Theatre, Film & Broadcast

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO — Opening night at the 10th Avenue Theatre in downtown San Diego where Mo’Olelo Performing Arts Company is mounting Lydia R. Diamond’s Stick Fly was packed to capacity. Everyone was anxious to hear about the rich LeVay’s of Martha’s Vineyard. Diamond’s LeVay family drama is quite intriguing and thought provoking […]

By Carol Davis LA JOLLA, California —A bona fide world premiere of the William Finn/ James Lapine musical Little Miss Sunshine is now being staged at the La Jolla Playhouse on the Mandell Weiss Stage. That’s of course if you don’t count the movie (Michael Arndt) of the same name, which this particular musical follows

ESCONDIDO, California —The musical The Fantasticks with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones was originally an off-Broadway production that ran a total of 42 years and 17,162 performances making it the world’s longest running musical. It’s characters are Matt (a Boy), Louisa (a Girl), Huckaby (the Boy’s father), Bellomy (the Girl’s father), Henry,

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO– During the intermission of the latest incarnation of the L. Frank Baum’ book,  the  John Kane adaptation of “Wizard of Oz” I chatted with a tyke munching on a cookie. “How do you like the show so far?” I asked? Being non-committal in front of a stranger, her Mom piped up

By Carol Davis  SAN DIEGO — When I was a teenager, there used to be a donut store at the corner of my street. One of my girlfriends worked there after school. It wasn’t a Dunkin’ Donuts, it wasn’t Krispy Kreme nor was it Winchell’s Donuts. It was locally owned and operated, somewhat like the

 By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO—If Willy Loman knew that only his family attended his funeral he would have been perplexed. He was sure the friends he cultivated from all over the northeast (his territory) would attend. Willy shaped his entire life around the theory that if you were liked and you made your way on

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO—Regardless of what Emma Woodhouse does in the business of matchmaking, the fact that Patti Murin inhabits her body, makes the new Jane Austen’s “Emma A Musical Romantic Comedy” with lyrics and book by Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre) and directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun (“Bonnie and Clyde at the La

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO—San Diego Musical Theatre is in its second year of producing musicals (may be the answer to Starlight without the outside stars) and, for its second show of the season, producers Erin and Gary Lewis have chosen the San Diego premiere of Neil Bartrum (Music and Lyrics) and Brian Hill’s (Book)

By Carol Davis VISTA –Some vintage wines get better with age. Some say women get better looking as they age. Some say that of men. Some Broadway plays have lasting power and in retrospect, shed more light on a current situation than when it was written. Some fall off by the wayside and when they

By Carol Davis CARLSBAD, California — “If only I could change the past…?” How many times have we had this conversation with ourselves? “I would do this or that differently”. “I would say this or that to him or her”. “If I had it to do over again…” In Jamie Pachino’s touching and lyrical new

By Carol Davis SOLANA BEACH, California– Fate: destiny, outcome chance, providence. When Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt were youngsters taking piano lessons, it never occurred to them that one day their paths would cross and they would be forever locked together playing dueling piano’s (if you will) and making a name for themselves, not as