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“RAIN” at The Old Globe

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Aired on KSDS-FM on 4/8/16 RUN DATES: 3/24/16 - 5/1/16 VENUE: The Old Globe In adapting a piece of literature, there’s an obligation to maintain the spirit of the original. W. Somerset Maugham’s riveting 1921 short story, “Rain” (originally titled “Miss Thompson”), has certainly provided fertile ground for adapters: three films, and an aborted musical, called “Sadie Thompson,” created in 1944 with Ethel Merman in mind. Now, along come composer/lyricist Michael John La Chiusa and librettist Sybille Pearson, with a Read More →

“HOLLYWOOD” at the La Jolla Playhouse

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Aired on KSDS-FM on 5/27/16 RUN DATES: 5/10/16 - 6/12/16 VENUE: La Jolla Playhouse It’s a remarkable coincidence: two new plays at our two Tony Award-winning theaters, both based in fascinating historical fact. One is all surface, no substance. The other is almost all substance, maybe too much, with occasional comic relief. One has no three-dimensional characters; the other is all about character. And ironically, the drama about politicians making policy is more suspenseful than the so-called noir thriller. The Read More →

“THE 1940s RADIO HOUR” at New Village Arts

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Aired on KSDS-FM on 12/23/16 RUN DATES: 12/1/16 - 12/31/16 VENUE: New Village Arts A dab of sentimentality, a dollop of nostalgia and a heaping spoonful of humor and holiday cheer. “The 1940s Radio Hour” cooks up a bucket of warm feelings, and this year, New Village Arts has tweaked the recipe to make it even more tasty. Cast changes include nimble Kevane La’Marr Coleman, as the founder of the New York City Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade. This is their Christmas Read More →

“THE WHO’S TOMMY” at the OB Theatre

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Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 4/19/17 RUN DATES: 3/31/17 - 5/7/17 VENUE: The OB Theatre The Pinball Wizard is a musical theater wiz as well. At the OB Playhouse, a musically outstanding rendition of “The Who’s Tommy” stars a wonderfully charismatic Jon White. But you’d better catch him fast; he’s off to Seattle come fall – to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Policy at U. Wash. Our loss. He’s outstanding in the role – a strong-voiced, natural rocker. All the Read More →

“DAMN YANKEES” at San Diego Musical Theatre

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Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 6/6/17 RUN DATES: 6/2/17 - 6/18/17 VENUE: San Diego Musical Theate It’s baseball season. What better time for San Diego Musical Theatre to step up to the plate and do battle with those “Damn Yankees?” They’re offering a rousing rendition of the 1955 classic, which won 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In 1994, director Jack O’Brien launched a revival at The Old Globe, and he revised the show at that time. Director James Vasquez, a local Read More →

“CLYBOURNE PARK” at Trinity Theatre Company

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Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 3/3/20 RUN DATES: 2/14/20 - 3/8/20 VENUE: Tenth Avenue Arts Some plays with a socio-political edge speak to their time. Some get edgier over time. “Clybourne Park” was written in 2010 as a spinoff, or sequel, to “A Raisin in the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 classic. Playwright Bruce Norris attempted to continue the racial discussion about integrated housing, white flight and gentrification by setting his play in the same house, over two time periods: 1959 (when Read More →