Les Spindle – Edge on the Net Celebrated composer-lyricist Meredith Willson (1902-1984) had a colorful but surprisingly limited Broadway career, which included “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (1960), “Here’s Love” (1963), and his most indelible musical, “The Music Man” (1957). Read more… Shirle Gottlieb Yeah, you’re right, “The Music Man” is an old war-horse over fifty years old; but it still … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers The Olio Theatre Works is back with a new version of its all-time favorite production — one that OTW first produced 10 years ago. By adding music and lyrics to “Old Black Magic,” Terra Taylor-Knudson and Lauren Nave have turned their Voodoo comedy into a high-spirited “Haunted Musical.” (Get it? … Read more
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA It might be deduced, knowing painter Mark Rothko’s iconoclastic nature, that he might not applaud the news that a recent Christie’s auction of paintings included one by him that sold for $86.9 million. Considered one of the great postwar modern artists, in the latter years of his life he … Read more
Les Spindle – Frontiers L.A. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1993 musical adaptation of writer-director Billy Wilder’s legendary 1950 film classic Sunset Boulevard is perhaps as well known for its behind the scenes melodrama as its Gothic-flavored narrative about faded Hollywood glamour and unrequited love. Read more… Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers It’s no wonder that “Sunset … Read more
Shirle Gottlieb – The Gazette Newspapers “Vigils,” an award-winning comedy by Noah Haidle, acclaimed Julliard graduate & playwright, is an extremely difficult play to perform. It tackles the serious subject of death and grieving in comedic form,which makes it more readily accessible to contemporary audiences without denying the gravity of the human condition.Read more…
Shirle Gottlieb for the Gazette Newspapers Unless you’ve been lost in the desert for the last five decades, you’ve undoubtedly heard of “Little Shop of Horrors.” Originally produced circa 1960 by the infamous Roger Corman, this black-and-white film has become a cult classic that is still going strong.Read more…
Melinda Schupman – ArtsInLA Sarah Ruhl’s slightly daffy but contemplative play takes a shot at our cell phone culture while examining human connections and the nature of love. Jean (Alina Phelan) is sitting in a cafe, ostensibly working on something, when a cell phone at the next table rings over and over, interrupting her concentration. … Read more
THE BALD SOPRANO and THE CHAIRS by Eugene Ionesco. Shirle Gottlieb – The Gazette Newspapers Written in 1948 shortly after World War II, “The Bald Soprano” was Eugene Ionesco’s first play. As the transplanted Romanian struggled to write in French (the language of his adopted country), he realized how banal everyday communication had become. He had … Read more
A FLEA IN HER EAR by George Feydeau. Shirle Gottlieb for Gazette Newspapers When someone says the word “farce,” the first name that comes to mind is Feydeau. Indeed, “farce” and Feydeau are synonymous.Read more…
A CHORUS LINE – music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante. by Shirle Gottlieb – Gazette Newspapers In 1974, dancer/choreographer Michael Bennett asked 18 dancers why they auditioned for the chorus when the demand for musicals was in decline, there was little work in large productions, and everyone was struggling to … Read more