Month: April 2014

Is It Worth It?

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userpic=theatre_ticketsI’ve been doing some theatre planning for the upcoming months/trips. There are some shows I’m interested in seeing, but I can’t decide the best approach to take, given the cost. Here’s what I’m exploring: opinions are welcome.

  • Stoneface at the Pasadena Playhouse. Tickets are $34 to $39 on Goldstar, but have a service charge of $7.50 each. I’m not sure if the Pasadena Playhouse is worth $42-$45 per ticket (I don’t pay that much for tours at the Pantages). Still, it is French Stewart as Buster Keaton…
  • Evil Dead – The Musical at V Theatre, Las Vegas. Tickets are $29.95 for Saturday at 11:30pm, or $32.95 for Tuesday at 10:00pm, which is reasonable. However, they want to add service charges of $6-$8 per ticket. I’m not sure I want to pay that much for what is a parody show (even if it is funny). I’m wondering if I can get the tickets at one of the discount booths on the strip for a lower service charge.
  • Blue Man Group at Monte Carlo. Here I’ve found a deal for $59 a ticket… which is a good price. But they take you to the Monte Carlo box office (good), which uses Ticketmaster (bad)… meaning there are likely surcharges on the order of $10 per ticket. Again, I’m normally not in that ticket price range. Is it worth it?

 

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Repent, and Ye Shall Be Saved

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userpic=soapboxWhile eating my lunch today, I was reading the LA Times, and saw an article about how Donald Trump had purchased another golf course. This got me thinking about Donald Trump pulling a Donald Sterling, and how Sterling was banned for life from the NBA. This, in turn, got me thinking about our punative culture. For as much lip service as we give to religion, our attitude in the US seems to be: make a mistake once, and you’re branded for life.

Consider: Sterling clearly made racist remarks — wrong, misguided, and every kind of stupid. But the actions that were taken in response provide no ability to Sterling to ever recover — even if he was to sincerely learn from his mistake and change his ways, there’s no undoing the ban. Similarly, for those that commit any level of sex crimes — even if they were very young — there is no opportunity with the way our society brands and ostracizes such offenders that they could ever change their ways and be trusted. I’m sure you can find numerous additional examples: politicians are still held accountable for stupid statements and behaviors in their youth. We put many people in jail, and then brand them as “once-in-jail” for life. You can’t escape the permanent record.

All this from a society that is actually one of the most religious ones around. I know that both Judaism and Christianity  teach — in fact, they emphasize — the ability to sincerely repent from one’s wicked ways. They teach that one can move from leading a life of sin, and be reborn on a good and spiritual path. I believe the teachings are that if one is on that path sincerely, the past is the past. Yet for all the religious talk, we’re not doing that.

Was society always this way? I think not. Look at George Wallace. Once he was an ardant racist and segregationist. Later in his life, he recanted those early beliefs, and changed his ways (and was viewed differently).

I want to be clear that I’m not defending the behavior of Sterling or sex offenders. Rather, I’m raising the question of repentance: can one truly repent in front of society (and, if one believes, in front of God), what is the motivation for repentance if society refuses to accept it, and whether we can be as religion-centered as we claim if we eschew the notion of repentance in practice?

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Change Is In Ye Olde Air

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userpic=faireAs you may know if you read the last paragraph of my theatre/concert write-ups, we went to the Southern California Renaissance Faire yesterday. I’d like to share some observations of the day.

They drastically changed the layout this year — ostensibly, from what I hear, due to an ADA lawsuit requiring the concrete pathways in the park to remain accessible. This resulted in all the clothing and artisan vendors being mostly congregated in two alleys in the front part of the Faire, with food seemingly much further back, games spreadout, and the stages seemingly much more hidden. I found the new layout a bit harder to navigate (partially because (as usual) they didn’t ensure that each patron got a map as they walked in), but it was nicer to have a lot of the clothes and other goodies up towards the front.

Some vendors seemed to like the layout; others thought it lead to less foot traffic and slower business. I know that some of the vendors appeared to have a much smaller crowd than I’ve seen in years past (the big Hearts Delight booth being a good example of this — they lost their usual corner spot). As we shopped, I asked vendors what they thought — some liked the layout, others thought it brought them less business.

