Thursday, May 17, 2012
Flowers, records and mementos were left on the late singer's Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard Thursday.
By late Thursday afternoon, Donna Summer's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame had amassed a variety of mementos left by fans following the announcement of her death in Florida. The Hollywood Historic Trust had placed a wreath filled with pink roses, yellow orchids, snapdragons and Queen Anne's lace. Fans had left handwritten messages, candles and a sparkling tiara on the star. (One guy passing by threw his cigarette butt, which landed on the star's name while I was there snapping photos. Oh, Hollywood.) A couple TV reporters were stationed in front of the star for the early evening broadcasts. News vans were parked close by in a line. Summer's star is located in front of 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, adjacent to the Roosevelt Hotel. She was …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
John Pizzarelli and Jane Monheit, individually and together, thrill a Northridge audience with favorites transformed to a jazzy perfection.
Old standards from the American songbook were given jazzy adaptations with respect, love and gusto by John Pizzarelli and Jane Monheit on Saturday night at CSUN's Valley Performing Arts Center. And though each artist has their own particular style of retrofitting these songs to a jazz beat, their combined performances were even greater than the sum of the parts. Pizzarellii, the son of a legendary guitarist, is himself a guitar virtuoso, perhaps not surprising because he's been playing since age six. His voice is pleasant to the ear but the real strength of his performance comes from the magnificent musical arrangements by his quartet (Larry Fuller on piano, Tony Tedesco on drums and younger brother Martin PIzzarelli on bass). He opened …
34.2355
-118.528361
18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA
Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN
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Thursday, May 10, 2012
It seems calm around the neighborhood only hours before President Obama comes to visit.
UPDATE: Air Force One landed a little early at 6:20 p.m. and now he is on his way to a quick speech and then to Studio City. Stay with Patch for all the latest. People are still walking their dogs up and down the tiny streets around Fryman Canyon in Studio City. If it weren't for the couple of houses with flags out front, or all the signs that say "NO PARKING THURSDAY ONLY" all around, then it would seem like business as usual. That is, except for George Clooney's house. There's a buzz of activity. Big heat lamps are lined up outside his driveway on the street. Celebrity shuttles are already lined up. Catering trucks are parked on the steep driveway. Up the hill just behind a thin layer of trees, a giant blow-up tent, about the size of a …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
All day Saturday is Free Comic Book day.
It’s Free Comic Book day on Saturday—traditionally the first Saturday in May, and coincidentally (lately) the same time a big blockbuster comic-book style movie hits the theaters. This year, of course, it’s The Avengers, expecting to blast off into the stratosphere as far as box office records. But, in North Hollywood, a local dad is trying a new style of comic book promotions, linking up with The Federal, the Laemmle NoHo 7 Theaters, NE1 Skate Shop, The Knitting Factory and all the places that comic book fans will be gathering this weekend. “We’re going to try something that hasn’t been done before,” said Jud Meyers, whose daughter attends Carpenter Community Charter. “Rather than have a brick-and-mortar building where people come to …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Shakespearian tragedy, performed by The Acting Company at CSUN, aims to make the Bard relevant to a new generation of playgoers.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, this is not your father's Julius Caesar. Not the production performed at CSUN's Plaza del Sol Performance Hall Tuesday night. With business suits instead of togas, letter openers instead of daggers and rap music covering the pause between acts. This version by The Acting Company is, as the announcer says at the outset, "Shakespeare for a new generation." It's definitely Shakespeare. Though director Rob Melrose changes the garb and the setting, his characters utter the words Shakespeare wrote, at least most of them. That means the language is still archaic but the meaning is comprehensible, thanks in no small part to the inflections, expressions and gestures of Melrose's players. It's an open question as to …
34.2355
-118.528361
18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA
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Saturday, April 28, 2012
Adult themes and youthful idealism are all part of this Tony-winning musical filled with adorable puppets and no-holds-barred lyrics.
