Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Xanadu’ Brings Back Memories of the 1980s

Let me quickly give you a little plot summary…  Kira (St. Clair) is one of the nine Greek Muses, and she decides to go down to earth (as a roller skating Australian) to give some inspiration to aspiring artist Sonny Malone (Hunter Brown).  But there are rules about going to earth to inspire artists, and those rules include not helping to create art, not letting on you’re a muse, and definitely not falling in love with a mortal. [Sandi Masori]

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Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

North Coast Rep Brings Top-Notch Rendition of Psychological Thriller to San Diego

By Eva Trieger   SOLANA BEACH, California — As the calendar signals the sinister season of ghouls and ghosties, North Coast Repertory Theatre ushers in the chill with an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While Stevenson wrote the story in 1885, his wife insisted he

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

David Ellenstein Followed His Actor Father Into Show Business

“I believe the arts in general are all about uplifting human beings and making the world better for having experienced them,” Ellenstein told me. “I’ve always believed in a wide variety of genres, and I like to do all kinds of plays – new plays, old plays, dramas, comedies, musicals, avant-garde plays…” {Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Over 700 Entertainment Leaders Stand With Israel

LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — More than 700 leaders from the entertainment industry have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace in support of Israel. The open letter calls on the entertainment community to speak out forcefully against Hamas, to support Israel, to refrain from sharing misinformation

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Israel, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

New Village Arts’ ‘Doubt’ Channels What May Be an Old Jewish Parable

The play is set in 1964 in a small Catholic boys’ school. The opening is a sermon on Doubt by Father Flynn (Dr. AJ Knox). New teacher Sister James (Juliana Scheding) is called to the principal’s office so that she can report on the progress of the new student, Donald, who also happens to be the first Black student in the school. [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Les Mis’ Stunning Sets Bring You Into Revolutionary France

The acting was superb and I’ll come back to that, but I really have to talk about the sets.  I have never in my life seen such elaborate and I know I said it above, but cinematic sets.  The way that the stage and sets were built, the lighting effects, and the scenes staged to keep most of the action towards the back of the stage, the effect was almost more like watching a movie than a play.  [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Bradley Cooper Wore Leonard Bernstein’s Personal Bathrobe in Maestro

Published by BANG Showbiz English Bradley Cooper wore late composer Leonard Bernstein’s personal bathrobe in ‘Maestro’. The Jewish conductor’s children Jamie, Alexander and Nina threw the doors open to their family home in Fairfield, Connecticut for the 48-year-old actor to film scenes for the biopic and even gave him the dressing gown to add to

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Helen Mirren Wades Into ‘Alarming’ Cancel Culture Debate Amid Backlash for Golda Meir Film Role

Published by GB News Helen Mirren has had her say on the “authoritarianism” and cancel culture creeping into the arts in regards to creators being told what they can and cannot write or perform about. The 78-year-old, whose CV boasts almost six decades’ worth of acting credits, has faced criticism for being cast in the

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International, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

San Diego International Film Festival to Feature Story of Holocaust Survivor’s Courage

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — I always find myself looking forward to mid-September as I eagerly anticipate my phone interview with Tonya Mantooth, CEO and Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the San Diego International Film Festival. Our conversations are always fun, eye-opening, inspired and while we’ve never had the chance to meet, extremely personal.

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Eva Trieger, Holocaust, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

J’Accuse! A Call for Truth, Justice, and Jewish Honor

By Franklin Gaylis and Sara E. Brown SAJAC (South African Jewish American Community) was one of the first organizations to promote Michael Kretzmer’s documentary, J’Accuse! in 2022. This documentary film tells the story of the Lithuanian Holocaust. Approximately 220,000 Lithuanian Jews — 96.4 % of Lithuania’s Jewish population, the highest proportion in Europe — were

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Holocaust, International, Opinion, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Book of Mormon is Completely Irreverent and Absolutely Delightful

Price suffers a crisis of faith, which leaves the compassionate but less educated and experienced Cunningham to minister to the natives. The only problem is that he has never actually read the Book of Mormon, and so as he attempts to help the villagers solve their problems he embellishes the stories in the good book with characters and plot lines from popular science fiction, superhero and fantasy movies.  This results in the conversion of the villagers, who are encouraged by Nabulungi (Keke Nesbitt) the sweet daughter of the village liaison (Lamont J. Whitaker).  [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Passing Conversations’ Candidly Addresses Emotions When Death is Imminent

By Eva Trieger POWAY, California — When I read about a play written around the final conversations of a man with a terminal illness, I anticipated a maudlin, depressing evening of theatre. This was not the case. PowPac’s Passing Conversations, written by longtime theatre enthusiast and prolific writer, Brent Stringfield, was conceived during the pandemic.

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast