Category Archives: Theatre

The theatre. The theatre. What’s HAPPENED to the theatre?

Good Luck Chuck and Ragtime

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So I was supposed to drive to Riverside for West Side Story (Performance Riverside) and then down to San Diego (Starlight Theatre) for Ragtime. But when I woke up at 1:17pm, I decided against rushing out of the house to WSS (I feel a bit like a heel though, since I knew folks from Torrance’s WSS were in it) and decided instead to head down to San Diego early and catch a flick. Good Luck Chuck This movie fits in the same vein as Wedding Crashers…rated R, lots of sex, lots of jokes. Great fun if you don’t mind a little crudity. The premise is that Dane Cook gets hexed by a Wiccan girl he refuses to have sex with as a child. Every girl he sleeps with will marry the next man they date. Then he meets Jessica Alba, an accident prone girl whom he really likes. Chaos ensues, … Continue reading →

A Weekend In The Country

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[Bonus points if you understand the title reference] So here it is…Labor Day Weekend 2007. I spent the weekend at the King Frederick Best Western in Solvang. The whole purpose of the trip was to see PCPA’s Urinetown, but I also ended up finishing Pearl Harbor by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen. The theatre ended up being less than a 1/10 of a mile from our hotel, and it felt really fun to walk to the theatre, see the show and then walk back to the hotel. I’ll have to make this Solvang trip more of a regular thing to see more theatre and walk back to my room. 😉 Urinetown…Not the Place, The Musical The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) presents Urinetown in Santa Maria and at Solvang’s TheatreFest. At first Officer Lockstock seemed a bit too over the top with his gay act, but after a … Continue reading →

War and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

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Luke Adams (fellow cast member from Torrance’s Joseph (2004) and Camelot (2005)) was cast as the Beast in Starlight Theatre’s outdoor production and did an incredible job. I was lucky enough to head down there for the closing performance. We left Orange County around 3:30 with the hopes of catching a movie before the show. Success on both fronts! War featuring Jason Statham and Jet Li This was a very exciting film, portraying the tale of Rogue, a Yakuza (Japanese mob) hitman who pits Yakuza members in San Francisco against the Triad (Chinese mob), and John Crawford, a member of the FBI’s Asian Organized Crime unit out to avenge his partner’s death (to the extent of all else – his marriage, his son, etc.). Aside from Jet Li and Jason Statham being incredible fighters, the story was really solid and really enjoyable. At least that’s what I can claim – … Continue reading →

Bill Handel 14th Extravaganza & A Salute To John Williams

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Political correctness is a disease that has a stranglehold on this country. That’s why I go to see Bill Handel’s live show…it’s politically incorrect and hilarious. Where else can you watch James Brown sing “I Feel Dead”, Michael Vick sing “Dead Puppies” and Kim Jong Il Yung sing “How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?” Just like the manatees who write Family Guy, if one thing isn’t funny, nothing is funny. A Salute to John Williams – featuring tons of movies you never heard of! Featuring the 501st Legion! Notice the incredibly tall Imperial Fighter. I admire these guys…. March from Superman This piece reminded me of how disappointed I was with Sky Captain…that main theme was so reminiscent of Superman and yet the movie let me down so much…. Harry Potter The Sorcerer’s Stone (actually The Face of Voldemort) Harry’s Wondrous World Sayuri’s Theme from Memoirs of a … Continue reading →

Marvin Hamlisch and the Long Beach Symphony Pops!

