Maxine Lapiduss a Sensation @ Sterling's

After a five year absence from cabaret, Maxine Lapiduss did a new act Sunday January the 30th @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. Comedienne/singer Lapiduss performed as if she had never taken a break. Amazing!!
review below!

A Bountiful Performance from Gwen Van Dam

Fellow Roadie Gwen Van Dam stars as Carrie Watts in Group rep's The Trip to Bountiful.
review below!

David Campbell News

(photo credit: Pierre Baroni)

David Campbell will be coming to New York to perform at G'Day USA, an annual program designed to showcase Australian business capabilities in the USA. G'Day USA brings together industry leaders and key influencers in the arts to successfully cultivate and enhance the long term and deep Australia-United States relationship. David will be performing at the event's black-tie gala on Jan. 28. He will be performing selections from his new CD On Broadway.

Also David and his father Jimmy Barnes and the Barnes family have just recorded a special CD to help families in Australia who suffered from the massive floods earlier this month, called Floodlight.

The much-anticipated Jimmy Barnes family flood benefit album is called Floodlight.

Australia's favourite working class hero has rallied his musical family - which is a pretty impressive list including daughters Mahalia and EJ, Barnesy's son David Campbell and brother-in-law Mark Lizotte (Diesel) - to contribute a couple of songs each that goes from blues to rock to swing.

Jane Barnes said it was a chance for the family to give something back. "Jimmy and I and all the members of our family truly believe that this is simply about a sense of community. It is about Australian families helping other Australian families in their time of need in whatever way they can.

"We are fortunate enough to be able to make and share our music and if we can help the victims of these floods by doing that then it’s a very small price to pay".

The album Floodlight is available for a limited time only at just $4.99 on iTunes. All money raised will go toward The Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.

(Photo: Mushroom Group)

Tracklisting:
Walkin' The Blues - Diesel
It's A Shame - Mahalia Barnes
Never Give Up - Jimmy Barnes
You'll Never Walk Alone - David Campbell
Follow Me - EJ Barnes
Have A Little Faith - John Swan
In Love We Grow - Mahalia Barnes
Two Hearts Collide - Jimmy Barnes feat. Kasey Chambers
Thang #6 - Diesel
I’ve Seen It All - Jimmy Barnes
There and Back - EJ Barnes
Is This A Love - Mahalia Barnes
I've Seen It All (Rage And Ruin) - Jimmy Barnes
Around The World - Jimmy Barnes, David Campbell and Mahalia Barnes
Remedy To All - The Middle Class (feat. Mr Percival and Mahalia Barnes)
She’s My Baby - David Campbell
Love Me Tender - Jimmy Barnes, David Campbell and Mahalia Barnes

Help The Flood Victims
For news on relatives in and around the region please call 1300 993 191.

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Check out our interview on my Interview site!

review - The Lennon Sisters

CRITIC'S PICK

The Lennon Sisters Concert Tour 2011

Lawrence Welk Resort Theatre

Escondido

For those of us who watched The Lawrence Welk Show every Saturday night from December 1955 through 1967, The Lennon Sisters were the darlings of the airwaves. Here was a quartet of singers - Dianne, Peggy, Kathy and Janet - emanating sweetness and beautifully balanced harmony, who catapulted to stardom mainly through these weekly TV appearances. They did have success with a recording of "Tonite You Belong To Me", but it was primarily TV and Mr. Welk, as they still so politely refer to him, who gave them their big break. Now, 55 years later, Dianne and Peggy have retired, leaving Kathy and Janet and their younger sister Mimi, who joined them in the late 90s, as a trio. They look terrific and sound better than ever.

What made the Lennons so popular with the public was their pure, wholesome image. They were from an Irish/Mexican/German/Scot family of 11 siblings, whose father and uncles had been known in Venice, California as The Lennon Brothers, setting quite high performance standards for the girls to follow. When Welk put them on his already popular show, he also included 2 year-old Mimi and her brothers on holiday shows, so the whole family became widely publicized, also through appearances with Perry Como, Garry Moore, Jimmy Durante and in magazine cover spreads such as Look, Life and Time. They were your average clean-living family that all America could look up to and truly admire - and they did. And the reason still shows today, as the ladies bring a warmth and genuine affection to their fans through the fine work they do onstage. The songs they sing range from 40s pop standards to 60s rock hits to religious tunes. They also show video clips of their original Welk shows and their TV show with Durante. Janet and Kathy were very close growing up and loved ragdolls. They now make and sell an entire community of them to foster friendship among young children. There is a video segment with Janet's grandchildren and the dolls, to which Janet and Kathy sing along. There is also a fun question/answer segment in Act II of the show where the gals get a chance to tell warm, funny anecdotes about their family, Mr. Welk and their philosophy of good living.

Song highlights include: "Somewhere"; "Mississippi Mud"; the 60s medley of "Tell Him", "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "Anyone Whoever Had a Heart"; "In This Very Room", a gorgeous spiritual song about the love of Jesus; a glowing medley in honor of Rosemary Clooney: "Hey There", "Come On A' My House", "Tenderly" and "Sisters"; and "Very Very Very Best Pal" about their comraderie with their dolls closes Act I. Act II joyfully opens with "This Joint Is Jumpin'", family treasures "Danny Boy" and "Glocca Morra", the McGuire Sisters' ever-rollicking and fun-loving "Sugartime", "Cape Cod", a salute to the big band era with a wonderful arrangement of "What's New" sung dynamically by Kathy, and the patriotic finale that includes "Glory Glory Halleluia" and the heartwarming "May You Always".

This is a tremendous show for seniors who really do appreciate the great music of the past and for anyone looking for a stroll down memory lane. The Lennon Sisters are still inspirational, terrifically talented, sweet ... and sheer heaven to listen to. No phoniness to be found among these ladies who have truly managed to stay humble, honest and genuinely happy, which instantly transcends the footlights. Don't miss them on their tour across country. This is their first time in Escondido, but they are regulars at the Champagne Theatre in Branson, Missouri.