Supposedly, the new layout gave the Faire an extra 6 acres to work with. It also made the ADA restrooms in the park available to all (and all the drinking fountains — huzzah for free water). However, what the Parks Department giveth, they also take away… the new vendor’s row evidently has to pack up quicker than the rest of the Faire because that part of the park must be open to the public by Memorial Day weekend (the Faire itself ends mid-May).

The Faire owners seemed to take advantage of the new space to bring in a lot more vendors. I saw a lot more leather vendors, a few more pottery, a few more clothing vendors, and some new jewelry vendors. However, the additional vendors really reflected the change in the Faire. There was a book vendor that was selling childrens books about pirates… and DVDs of pirate movies. There was a fair amount of steampunk accessories and clothes. I started going to the Faire in the days of Paramount Ranch and Agoura — you used to never see as much non-period stuff. This was also seen in the games — there was one where people were going into large plastic balls and rolling around. I fail to see how this fits the period.

The Faire ownership has also instituted theme weekends — and this weekend was “time traveler” weekend. There was steampunk (of course), people in Star Trek costumes, and all sorts of mish-mashes. In talking with some of the guilds up front, this was a reflection of the transformation of this Faire (the original) from real Renaissance to a more general Fantasy Faire. Although I understand why this has happened — it needed to be done to draw in the audience to support the Faire’s growth — I miss what was once there. Perhaps the fledgling Nottingham Festival  in Simi Valley will keep the original dream alive. We really need to support that effort.

With the time traveling theme, it was impossible to pick a worst outfit. Perhaps I’ve gotten jaded, but I now ignore all the fairy wings and lusty pirates running around. If there was a winner this year, it was the group of college age men, in jean shorts and T-shirts, with torn sheets over their shoulders in the manner of a toga party. RenFaire is not a Toga Party.

We really only sat through one show — Broon’s show on the Fool stage. It was very good, but he kept having to explain that Moonie was off doing a play in Chicago.

Parking was better organized this year — at least we didn’t run into the same traffic as in previous years. The porta-potties, however, seemed fewer in number and more poorly maintained. There were also more obvious smoking areas, and the food seemed further back (but there were many more tables).

I’m  sure we’ll be back next year (and of course, we’ll be at Notthingham). A P.S. for those reading this far: Erin has indicated that, after two years in Berkeley, she’s hoping to go to Northern next year, as she’ll have a car. Northern Faire Folk reading this should drop me a note if they want to get in touch with her regarding Northern.

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Such a Simple Song

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Noel Paul Stookeyuserpic=folk-artistsAs I just wrote, this has been a crazy week, and next week doesn’t look much better. Luckily, I had a great stress relief valve last night: a concert at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. Last night’s artist was Noel Paul Stookey, who is perhaps best known as the “Paul” in “Peter, Paul and Mary”.

Although I’ve been a fan of PP&M since I was in my teen, I’ve tended to favor Peter Yarrow over the other performers. But the last time I saw Peter solo (at AJU), his performance was rambling and wandering. I also discovered that Noel Paul was giving concerts at McCabes. We went last year, and we just loved the show, the music, the humor, and the man. So when Noel Paul showed on the schedule, I just went and ordered tickets.

Last night was a great show. Many of the songs were from Paul’s new album, “One and Many“, but there were a few old favorites (and lots of great stories). Here’s the playlist:

Act I Act II
Such a Simple Song
Music from the Heart
The Love of It All
Start a Revolution
One and Many
Cue the Moon
The Wedding Song
April Fool
Love Rules!		 Virtual Party
Nukes are Nuts (new)
The Connection
Our Lives are Connected
Cabin Fever Waltz
Jean Claude
Una Famila de Corazon (new/instrumental)
American the Beautiful
This Land is Your Land/In These Times
If I Had a Hammer

In all, it was just a great show. Of course, I added an album to the iPod. Once of these days, I’ll get all my new music digested…

