All stories by Tony Frankel on BroadwayStars

Friday, March 9, 2018

CD Review: ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME (Original Cast Recording) by Tony Frankel

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST I'm actually happy I didn't see this musical live on stage. It makes for a wonderful original cast recording, but what seems like a giant heart on this CD, out…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:39AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 6, 2018

CD Review: WORKING: A MUSICAL (Original London Cast Recording on Ghostlight Records) by Tony Frankel

THE MUSICAL THAT KEEPS ON WORKING Was 2017 really the European premiere of this oft-produced musical? Yep. 40 years since the Broadway opening of Working, and we’re just getting the Or…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:51PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Los Angeles Theater Review: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Boston Court in Pasadena) by Tony Frankel

A MODERNIZED STREETCAR Since struggle for power among the classes is one of the main themes in Tennessee Williams' still-shocking A Streetcar Named Desire, it makes perfect sense that direct…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:45PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Los Angeles Theater Review: GUYS AND DOLLS (Musical Theatre West in Long Beach) by Tony Frankel

A BEAUTIFUL DOLL It's amazing. Were this masterpiece from Broadway's golden age an actual guy or doll, he or she would be scoring Social Security. But make no mistake, this 1950 hoofer is no…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:27PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 19, 2018

Los Angeles Event Preview: THE LINCOLN LEGACY: THE MAN AND HIS PRESIDENCY (Tony Kushner and Sarah Vowell: In Conversation at UCLA) by Tony Frankel

HIS AND HERS HISTORY Looking for some inspiration? From Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner and lauded author Sarah Vowell comes a powerful examination of one of American history'…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:32PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 18, 2018

Cabaret Preview: MY KINDA 60'S (Charles Busch) by Tony Frankel

MY KINDA CABARET ACT It was the decade that changed our nation forever. What began as nothing but promise — victors of a World War and a young forward-thinking President — sudden…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:51PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 12, 2018

Los Angeles Opera Preview: CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA (The Soraya in Northridge) by Tony Frankel

A MAGNIFICENT MARIACHI OPERA COMES TO THE SORAYA It was by sheer luck that I was in Chicago and happened upon the world's first mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face o…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:46PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 6, 2018

CD Review: HAMLISCH UNCOVERED (Various Artists on Broadway Records) by Tony Frankel

MARVIN’S GARDEN One of composer Marvin Hamlisch's first gigs was that of rehearsal pianist and assistant vocal arranger for the original production of Funny Girl on Broadway in 1964, a…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:19PM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 21, 2018

Los Angeles Theater Review: A DELICATE SHIP (Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood) by Tony Frankel

THESE THINGS MUST BE DONE DELICATELY If you lose your way trying to navigate the enigmatic journey Anna Ziegler wants to take us in her well-written but thematically dense A Delicate Ship…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:39PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 19, 2018

Los Angeles Theater Preview: LOUISIANA PURCHASE (Musical Theatre West in Long Beach) by Tony Frankel

RARELY PRODUCED BERLIN SCORE COMES TO LIFE No doubt when folks hear “Louisiana Purchase,” they think of Thomas Jefferson’s gargantuan land acquisition from France in 1803, …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:35PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 18, 2018

Theater and Music Preview: IL RITORNO (Circa Contemporary Circus) by Tony Frankel

AN OPERATIC CIRCUS ODYSSEY The uber-innovative Australian performance troupe, Circa, returns to the States with its newest production, Il Ritorno, a unique production that melds circus arts …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:42AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 15, 2018

Theater Review: SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS (National Tour at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica) by Tony Frankel

YOU LEAVE SEEKING PEACE AND A PLOT When a play comes along that is entirely different from any play that has preceded it, especially in our era of over-informative white noise and copycattin…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:36PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 5, 2018

Los Angeles Theater Preview: BUGABOO & THE SILENT ONE (Lounge Theatre in Hollywood) by Tony Frankel

THANKFULLY, NOT SO SILENT Based on her three previous theater outings alone, it's fitting that writer/director Marja-Lewis Ryan has recently been tapped to be showrunner and executive produc…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:35PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Theater Review: LUZIA (Cirque du Soleil on tour) by Tony Frankel

MEMORIES OF MEXICO, LUZIA UNLEASHES A RAIN OF JOY The Cirque du Soleil just made a run for the border " and not the Canadian one — as the Montreal-based human circus lavishes its un…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:39PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 21, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Preview: HOW THE PRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! (Troubadors at El Portal Theatre) by Tony Frankel

A PRINCH ASSAULT For 22 years, the Troubadour Theater Company (aka The Troubies) has amalgamated freely altered classics with music of a particular artist, creating riotous sketch/improv/ent…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:26PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 11, 2017

CD Review: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (2017 Broadway Cast Recording) by Tony Frankel

