Musical Theatre

In an outburst of song, dance, and color, Center Theater Group, Disney, and Cameron Mackintosh present a rare touring production with electric showmanship, mesmerizing production design, and powerhouse orchestration.

On a faint wind of nostalgia, “Mary Poppins” floated into the Ahmanson Theatre with her magic carpetbag of endless marvel.  The excitement was palpable as audience members, old and young (even if it was just at heart), awaited a promise that anything really can happen. No one could disagree that “Mary Poppins’” timing was, for lack of a better phrase, “practically perfect in every way”.

Based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the 1964 Walt Disney Film, the performance features  original Academy Award winning music and lyrics by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman as well as new music by Olivier Award winning team George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Director Richard Eyre and Co-Director/Choreographer Matthew Bourne (he of the famed all-male Swan Lake production in London) introduce a kaleidoscope of whimsy that ranges from the over-the-top (a nanny who flies out over the audience and into the rafters with her magical umbrella, then returns to center stage, landing primly atop a chimney) to the old-fashioned (a simple magic trick involving a bouquet that appears out of thin air and a cheeky, knowing smile).

The production opens upon the set of the Banks family household where we find Mr. and Mrs. George and Winifred Banks and their two children, Jane and Michael in the midst of their daily navigation through marital issues and family dilemmas. Kezler is appropriately gruff as a regimented banker, who later finds his compassion at home after his career takes a turn for the worse; Grey and Thomas are the epitome of textbook battiness and childhood curiosity, while Osterhaus is heartwarming as the empathetic mother holding her family together.

The carnival heaves into view with the first act’s “Jolly Holiday”, where the Banks children follow new nanny Mary Poppins (played by Ashley Brown) and an animated jack-of-all-trades named Bert into sidewalk paintings, through pastel gardens, and over rooftops of tap dancing chimney sweeps. Brown plays Mary with the perfect air of self-assurance, and Gavin Lee masterfully harnesses comedic horseplay in his spot-on rendition of Bert. Valerie Boyle’s performance as Mrs. Brill, the Banks’ overly burdened household maid, is wildly entertaining and a definite highlight of the production, and Ellen Harvey as Mr. Banks’ former nanny, the “holy terror” Miss. Andrew, nearly steals the whole show with her operatic performance of “Brimstone and Treacle”.  While each musical act is guaranteed to delight, the second act’s “Step In Time” delivers some serious razzle-dazzle with melodic tap dancing and a jaw-dropping re-creation of Fred Astaire’s gravity-defying “walking-on-the-ceiling” act.

With noteworthy talent (on and off the stage), a little Disney magic, and a pleasantly tolerable amount of cheese, “Mary Poppins” proves to be an all around crowd pleaser and a must-see. If you aren’t already on your feet after the 78th repetition of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” then you certainly will be by curtain call.

- By Harper Flood

“Mary Poppins” will run through February 7, 2010 at the Ahmanson Theatre.  For more information, please call (213) 628-2772 or click here.

You’re met with fishnet stockings held up by a garter belt.  As your eyes pan upwards, you see a nude corset with black hooks and a jet-black wig.  As you take in the whole picture, you see a dancer/singer performing a rendition of Billie Holiday’s “You’ve Changed,” with swaying hips before an elaborate set.  Then you realize that this chanteuse is not like the others – not exactly that throaty singer you daydream about.  Potentially because… he’s a man…in drag.

His name is Joey Arias and he’s bringing his friend Basil Twist to REDCAT to perform their show Arias with a Twist.  From Wednesday, November 18 through December 13, you will be met with a feverish, fabulous theatrical extravaganza.  Arias will perform live a selection of songs from a host of different genres – from Billie Holiday to a Busby Berkeley-esque finale, you’ll be thoroughly entertained once you pick your jaw up from the floor.  We promise there will be costume changes and shocking showstoppers abound.  Telling you about them all would only ruin the effect.

Basil Twist, on the other hand, will be behind a team of puppeteers with vintage marionettes and “anatomically correct puppets.”  Known well for his underwater rendition of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Twist has a wild imagination for creative, interactive set design and choreographed feats of puppeteering.  Originally hailing from New York’s downtown art scene, Arias and Twist have an underground street cred that’s making its way around the world and across the US – so far this year, they’ve toured through Paris, Brussels, Stockholm and now, Los Angeles.

What better way to kick off the holiday season than with a show that heightens your senses and shocks your sensibilities with familiar songs, wild costumes, spectacular set design, and good ol’ fashioned drag.  Just keep in mind that the more you drink, the better he starts to look.

Arias with a Twist will be on at REDCAT from November 18 through December 13.  For more information, please call or click here.

Think back to a time when, whether or not you were asked, you’d explain that when you grew up, your name would be all lit up on Broadway.  No matter where you’re from (except New York), you were headed straight to the city that never sleeps to prove the adage that if you can make it there, you’d make it anywhere. Somewhere along the way, for any number of reasons, those dreams changed – perhaps your name is now written in sky blue on personalized stationary or is embossed on your business card.  For a select few, that dream has become a brightly lit reality.  Those are the ones who, while singing in some very green makeup, for example, keep the dream alive for kids of every ilk.