5 out of 5 stars

All tuneful CDs of The Lennon Sisters are on sale, as well as their autobiography, paperdolls and ragdolls. You can also get them by ordering from their website: 

http://www.lennonsisters.com/home.html

Upon meeting the Lennons after the show I had to tell Janet what a crush I had on her as a senior in high school. She got a great kick out of it. We are the same age, and to quote her onstage "On my next birthday, I'll be a year older than I am now". Good answer!

review - The Trip to Bountiful

RECOMMENDED
The Trip to Bountiful
by Horton Foote
directed by Larry Eisenberg
Group rep
through March 6

In his lovely script The Trip to Bountiful Horton Foote engages our attention with his keen appraisal that "The world can't be bought". Believing the best things in life are free - well, almost..., elderly Carrie Watts (Gwen Van Dam) proves just how healing a return to one's roots, however brief, may be. Group rep utilizes a fine cast, achieving an overall excellent representation of Foote's rarely seen work.

Watts lives in Houston, Texas with her lackluster son Ludie (Kent Butler) and his lonely, frustrated and childless wife Jessie Mae (Gina Yates), who browbeats and dominates them both. Watts can no longer bear her empty life in the city and yearns to go back to her country roots to the tiny town of Bountiful. She runs away, like an innocent child. Her adventuresome journey is interrupted by Ludie and Jessie Mae, but not before she makes some life-affirming acquaintances. Along the way she meets and comforts Thelma (Liza de Weerd) and a kind sheriff (Patrick Skelton), who sees to it that she sets her sights on the decaying Bountiful.

The ensemble under Larry Eisenberg's mostly lucid and precise direction is terrific. Van Dam brings her special sensitivity and passion to the role of Carrie Watts and keeps her performance realistically restrained and within control. Yates as Jessie Mae is nothing short of outstanding. Despite her character's irritating selfishness, Yates makes the pain and sense of isolation shine through. Butler, Weerd and Skelton all have finely tuned moments and add richness to the plot's predictable situations. Stan Mazin, Henry Holden and Bert Emmett do just fine with lesser roles as bus station attendants. The cast does splendid team work between scenes converting Mark Macauley's simplistically fashioned and adaptable set pieces from city apartment to bus stations to Bountiful.

Eisenberg should slow down the final moment of Act II, as Carrie's exit from Bountiful happens much too quickly. What raises this Horton Foote piece above its predictability is the compassion of the characters and his lyric sense of time and place. Trips backwards are disappointing, but only if we expect too much. Carrie Watts's gentle acceptance of the inevitable, warmth and wise philosophy of living make it all worthwhile.

4 out of 5 stars

(photo credit: Sherry Nederlander)

news - The Women of Spoon River

@ Theatre West The Women of Spoon River: Their Voices from the Hill, acclaimed one-woman show adapted from Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology by and starring Lee Meriwether. Opens Friday January 28 and plays a limited run through February 13.

Cabaret review - Maxine Lapiduss Live

On Sunday January 30 comedienne/singer Maxine Lapiduss brought a new show to Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's  and received what few performers ever do in LA cabaret - a thunderous heartfelt standing ovation. This is one funny lady who can sing up a storm and make you laugh until your pants split. What an entertainer! Backed by an eight-piece orchestra under the musical direction of  wonderful Michael Orland, Lapiduss wowed the SRO room with her nonstop hilarious comedy about life in LA, the fear of living and the need to change. Funny, yes, and with the delivery of a caring yet sarcastic next-door neighbor, she is down-to-earth, sassy and easy to like.

In a good theatrical musical show, songs should further the story along, and Lapiduss' set fit the bill. Most of her anecdotes were followed by original and standard tunes that heightened her theme of transition in a sensible as well as entertaining fashion. Highly entertaining, indeed, as she changed many of the traditional lyrics to suit her devilish purpose. Highlights included: Billie Holliday's "Getting Some Fun Out of Life", "Under My Skin", a beautifully uncluttered "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter",  Harold Arlen's lesser known but moving "As Long As I Live", sung lovingly to her 19 year partner Hillary and her encore "The Man I Love". Many of these songs like the latter were performed with vibrantly new and exciting arrangements by Steve Orich. Her opener "Mackie's Back" was a delicious sendup of her return based on Macheath of  "Mack the Knife" fame. "Scared About Life Without Oprah", which she co-wrote will Allee Willis, one of the composers of  the musical The Color Purple was a gloriously funny original, bemoaning Oprah's soon-to-be departure from the airwaves. Another engaging original by Cynthia Carle was "Shitty Angels", which most unlucky souls can surely relate to. There was also a deliriously funny "That's the Way We Do It in LA" as she talked about traffic tie-ups and driving 78 miles out of the way in an attempt to simply drive a short distance to the Arclight Cinema on Sunset.
Fun stories included tips on dieting, why you should never disclose personal info to your maid, why gays should reconsider the marriage commitment and the horrors of  e-mail and selling on e-bay. As she verged on political incorrectness, her audience ate it up and applauded all the more, as with a catchier version of "Don't Play Around with Love" from 1953 retitled "Don't Fuck Around with Love". Comics can get away with just about anything if they know how to do it well; Lapiduss is one of those pros.

This was a terrific evening of cabaret, perfect for a theatre setting as well, made unforgettable by the sensational comedic artistry of Maxine Lapiduss and those 8 fantastic backup musicians. Along with Michael Orland at piano: on bongos, Fausto Cuevas; drums, Eli Hludzik; bass, Joel Hamilton; trumpet, Harry Kim; sax and reeds, Jon Kip; trombone, Dave Stout; and on accordian, Bill Brendle.                                   

Don't wait another six years! Come back real soon!!