COME FOR GYLLENHAAL; STAY FOR SONDHEIM Although a hit, the 2017 revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George had a str…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:51PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD (The Wallis in Beverly Hills) by Tony Frankel

WE GET EVERYTHING BUT THE HEART Certainly one of the most gorgeous lavish sets ever seen at the Wallis, with gorgeous sumptuous costumes, and gorgeous talented athletic actors. With all of t…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:53PM[SHARE]

Los Angeles Theater Review: PACIFIC OVERTURES (Chromolume Theatre) by Tony Frankel

PLEASE HELLO! Remarkably, one of the most difficult things about Pacific Overtures is that Harold Prince directed the original production utilizing the ancient Japanese theater-form, Kabuki,…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:17AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Review: CAUGHT (Think Tank Art Gallery in the Fashion District, DTLA) by Tony Frankel

CAUGHT IN ITS SPELL An onion-skin experience, Christopher Chen’s magnificent Caught is indeed scripted, but you won’t know that when you’re watching it. Part immersive thea…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:59PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 4, 2017

Los Angeles Music Preview: DECK THE HALL HOLIDAY CONCERTS (Disney Hall) by Tony Frankel

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Deck the Hall Holiday Concerts at Disney Hall are just around the corner, and the variety this year is unmatched. I may be enchanted by the ever-popul…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:46PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 24, 2017

Los Angeles Music Preview: CHRISTMAS CHORAL CONCERTS (Los Angeles Master Chorale at Disney Hall) by Tony Frankel

OUR CHORALE’S CHRISTMAS CHORAL CONCERTS AND CAROLS With the indefatigable Energizer Bunny of conducting, Grant Gershon, at the helm, Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) can easily be lab…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:38PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Theater Review: SOMETHING ROTTEN! (National Tour reviewed in Los Angeles) by Tony Frankel

SOMETHING SILLY; NOT QUITE ROTTEN BUT HARDLY FRESH What is it about William Shakespeare that inspires lesser authors (namely, everyone else) to try to take him down? George Bernard Shaw spen…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:45PM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 16, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Review: WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (Musical Theatre Guild) by Tony Frankel

A CONCERT ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN Given the Madrid setting, Hispano characters, and Latin-inspired score, it's possible that the musicalized version of Pedro Almodóvar's film …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:47PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 12, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Review: TALES FROM THE CRYPT THEATER OF MYSTERY (Captured Aural Phantasy Theater at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater) by Tony Frankel

ORIGINAL GHOST HOST A COUP FOR CAPT Captured Aural Phantasy Theater (CAPT), the only group authorized to perform EC Comics’ material live, offered a blood-bucket of charm at their rece…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:09AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 10, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Review: MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY (Sacred Fools) by Tony Frankel

LET THERE BE DARK A group of campers sits around the warm glow of campfire embers and tries to retell a favorite episode of The Simpsons. One man excitedly recalls and performs "Cape Fear…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:44AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 3, 2017

Los Angeles Theater and Music Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (Mendelssohn music and Shakespeare scenes with the LA Phil) by Tony Frankel

COME FOR MENDELSSOHN, STAY FOR MÄLKKI There are three things to consider regarding LA Phil’s huge production of Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:39PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 30, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Review: THE RIDICULOUS DARKNESS (Son of Semele Ensemble) by Tony Frankel

THE RIDICULOUSNESS OF IT ALL I had a college film-course assignment: Read Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella The Heart of Darkness and then watch Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film adaptation, Apoca…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:04PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 25, 2017

CD Review: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS THE NEW MUSICAL (Original Cast Recording) by Tony Frankel

A SPLISH SPLASH MISHMASH After a successful out-of-town tryout in Chicago, SpongeBob SquarePants The New Musical is opening on Broadway this November. To whet the public’s appetite Ã…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:58AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Los Angeles Film and Music Preview: LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE (LA Opera at Theatre at the Ace Hotel) by Tony Frankel

GREAT OPERA, GREAT CINEMA, GREAT PARTY! A familiar fairy tale takes on a broader and deeper subject"the transformative power of love and art. Jean Cocteau's stunningly beautiful 1946 cinemat…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:45PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Los Angeles Opera Review: THE CONSUL (Long Beach Opera in Lawndale, The South Bay) by Tony Frankel

BUREAUCRATIC NIGHTMARE; OPERATIC DREAM After witnessing Long Beach Opera's extraordinarily satisfying production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul, starring the magnificent Patricia R…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:19PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 13, 2017

Los Angeles Theater Review: MASTER CLASS (Garry Marshall Theatre in Burbank) by Tony Frankel

SCHOOLED BY CALLAS; ENTERTAINED BY HENNESY If you've ever been to a master class, then Terrence McNally's Master Class will seem very familiar. If you haven't, then you're in for a real eye-…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:18PM[SHARE]

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