, 21 JUMP STREET. CASA DE MI PADRE Admittedly not a big Will Ferrell fan, suffice it to say that when I tell you that CASA DE MI PADRE is flawlessly funny and absurdly hilarious, you can take it to the bank that it is. So ent...
Anyone who knows me or who is a regular reader, knows of my unabashed admiration and respect for Nic Cage. While his chosen roles and performances are sometimes spot on and sometimes not, he never ceases to stretch himself and go outside the box with interesting, eclectic diversity. In SEEKING JUSTICE, Cage is in unfamiliar territory as the bookish Will Gerard which lends itself well to Cage delivering one of his best performances in some time. A high school teacher, Will is married to the...
“American Night: The Ballad of Juan José,” written by Richard Montoya, developed by Culture Clash and Jo Bonney, and directed by Bonney, opens Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre. Performances continue through April. The cast includes (in alphabetical order) Stephanie Beatriz, Rodney Gardiner, David Kelly, Terri McMahon, René Millán, Richard Montoya, Kimberly Scott, Herbert Siguenza and Daisuke Tsuji. The choreography is by Ken Roht, scenic design by Neil Patel, costume design by ESosa, lighting design by David...
Long an admirer of Tyler Perry and his works (with a few exceptions), I was curious to see what he would bring us with GOOD DEEDS, a film in which Perry sheds his usual onscreen persona of Madea and her over-the-top hilarity, and presents us with a man who, as I have come to learn, is the closest thing to Perry himself that we have ever seen. My curiosity is well-rewarded as GOOD DEEDS soars with emotion and is without a doubt, the best work that Tyler Perry has done to date; and by work, this...
Into The Torrent Sea, A Staged Reading Of The Lost Journal Of Grace O'Malley, The Pirate Queen Of Connaught will be performed on March 4, 11, 18 and 25 at 2 pm at the FanaticSalon Theater, 3815 Sawtelle Blvd., Culver City by Sandra Caruso. Parking: (SW corner of Sawtelle and Venice, park behind theater or on street) This is the true story of Grace O'Malley, a female Irish pirate from the 1500's on her journey to meet with her enemy, Queen Elizabeth. The two women work out a deal which allows Grace to remain a pirate. This journey takes place...
Kentwood To Present Oliver The Kentwood Players will have “Oliver” from March 16 to April 21, with performances on Friday and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Avenue in Los Angeles. With music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, and based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, this much-loved British musical won several Tony Awards on Broadway. The production is directed by Harold Dershimer, with musical direction by Catherine Rahm, choreography by Anna Rubin, and produced by Rocky and Victoria Miller...
Ebony Repertory Theatre’s highly successful production A Raisin in the Sunopened Sunday at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. The classic Lorraine Hansberry play debuted in 1959, and was the first play produced by an African American woman on Broadway. The playwright was inspired by her own family experiences moving into an all-white neighborhood when she was a child -- the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood during the early 1950s. The play later became a fil...
Steven Soderbergh - you are forgiven. After The Girlfriend Experience starring porn star turned wannabe actress, Sasha Grey, I didn’t think I would ever watch another Soderbergh film. Although visually stunning thanks to impressive cinematography, the heinous “acting” of Grey left me cold. Then came Contagion, a rehash of a rehash of a rehash just with bigger names than the prior rehashes. And I was saddened wondering where was the Steven Soderbergh of old? The Soderbergh who gave us the fun,...
Previews begin tonight (January 19) for the critically-acclaimed Ebony Repertory Theatre production of Lorraine Hansberry’s American classic “A Raisin in the Sun,” playing at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Opening night is January 22 and performances continue through February 19. Cast members include (in alphabetical order) Kenya Alexander, Keith Arthur Bolden, Brandon David Brown, Kevin T. Carroll, Jason Dirden, Deidrie Henry, Amad Jackson, Scott Mosenson, Kem Saunders, Kim Staunton and Ellis E. Williams. Phylici...
I have never known the world without those adorable, energetic and often impish chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore, and their adoptive father Dave Seville, as all were “born” along with me in 1958. In fact, The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) has been a mainstay of the holiday season for me since my first Christmas. Subsequent Chipmunk songs and albums were always a highlight for me, as were the cartoons when they began appearing on tv in 1961. And after a sad hiatus from the small...
Observer Editor In my less enlightened days I thought one-person plays wouldn’t be very interesting. Thankfully I no longer think that way, and Sunday night at the Kirk Douglas Theatre I thoroughly enjoyed Charlayne Woodard’s presentation of “The Night Watcher.” On opening night all of the theatre’s 317 seats were filled. As I drove in the rain I wondered if that would be the case, but the theatre was sold out and there was also a line of folks without tickets hoping for cancellat...
