David Green - Page 29

Desert Rose Productions, Inc. will present nationally acclaimed comedian Shann Carr in her one-woman show Sweet Sweet Laughter! for one performance only, Saturday August 10 at 7:00 pm at The Desert Rose Playhouse at The Commissary in Rancho Mirage. Kicking off her return to comedy with Sweet Sweet Laughter!, Shann will perform an intimate show at the Desert Rose Playhouse and looks forward to taking her audience on a lovely ride filled with laughter, lies and debauchery.

After selling out shows in South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, 'Michael Jackson HIStory' starring Kenny Wizz, recently arrived in the US for the first time and landed for a near sold-out concert at THE SHOW at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa on June 29. (The SHOW, by the way, is arguably one of the top concert venues in the Western United States). This 'musical biography' featured hit after hit, over twenty songs in all, and tells the story of one of the greatest pop icons the world has ever known -- all performed live by what many consider to be the World's #1 Michael Jackson Impersonator, Kenny Wizz. Together with a live band of talented musicians, fully choreographed dancers, authentic costumes and a light and screen show, HIStory is the recreation of a Michael Jackson concert experience. I had the chance to chat with Kenny Wizz and his line captain, Clasina Van Grinsven , just thirty minutes before curtain. Here are a few highlights from the interview.

Bobby Vinton, the entertainer Billboard Magazine has called 'the most successful love singer of the 'Rock-Era', appears at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa for one very special performance on September 7 at 8:00 pm. From 1962 to 1972 Vinton had more #1 records than any other solo male artist in the country and established himself as one of America's top concert performers and most versatile entertainers. His impressive list of hits includes renowned love songs such as Roses Are Red, Blue Velvet and Mr. Lonely, among many others. His songs are recognized as standards throughout the world and his music has retained its vitality and relevance through our changing times.

Three-time Grammy nominee Jewel brings her world renowned vocal talents to THE SHOW at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa tonight, June 7 at 9:00 pm for a unique 'impromptu' style concert featuring both her greatest hits and songs she has never recorded. Songwriting became a means of survival for Jewel - she experienced homelessness living out of her car as a teenager in San Diego. Three years later her first single 'Who Will Save Your Soul' launched her stardom. She has sold over 27 million albums in her career, so far. I had the opportunity to chat with the singer about her upcoming concert in Rancho Mirage and 'all things Jewel'. Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

Three-time Grammy nominee Jewel brings her world renowned vocal talents to THE SHOW at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa on June 7 at 9:00 pm for a unique "impromptu" style concert featuring both her greatest hits and songs she has never recorded. Songwriting became a means of survival for Jewel - she experienced homelessness living out of her car as a teenager in San Diego. Three years later her first single "Who Will Save Your Soul" launched her stardom. She has sold over 27 million albums in her career, so far. I had the opportunity to chat with the singer about her upcoming concert in Rancho Mirage and "all things Jewel". Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

Saxophonist Emma Reinhart and Vocalist April Murphy shared the Helen Turner Grand Prize Award at the McCallum Theatre's Annual Open Call Talent Competition on Saturday night, the first time in the event's fifteen year history the judges declared a tie for the top prize. The winners were announced by host (and Open Call 2011 Grand Prize winner) Rob Watkins following a rousing finale which featured all twenty-two finalist acts (76 individual performers) before a sold-out audience. The family of award namesake Helen Turner determined on the spot that each winner would receive the $2,500 grand prize.

Rumour has it that Coyote Stageworks' current production, which plays through Sunday at The Annenberg Theatre in Palm Springs, is a one of the desert's finest theatrical offerings of the season. I am happy to report - It's all TRU! Coyote Stageworks' founding artistic director, Chuck Yates, stars in this one-man (plus a few voices) tour de force that chronicles a couple of introspective nights in the life of Truman Capote, set in his New York Apartment just before Christmas in 1975, as an excerpt from his unfinished 'tell all' novel Answered Prayers has just been published in Esquire and he has been abandoned by his closest confidantes. TRU is one of the first 'Must See' productions I have endorsed in quite a while - perhaps since last time I attended a Coyote Stageworks production. It is a 'drop everything if you can and buy a ticket' night in the theatre.

Coyote StageWorks is wrapping up its hugely successful 2012/13 Season at the Annenberg Theater with TRU, the award-winning play about Truman Capote, by the outstanding American screenwriter, playwright, stage director, television producer and novelist, Jay Presson Allen. Allen, who also wrote MARNIE, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODY, CABARET, FUNNY LADY and more, was said to have been at first hesitant to write a play about Truman Capote, who she had met but did not know. In the end, though, her work was praised by everyone, including Capote's family, as accurately portraying one of America's most controversial authors in his last years.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world's most popular dance companies, brings its 21-city U.S. tour to the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert for one performance tonight, April 11 at 8:00pm. Following record-breaking performances in New York City that brought full houses to their feet, Ailey's second season led by Artistic Director Robert Battle is thrilling audiences in major cities across the country. Artistic Director Robert Battle continues to surprise and delight audiences with premieres and new productions that expand his vision for the company, adding dynamic choreographic voices to the repertory that give Ailey's extraordinary artists new ways to inspire.

The Desert Rose Playhouse, the Valley's live stage company serving the LGBT community, will present Mart Crowley's classic play 'The Boys in the Band', at The Commissary in Rancho Mirage. The show will open tonight, April 5, 2013 for a five-week run closing on May 5.

