Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly August Wilson’s plays are as much about the historical experience of African-Americans as they are about any one of his characters. This is certainly true of Fences, which begins in 1957, a year marked by federal troops on the ground in Arkansas and the forced desegregation of Little Rock Central High … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers This blockbuster rock-opera exploded from the stage in 1971 and has been playing all over the world ever since. Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the plot revolves around the last week of Jesus’s life — from his arrival in Jerusalem until his world-renowned death. Read … Read more
Dany Margolies – Press-Telegram More rain is coming down on the Carpenter Performing Arts Center’s stage through the end of this month than has been seen in Long Beach all year. Read more… Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA Perennially listed in the top films of all times, MGM’s Singin’ in the Rain is an early rarity: a … Read more
Margaret Gray – LA Times Struggles over inheritance are always painful — unless, of course, they take place in a French farce, in which case they are endlessly prankish and ribald. Read more… Myron Meisel – Stage Raw David Ives’s“translaptation” of Jean-Francois Regnard’s 1708 farce The Heir Apparent (Le Legataire Universel), at International City Theatre, also involves a … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazettes.com If you’ve ever seen anything written by Rajiv Joseph, you know that this brilliant young playwright is fascinated by the concept of why things happen. In other words, why do different people do what they do? In each work, he courageously explores a different facet of human behavior by slowly peeling … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers I can’t count how many productions I’ve seen of “Death of a Salesman” over the years — including, of course, the inevitable movie that packs the theater whenever or wherever it plays. Read more… Now running through June 20.
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers Set in 1891 when Germany was a rigid, class-oriented culture — one that was strictly dominated by male authority-figures — “Spring Awakening” was censored and banned from the stage. Those in charge considered it to be unfit for anyone in Germany’s “proper, well-brought-up society.” Resurrected and presented to audiences more … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers When Paul Garman (Musical Theatre West’s executive director/producer) saw “Big Fish” on Broadway last fall, it was so outstanding he called it “magical.” Indeed, he knew he had to bring it home to Long Beach. And so, being the inimitable musical theater executive that he is, this astonishing, award-winning, “magical” … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers What began years ago as a beloved animated children’s film became a hit Broadway musical in 1994. Live actors, singers and dancers play all the parts — even those of animals and household objects in the Beast’s haunted castle. Based on a book by Linda Woolverton (who went to Wilson High … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Papers As you take your seat in the Carpenter Center, the first thing you notice is the curtain has been raised. The bare stage is dark and there is no scenery — only a grand piano, plus empty chairs and music stands silhouetted against a royal blue backlight. Then the musicians … Read more