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  Today brings the Southern California Renaissance Faire. May brings “The Lion in Winter” at The Colony Theatre (FB), and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at REP East (FB), as well as “Hairspray” at Nobel Middle School. I may also be scheduling “Porgy and Bess” at the Ahmanson. June is mostly open pending scheduling of an MRJ meeting, but I will try to fit in as much of the Hollywood Fringe Festival as I can. July will be busy: “Ghost” at the Pantages (FB) on 7/5, “Return to the Forbidden Planet” at REP East (FB) the weekend of 7/12, “Once” at the Pantages (FB) on 7/19, “Bye Bye Birdie” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on 7/26, and “Family Planning” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on 8/2. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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Saturday (ummm) Gruel: Sex, Judaism, Surviving, and Carrie

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Observation StewThis has been an even busier week than usual — I’ve barely had time to keep up with my RSS feeds and skim the LA Times. So I’ve only got a few items for you this week:

  • Not Tonight, Dear, I have a headache. In a scientific survey destined to end up on “Wait Wait”, scientists have shown that headaches impact a woman’s sexual desire much more than they impact the desire of men. Specifically, new research has shown that for female mice, bodily pain puts a serious damper on sexual desire, but pain-reduction can help restore libido squelched by physical discomfort. However, for men, the desire to have sex wasn’t dampened even if you kick them in the nuts. But is this really news?
  • It’s your shul on line 1… Here’s an article that every synagogue (and probably church) board member should read: What if your synagogue called and didn’t ask for money? The answer, not surprisingly, is that people are much more receptive. This goes to what a number of URJ leaders are saying these days: focus on building the relationship, and not getting the donations. When the relationship is strong, the donations will show up. Will temple boards listen, however, and pay this more than lip service?
  • Connections. Every week the Jewish Journal highlights a holocaust survivor (and I’ll note that this weekend is Yom Hashoah). This week, it was Frank Schiller. I’m not sure if I ever met Frank, but I did go to both camp and temple with Frank’s children, Gary and Vicky. Haven’t seen them in years, but I’d love to get back in touch.
  • La Mirada Season. Lastly, the La Mirada Theatre has announced their 2014-2015 season. It consists of “Good People“, “Late Nite Catechism Las Vegas: Sister Rolls the Dice“, “Billy Elliot” (the musical), a musical version of “Pride and Prejudice“, “Mary Poppins” (the musical), two special events (“Dancing with a Twist” and an Amy Grant concert), and the musical “Carrie“. Of these, “Carrie” is unique enough to get me to travel down to La Mirada. Already blocking it off on my calendar.

 

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Rocking Out

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A Night at the Rock Opera (REP)userpic=repeastLast night, we went to go see “A Night at the Rock Opera” at REP East (FB), so I’m guessing you’re expecting the traditional write-up/review. But you’re not going to get it. There are a few reasons. First, there were no handouts, so I have no cast list to credit, nor a song list (or should I say “set list”) to give. Secondly, this was a fundraising benefit — so you don’t expect quite the same level as a well-established book show. Thirdly, we’ve got company coming over this evening, and I’ve already lost 6 hours to a headache. So, instead, a few observations.

