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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Theatre Out Presents Zanna Don’t!

Last weekend I was delighted to discover the music, comedy and magic of Zanna Don’t – now playing at Theatre Out. This quirky social satire, filled with colorful characters and energetic music, provides the perfect balance between high comedy and cultural commentary.

Zanna, a mystical matchmaker and student at Heartsville High, maneuvers through a parallel universe where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality is taboo. With a wave of his magic wand everyone gets a piece of “extra love” – everyone except Zanna. Chaos ensues when the high school’s drama club prepares a musical production to combat heterophobia, revealing heterosexual love between two characters that is forbidden to exist.

Poignant lyrics disguise a repetitive musical score, creating a relatable emotional journey through the byways of love. With several standout performances from this cast of 8 players, and a running time of 1 hour and 30 minutes with no intermission, this fast paced show provides the perfect dose of entertainment.

June 25th – July 31st, Friday & Saturdays @ 8PM, select Thursdays @ 8PM & select Sundays @ 2PM. Theatre Out's home is The Empire Theatre in the Artists' Village in downtown Santa Ana, located at 202 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA. Tickets are available online at http://www.theatreout.com/ or by calling the Theatre Out Box Office at (714) 826-8700. $25 General Admission, $15 Student Admission.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Great American Irish Fair and Music Festival

The Great American Irish Fair and Music Festival is celebrating its 35th year! As the largest festival of its kind in the Western United States, the Fair has 16 entertainment areas featuring the very best in the music, song, dance, and sport of the Irish. The festivities begin Saturday, June 19th, and continues through Sunday, June 20th. Enjoy over 100 shops, arts and crafts, your favorite Irish bands, sheep herding shows, Irish dog shows, and one of the largest Irish Traditional Stepdancing (Riverdance-style) competitions in California.

Please be sure to check out 2 of my favorite Southern California bands: The Fenians and The Young Dubliners.

There is something Irish for everybody at the Great American Irish Fair and Music Festival!

Sat. & Sun. June 19 & 20, 2010, 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. One day tickets $15 - $18 at the gate, $12-$15 advanced sales. Two day tickets $22-28. Irvine Meadows (Next to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA): 8800 Irvine Center Drive. (3 Minutes off the 405 Freeway).

Monday, June 14, 2010

Where was Broadway in the 2010 Tony Awards?

As I watched the 2010 Tony Awards on CBS, I realized how Hollywood-ized the New York theatre scene has become. While many professional theatre actors cross over into the realms of television and film, (Let’s face it, we are hungry for work and take what we can get), more and more motion picture celebrities are taking the stage for the first time. Maybe this has something to do with the economy, as Americans are turning to digital downloads and rental services as movie ticket prices climb to cover big budget films and dwindling box office numbers.

While I enjoy watching actors return to their theatre roots after starting an accomplished career on the Silver Screen (Thank God for Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz!), in contrast, I detest watching big name celebrities attempt to break behind the Broadway curtain and fail miserably (Julia Roberts in Three Days of Rain anyone? Read the review.). The truth is stage and film are two entirely different beasts and very few actors have the talent and training to make the transition.

For many of the major acting awards, the Tonys this year opened the door to Hollywood, essentially ostracizing the lesser known, but highly acclaimed, traditionally theatrical nominees.

Fences brought home three major awards, beginning with Best Revival of a Play. Denzel Washington was awarded Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play as Troy Maxon. My best advice for Mr. Washington –when you are nominated for an award, please research its history and avoid making puzzling coments during your acceptance speech, like this one; “I’ve been awarded by the Tony Award—what do you call yourselves? The Tony Committee.” What did you mean by that Mr. Washington? Thank goodness for your co-star, Viola Davis who spoke gracefully when accepting her award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.

Academy Award-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones took the prize for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for A Little Night Music. After tripping on her ball-gown on her way to the podium, Zeta-Jones caused controversy during her acceptance speech by pointing to husband Michael Douglas and saying: “See that man there? He’s a movie star and I get to sleep with him every night.” Very classy Catherine! Thanks for continuing the awkwardness of the night, which we all hoped would end with host Sean Hayes lip locking Kristin Chenoweth. I appreciate the statement that was trying to be made (yes, gay actors are more than capable of playing it straight if audiences leave their prejudices and expectations in the theatre lobby), but some things are better to be left alone. Newsweek, we were all disappointed when you called Sean Hayes unconvincing as Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises, but let’s take the high road on this one.

Hollywood starlet - no pun intended- Scarlett Johansson took home the win for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in A View From the Bridge. Scarlett Johansson thanked her husband Ryan Reynolds for “being a theater widower” for her in her acceptance speech. I am not a big fan of Johansson, except for the occasional Woody Allen film (which I probably like more for Allen’s writing/directing then Johansson’s acting), so I was a little miffed when she won this award over the likes of Rosemary Harris.

The night’s biggest winner was the Mark Rothko homage Red, which took home six awards including Best Play. Memphis, featuring music by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan, won Best Musical.

Glee star, Lea Michele, showed up in true Hollywood style to belt out “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” Granted, her performance was brilliant, but for those of us who watch Glee, it was just a less-campy rerun of her performance of the same song on the series and predictable. Perhaps there should be a revival of Funny Girl. I think she is hoping her character on Glee graduates early so she can grace the Broadway stage. At least she sang in the traditional Broadway style, rather than the Pop and Rock remakes, which seemed to be the staple of the night.

For those of you who watching the True Blood season 3 premier, or game 5 of the NBA finals instead, here is a recap of the main categories:

Best Play- Red

Best Musical- Memphis

Best Book of a Musical- Memphis

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre- Memphis

Best Revival of a Play- Fences

Best Revival of a Musical- La Cage aux Folles

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play- Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play- Viola Davis, Fences

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical- Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical- Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play- Eddie Redmayne, Red

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play- Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical- Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical- Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises

Best Direction of a Play- Michael Grandage, Red

Best Direction of a Musical- Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles

Best Choreography- Bill T. Jones, Fela!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Edward II Closing

Tonight I closed Theatre Out’s production of Edward II at the Empire Theater to a full house. I am in awe of the kind-hearted, talented people I have met during this process. Working with the founders (Joey Baital, David Carnevale and Jack Millis) and director/playwright, Darcy Hogan, has been inspiring. Her innovative use of Christopher Marlowe’s powerhouse history, created an emotional journey for me driven by character, love and desire. I am so thankful to have played Margaret, and that Darcy trusted me to originate a role which she so carefully and lovingly constructed.