LADCC Nominations

http://www.ladramacriticscircle.com/awards.htm

Jason Graae a Triumph with the music of Jerry Herman

review below!

review - To Kill a Mockingbird

CRITIC'S PICK
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Christopher Sergel
adapted from Harper Lee's novel
The Prodco @ The Lex Theatre
directed by T L Kolman
through February

Robert Mulligan's 1962 film of Harper Lee's magnificent novel To Kill a Mockingbird is for me one of the greatest black and white films ever made. Christopher Sergel adapted the novel to the stage in 1990, and the play respects Lee's keen vision of humanity and keeps intact the poetic beauty of her words. The Prodco's production @ The Lex, the first play in their new home, ardently resonates the timeless message of tolerance and friendship.

Composer Stephen Sondheim said it best when he wrote "Children Will Listen". Even in the remotest of places, they will be unavoidably affected by evil. In a small Southern town like Maycomb, Alabama as early as 1935 prejudice and inequality were in full bloom. It was difficult to protect the youngsters from the cruel cynicism and gossip of the townsfolk especially to shield Scout (Brighid Fleming) and Jem (L J Benet) from harm when their father lawyer Atticus Finch (James Horan), a pillar of honesty, defended a negro accused of raping a 19 year-old white girl. Finch fought a losing battle, and as hard as he tried to keep them safe, the children became the victims of the disease-like hatred that was decaying Maycomb. The children grew up fast and hard, but on the positive side they did learn to love thy neighbor as thyself.


T L Kolman and a stunning cast work wonders to bring Maycomb to realistic life on the small Lex stage. Horan is unquestionably sturdy as Finch and never misses a beat. He surely stands in difficult shoes, as does any actor, following the class act that was Gregory Peck. Horan stands tall, making Finch his own. Benet and Fleming, along with Patrick Fitzsimmons as Dill,  give remarkably focused performances, particularly Benet, whose Jem grows closer to manhood by play's end. Ferrell Marshall as caring neighbor Maudie Atkinson serves as narrator of the play and is thoroughly forthright and likeable. Barbra Gruen, a consistently dandy character actress, as crabby Mrs. Dubose and nosy/snobbish Stephanie plays both women to the hilt. With a simple costume and hair change and hunched back/crippled walk, she creates an unforgettably spiteful Dubose. Skip Pipo is characteristically mean as Bob Ewell; Margaret Dwyer as daughter Mayella Ewell, intense, but just a tad overemotional; Lorenzo T. Hughes simply perfect as the suffering Tom Robinson. Kudos as well to Inda Craig-Galvin as wise Calpurnia, David Stifel as Walter Cunningham/Judge Taylor, Jim Hanna as earnest Heck Tate, and to Christopher Carver quite impressive in his transition from direct Mr. Gilmer to the off-center Boo Radley. A wonderfully talented ensemble!

August Viverito has done a splendid job in creating just the right period touches in costuming and designing the moderate set pieces that make Maycomb a believable world.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a loving production of which The Prodco can feel justifiably proud. The irresistible gentleness of Harper Lee's words reverberate loud and clear.
5 out of 5 stars


Visit: www.theprodco.com or call: 1-800-838-3006.

review - Ballroom With a Twist

CRITIC'S PICK
Ballroom With a Twist
conceived & choreographed by Louis Van Amstel
El Portal Mainstage
through February 13

Fans of TV's Dancing With the Stars will be in heaven during this live performance of Ballroom With a Twist created by the TV show's Louis Van Amstel.

Van Amstel stars along with guest hostess Niecy Nash (Jan 21-23), Jane Seymour (Feb 4-6) and possible other celebrity hosts, 20 top dancers and two American Idol finalists, singers Gina Glocksen and David Hernandez at the classy El Portal. The show is so electrically charged that it is guaranteed to keep audience members jumping for joy.

Nash, known to TV audiences from Clean House, is one funny lady who is not afraid to go out on a limb and dances, as she did on Dancing with the Stars - not without whining - with partner, smooth Van Amstel, until she literally drops to the floor. In true diva style she takes mic in mind while still on the floor panting and motions for one of the dancers to help her to her feet. It's a priceless moment. Van Amstel's stamina is truly amazing! This company of dancers, in fact, all have sensational stamina and dexterity and are perhaps the prettiest group of people to be seen on a Hollywood stage. Scantily clad for many numbers, guys shirtless and gals showing plenty of leg and midriff, they create eye candy galore. It is surely not in vain that the opening song is Burt Bacharach's "The Look of Love", atmosphere which suits the entire sexy entourage. Featured dancers from Dancing With the Stars include: Alec Mazo, Jonathan Roberts, Edyta Sliwinska and Anna Trebunskaya, all demonstrating consistently terrific moves.

Twist shows the new spin on dancing which began with the TV show's phenomenal presentation of the waltz, tango, merengue, samba, salsa, etc boldly executed with lots of acrobatic moves. It makes the dancers exciting - no, chilling - to watch. An added surprise in the stage show which comes in Act II is a dance lesson for and with the audience, taught by Van Amstel. Yep, folks, you'll get up and shake your booty. If I can do it, so can you! Fun, fun, fun!

Singing highlights from Hernandez and Glocksen, who are both shining stars, include: "Feeling Good", "Can't Stop the Beat", "Rescue Me", "The Prayer", "Imagine", among others. The dancers strut their stuff to the recorded: "I Got Rhythm", "I Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing in hip-hop style, "Sorry Seems to Be the Saddest Word", and a slick country "Girls Gone Wild". There's a heavy emphasis on Latin rhythms in Act II with the Argentinian tango, merengue and even a little flamenco thrown in. It's an eclectic, flashy mix that drives the audience wild, especially the young girls who scream out for Hernandez and the hot male dancers.

Costumes by Randall Designs in blacks, blacks and reds are fab. Background projected visuals of explosive light and color add fuel to the fire, as this is one HOT evening you do not want to miss! Through February 13 only! You know you were born to dance, so get out and go!!