Everyone from the ingénue to the witch has a role to play in the theatre and this Saturday night, there are some big names coming together to make sure kids are still dreaming big.  Make-A-Wish Orange County president Mark Pilone and theatre producer Robert Krueger have joined forces to not only raise money for Make-A-Wish, but to do so in a way that, as Pilon says, “goes beyond the chicken dinners in a hotel ballroom.”  Their lineup includes Broadway heavyweights like Norm Lewis (Les Miserables, Little Mermaid), Laura Bell Bundy (Legally Blonde), Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde), Tim Howar (Rent), and the girls from Wicked that we recently sat down with: Megan Hilty and Eden Espinosa.  According to associate producer Elyse Barton, their opening act will be a “very special performance by a local star.”  We are sure that Saturday night will be the truest form of wish fulfillment!

Make-A-Wish Orange County is one of the hardest working chapters in the country.  With 300 local wishes a year and 425 wishes they coordinate for kids across the nation, the organization decided to branch out with this “Broadway Wishes” concert in order to reach new supporters and a new audience.  They developed a team of local volunteers, producers, and familiar names to come together and remind Southern California how worthy and inspirational this cause really is.

Each performer will get on stage and do just what it is that he or she does best; Megan Hilty and Eden Espinosa will be singing tunes from Wicked, Kate Shindle and Laura Bell Bundy,we have a hunch, will perform a selection from Legally Blonde, and so on – think of it as their “greatest hits.”  What better way to make sure kids are inspired by the performing arts – get a bunch of brightly lit names on stage, give them all microphones, and by the way, they’re here to support Make-A-Wish.  They say we should all dream big… Mission accomplished.

P.S. We got a chance to chat with Megan Hilty and Eden Espinosa from Wicked about why they’re passionate about this performance, what made them want to do what they do, and why they still love it.  Check it out!

“Broadway Wishes” is on Saturday, October 24 at 7:30pm at the Orange County Pavilion.  For more information, please call or click here.  To buy your tickets, please click here.

Between Anniversary Party, Emma, Spice World, or Eyes Wide Shut… which is your favorite Alan Cumming movie?  At any given time in nearly any movie, Alan Cumming is bound to pop up as a hotel clerk, a cab driver, or a love interest without warning; the Scotsman fits in just about any role.  He’s dynamic on stage, on film, and now as a one-man cabaret act. 

On for a brief run at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, Cumming’s “I Bought A Blue Car Today” arrives in Los Angeles fresh from performances at the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, and London’s Vaudeville Theatre.  The show combines witty stories with spectacular musical numbers in which live musicians join him on stage.  One could ask, who knew Alan Cumming was such an accomplished singer?  The answer is only that you, silly, haven’t been paying close enough attention to his career.  This is to be expected!

When Cumming was trying to become a US citizen, one requirement was that he could show his ability to write the following sentence: “I bought a blue car today.”  From that, you can be sure, the stories and songs throughout his cabaret act will focus on the hilarity that has ensued during his time in the US.  Within the intimate confines of the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, you’ll feel like you’re getting a closer look at Mr. Cumming in his most natural setting.  But you never know what will come next – you may find him trying his hand as a puppeteer, a ringmaster, or lion tamer.  If he considers life to be a cabaret now, next year it will be a circus!

Alan Cumming’s “I Bought A Blue Car Today” runs from September 29 through October 4 at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.  For more information, please click here.  

This weekend at the Hollywood Bowl, luck’s not necessarily a lady; it’s a parking spot.  I’m no gambler, but I’d be willing to bet that if you show up later than 6:00 PM on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (even though showtime’s not until 8:30 PM and 7:30 PM on Sunday) to see the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra’s rendition of Frank Losesser’s classic Guys and Dolls, there won’t be a spot for miles.

From conductor Kevin Sites and director Richard Jay Alexander, the same dapper gents who sent the songs of Les Miserables soaring into the hills last summer—and with the help of Tony-award winning choreographer Donna McKechnie—Guys and Dolls promises to be a star-studded event.  Jessica Biel assumes the role of the innocent missionary Sarah Brown, Scott Bakula shoots for Nathan Detroit, Brian Stokes Mitchell—living up to his nickname as Broadway’s “last-leading man”—plays Sky Masterson, and as Arvide Abernathy, the always lovable yet consistently overlooked Beau Bridges.  Oh, and don’t forget Brando and Sinatra, whose ghosts are sure to be hovering in the mist, shooting craps and snapping along to all the loveable numbers they once called their own. 

Needless to say, this weekend might be the time to try out that old LA public transportation system.  Or who knows?  Luck might be on your side.

The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra’s production of Guys and Dolls opens its curtains at 8:30 PM on Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1st, then at 7:30 PM on Sunday, August 2nd.  Please call (323) 850-2000 or click here for more information.