Lineage Dance Company, January 27, 2018, Lineage Performing Arts Center

Pasadena-based Lineage Dance Company produced an unusual and very personal show called "Stories of Identity: Gender & Sexuality" that was touching and thought provoking. In it, five speakers alternated with short dances connected to the theme. The speakers, all of whom were either non-heterosexual, non-binary gender, or both, told of their personal experiences such as coming out during high school, a mother's refusal to acknowledge a same-sex relationship, learning to appreciate drag culture as a gay man, and living in the world as a non-binary person. The dances were performed to live renditions of songs including two from Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Origin of Love, Wicked Little Town), and a pair of recordings of wedding vows from a gay wedding. The dancers, led by Artistic Director Hilary Thomas, were strong, supple, and sensitive.

A Very British Lesbian, November 9, 2017, Santa Monica Playhouse

Fiona Goodwin tells her sexuality life story with dry British wit. It includes being the subject of an exorcism when she was a teenager, training to become a nun, travelling the world, a last-ditch attempt at dating a rich, unattractive man, falling in love with a married woman, and finally finding acceptance and happiness in LA. Recently workshopped, the production was rough, but the emotions were real and powerful.

From the program notes: "Trouble was - the truth about myself was so unattractive to me and all the people I cared about - that it was to be buried. Apparently, you can't bury things about yourself selectively. All of me got shut down at some level. Coming out does mean coming out...in every way!"

The Nutcracker, December 2, 2017, The Broad Stage

Westside Ballet of Santa Monica gave a very creditable performance, accompanied by the Santa Monica College Symphony, which was soothingly unscreechy in the hardest parts of the score.

Hamilton, October 21, 2017 (2pm), Hollywood Pantages Theatre

This was my first time seeing Hamilton. 

THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME SEEING HAMILTON. 

Conclusion? It really is all that and a bag of chips, and it translates beyond its original Broadway cast (whom I'm familiar with from the soundtrack). 

Cast:

Alexander Hamilton - Michael Luwoye

Eliza Hamilton - Solea Pfeiffer

Aaron Burr, sir - Joshua Henry

Angelica Schuyler - Emmy Raver-Lampman

George Washington - Isaiah Jordan

Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson - Jordan DOnica

Mulligan/Madison - Desmond Newson

King George - Rory O'Malley

The Muppets Take the Bowl, September 9, 2017, Hollywood Bowl

This is one of those things I didn't know was on my bucket list until it happened. Who could have predicted a live stage show by the entire Muppet cast? It was a thing of beauty and wonder, and I smiled the whole way through.  The show was hosted by Kermit and actor Bobby Moynihan (from Saturday Night Live) and featured Thomas Wilkins conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Pigs In Space, manah-manah, Swedish Chef - it was all there. My favorite part was Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem performing David Bowie's Suffragette City. The show ended with, what else, Rainbow Connection.

The Red Shoes, September 26, 2017, Ahmanson Theatre

Capsule review: Amazing score, great scenic design, very good dancing, and exactly the kind of choreography one expects from Matthew Bourne. A plot synopsis would have been somewhat helpful.

Performed by New Adventures dance company.

Principals:
Boris Lermontov: Sam Archer
Victoria Page: Cordelia Braithwaite
Julian Craster: Dominic North
Irina Boronskaya: Nicole Kabera

Starting here, starting now...

Regular followers of this blog, of which there are none, will note a large gap in entries between now and four years ago. For the record, this was due to unforeseen circumstances that also led to my eventual move to Los Angeles from Atlanta. Today I decided to start blogging again. I have even less free time than ever, but I'm seeing more performances than ever, and this blog serves as my virtual scrapbook. So entries may be short, but at least I'll have a record of what I saw and where I saw it!

Cinderella, February 17, 2013, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center

This family performance by Atlanta Ballet had one strike against it from the get-go: Prokofiev was not at his best when he wrote the score to this ballet. It has some fantastic moments, but, having performed to the full score in the past, I find it to be largely uninspiring. The choreographer, Donald Mahler, also did not do us any favors in what he kept when whittling it down to the 70-minute run time. 

The dancers were all from the Atlanta Ballet Fellowship Ensemble and did a creditable job with both the choreography and the character dancing. Rebekah Diaddigo played the Stepmother just right, with Madison Donaldson and Savannah O'Connor as the spoiled and selfish Stepsisters. Xiwen Li was a radiant Cinderella and the highlight of the show, while Kelly Prather was a regal but slightly stiff Fairy Godmother. Kaleb Elmore, as the Prince, is promising but needs more time to develop.

I can only speculate as to the reason (not enough costumes?), but there were only 3 couples at the "Grand Ball." Not very grand, and it dragged on and on. The dancing clock that announced midnight was a cute touch, but otherwise there was not much memorable about the choreography. The final verdict, though, is that my four-year-old daughter loved being at the theater. They could have been doing just about anything on the stage and she would have been thrilled, but it made the trip worthwhile.