5 out of 5 stars
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for tix call 866-811-4111 or 818-508-4200 or visit:
www.elportaltheatre.com

Ballroom With a Twist

Ballroom With a Twist was conceived and choreographed by Dancing with the Stars' Louis Van Amstel.(above) Top photo is 9th place finalist in season 6 of American Idol - Gina Glocksen, who serves as the principal female vocalist of the show.

CABARET review - Jason Graae

On Sunday evening January 23, Jason Graae brought his electric 80th birthday tribute to Jerry Herman called Perfect Hermany: The Songs of Jerry Herman to Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. Graae has long been a favorite comic actor/singer, because what he does on stage is totally Graae. No one makes you laugh constantly quite like Graae: he defies description; you must be in a room with him to fully appreciate the breadth and scope of his enormous talent. Adding to the comic anecdotes and songs during the 75-minute set were two solos on the oboe and one on the piano. Lee Tannen directed and John Boswell served as musical director/accompanist extraordinaire.

Jerry Herman first saw Graae audition in 1983 for a  New York revival production of Hello Dolly! starring Carol Channing and Davis Gaines. Graae really yearned to play Barnaby Tucker then, but lost out. Herman never forgot him, though, and in the last 10 years, Graae has been part of a 20-city tour of a show called Hello, Jerry! which educates youth about the music of Broadway and in which Herman actively participates from time to time. Graae also starred in a recent production of Herman's rarely produced The Grand Tour at the Colony Theatre, for which he received tremendous accolades. From this show he sang, the beautiful "Marianne" and "Mrs. Yakowbowsky". To his mom Lois, in attendance, he accompanied himself on piano and sang "You're My Best Girl" from Mame. There was a comic tap (a tap here, a tap there on an actual tap board) to "Tap Your Troubles Away" from Mack & Mabel and even a little Slavic folk kazatsky dance after singing "You I Like", also from The Grand Tour. Other Herman favorites included: "Just Leave Everything to Me", "Before the Parade Passes By", "It Only Takes a Moment" and a sing-s-long to "Hello, Dolly" from Hello Dolly, "One Person" and "I Don't Want to Know" from Dear World, and a triumphant "I Am What I Am" from La Cage Aux Folles. In his encore Graae somehow managed to put together a clever medley of "So Long Dearie" from Hello Dolly and from Mack & Mabel: "Wherever He Ain't", "Time Heals Everything", "I Won't Send Roses" and the finale "Happy Ending" with oboe. For Herman fans, what a cherished assortment!

When all is said and done, we love Jerry Herman music, and we love Jason Graae for singing it and keeping it the most popular happy Broadway music of all time. Graae is undeniably a gifted cabaret artist and a nonstop bundle of joy.

review - Cavalia

CRITIC'S PICK
Cavalia
created by Normand Latourelle
Under the White Big Top @ 777 North Front Street, Burbank
Erick Villeneuve, images director
Benjamin Aillaud, equestrian director and choreographer
Frederic Pignon and Magali Delgado, equestrian choreographers
Alain Gauthier, artistic coordinator
Manon Desmarais and Mireille Vachon, costume designers
Alain Lortie, lighting design
Marc Labelle, set design
Michel Cusson, composer
through February 13

Pre 20th century, the horse, unlike the dog, was man's most vital companion. Travel, simply getting around, would have been practically impossible without the horse. Today we tend to forget that fact and also tend to overlook the genuine beauty of this most precious animal. Now in a spectacular show - no, event - Normand Latourelle, creator of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, brings man and horse together in a breathlessly singular way in Cavalia. This awesome event returns to Los Angeles in Burbank for the first time since 2004 and resides under the White Big Top, the largest traveling tent of its kind, until February 13 only, before its tour.

To say breathless is surely apt, for the view of the enormous 160 foot-wide stage with 37 acrobatic performers and 19 stallions (of the total 49, the rest are geldings) moving around in a dazzling display of equestrian and aerial/acrobatic showmanship is just that. Aerialists swing from above and horses circle the entire stage as in riding competition, sometimes with rider and other times unbridled, like the Arabian horses with trainer Sylvia Zerbini. (more on this act later!) The men and horses connect, sometimes, even touching, as the aerialists swing down onto the horses and the horses vault over the poles held by the acrobats. It's an amazing sight. Behind the live spectacle is a humongous backdrop that serves as a screen with unbelievably vivid projections of wilderness, woods, ocean and other waterfalls, and castles amongst many other scenes that change and radiate every color of the spectrum. We are transported to the Middle Ages and back even further to primitive times. Latourelle stated that his mission is "to make people dream", and so the audience visually travels to a myriad of virtual settings. Behind the screen are five musicians and onstage as integral part of the show is a singer, lovely Mary-Pier Guilbault with cello and bass, all of whom perform live. Michel Cusson's score is needless to say hauntingly gorgeous, invoking a sensuality that only comes from an array of international music.

Not to single out Zerbini for her brilliant artistry would be a travesty. This lady single-handedly controls 9 Arabian horses, who gallop in circles - dividing into groups of 4 and 5 or into pairs - and perform unbridled. Like a horse whisperer (photo above) she talks to the horses and really knows and understands them. How else could she get them to move in so many different ways at her command? They are in continuous unison, and the timing is exact. This miraculous act alone makes the show worthwhile.

Many have described the show as "Horseplay at its best", "magical", "wondrous", "...like being in a dream". Its dream world is at once exhilarating in scope and compassionate and respectful by nature, expressing a genuine trust between man and horse. I can only add that the entire panorama is like a museum painting in which all of the elements come passionately alive. You enter it... and just for what seems a fleeting moment... experience its richly wild and perfect beauty.

