Arts
Peter Pan - The Musical
Review by Michael Schlesinger
Peter Pan was created by J.M. Barrie. Peter Pan is a magical youth who never grows old. He lives in Kensington Gardens. Since its creation in 1902 in Victorian England, Peter Pan has gone through several reiterations from a state play in England to a musical in the United States. The adventure begins when Peter Pan and his mischievous sidekick, Tinkerbell, a fairy, visit the bedroom of the Darling children late one night. Peter meets the three Darling children, Wendy who is fretting about how to get into medical school; John who is working on a Cahokia Peoples Settlement and Michael. With a sprinkle of fairy dust the children are taken on a magical journey to Neverland flying through the air and night sky. They land in Neverland and meet various characters such as the “lost boys” who are a conglomerate of indigenous people that are the only ones left of their culture.
Camelot at Laguna Playhouse
Review by Stacy Holmes
Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot ran at Laguna Playhouse through August 11. Opening in the midst of Broadway’s golden age in 1960 starring Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Roddy McDowall and Robert Goulet, the show filled the stage with knights, squires, ladies in waiting and village people in all the production numbers. The 1967 film was even more expansive.
The Laguna Playhouse production has just ten characters on stage. Arthur (Jered McLenigen), Guenevere (Lauren Weinberg), and Lancelot (Brian Krinsky) with seven other actors doubling in all the other principal roles and ensemble. Instead of just a cut-down version of the sixty year old musical, this production takes the audience more deeply into the conflicted, anguish-torn inner lives of Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot. The all male ensemble impressed with their performance of “The Lusty Month of May” usually performed by a larger mixed voice ensemble. More
Community Theater Shows
Alchemy Theatre Puffs Sep 6- 22 alchemytheatre.com
Cabrillo Playhouse Much Ado About Nothing Aug 16 - 24. www.cabrilloplayhouse.orgt
Camino Real Playhouse Jekyll & Hyde the Musical Sep 6 - 29. www.caminorealplayhouse.org
Costa Mesa Playhouse In the Next Room The Vibrator Play Sep 13 - Oct 6. www.costamesaplayhouse.org
Chance Theater Gloria Sep 27 - Oct 20 chanctheater.com
Curtis Theater Artful Sounds Aug 24. curtistheatre.com
Laguna Playhouse Don’t Dress for Dinner Sep 4 - 22. lagunaplayhouse.com
Newport Theater Arts Center Arts Curtains Sep 20 - Oct 20. www.ntacthickets.com
No Square Theater Legally Blond Aug 2 - 18. Lagunatics ‘24. Sep 27 - Oct 13. www.nosquare.org
South Coast Rep Quixote Nuevo Sep 30 - Oct 28. scr.org
The Larking House Midsummer Night’s Dream Sep 27 - Oct 6 www.thelarkinghouse.com
The Wayward Artist Peace Be With You Sep 13 - 22. www.thewaywardartist.org
Westminster Community Playhouse Wait Until Dark Sep 22 - Oct 8. www.wcpstage.com
Whittier Playhouse 9 to 5 Sep 6 - 21. www.whittiercommunitytheatre.org
2 Pianos 4 Hands at Laguna Playhouse
A review by Stacy Holmes
2 Pianos 4 Hands launched the Laguna Playhouse 2003-2004 season with the return of a unique show following the lives of two boys who aspire to become famous classical piano performers. We see two grand pianos on stage. Ted (Jefferson McDonald) and Richard (Matthew McGloin) appear in concert tails in the opening scene. It seems the piano benches are paired with the wrong pianos. The audience enjoys a laugh or two as the performers fuss over trivial matters. They finally launch into J.S. Bach’s Concerto in D minor and the show is on.
Twenty short scenes follow where one actor portrays his main piano student character and the other does a vignette of a pushy parent, eccentric piano teacher, jazz studio owner or critic. We see the boys grow up. They have to settle for something less than world wide fame as concert soloists. Their story perhaps resonates with passions members of the audience may have pursued. The ultimate dream may not come true, but the pursuit of that dream can be a wonderful life itself. And the unexpected alternative life turns out just fine.
2 Pianos 4 Hands was written and first performed by Canadians Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt in 1996. It is loosely autobiographical. Both Dykstra and Greenblatt have acted in many regional theater comedies and dramas besides carrying on regional and touring performances of 2 Pianos 4 Hands. They have now retired. Jefferson McDonald and Matthew McGloin have taken over with their own extensive acting experiences in regional theaters. Their multi-character portrayals are out done only by their wizardry on the two pianos.
Daniel Radcliffe after Harry Potter
By Stacy Holmes
Chris Heath writing in the June issue of The Atlantic tracks down Daniel Radcliffe during the run of the recently closed (July 7, 2024) revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along for which Radcliffe won a Best Featured Actor Tony Award. Heath takes Radcliffe back to August 23, 2000 when the eleven year old child actor was cast as Harry Potter.
The eight Harry Potter films have grossed nearly $8 billion making Radcliffe one of the most seen cinema actors ever as he grew from pre-teen to twenties. So he was perhaps exquisitely vulnerable to the all too common demise of child actor phenoms. Predictions of personal breakdown, no adult career and other misery resonate fearfully based on how many young performers have foundered in the later years financially, artistically, medically and otherwise. It might have been those predictions that motivated Radcliffe to, as Heath puts it, “outrun his most famous role”. More
Previous Arts Posts
Cirque du Soleil Kooza Review
Gifted Hands / Ben Carson Story Review
On Golden Pond Newport Theate Review
Funny Girl at Segerstrom Review
Holmes & Watson Laguna Playhouse. Review
Blithe Spirit Newport Theater 2023 Review
Laguna Playhouse 2024-5 Season
Newport Theater Arts 2024-5 Season
Barclay UC Irvine 2024-5 Season