There are many lessons to be learned from the naughty-yet-endearing Avenue Q but the main one is that, regardless of how much you are told as a child that you are special and you can make your dreams come true, that's not the way life is. It's a jarring message for the residents of rundown Avenue Q, most of them Sesame-Street style puppets. While the transition from college to adult life is fraught with disappointment, the production that began Thursday night at CSUN is not one of them. Even allowing for a few minor opening night glitches, this is a show teeming with charm, energy and performances that, under the smart direction of Shad Willingham, go well beyond what might be expected of a college performance. Also, because it has only …
Friday, April 20, 2012
After breezy anecdotes on her acting career, Davis details inequalities in roles for girls and women in TV and film; also laments lack of women in power positions.
More than a lecture but less than a one-woman show, Geena Davis reminisced about career highlights and pushed for gender equality Thursday night at CSUN's Valley Performing Arts Center. The 56-year-old acting student-turned model-turned actor won over a sparse audience with a friendly style and self-deprecating anecdotes sprinkled with humor. Here's how to be a movie star, she said: "First get big parts in major motion pictures. That's basically it." OK, she was just warming up. Davis described her metamorphosis from being a tall, gangly girl ("My fondest dream was to take up less space in this world.") to becoming a confident athlete with Olympic aspirations in the archery event. She discovered her athletic prowess at age 36, while …
34.2355
-118.528361
18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA
Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN
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Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The North Hollywood-based photographer has a passion for shooting the odd little breed and calls himself a “Doxie-razzi.” He also runs the L.A. Doxies monthly meet-up.
Some people make a living photographing food. Some photographers specialize in medical photography, or chasing celebrities, or shooting weddings or kids. Johnny Ortez-Tibbels has carved out a special niche—he likes taking pictures of Dachshunds. Yes, Dachshunds, that odd breed of dog that seems ergonomically impossible, but is completely lovable. “I’m a big fan of the Dachshund, they have a unique body type and are a small dog with a big personality,” says Johnny, while seated at his North Hollywood home with his red Doxie named Rufus in his lap and others running around the house (and most are not his). It’s a typical day for a Doxie playdate at Johnny’s house. “They’re a magical breed—and the dog poop is small, it’s manageable,” he …
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Iranian native Nancy Ashouri, a proud mom and accomplished professional, had 'no problem' donning a swimsuit for the international competition.
How does a nice girl from the Valley get to be Mrs. Iran, competing in the international Mrs. World contest? In the case of stunning local resident Nancy Ashouri, you start out as a little girl back in Iran, and then you carefully build a life dedicated to education, achievement, service to others, good health and fitness, positive thought and, most of all, family. And, because the Iranian government does not permit its own residents to compete in the contest, it helps if you have lived in the United States for a few decades. Only Iranian women living outside Iran can vie for the title of Mrs. Iran—with the winner going on to compete for the Mrs. World crown. Finally, you have to be gorgeous, and have friends. Ashouri, whose perfect figure…
Sunday, March 18, 2012
David Henry Hwang's 'Yellow Face,' staged at CSUN's Little Theatre, is a comprehensive look at the significance of ethnic identity onstage and in real life
There was a time, perhaps in the late 1980s, when the answer to at least one ethical quandary was so clear. At least among enlightened people familiar with theater history, it was patently unacceptable to put blackface on a white actor and send him onstage to play a black character. And, by extension, it was wrong to cast a white actor as an Asian. The devil, as usual, is in the details, a point made alternately with strident passion and sentimental humor in Yellow Face, which runs through March 25 at CSUN's Little Theater. In 1988, Little Miss Saigon concluded its successful run in London and prepared to open on Broadway. In London, the key role of an Asian pimp had been played by Welshman Jonathan Pryce, a white actor who had been widely…
34.2355
-118.528361
18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA
CSUN's Little Theatre
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Debbie Wolf
12:02 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012
Already have my tickets for Avenue Q for this Friday. The only thing that would have been better would have been if my daughter got the part of Kate Monster. (She got a call back for her 1st audition at CSUN) more ›