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Coming to the Saban Theatre on February 11 is a trio of exceptional female talent. Multiple Grammy Award-winner Olivia Newton-John, Grammy nominee Beth Nielsen Chapman and SOCAN Award-winner Amy Sky take the stage to lend their vocal, songwriting, and performing talents to create a special "LIV ON" collaborative concert. "LIV ON" is an album about grief and healing that was released in October 2016 to help inspire those who wish to transcend loss while walking a journey toward new-found meaning...
Casting is complete and rehearsals have begun for Ngozi Anyanwu’s new play “Good Grief” at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Directed by Patricia McGregor, Anyanwu will also perform in “Good Grief” for its world premiere at the Douglas, which begins previews February 26, opens March 5 and closes March 26, 2017. This is the first of Anyanwu’s plays to receive a full professional production. The cast features, in alphabetical order, Dayo Ade, Wade Allain-Marcus, Ngozi Anyanwu, Marcus Henderson, Omozé Idehenre, Carl...
Disney’s heading back to the sea this Thanksgiving weekend with the beauteous animated feature, MOANA. Inspired by culture, legends and folklore of the Polynesians and Pacific Islanders and the many islands of Oceania in the South Pacific, directors Ron Clements and John Musker together with co-directors Chris Williams and Don Hall, tap into that history and the connection between the people and the earth, particularly the sea, to deliver a story celebratory in the ancient history of n...
Mars. Long a dream of mankind (and especially Buzz Aldrin) is for man to go to Mars. Not just with land rovers and satellites sending images back to Earth, but to walk upon and colonize. NASA and other space agencies have now long been working toward that very goal. Tests done on space shuttle missions, on the International Space Station, and now the "Twins" experiment with astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly, are all yielding results that will further the realization of the Mars dream. Hollywood, a...
It's a box office bonanza at the movies this weekend with not just an eclectic slate of new releases, but award-worthy films, among them the film is without a doubt the best picture of the year. Outstanding is a documentary from Otto Bell which tells the story of Aisholpan, a young Mongolian girl who follows her dream and breaks the centuries-old glass ceiling of her culture, soaring as THE EAGLE HUNTRESS. Don't be surprised to see this on the Oscar short list for Best Documentary Feature this...
Jim Messina -- songwriter, singer, guitarist, recording engineer and record producer -- is back on the road again with his 2017 solo tour, which will be making a stop at the intimate Smothers Theatre on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu on January 29. One half of Loggins & Messina, co-founder of the country-rock band Poco, and member and key contributor to folk-rock group Buffalo Springfield, Messina, 69, has left an indelible footprint on popular music, selling over 20 million...
Super-sized ideas! Super-sized dreams! Ray Kroc was the epitome of both. Always a hard-working man of vision, nothing topped his greatest vision when he met with brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California for the purpose of verifying an order for milkshake machines. Kroc didn't just make the sale, he laid the groundwork for achieving the quintessential American Dream by way of hamburgers, french fries (400 degrees until slightly golden), pickles, milkshakes and the idea of...
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter Musica Angelica, an internationally renowned baroque orchestra based in Southern California and led by music director Martin Haselbock - award-winning harpsichordist, conductor and composer - treated their audience to their annual holiday concert featuring the music and baroque treasures of J.S. Bach at Colburn School's Zipper Hall. This orchestra is dedicated to the historically informed performance of baroque and classical music on period instruments and...
Center Theatre Group has selected three local productions for the inaugural Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Block Party will remount Coeurage Theatre Company's production of "Failure: A Love Story" by Philip Dawkins, Echo Theater Company's production of "Dry Land" by Ruby Rae Spiegel and Fountain Theatre's production of "Citizen: An American Lyric" by Claudia Rankine and adapted for the stage by Stephen Sachs. Each production will have a...
Polish-born Grammy-nominated operatic lyric tenor sensation Piotr Beczala took a quick break from his appearance of a revival of La Boheme at The Met in New York to treat his adoring fans to a recital, for the third time, at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. It was a part of The Celebrity Opera Series. Conducting the orchestra was the very capable and ultra-passionate Maestro Marco Boemi. Beczala is one of the most sought after lyric tenors of our time and has appeared on the world's leading oper...
Kentwood Players proudly presents THE IMAGINARY INVALID by Molière, an outrageous satire of medicine and its practitioners, opening Friday, January 13 through Saturday, February 18, 2017 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester. There will be a champagne and dessert reception between 7 pm and 7:30pm for season subscribers and members attending the Saturday, January 14 performance. The production is directed...
Playwright, actor and director Tim Crouch will join the cast of the American premiere of "Adler & Gibb," a co-commission by Center Theatre Group with the Royal Court Theatre in London. Written and directed by Crouch and co-directed with Andy Smith and Karl James, the DouglasPlus presentation of "Adler & Gibb" will run January 17 to 29 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. The opening will be on January 18. The cast includes Crouch as Sam, Gina Moxley as Margaret Gibb, Jillian Pullara as...