5+ out of 5 stars

Don't miss the incredible Cavalia in Burbank at Front Street. Look for the Big white tent with the turrets of a castle! Through February 13 only. Bring the entire family! There are special packages with after show visits to the stables.
Call: 1-866-999-8111 or visit:
www.cavalia.net

Ovation Award Winners

The Ovation Award winners were announced last night January 17 in Thousand Oaks. See link below:

www.lastagealliance.com

Nita Whitaker a Quintessential Night Club Performer

Cabaret review - Nita Whitaker

On Sunday January 16, songbird Nita Whitaker returned to Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's for a joyfully rousing concert full of great singing and indomitable humor. I am always thrilled when a cabaret exceeds my initial expectations. I had heard Whitaker sing on her website, so I knew I was in for a pleasurable evening, but what I got was a star-stature talent that must be experienced first hand. She is beautiful, very funny and a helluva scintillating singer.

Highlights included: her big opening Sondheim's always dependable "Being Alive", and a delicious medley, what she named her White Girl Medley, of songs from shows a black woman would never be cast in. These included: "I Can't Say No" from Oklahoma, "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady, "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls (she humorously called it Pimps and Whores for a black cast), "Memory" from Cats, "All I Ask of You" from Phantom, and "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl. This lady possesses an unbelievable range! In fact, singing "Happy Birthday" to members of the audience, she first gave them a choice - operatic, gospel, or country; she then proceeded to sing to three people, each time using a different style. Amazing!
A former Pageant contestant - it took her 4 attempts to capture Miss Louisiana in 1984, due unfairly to the color of her skin - Whitaker simulated 3 very different fictitious contestants with fabulous comic delivery and timing. I particularly enjoyed Miss Tammy Faye Sequin, who interpreted her question about euthanasia as youth in Asia and who made mincemeat out of Dreamgirls' "I'm Telling You" as her audition piece. Funny stuff! She also brought her two musical daughters onstage, Skye and Lisi, who beautifully sang "Look" with her. There were also two of her own spirited compositions "Courage to Dream" and "Trying to Get to You", a dynamic "Down with Love", Jason Robert Brown's always appealing "Stars and the Moon", a powerful "Climb Every Mountain" and a stunning "I'm Here" from The Color Purple. Tremendous accompaniment throughout from musical director Nelson Kole and percussionist Walter Rodriguez.

Whitaker is a truly dynamite performer whose talent is immeasurable and unstoppable. She joins my list of singing favorites; don't miss a single future appearance!

review - Daddy

RECOMMENDED
Daddy
by Dan Via
directed by Rick Sparks
Hudson Mainstage
through February 13

I was thoroughly unprepared for the impact Daddy had on me. From the title I had imagined a campy foray into the sleazy world of gay leather encompassing a slave/master experience. Comical use of Who's your daddy? came to mind. Well, how wrong could I be! Yes, indeed, it is about gay relationships; there are even a couple of scenes in a gay bar, but Dan Via (who also plays Stew) has overall constructed a humorous, intelligent, insightful and riveting play that delves deeply into all types of relationships: friends, lovers and parents, that will appeal to everyone, gay or straight. Now onstage @ the Hudson Mainstage, Daddy, expertly helmed by Rick Sparks, will leave you ruminating.

Professor/journalist Colin McCormack (Gerald McCullouch), also an avid soccer player, unexpectedly meets Tee (Ian Verdun), who has just joined his team at Carnegie Mellon as an apprentice, in a pool bar while in the company of long-time pal Stew (Via). The initial attraction is perfunctory. By a teacher's rulebook: never date an intern! But the attraction grows deeper, to the dismay of Stew, who senses something a little off with Tee's intent. Stew's relationship with Colin is an odd one, to be sure. They are constant companions, as they have journalism, teaching and sports in common, but they are not lovers. Maybe they should be? Maybe Stew cares more for Colin than he is willing to admit? And maybe Stew is jealous of anyone who may come between him and Colin? All these issues enter the picture, as Tee gets closer to Colin, moves in, and Stew becomes increasingly suspicious and irritated. Stew finds out what is wrong with Tee and confronts him, but quite late, when the love relationship between him and Colin is already well cemented. Colin has changed 360 degrees from only wanting one night stands to really caring about one special person.

Unpredictability and a curious suspense move this play along, thanks to three earnest, heartfelt performances and brisk pacing from Sparks. McCullough is appealing to the max: honest, smart and fun and wins sympathy as a man who starts to feel the ravages of time without love. Via is equally wonderful as Stew, afraid to face his true feelings. His eventual connection to Tee and acceptance of himself in relation to the others is potent and reassuring. Verdun makes Tee innocent, yet complex and understandably confused. He could easily become the villain, but because of the literate script and Verdun's sensitive performance, Tee ultimately emerges as a good kid, who truly meant well. Fine support from Jeffrey Patrick Olson, Nik Roybal and Rene Ruiz in ensemble scenes, and praise as well to Adam Flemming for his functional set, and to Peitor Angell for some haunting intermittent music.

Some may find the ending a bit pat and the resolution ready-made, but with careful analysis, it all rings true. Daddy is simultaneously entertaining, engaging and surprisingly intuitive, hardly your typical fare.

4 out of 5 stars

review - Traces

CRITIC'S PICK
Traces
Les 7 Doigts de la Main/7 Fingers
The Montalban Theatre
directed & choreographed by Shana Carroll & Gypsy Snider
through February 20

Mon dieu! When they said Traces was one-of-a-kind and would knock me out of my seat, they weren't kidding! This is an acrobatic/dance-mixed, very physical performance. The troupe of 7 amazing people, not unlike the clowns, aerialists and gymnasts of Cirque du Soleil, all rolled into one, offer a jubilantly loose performance structure and set forth an innocently novel intent. Indeed, there is no malice intended, despite initial warnings that anything dangerous might happen and in spite of an ending that places the performers' safety first and foremost. There are really only good humane thoughts. Remember: they are part clown trained to make people smile and maybe, even think a bit. But happily just a little, as entertainment is the top priority. Through February 20 the Ricardo Montalban stage serves as home to this Canadian based group, ingeniously guided by not one but two directors Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider.

