KCRW's Theatre Talk

Irish Ghosts and Leprechauns

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:44:00 EST

In this week after Halloween, it's fitting that we talk about ghost stories. Conor McPherson, the prolific Irish dramatist, is a master of modern ghost stories ? his plays have featured apparitions, bloodsuckers, even Mephistopheles himself. And yet, there's no blood or gore in McPherson's plays ? he's more interested in the guilt these spirits represent, not who they can kill....

Nojangles

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:44:00 EST

The late 1950's and 1960's were indeed Sammy Davis Jr.'s moment. During that time he was one of, if not, the highest paid entertainer in America. His career is the subject of a new musical titled Sammy...

A Reigning Parade

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:44:00 EST

Those are the opening bars of the musical Parade and that little bit of music tell you a great deal about the show as a whole. There's the military drum beat that evokes the Civil War, the bells and oboe melody that sound like Broadway and the atonal piano clusters which tells you the dissonant Parade is not your standard feel-good, leave-whistling-the-songs musical...

Donuts and Dilaudid

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:44:00 EST

What do you do after your sprawling, three-hour play about America in decline wins the Pulitzer Prize for drama? That's a problem most aspiring playwrights ? to say nothing of established writers ? would love to have; but it's nevertheless been a problem for Tracy Letts. Letts is the writer of popular, short shockers, like Killer Joe and Bug, who then decided to write something long and serious. That play turned out to be August: Osage County, which won the Tony, the Pulitzer, and is now touring the country in a production starring Oscar-winner Estelle Parsons...

Tragedies: Medea and Modine

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:44:00 EST

Two great tragedies are currently running in Westwood. One dates back 2,500 years; the other feels twice as old (and dated) even though it was written earlier this year. ..

Bush-Era Angst

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:44:00 EST

Of the many things George W. Bush said that came back to haunt him, one quip perhaps best describes what would become known as the Bush II Era: "A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it," he said about working with Congress, "just so long as I'm the dictator..."

A Raucous 'Peace' and Intoxicating 'Encounter'

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:44:00 EST

A simple, joyous belief in theater as entertainment radiates from two productions currently playing here on the west coast. The first is the annual production of a Greek classic at the Getty Villa's outdoor amphitheater...

Disney vs. Dreamworks: Round 2, Live on Stage

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:44:00 EST

Summer is now over and the new theater season is about to begin. Here in Los Angeles, the season sort of un-officially opens tonight with the opening performance of the Getty's annual production of a Greek play under the stars in Malibu...

Spam-Alot Funnier

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:51:34 EST

That's the song, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," from the musical Spamalot. Of course, die-hard Monty Python fans will tell you that song originally came from the 1979 movie Life of Brian ? but then very little that's in Spamalot is original. The full title of this show, which won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical, is Monty Python's Spamalot: A New Musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail...

Preserving Strange

podmaster@kcrw.org (James C. Taylor) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:44:00 EST

This week, Los Angeles theatergoers can finally experience Passing Strange in the city where much of its story takes place ? albeit not live on stage. Spike Lee filmed the last performance of Passing Strange on Broadway, capturing much of the raw energy and emotion that was on stage at the Belasco Theatre during its four month run...