Tucked away in the nether regions between the two Valley’s lies the Black Box Theatre in the city of Montrose.   Black Box Theatre is the result of the talented efforts of the La Canada Theatre organization headed up by Al Pugliese.   They hold performances every third Thursday in a church in Montrose and I made last nights event.  It was most enjoyable!

There were a total of 4 short one act plays in the 1 1/2 hours.   They dealt with contemporary issues in a humorous sort of way.   The plays were all original material written by either Benjamin Epstein or Gary Kluger.   They write entirely new plays for each performance night. They weren’t always perfect, at times a little contrived or trite, but they kept me smiling throughout the performances.

The actors come out of the La Canada workshops. Some of the actors were really good at what they did and their performances were what really held the entire play together.   In particular I enjoyed the performances of Lanell Scott as the crusty PE instructor in “Teachers” and Deb Snyder as “Inga” in “Mad Scientist”. (more…)

James Roday

To many of us, he’s the frenetic observational genius with a white hot wit Sean Spencer on USA’s Psych.  It’s a good thing to be.  As an admitted addict of USA’s original programming, I count on those characters to help me blow off steam after a long day of the intensity we call every day life in the City of Angels.  But I have to admit to being surprised (and more than a little excited) when I found out that James Roday was about to hit a local stage right here on theater row to perform a play with the theater company he founded (Red Dog Squadron).

Extinction, a play written by a classmate (Gabe McKinley) of James’ from his NYU days, is the story of two college friends on a wild trip to Atlantic City, a place they go to descend into their favorite vices with dark abandon.  But on this particular trip, something is different and results in a high stakes showdown between friends.  Co-staring with him is a close friend, Michael Weston, an actor who has been on many of the best shows on television from Six Feet Under to House.

I had the opportunity to speak with James and found out what I couldn’t discover with a little Google stalking.  My first question when confronted with someone having the courageousness to do theater in a city notoriously unappreciative of the medium is always about the dangers of that endeavor.  But he was unphased by it.  Red Dog Squadron was something he created as a way to keep himself anchored in the place that first made him want to pursue a creative life.  It was also a means to do all the theater he didn’t get to do between college and a fully formed career.  Like many actors coming out of school, he expected to pay his dues doing stage work while bartending to pay the bills.  But Hollywood came calling early on, rendering that transition unnecessary.

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The WTF?! Festival, hosted by The Actors’ Gang and curated by Tim Robbins, began last week in an ambitious eruption of creative insurrection.  It’s a ten week multi-discipline performance art festival featuring music, dance, film, theater and more all bent toward the singular cause of putting forth artistic material during an unsavory economic climate.  (Thus the title of the festival which was literally Tim’s reaction to being told there wasn’t enough money in the budget to do theater.)

Each week of the WTF?! Festival offers a wide range of activities from free events to $150 fundraising productions.  Because there is so much going on with this mighty undertaking, I will be doing regular updates here at LA Metblogs to keep you on top of everything, including an interview with Tim Robbins.

Here’s what’s happening on this week!

Tuesday night begins Week 2 with an exclusive look at the as yet unreleased documentary William Kunstler: Disturbing The Universe. It’s the story of the civil rights lawyer who fought for equality with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented the famed Chicago 8 activists as told by his daughters.  The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Emily Kunstler.  It begins at 8 pm and is free!

Wednesday night is a screening of The Aristocrats after which filmmaker Paul Provenza and special guests will discuss the film, not to mention offer up new Aristocrat jokes live.  Just $15 puts you in a seat for a rare evening of tawdry entertainment.  The bar opens at 7 pm. The show begins at 8 pm.

Thursday night is an evening of theater with the one woman production called The Need To Know performed by former Air Force Intelligence Analyst April Fitzsimmons. It’s a critically acclaimed performance exploring her journey from being a member of the armed forces to an activist in the peace movement.  The show is followed by a veterans’ forum.  The curtain goes up at 8 pm and tickets are $15.