The show begins loosely with friendly introductions by each member of the ensemble. They give their names, places and dates of birth and then a segment or two in, each one discloses his height, weight and three adjectives of personality description ranging from romantic/cool to egotistical/easily agitated. It's an honest attempt to interact and establish amicable relations with the audience, which purely distinguishes these clowns from other Circus related experiences. The 7 amiable members of the troupe include 6 males: Philippe Normand-Jenny whose specialty is the teeter board, Florian Zumkehr, the handstand man, Brandley Henderson, hoopster, Xia Zhengqi, juggler of sorts, Mason Ames and Mathieu Cloutier. There is one female: petite Valerie Benoit-Charbonneau who completely equals the men in dexterity and grace. Within a short space of time, we grow to love them all.

The unusual factor here is that these guys not only have awesome physical attributes but expert musical talent as well. Zumkehr, for example, after completing an incredible set of handstands, sits and sings, accompanying himself on guitar. Talk about versatility! And the urbane street scene element enters the picture too as all play basketball and move across the stage on skate boards. You've never seen a basketball hit in so many different ways from so many diverse body parts! And, whether, they're skating, pole vaulting, doing somersaults across stage, or just playing the piano - it all blends together with a unique rhythm/split-second timing which makes it appear that the 7 folks are working as one, like a hand with 7 fingers, as the French name implies, or a wheel whose spokes are in total harmony.

Great stuff, even when they're just fooling around and hitting each other like The Three Stooges, Traces is brilliantly conceived and executed. You do not want to miss a single moment!

5 out of 5 stars

Kritzerland @ The Gardenia

(graphic design by Doug Haverty)

On Wednesday, January 12 Kritzerland at the Gardenia, a series presented on the first Wednesday of every month - January being the exception, and which originated in September of 2010, offered The Sondheim Albums. The series, based on Bruce Kimmel's record label and albums, honors a composer's lesser known material, oft times cut from an original score. Nine skilled singers participated in the fine evening; they were: Damon Kirsche, Kim Huber, Zachary Ford, Juliana Hansen, Alet Taylor, Shannon Cudd, Aleah Whaley, Holly Long, and very special guest artiste Millicent Martin. John Boswell served admirably as musical director.

Kimmel served as narrator, spoke briefly about his collaborations with Sondheim, stating quite emphatically that despite many calling Sondheim's music too cerebral to evoke emotion, he sided with those that consider said music the best in every way. There were several amusing anecdotes including one about the awkwardness of altering the ending of one of the songs before recording it, to which Sondheim reluctantly told Kimmel, "OK, go ahead and change it!" Also, there was a very funny story and representation by Cudd, Whaley and Long of a Kimmel recording of the renowned McGuire Sisters doing "Getting Married Today" from Company, whose lyrics are usually performed in rapid-fire succession; this time, Kimmel noted, although critics called it a reviled recording, it was, due to its slow speed, "the first time you could really hear the lyrics". There were six lesser known tunes and twelve more familiar ones in the 90 minute set.

Kim Huber

Damon Kirsche

Highlights included: "Truly Content" performed gorgeously by Huber: Sondheim's early unsuccessful attempt at scoring Passionella's songs for a musical that eventually became Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's The Apple Tree. There were also "With So Little To Be Sure Of", beautifully rendered by Kirsche and cut from Anyone Can Whistle in medley with "Who Could Be Blue?" cut from Follies,

Millicent Martin's still vibrant rendition, which she sang originally on Broadway in Side by Side by Sondheim of "I Never Do Anything Twice" created for the film The Seven-Percent Solution,

Millicent Martin


and "The Glamorous Life" totally rewritten for the daughter Frederica in the film version of A Little Night Music, nicely delivered by Hansen. Was the song changed for the daughter to sing because Liz Taylor who starred as Desiree could not sing well enough? A curiosity, to be sure! Kirsche soared on "Multitudes of Amys" cut from Company and Huber worked her magic with more familiar tunes like "Anyone Can Whistle" and "Children Will Listen" from Into the Woods.

This was a very pleasant evening of cabaret, made appealing by Kimmel's stories and the excellent vocal presentations. It's a one-of-a-kind evening for lovers of musical theatre. Next month: a salute to The Sherman Brothers on Wednesday February 2.

Cabaret review - Jeanie Brandes

On Sunday, January 9 @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's singer Jeanie Brandes made, by popular demand, a return engagement to sing selections from her newest CD Jeanie Brandes ... Kisses You Awake, a heavenly mix of beautiful songs from the Great American Songbook. Accompanied by dynamic musical director Shelly Markham and his musicians Tim Emmons on bass and M.B. Gordy on drums, Brandes with her blessed vocal instrument and loving personality held her intimate audience captive with radiance and warmth. That audience included acclaimed song stylist and friend Andrea Marcovicci and comic actress Cissy Conner, who recently performed @ Sterling's. Brandes' was a lovely, laid-back evening of song.


Highlights included: Cole Porter's "Night and Day", Harold Arlen's "I've Got the World on a String", Rodger's and Hart's gorgeous "Where or When", with Brandes copiously doing justice, Michel Legrand and the Bergmans' "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life", another glorious arrangement/delivery, and "I've Got You Under My Skin" with Markham singing nicely in duet. There followed a few ballads, two wonderful ones by Henry Mancini, who had a special collaboration with Brandes in her earlier career: "Moon River", and Mancini's favorite - and mine - the stunning "Two For the Road". Other ballads were "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", Burke and Van Heusen's haunting "Here's That Rainy Day", another favorite sung to perfection by Brandes, and a delicious rendition of "A Day in the Life of a Fool" from Black Orpheus. The 60-minute set concluded richly with Arlen and Johnny Mercer's "One For My Baby" in medley with the melancholy Jule Styne/Betty Comden and Adolph Green hit "The Party's Over". 

One former reviewer had stated that "Jeanie Brandes was up there, making love to 10 men", referring to her fine musicianship with a 10 piece orchestra. Well, nothing has diminished with this trio; in fact, Brandes still evokes a carefree quality and ethereal style that ultimately seem effortless. Keep singing, Jeanie, your real world is center stage caressing and sharing your optimistic spirit through these timeless classic tunes.

review - Follies Forever: 2011 Palm Springs Follies (PSF) All New Show

(Lesley Gore)

(bottom two photos:  glorious songbird of the Follies Judy Bell and Follies gent Randy Doney) (photos by Stan Mazin)


Follies Forever


What can one add about the success of the Follies in this their twentieth season but to say one big 'Bravo'! I attend the show every season, sometimes twice - ever since 2005 - and never go away disappointed. It never fails to lift my spirits high! This year, there is a very large video screen in back of the stage that shows a montage of pictures of the careers of each and every Follies' lady during the Pretty Woman segment and continues to churn out great photos and pretty graphic images to accompany segments throughout the show. It's amazing!


This year's theme, celebrating 20 years, is a retro look at mid-century music and dance: of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. There are songs like: "You Stepped Out of a Dream", "Venus", "Summer Wind", "Temptation", with a bevy of pop tunes like "Stayin' Alive" and "I Got You Babe" saluting film and TV, and a great mix of Broadway fare such as "America", "Cabaret", "All That Jazz", "I Hope I Get It" from A Chorus Line and the classic "42nd Street". What variety, like a sumptuous buffet!

What better guest star than 60s pop legend Lesley Gore, who still looks fantastic and sings her fanny off! In her 20 minute set she performs "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows", "Judy's Turn to Cry", "She's a Fool", "Maybe I Know", and of course gold hits "It's My Party", which rocketed her to stardom in 1963 at 16 years of age, and "You Don't Own Me". Gore, really for the first time, sang what a teenage girl was thinking and feeling, helping to set precedents for feminine causes. She remains a truly remarkable performer.

Also on hand is superb Canadian juggler Rejean St. Jules, who manipulates clubs and balls ... oh, and what he does with those balls in the finale? Well, I won't spoil the fun! Go and visit the Follies and see for yourself!
This act left me wanting more!!

Rejean St. Jules

Host Riff Markowitz, always a funny man with miles of sarcasm, kept his monologues short and sweet with some funny stuff about Mel Gibson and 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. The finale is as always a loving salute to America and to the military men and women in the audience who have served her admirably throughout the years.
Welcome handsome Robert Amore to the gents this season. At 56, he's the youngest and new kid on the block.

Robert Amore

A great 20th Anniversary show! Follies Forever means just that! May they - and it - never die!

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PS Follies @ Historic Plaza Theatre
128 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, California
(760) 327-0225
www.psfollies.com
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review - Hair

CRITIC'S PICK
Hair:
The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
book & lyrics by Gerome Ragni & James Rado; music by Galt MacDermot
directed by Diane Paulus
Pantages Theatre
through January 23

One of a kind musicals like Hair must be experienced first hand. It's the live, up-close, in-your-face tone that gives the musical a rare fervor. First produced in 1967 by Joe Papp at his Public Theatre, eventually opening on Broadway in 1968, Hair is about the hippie generation of the 60s, whose drugs and flower-power may have been a controversial mishmash then, but now make more sense than ever; the message rings loud and clear: stop the war! There's another message underneath: trust yourself and live the life you want to live, as long as you're not hurting others! Sad to say, 40+ years later, senseless war still rages and most people live by the status quo, even if its stress is so overbearing, it practically kills them. This new touring production, based on the 2009 Tony Award winning revival, is a powerful reminder and a powerhouse winner.

With great rock tunes like "Aquarius", "Donna", "Ain't Got No", "I Got Life", "Hair", "Easy To Be Hard", "Frank Mills", "Hare Krishna", "Where Do I Go""Good Morning Starshine" and "Let the Sun Shine In", Ragni, Rado and MacDermot can justly feel pride in their accomplishment, for audiences still want to hear these old chestnuts and sing along. Hippies were sensitive souls believing in mass love, but they were never really mean to their elders. Yes, they did burn their draft cards and many refused to go to Viet Nam. Their controversial opposition to authority and unique self-expression made waves. Anything positive come out of it? Reactions will always be a mixed bag, but one thing is perfectly clear: everybody needs a cause to stand up for. In 2010, we seem to be lacking causes; everybody is caught up in their individual need or greed to make money; few care to cater to the underdog. The message of Hair is a vital one: wake up, America!

The ensemble is pleasingly dynamic. Steel Burkhardt as Berger is sensational and sexy; Paris Remillard is appealing as Claude; Phyre Hawkins as Dionne, Matt DeAngelis as Woof, Darius Nichols as Hud, Caren Lyn Tackett as Sheila and Kacie Sheik as Jeanie are all great. Josh Lamon is fab in several roles, shining in drag as Margaret Mead. Allison Guinn is equally terrif as Mother and especially shines as Buddhadalirama. The entire cast have energy in spades and make the Pantages ROCK under Diane Paulus' superb direction. Setting this production apart from other revivals of the show is a lot more audience involvement and an undying passion for the raw individuality that is Hair!

5 out of 5 stars
(mature audiences only, due to nudity and foul language)

2011 review - Stories by Heart with John Lithgow @ Mark Taper Forum

RECOMMENDED
Stories by Heart
conceived, written & performed by John Lithgow
Mark Taper Forum
through February 13

Only an actor of the calibre of John Lithgow - who remains a class act after almost 40 years in the theatre - could mount the very simplistic Stories by Heart on the large Taper stage. Ideal for a smaller, more intimate venue, Stories becomes more than a retelling of two classic tales, one by P.G. Wodehouse and the other by American journalist Ring Lardner. In the hands of Lithgow the art of storytelling is put on a pedestal. We all know how vital it is to a child's education, but it can truly enrich one's life, regardless of age, and, in fact, it has been proven to encourage, nurture and increase the quality of the very process of living. Quite a feat! Well, Lithgow, self described exuberant actor, makes it ebulliently unfold.