  • The cast was made up of a REP regulars, from what I could tell. Going just from tagging on Facebook, the performers included: Ginhee Eng, Lori D’Itri, George Chavez, Sarah Krieg, Tom Lund, Beth Ann, Sarah Stoddard, Coastal Eddie, Nikki Berra, Casey Christianson, Kelly Bader, Amber Schwinn, Erin Rivlin, Leslie Berra, Jill Kocalis Scott, and Bob Berra. All were good singers — a few had particularly strong rocker voices (you can hear the difference). You can see a picture of the cast here.
  • The performances were very strong. Good voice, lots of energy, and you can tell they were having fun. That’s always key to me — if the folks on stage are having fun, the audience has fun.
  • The selection of songs was a wide mix, and I could recognize most of the shows: Jesus Christ Superstar, The Who’s Tommy, Mamma Mia, Hair, Little Shop, All Shook Up, We Will Rock You, Hairspray, Footloose, Return to Forbidden Planet, Spring Awakening, Next to Normal. Posts indicated there were songs from Rock of Ages (which I expected), but I don’t recall hearing anything from that show. There were also a few shows I expected to be in the mix but that weren’t: Grease, American Idiot, Marvellous Wonderettes, Backbeat. I also wish that more songs from certain shows were included — particularly more from Next to Normal (I love “My Psychopharmacologist and I”, but “I’m Alive” would have been great), Hairspray (“Mama I’m A Big Girl Now”), Spring Awakening (“The Bitch of Living” and “Totally Fucked”), and Rent (“La Vie Boheme”). But there’s only so much time. Part of the problem with song selection is defining just what is “rock” and what characterizes it. Especially for music from the early 1960s, the line isn’t always clear. This affects some of the songs from Hairspray, Little Shop, and All Shook Up. Arguably, more of the headbanging stuff was what I expected. But then again — this is a concert, I had fun, and all the songs were good.
  • I was thinking, when they were performing Bohemian Rhapsody, that they really need to listen to the Big Daddy version. It’s on an unreleased album that was available only as a Kickstarter premium. However, I have it, and would be glad to play it for them. Just imaging Bohemian Rhapsody with “Shaboom, Shaboom”.
  • In general, the theme of the costuming was … black. Black dresses (of many forms, all long), and most of the guys went for the black on black look (black suit, black shirt, black tie). Some of selections worked; some worked spectacularly well, and a few less so. For women, the black dress has always been a classic; I’m guessing the black-on-black look for guys is in now (I never grew up with it). I’ll have to try it. Do you think I could rock brown-on-brown?
  • In some ways, the concert was sad. There were middle aged and up performers on stage, and the audience was filled with middle-age and such (including me)  rocking out. Since when did Rock become the music of the older generation (I remember making this observation when we saw “Rock of Ages”)? Gee, I’m getting old. Excuse me while I go shoo someone off my lawn.
  • The show got me thinking — could someone make a jukebox musical out of rock musicals (especially original songs for rock musicals — otherwise it gets too meta). It could be an interesting commentary on the evolution of theatrical music from the traditional era of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  The last weekend of April will bring Noel Paul Stookey at McCabes, as well as the Southern California Renaissance Faire. May brings “The Lion in Winter” at The Colony Theatre (FB), and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at REP East (FB), as well as “Hairspray” at Nobel Middle School. I may also be scheduling “Porgy and Bess” at the Ahmanson. June is mostly open pending scheduling of an MRJ meeting, but I will try to fit in as much of the Hollywood Fringe Festival as I can. July will be busy: “Ghost” at the Pantages (FB) on 7/5, “Return to the Forbidden Planet” at REP East (FB) the weekend of 7/12, “Once” at the Pantages (FB) on 7/19, “Bye Bye Birdie” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on 7/26, and “Family Planning” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on 8/2. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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An Interesting Deal on Jewish Music

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userpic=folk-artistsI originally highlighted this on Facebook a few weeks ago, but felt it should go here as well. I learned about this from my brother-in-law, and I purchased it about two weeks ago… and I’m still working my way through it. For 0.99, you get over 200 songs, 8+ hours of “Jewish” music. In reality, it is a mix of 1960s Israeli music (including a lot of Israeli dance song), loads of Yiddish, Klezmer, a few Russian folks songs (mostly drawn from albums published by Vanguard), and a Jan Peerce album about Passover. A real eclectic mix, but I’ve figured out what some of the source albums were — and some are rare and going for over $100 on Amazon, so the value is surprisingly tremendous. I have no idea when they will reprice this — it’s been up for a week. Here’s the link for the MP3 album. [ETA: It looks like they won’t reprice it — it seems this group’s deal is to create big collections of music that is out of copyright. What this likely means, for this album, is they are going from the original vinyl, as opposed to any CD reissues.]