Former Cirque du Soleil performer Daisuke Tsuji executes his one man visual poem Death And Giggles on Friday evening with a frenetic presentation of sock puppets, dance, clowning and balloons.  It begins at 9 pm and is $15.

Week 2 ends on Saturday with an intimate evening of music presented by 89.9 KRCW featuring singer/songwriter Jackson Browne with his son, Ryan Browne.  Tim Robbins and his son, Miles, will also put in an appearance.  This is a $150 fundraising event that begins at 8:30 pm.

For more information about the WTF?! Festival visit the website here.  Otherwise, keep a look out here at LA Metblogs for upcoming events.

For a few years in a past life I put my community college journalism degree to use in part getting forty bucks a review as a wide-ranging theater critic for a local weekly paper. My only qualifications for the job were negligible: an even more distant period in which I studied acting and did a handful of plays, coupled to a lifetime’s enthusiasm and love for the stage.

Long back being a civilian theatergoer I just don’t see many shows nowadays. To get me into a seat it’s gotta be something compelling — especially when it comes to musicals, the last major one I saw being “Mamma Mia!” and that’s pretty much why. The genre has just become too much wafer-thin glitz. Sure production values are high and the talent is strong and the entertainment is there, but it all just seems to be less and less about pushing the artform’s boundaries and instead more and more about giving the people what they want.

By its ironically cheery title alone “Parade,”  now playing at the Mark Taper Forum through November 15, might sound like it is, but it is not what the people want. And by that I mean those masses who get excited by news of  “Footloose: The Musical” coming to town.

Because it’s dark — no I mean really. Based on the unconscionable tragedy of Leo Frank, “Parade” promenades  past the audience, taking it on a descent into a particularly evil episode in this country’s history — and it does so with song. And dance.

At all times “Parade” is an inspired and committed production rich with talent whose every aspect is flawlessly executed. But at turns it is chilling, shocking, harrowing, horrifying, and always unrepentant and unapologetic in its telling of such a perfect storm of  injustice.

Given that  several patrons didn’t return to their seats after the intermission, clearly it was repelling to some who were perhaps expecting a far more frivolous and forgettable evening. But for me it is some of the bravest and most riveting and important theater I have ever had the privilege to see.

Eddie Izzard by Nick J. Webb, used under Creative Commons.

As I’ve mentioned previously, 826LA is my favorite non-profit organization. There may not be any profit, but it still takes a lot of money to do all the great work they do. Thus, there are occasional fund-raisers and benefits. 826 benefits are always win-win situations, though, because while they get the money, you get top-notch entertainment for a relative bargain price.

There are a couple of great 826LA benefits happening this week, starting with a very special show tonight at the EchoPlex featuring the spectacularly funny Eddie Izzard! This show was just announced, and as of this writing some tickets are still available for only $20 (plus a reasonable, non-TicketBastard service charge.) Race to get them at TicketWeb HERE. Izzard’s L.A. shows have historically sold out very quickly (with higher ticket prices,) so don’t wait.

On Friday night, M Bar Supper Club in Hollywood is the place to be for “Behind the Smoggy Veil: Tinseltown Tales.” This evening of comedy features (among others) Taylor Negron, and is hosted by my old friend, the very funny Sarah Taylor. Given the title, I’m going to guess it will be an evening of funny stories about life in Hollywood. This promises to be a great show as well, so call the number at the link above and make a table reservation now.

One week. Two benefits for 826LA. Two evenings full of laughter. You’re welcome.

The PA holds cue cards for "Keanu" while "Pappas" looks on.

The longest running theater show in Los Angeles celebrated its two year anniversary on Saturday at the Dragonfly in Hollywood. Point Break LIVE! has been extremely successful, and with good reason. It is one of the most entertaining theater pieces in my memory; even better than Cats. (Okay, granted: most shows are better than Cats. Point Break LIVE! is exceptionally good, though.)