Long a fan of Patricia Highsmith's novels, it is always with much trepidation that I approach cinematic adaptations. Known for complexity, psychological intrigue, depth and richness to her works, translating the literary layers from the mind's eye to the big screen is challenging at best. Last year's "Carol" was exquisitely adapted for the screen by Phyllis Nagy, so much so as to deliver even more depth and emotional texture in the relationship between the characters than what we felt on the pag...
Rev up for non-stop family fun with four of your favorite Disney stories when Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment in Southern California. This action-packed ice spectacular showcases beloved characters from Disney•Pixar's Cars, Toy Story 3, Disney's The Little Mermaid plus the enchanting Academy Award®-winning Frozen. Produced by Feld Entertainment, Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment is performing from December 15 through January 8, 2017 at Staples Center, Anaheim's H...
Kentwood Players will hold open auditions for the musical "Big Fish" with Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa and Book by John August, on Saturday, January 14, 2017 from 11 am to 2 pm and Sunday, January 15 from 6 pm to 9 pm. Callbacks by invitation only will be held on Monday, January 16 at 7 pm. This is a non-equity, non-paid production led by Director/Musical Director Catherine Rahm with choreography by Alison Mattiza and produced by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete by special arrangement with Theatrica...
The 7th AFFAIR OF THE ARTS in Downtown Culver City will be held on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, November 18 to 20, and will feature fine and functional art, music, activities for kids and an interactive art project titled “Sacred Water” which is in support of those protecting our water and protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. This art project illustrates the critical role art can play in social justice and bringing people together to explore important issues -- intentional planning by the event’s producers from TheWhole9.com and...
A big year for boxing movies with Jonathan Jakubowicz's "Hands of Stone" with Edgar Ramirez as Roberto Duran and now writer/director Ben Younger's BLEED FOR THIS with Miles Teller handily playing the charismatic Providence, Rhode Island boxer Vinny Pazienza aka the Pazmanian Devil aka Vinny Paz. (Ironically, during his career Paz twice defeated Duran.) With contrasting storytelling approaches, while Jakubowicz integrates key bouts of Duran's career into his story and showcases actual boxing as...
AVPA's Blurred Vision Theatre Company will open its 2016-17 season with Almost, Maine at The Ivy Substation in downtown Culver City November 10 to 13. Written by John Cariani, the romantic comedy is about a town "thats so far north, its almost not in the United States – its almost in Canada. And it almost doesnt exist, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So its just...Almost." On a wintry Friday night, under the glow of the Northern Lights, residents of Almost find t...
Perhaps more appropriate for opening this week than was ever thought when planning film release schedules is Denis Villeneuve’s ARRIVAL. Written by Eric Heisserer based on the award-winning sci-fi novella “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, ARRIVAL is conceptually fascinating with its thematic exploration of time, and more importantly, commentary on humanity and mankind in general. Cerebral and intelligent, ARRIVAL leads one to a fascination with the art of communication and the "what if" of possibility and the unknown. A thinking movie, ARRIV...
It is rare to find a perfect match between filmmaker and material; rarer still to see that match made in heaven come to fruition with glorious result. But that is exactly what we have with Tim Burton and MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN, a gloriously goth, visually imaginative and engaging film yet with a caring, sweet edge that finds Tim Burton once again at the top of his game and almost assuredly, at the top of the box office. Directed by Burton and written by Jane Goldman based...
The 7th AFFAIR OF THE ARTS in Downtown Culver City will be held on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, November 18 – 20, and will feature fine and functional art, music, activities for kids and an interactive art project titled “Sacred Water” which is in support of those protecting our water and protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. This art project illustrates the critical role art can play in social justice and bringing people together to explore important issues -- intentional planning by the event’s producers from TheWhol...
It has long been a running banter between myself and Ewan McGregor as to when he would move from in front of the camera to behind the lens. His response has consistently been, "When I find the right project." Well, the "right project" finally came along with the adaptation of Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning AMERICAN PASTORAL. Often described as a complex and challenging work, and rightly so, this 1997 Roth work is perhaps the hallmark of his prolific career. And while many of Roth's works...
Nice to know that should Clint Eastwood choose to continue directing, he has a future career with Lifetime movies as that is exactly what his latest big screen foray with SULLY is. That's not to say there's anything wrong with Lifetime movies. I have watched more than my fair share over the years as I am sure many of you have. While solid workmanship, there's a reason those films are "made for tv" and that's exactly where SULLY belongs; on tv and not on the big screen. We all know the story of...
The world premiere of Jon Robin Baitz's "Vicuña," directed by Robert Egan, opens this Sunday, October 30, at 6:30 p.m. at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatr in Culver Citye. Performances for "Vicuña" continue through November 20. The cast includes, in alphabetical order, Linda Gehringer, Brian George, Harry Groener, Ramiz Monsef and Samantha Sloyan. Influenced by the evolving political landscape, this brand new satire focuses on a brash presidential candidate on the rise – a blu...
As if David MacKenzie's award-worthy "Hell or High Water" wasn't enough of a reason to celebrate cinema, and particularly the American western, Antoine Fuqua brings us the high octane stunning reimagination of "The Magnificent Seven." But now lauded horror genre writer/director/editor Ti West enters the corral with IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, a real rootin' tootin' western but with a Ti West twist, proving yet again that the western is alive and well and very much beloved. As we saw with "The...