The albums that seem to make this up (in whole or in part) are:

  • “Israel Sings!”, Karmon Israeli Singers, 1998 Vanguard
  • “Sings Jewish Folk Songs”, Martha Schlamme, Vanguard 1998
  • “Tumbalalaika! [Yiddish Folksongs without Words]”, Emil Decameron Orchestra, 1959, 1991 Vanguard
  • “Behold Thou Art Fair” And Other Songs Of Israel , Netania Davrath, Vanguard
  • “Martha Schlamme Sings Israeli Folk Songs”, Martha Schlamme, 1960 Vanguard VRS 9072
  • “The Singing Waltz: Klezmer Guitar and Mandolin”, Jeff Warschauer, 1997
  • “The Yiddish dream”, Vanguard 1991
  • “Raisins and Almonds: Jewish Folk Songs, Martha Schlamme
  • “Out of the Ghetto: Songs of the Jews in America”, Leon Lishner
  • “Songs of the Sabras”, Karmon Israeli Singers, 1993
  • “Netania Davrath Sings Russian, Yiddish & Israeli Folk Songs”, Netania Davrath
  • “A Passover Seder”, Jan Peerce, 1997

For the price, as they say, “what a buy!”

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Saturday Stew: Over the Hill, Food, Sports, and Shopping

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Observation StewThis has been a busy busy week — even busier than my normal busy weeks. I’ve only had a little time to read the news, and even less time to comment on it. Further, nothing has completed a threefer or better theme. So let’s clear out the stack and make a little stew, shall we?

  • It’ll Soon Be Over. According to reports, Metro and Caltrans plan to all-but-finish the 405 HOV lane project through the Sepulveda pass in May. “All-But” means that there will still be landscaping, and I’m guessing just a little retaining wall work to do — but all lanes will be open. I’ll believe it when I see it — the 405 has been under-construction since I started work at Aerospace — first completing the I-105 interchange, then adding the HOV lanes through west LA, then the HOV lanes in the valley, then the HOV lane southbound through the pass.  Hopefully it will make the drive easier for the van.
  • Los Angeles History. While we’re talking the 405 and history, let’s talk a little about places the freeways touch. From the 405 go N (W) on US 101, and you reach Woodland Hills. The history of that community, and the scoundrel that created it, is quite interesting. A true flim-flam man. While in Woodland Hills, you’ll see a number of LAUSD campuses that are closed and decaying. Luckily, not for much longer — LAUSD is finalizing plans to have long-closed campuses taken over by charter schools, including El Camino Charter HS.
  • Food News. A couple of food items. The first looks at Tilapia, a white-fish that is growing in popularity. The problem is that it might not be that great for you (but it is still better than any red meat). The second notes that you might be able to get bigger muscles by eating green tomatoes. Not fried, of course.
  • Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo. The LA Times had an interesting article on the backstory of Yasiel Puig, a star of the LA Dodgers (you know, the team you can’t watch on TV). There were rumors Puig was smuggled out of Cuba by members of a Mexican drug cartel. There were rumors he still owed the smugglers money, and that his life could be in jeopardy. There was talk about Puig being essentially owned by a Miami businessman with a criminal record who hired those smugglers in exchange for 20% of the ballplayer’s future earnings. I read this, and the story in the musical Damn Yankees popped into my head. Young Joe Hardy also just showed up from nowhere, and then all these rumors surfaced about his connection with criminals. I wonder if Puig will disappear after hitting the winning run when the Dodgers make the playoffs?
  • Let’s Go Shopping. A few commerce related items. The woman’s retailer “Coldwater Creek” is going bankrupt, and is holding a major liquidation sale starting on Mothers Day. That may be of interest to those who can fit into Coldwater Creek’s stuff. Secondly, information on about 3 mln credit and debit cards have been stolen from the retailer Michaels. This is a big deal — much bigger on the consumer side than anything leaked by Heartbleed. Keep an eye on your statements folks, especially if you live with a person who loves crafting.
  • Pasadena Playhouse, Sigh. The Pasadena Playhouse has announced their next season. In a word, “sigh”. I so want them to succeed, but Sheldon just doesn’t know how to pick a good season. They start with a rework of Kiss Me Kate (a musical that needs no rework) to put it in the context of the African-American theatre of the 1900-1925 period. Why? They also have Stop Kiss, Pygmalian, and Two for the Seesaw (the comic play that was the source of the musical Seesaw), plus a TBA play. Nothing that would attract me. This seems to be the year for long established companies to have completely uninteresting seasons.

 

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