Act I is a retelling of Wodehouse's "Uncle Fred Flits By" (1935), a very humorous tale of the misadventures of two Brits, an uncle and nephew who pretend to be who they are not - invoking such fun and mayhem in helping to guarantee the nuptials of a distant relation to a lower working class man, who jellies eels for a livelihood. It's a treat when all the crusty, eccentric characters, even a parrot, are played out with great vocal and facial expressions and graceful body movements by Lithgow. He has a field day prancing around the stage in the various characters, entertaining most of the audience as much as he did when he once read the story to an ailing father and mother but a few years ago. In fact, as a result of the endeavor, his father laughed for the first time in months, showed the will to live and went on thriving for a year and a half longer than doctors expected. The story worked a miracle. When Lithgow begins, he questions why people like stories. Why do some like reading them and others listening to them? We learn that sometimes, apart from the whole entertainment game, their effects are much greater, bordering on holistic.

Act II begins with a sung ditty or jingle about adultery and murder "Eggs and Marrow Bones". Lithgow revs up the spirit of the audience to join in singing the jingle, setting a darkly humorous tone for the story to follow: Lardner's "Haircut" (1925). It takes place in a small town in Michigan where a local barber recounts a tale of good and evil deeds. He talks and talks, gossiping about a new coroner and his attraction to a pretty young gal who ends up being mercilessly bullied by some of the town's mean-spirited practical jokesters. Miming a shave and haircut on one customer, Lithgow's jovial barber, with an unforgettable boisterous laugh, becomes an easily recognizable character in most people's lives. Most everyone has known someone like him at one time or other. Lithgow introduces the piece as the American counterpart to the Wodehouse tale in spirit, and points to a time in his early life when he himself experienced some innocent and fun but embarrassing bullying.

That's it! End of stories! And with no director credited, Lithgow trusts his impulses implicitly. Yes, he is an actor's dream and should be seen by every young actor in the business today. Michael C. Hall, Showtime's Dexter, was sitting a couple of rows in front of me on opening night, and I couldn't help but notice how much he, like me, was enjoying Lithgow's every nuance. There was hardly a false move to be found throughout the two hours. Perfect for touring college and university audiences, Stories by Heart will bring out the child in most people who couldn't wait for their parents to tell them a bedtime story. It's good for what ails you!

4 out of 5 stars

(photo credit: Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)

Backstage after the play Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow swap stories.

review - LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011

Robert Marra (pictured), newly appointed artistic director @ Musical Theatre of Los Angeles, is one of the many celebrated judges for this year's contest, LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011, which began its six-week run through February 6 this Sunday, January 2, 2011 @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. It was a long show, due mostly to some unforseen technical issues, but boasts 20 very talented vocalists, well worth checking out in the weeks ahead.

For the next five weeks, these 20 will compete and on February 6, 15 will be eliminated and the remaining 5 will go a round further in order to select LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011. The winner will receive $1000 in cash, and all 5 finalists will receive their own gig @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's and guaranteed auditions for top casting directors, agents and musical theatres here and @ Music Circus in Sacramento. It's a one-of-a-kind competition produced by Michael Sterling and Tony Monsour and has been a very exciting contest to attend for the past five years.

This year, for the first time, the show had an opening number with all 20 participants. Choreographed by Tania Possick, the group entered and sang "Give My Regards to Broadway", went out and came back in a different formation and performed snippets from about fifteen musicals including Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Funny Girl, West Side Story, Company and Sweeney Todd. It was a great rousing way to start the show, and the group made as professional a sound as any chorus on Broadway.

Sterling served amiably as host, bringing each contestant to the stage. After singing a particular selection, that contestant chatted a bit with Sterling about his/her background and how they spent their holidays and then the judges gave a quick appraisal of the performance. Judges on Sunday January 2 were casting director Michael Donovan, Musical Theatre of Los Angeles' artistic director Robert Marra (pictured above with me), The Blank Theatre Company's artistic director Daniel Henning and Performance Riverside's artistic producer/director Ms. Rey O'Day. 10 performed and then a ten-minute intermission and then the final 10, after which audience members ranked each contestant by a point system of 0-1. These points from each of the six weeks will be tallied in total to determine the winner(s) in the sixth week. Musical director James Lent served brilliantly as pianist/accompanist throughout the three + hour afternoon competition.

Some of the musical numbers sung by the contestants included "On My Own" from Les Mis, "Hey There" from The Pajama Game, "Change" from A New Brain, "Larger Than Life" from My Favorite Year, "I Am Your Dentist" from Little Shop of Horrors, "The World Goes Round" from New York, New York, "His Name" by Scott Alan and a bevy of different selections from both Andrew Lippa's and Michael La Chiusa's Wild Party. By and large the singing was terrific - the younger ones especially, 18 year-olds with such great trained voices! - with judges evaluating many participants on their weaker acting skills. A singer will sometimes pick a challenging song to audition with and he/she is not quite there yet; better to audition with one within one's comfort zone! Rey O'Day's comments I found most helpful to the performers, especially the ladies, as she critiqued them on their attire, makeup and use of correct arm and body movements in performing.

It is the earliest stage and performances will undoubtedly change, with some surprises coming forth, but for me, the following are the contestants to watch closely over the next five weeks:
Matthew McFarland, Casey Zeman, Paul Marchegiani, Matthew Ballestero and Jesse Einstein from the males. Einstein, less for his vocal prowess and more for his very comic delivery. Of the females, I most admired Judy Mora, Giana Bommarito, Emily Goglia, Reba Buhr, Katrina Rennells and Ashley Wright.
If I had to choose five now, they would be:
Judy Mora, Giana Bommarito, Paul Marchegiani, Ashley Wright and Matthew Ballestero.
Good luck to all 20! Break a leg!