Entertainment Editor “Red Noses”, written by British playwright Peter Barnes has been chosen as the premiere play of the Actors’ Gang’s 30th season. Barnes was known for his dark comedy using shocking and biting, social satire. His Holocaust play is titled “Laughter”. “Red Noses” was written in 1978 but not performed until 1985 due to the newness of the AIDS epidemic and lack of information concerning it. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production in London that year won the prestigious Olivi...
Observer Editor I like country music, so it pleases me that ‘I’ve Never Been So Happy” at the Kirk Douglas Theatre is a two-hour musical with a Western theme. The near capacity crowd at the Sunday matinee agreed if we can judge from the frequent applause and occasional ovations. But if you object to raw language that isn’t necessary it may not be for you. I thought the play would have been better without the four-letter words. However, I’ve seen a lot of plays at the Kirk Douglas and this one...
By Mitch Chortkoff Observer Editor Shortly after I entered the Kirk Douglas Theatre Saturday afternoon to see “The Method Gun” ushers approached the audience with a pencil and slip of paper. We were asked to write the name of a teacher who had inspired us early in life, someone who made a difference. The play began and for the next 90 minutes there was no mention of the request. The play was about a popular teacher who suddenly departed for South America, leaving her students and former stu...
Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group, has set the 2011-2012 season at CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theatre. The new season is the eighth at the theater in Culver City and will feature four productions and the popular DouglasPlus programming. It will run from September 17, 2011, through June 2012. The new season will include the poignant storytelling of Charlayne Woodard in her newest play, “The Night Watcher”; the riveting Ebony Repertory Theatre production of Lorraine Hansb...
In this post-Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer, the theatres are full of little gems to satisfy every demographic out there (well, except for my brother). So for a little change this week, rather than one in-depth review (which you will still be able to find on my website), I’ll take a look at several of this weekend’s openers. SUBMARINE What a quirky little delight SUBMARINE is! Filled with cuteness, laugh out loud funny and dark comedy that I just can’t praise enoug...
“PARADE” With book by Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown From Friday, March 18 to Saturday, April 23, 2011 At the Westchester Playhouse Kentwood Players presents the Tony Award winning musical "Parade” with book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown from Friday, March 18 to Saturday, April 23, 2011 with performances on Friday and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Los Angeles, CA 90045. The produ...
To be a gnome or not be a gnome; that is the question. And the answer, my friends? Go “gnomal” with the most “GNOMETASTIC” film of the year (and my pick for Best Animated Feature at Oscar 2012) - GNOMEO & JULIET!! If I died today, it would be with a smile on my face and a song in my heart after seeing GNOMEO & JULIET. I smiled, laughed, teared up, got goosebumps, smiled some more, laughed a lot more, tapped my toes, danced in my seat and had a grin from ear to ear the entire time...and when the...
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the J. Paul Getty Trust are pleased to announce their joint acquisition of art and archival materials by or associated with Robert Mapplethorpe, one of the great photographers of the second half of the twentieth century. The vast majority of the acquisition comes in the form of a generous gift from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, and the remainder from funds provided by The David Geffen Foundation and the J. Paul Getty Trust. This significant acquisition establishes Los Angeles as the center...
One rock. One man. The forces of nature. A really crappy off-brand Leatherman tool. 127 hours. Who else but Danny Boyle, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, and actor James Franco could turn that combination into one of the most exciting, suspenseful and triumphant films of the year? The answer - no one. Aron Ralston is a mountaineer and extreme sport athlete who lives for the adrenalin rush of doing the impossible, the unthinkable and even the reckless and unsafe. His greatest passion is rock...
Empowering! Inspirational! Sally Hawkins is entrancing. Miranda Richardson is the icing on the cake. Bob Hoskins is deliciously fun. The human spirit captured on the screen in each character is uplifting and energizing. What am I talking about you ask? None other than MADE IN DAGENHAM - director Nigel Cole's spotlight on yet another group of courageous brave women who have made a difference. Cole previously brought us the ebullient "Calendar Girls" based on the true story of a group of post 50...
There are two definitions of the word "conviction." The first, is "an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence." The second, used in a legal sense, is "the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime." With CONVICTION, we have the perfect blend of both meanings on a multitude of levels. We see the conviction of Tony Goldwyn in his execution and direction of the film. We see the conviction of each actor in their respective performances. We...