The Desert Rose Playhouse, the Valley's live stage company serving the LGBT community, will present Mart Crowley's classic play 'The Boys in the Band', at The Commissary in Rancho Mirage. The show will open April 5, 2013 for a five-week run closing on May 5. It's Harold's birthday and his friends are throwing him a party he'll never forget, complete with his surprise gift --- a street hustler named Cowboy. As the evening progresses, many drinks are swilled and a game of Truth goes terribly wrong.

The McCallum Theatre announced today its new lineup of world-class entertainment scheduled for the 2013-2014 season with Tony Award-winning musicals and plays, legendary performers, beloved singers, Desert favorites, and international artistry all part of a very full and exciting roster. Subscriptions go on sale on Monday, April 8th at 8am for the Rabobank Broadway Blockbuster Series, Broadway and Beyond Series, Fitz's Jazz Cafe at the McCallum Series, Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Series, as well as a Create-Your-Own Series which allows patrons to mix, match, and program a full season of entertainment tailored to their own individual tastes.

Veteran Las Vegas performer Steve Connolly stars as the legendary Elvis Presley in the stage production SPIRIT OF THE KING, which premiered March 6 for an open-ended engagement in the Cascade Lounge of the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs. Dubbed "The hardest working KING in show biz," Steve Connolly has performed as Elvis Presley more than 4,000 times in his career and was chosen by the Las Vegas Review Journal's staff as "Best Elvis in Las Vegas" in 2006 and 2007. I had the chance sit down recently with Mr. Connolly to talk about his career and "all things Elvis". He was charming, funny, charismatic -- and, holds "The King" and his legacy in great reverence. Here are a few highlights from our brief chat:

NAKED BOYS SINGING just completed a rare West Coast engagement at The Palm Canyon Theatre in Palm Springs to sold-out, and very enthusiastic, crowds. In my recent review I singled out Christopher Trepinski and Juan Guerrero as the two stand-out talents in this particular troupe and had the wonderful opportunity to chat with them about their backgrounds, career aspirations and 'all things naked boys'. Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

I will admit, from the start, that I was not racing to the theatre to see BLUE MAN GROUP. Having only seen them once or twice on television, and never being blown away by what I saw, I was more attending the show to fulfill my obligation of covering all of the Broadway offerings at The McCallum Theatre than anything else. I assumed I might be mildly entertained. I was way off base in my assumption. The easiest way to write a review of BLUE MAN GROUP would be to head straight to the Thesaurus and find all of the superlatives that sound great in print. And they would all be true. To choose just one - BLUE MAN GROUP was astounding!

Everyone is familiar with the old adage 'You Get What You Pay For'. Never was it more true than with NAKED BOYS SINGING, now playing for a limited engagement at The Palm Canyon Theatre in Palm Springs. You get exactly what you pay for - six naked boys singing. So who could complain? They don't promise 'the best songs and the wittiest lyrics you've every heard' or 'Broadway caliber staging and choreography', or even 'the most talented males singers we could find in New York singing naked'. Simply 'naked boys singing', period. So, what's to critique? As I write, I am determined to labor over finding just the right words for this review because I promised myself I wouldn't fall into the trap of ANY double entendre 'genital puns' when describing the production.

Veteran Las Vegas performer Steve Connolly stars as the legendary Elvis Presley in the stage production SPIRIT OF THE KING, which premiered March 6 for an open-ended engagement in the Cascade Lounge of the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs. Dubbed "The hardest working KING in show biz," Steve Connolly has performed as Elvis Presley more than 4,000 times in his career and was chosen by the Las Vegas Review Journal's staff as "Best Elvis in Las Vegas" in 2006 and 2007. I had the chance to see the production on opening night and again this week and it could, and very well should, become one of the "must see" attractions in Palm Springs. But, even though Connolly is at the top of his game, it just misses the mark. It is, however, still a "work in progress" and so I have extremely high hopes for its success.

Coyote StageWorks is wrapping up its hugely successful 2012/13 Season at the Annenberg Theater with TRU, the award-winning play about Truman Capote, by the outstanding American screenwriter, playwright, stage director, television producer and novelist, Jay Presson Allen. Allen, who also wrote MARNIE, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODY, CABARET, FUNNY LADY and more, was said to have been at first hesitant to write a play about Truman Capote, who she had met but did not know. In the end, though, her work was praised by everyone, including Capote's family, as accurately portraying one of America's most controversial authors in his last years.

It is probably not the best form for a writer to begin a composition with “There are No Words To Describe” … but that is the first thing that came to mind after spending a glorious evening in the theatre with a true American Musical Theatre treasure, Barbara Cook, last Thursday at The McCallum. In actuality, there are words. Marvelous. Magnificent. Mesmerizing. And, many more. It was one of those – “Pinch me -- I'm so lucky to be here tonight” sort of evenings and one I will not soon forget. Ms. Cook, at 85, was suffering from an infection in her vocal chords and began the show with a tongue in cheek disclaimer – “Now, don't go home and tell everybody she's losing her voice” – but even at “partial voice' it was an evening not to be missed.

Last night I fell in love … again … with Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! And that was surprise. The Musical holds a very special place in my heart since Broadway's original Belle, Susan Egan, and Broadway's final Belle, Anneliese Vanderpol, are both former students of mine. I was looking forward to seeing the production - but I was, in no way, expecting to be so completely taken in. It was a first class production all the way and was, by far, for me, the best musical theatre production in the McCallum's 25th anniversary season and the perfect way for them to begin to bring down the curtain on a tremendous and memorable year.