Point Break LIVE! is an absurdist stage adaptation of the classic 1991 movie starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. The twist to this show is that at every performance the role of “Keanu” is performed by a member of the audience (hence, the cue cards.) Because the show has been running for two years, I’m certain there are dozens of reviews more eloquent than mine just on the other side of a Google search. This is not so much a review as an unabashed endorsement.

Buy tickets. See this show. Now! I’m already planning to see it again with other friends.

Point Break LIVE! is a spectacular interactive theater show with comedy, stunts, special-ish effects, hot half-naked surfer dudes…everything you could want in a big budget action movie, but on a seriously diminished budget. There are so many delightful surprises in this show, I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling any of the fun. I will include this, though, from the Point Break LIVE! ticketing site:

“This show is not for the squeamish, uptight, faint of heart, or the easily offended. Theater snobs probably won’t get it. If you are looking for a traditional theater experience – STAY THE F**K AWAY FROM THIS SHOW.”

MetBlogs readers don’t fit any of those categories, so you should all enjoy it immensely. Point Break LIVE! runs Saturday evenings at the Dragonfly in Hollywood. Get tickets here.

PRO TIP: When you collect your tickets at the box office, you’ll be offered a “survival kit” for a buck. Take it. It may be the best dollar you’ll ever spend. Seriously.

God Save Gertrude, a punk rock musical take on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, opens this Saturday at The Theater at Boston Court in Pasadena.

Borrowing from Shakespeare for musical theater (and just about every other creative pursuit) is nothing new of course; it has spawned iconic shows like West Side Story (Romeo and Juliet,) Kiss Me Kate (The Taming of the Shrew) and The Lion King (Hamlet.) Further afield musically, in 1957 Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn composed Such Sweet Thunder, a jazz suite that draws on the Bard’s plays, characters and sonnets.

Deborah Stein, God Save Gertrude’s playwright, and David Hanbury, composer, continue the tradition, employing punk’s sensibilities to offer an updated portrayal of the Danish prince Hamlet from the point of view of his pilloried mother, Queen Gertrude– against a backdrop of some things that never change: corruption, betrayal and revenge in the halls of power.

God Save Gertrude previews through Friday Oct. 9, opens Saturday, Oct. 10th, runs through Nov. 8th. At Boston Court Performing Arts Center, 70 North Mentor (between Colorado and Union) Pasadena CA 91106. Detailed information here.

Hat tip to Our Pal Dave Share from OC Metblogs for noticing this: Pee Wee Herman’s facebook page for his stage show announced that his show will be extended, due to popular demand, to Club Nokia!

The run will be from January 12th to February 2nd, and tickets go on sale this Thursday! If you are holding tix to his Music Box shows, you can exchange tickets by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-653-8000.

Man, am I bummed I’m gonna be missing this one. But my vacation calls! You’ll have to go for me. Lucent Dossier’s cirque-meets-vaudeville-meets-Moulin Rouge-meets-Weimar-meets-Wonderland vibe is unlike any other, and it’s not just onstage: to go to one of their shows is to step into a 360-degree performance where the show happens all around you.

Wanna go? Tell me, in the comments, about a trippy experience you had or a bizarre show you attended. Maybe this one will show it up.

Info on the show is here.

Only ten performances of this wack-tastic ’splosion of Python-y goodness will grace the Ricardo Montalban Theatre, a venue I have always wanted to visit because of its name but have never been inside.

“A Night Without Monty Python” is a cherrypicking spectacular of Python’s best-loved moments, from the Spanish Inquisition, to the Ministry of Silly Walks, the Lumberjack and Spam songs, and scads more (go here for full list).

Eric Idle isn’t IN it (although an appearance would not surprise me), but he directs Alan Tudyk (Dodgeball, Dollhouse) and Jane Leeves (Frasier), Jim Piddock (who’s been in just about everything, ever) and a few others, plus likely guest-star cameos throughout the run.

This one’ll sell out, folks. Tix are here…for now.