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AND THE UNITED STATES ARMY FIELD BAND JAZZ AMBASSADORS!!!! They played swing music and I had to sit their instead of jumping up and dancing it because no one was able to take up the 2nd ticket. Shoot. So I show up for the event ready for a good time just because I love A Chorus Line (currently playing at the Curtis Theatre in Brea…go see it!) and The Sting. I don’t get a program, take my seat and wait for the show to start. Marvin Hamlisch comes out and tinkles the ivory with “As Time Goes By”, commenting on how memorable movie scores are. He continues with the story of how he got started in the business. He went to Juilliard (never mentioned that he was the youngest person ever to be accepted…he’s a friggin’ prodigy!) and from there played rehearsal piano for Barbara Streisand’s Funny Girl (what’s a … Continue reading →

The Full Monty

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I have loved this musical ever since David Sidoni (of Newsies and OCHSA fame) played “Big Ass Rock” for a warm-up at Orange County Song and Dance Summer Camp many years ago. And I’ve been waiting to see it ever since I chose not to go to the national tour at OCPAC back in 2003 (long story about surgery and not sure I would be able to sit down in a chair for that long a time). It’s been gone for 4 years! I’m so grateful to Music Theatre West for producing it! The show is absolutely genius. I just love David Yazbek’s music and lyrics. And the story is very thoughtful as well. It deals with men not able to be men in their lives (being unemployed makes it kind of hard to bring the bread home) and finding courage to do something that not many people do…strip. It … Continue reading →

The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd

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This show is fascinating. It’s a thinking man’s comedy….unfortunately there aren’t enough thinking men left in the world to make up a decent audience…the theatre was half empty last night which is why the show is done only every 35 years. It was a product of the 1960’s which just makes it all the more interesting. It’s got nothing to do with Vietnam (for once) but it does have to do withequality and class warfare. Sir, depicting the upper class, was absolutely hilarious in all his evil ways. Cocky, depicting the lower class, was sweet, emotional and very funny. It’s very interesting to watch him go through the thought processes that deliver him from the traditional game of life where lower class tries to get ahead by playing by the rules and upper class changes the rules. And the seven deadly sins! Gluttony, Sloth, Pride, Wrath, Greed, Envy, Lust. They’re … Continue reading →

Flashback 2007

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I’ve been duped! Huckstered! Flim flamed! Deceived! They told me there was a dress rehearsal on the dvd, but there’s just a dress rehearsal video with audio commentary! I assured myself that I didn’t need to film the entire performance! Damn my eyes! Well I’ll know better next year. That’s right Disney…you just try and stop me next year. Anyways. The show was lots of fun! I was rooting for the red team, and although it’s some form of nepotism I really enjoyed the Red Team’s show best. It was the most cogent with the clearest story line and very impressive utilization of talents. The only reason Green Team won was because they’re all from the Entertainment department…oh and their show looked really sharp and crisp (although I have been told they went so far as to lift entire choreography from … something). Before I knew they were all Entertainment, … Continue reading →

Wonderettes Addendum and Magic Smoke Detectors

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In my review, I failed to mention something that I just didn’t conceptualize properly. The show IS a jukebox musical, where old songs with lyrics are used to tell the story, unlike a traditional musical where songs are tailored to the story. This also means that the story and characters were tailored to the old songs: hence the characters sing “It’s My Party (And I’ll Cry If I Want To)” and it’s my birthday party and there’s Judy wearing Johnny’s ring. So yeah….fun stuff. The smoke detector in our house malfunctioned the other day, so dad took it down to inspect it. The manufacturing date? September 11th, 2001. Nice.

“Music and Lyrics” Addendum and The Marvelous Wonderettes

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On her MySpace music blog, Hayley Bennett (played music star Cora) explains to her fans that the character she played in the movie was just a character. I almost want to message her and go: no we don’t assume that you have no morals because you play a strange character in a movie, we’re just generally untrustworthy of anyone in the movie/recording industry. But whatever. The soundtrack to the movie is really awesome. Unfortunately, I’ve got the song Buddha’s Delight nailed into my head. You know all those times I’ve hummed It’s A Small World and got it drilled into your head? That how I remember this song…drilled into my head. It’s excruciatingly annoying. One of the commercials before the movie was for Windows Vista and made me laugh hard. I mean it’s actually a really good commercial: a bunch of people doing normal things when suddenly they see something … Continue reading →