Last Sunday evening, I was privileged to attend the 3 hour tribute to Master Actor-Teacher Marty Landau at the Writer's Guild Theatre. Life's unpredictability being what it is, though, this piece is appearing a few days later than originally planned. The reason? Well, there are two. One is something that happened after I'd left the … Continue reading Riding Along with MARTIN LANDAU on Life's Great Adventure
Writer: Stephen Fife
BIG NIGHT and HEAD OF PASSES: the Hipster Scopes out Two New Shows at CTG
BIG NIGHT by Paul Rudnick, Directed by Walter Bobbie Paul Rudnick is a witty man. In fact, no, he is a very witty man. I met him a few times at various New York theaters in the late 1980s, and each time he looked like he was on his way to a costume party, dressed … Continue reading BIG NIGHT and HEAD OF PASSES: the Hipster Scopes out Two New Shows at CTG
"Stronger" Screenwriter: I OWE IT ALL TO LA 99 SEAT THEATER
During the debate two years ago over LA's 99 seat waiver contract, the actors who wanted to abolish the contract - and eventually succeeded in doing so - claimed that it represented wage-exploitation, where their artistic contributions were not properly compensated. The theater producers defended the plan by saying that no one made money from … Continue reading "Stronger" Screenwriter: I OWE IT ALL TO LA 99 SEAT THEATER
"US CELEBRATING US" - The New Garry Marshall Theatre and Lots More Showbiz Biz
This has always been a piece about Garry Marshall's Falcon Theatre in Burbank becoming - with the passing of Mr Marshall - the Garry Marshall Theatre. And I will get back to the important changes going on there, but Garry Marshall was also very much a creature of show business - stage, film and especially … Continue reading "US CELEBRATING US" - The New Garry Marshall Theatre and Lots More Showbiz Biz
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FAMILY IMPLODES (On Stage and Screen)
Paul Simon wrote that there are 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, and that sounds about right. But it's much harder to change the world around you when things are going wrong. Even harder perhaps to change oneself. Because when the world breaks down and things aren't working out as we hoped, then we need … Continue reading WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FAMILY IMPLODES (On Stage and Screen)
Sondheim and Faustin Linyekula! Two Upcoming Shows to Put on Your Calendar
Love is hard to explain. Sometimes even to oneself. Well, not all love. Everyone understands loving babies. And parents' love for their children in general. And love for dogs and cats. And other pets. And food. (But please, not pets as food.) But loving theater? It's different in LA and NYC. Yes, that's a generalization, but … Continue reading Sondheim and Faustin Linyekula! Two Upcoming Shows to Put on Your Calendar
One Way To Express Your Support of the DREAMERS
Given the terrible - if predictable - news of the day, here's a simple way to show your support of the DACA program while also getting to see the last scheduled performance (this Sunday 9/10 at 2 pm) of one of the best shows of the year - WET: A DACAmentary Journey by Alex Alpharoah … Continue reading One Way To Express Your Support of the DREAMERS
BRETT RATNER, FILM GURU and THE TEN BEST FILMS at the 2017 Hollyshorts Festival
"You have to be in it for the right reasons - because you love storytelling. That's the skill set of any filmmaker. If you want to do it because you want to be famous, get laid, get rich, or whatever, then it's not going to happen for you." - Brett Ratner, from his IMDB page. … Continue reading BRETT RATNER, FILM GURU and THE TEN BEST FILMS at the 2017 Hollyshorts Festival
SALMA HAYEK! ED ASNER! JOHN STAMOS! JAMES BROLIN! THE TAO OF CLOUT, Hollyshorts 3
You see it right there as you walk through the Chinese Theatre's Photo Gallery, past Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh and Jack Nicholson and right across from glam Marilyn and Jane Russell, with their big money smiles. Yes, it's the super-heroes of late 20th Century cinema, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, still reigning supreme in … Continue reading SALMA HAYEK! ED ASNER! JOHN STAMOS! JAMES BROLIN! THE TAO OF CLOUT, Hollyshorts 3
"OPEN YOUR MIND, COMPANY GEEK, AND LET THE WORLD IN!" - Hollyshorts, Part 2
Ah, the '6os. When simplistic lines like that actually seemed to mean something. When there was a "them" and an "us," and you knew which side you were on. But not anymore. While there are great causes and great moral questions aplenty, the morality of any particular individual has never been more self-centered and … Continue reading "OPEN YOUR MIND, COMPANY GEEK, AND LET THE WORLD IN!" - Hollyshorts, Part 2
From SHOOTING HITLER To GYLENHAAL F%CKING YOUR GIRLFRIEND - HollyShorts 2017, Part I
The 2017 HollyShorts Film Festival ran from August 10-19 and featured some 400 films, running from 3 to 40 minutes each. I vowed to see at least 300 of those offerings, but don't think I saw more than 250. That was still a bewilderingly large number of films, especially when the time between blocks of … Continue reading From SHOOTING HITLER To GYLENHAAL F%CKING YOUR GIRLFRIEND - HollyShorts 2017, Part I
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO KAREN ALLEN? (Answer: A Lot)
The 2017 Hollyshorts Festival of short films is entering its final weekend at the TLC Chinese Theatre 6, and I highly recommend checking out the guide and catching some of the films if you can. The Festival began on Thursday August 10th with the 30th Anniversary screening of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, and by the … Continue reading WHATEVER HAPPENED TO KAREN ALLEN? (Answer: A Lot)
THE DANGERS OF LIVING - One Play, Five One-Person Shows
Let's face it, we all want to be heroes. From an early age, we daydream about performing heroically under pressure - saving the drowning man, pulling the woman to safety before she's engulfed by fire, catching the child who falls out a window - and then being celebrated by society for what we have done. … Continue reading THE DANGERS OF LIVING - One Play, Five One-Person Shows
WHY HAROLD CLURMAN WOULD HAVE LOVED THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE
I went to the Hollywood Fringe Post-Mortem two weeks ago at Sacred Fools. 10 people there. Including Ben Hill and Matt Quinn. Remember the crowded parties? Lots of empty seats here. The party was still going on for a few shows, but this felt more like a wake. Which was cool. As wakes go, this … Continue reading WHY HAROLD CLURMAN WOULD HAVE LOVED THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE
THE PLAYWRIGHT AS HERO - Shepard, Kushner, Stephens and Yee
I am going to talk about the National Theatre Live screening of Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA with Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield, and two new plays at CTG theaters, HEISENBERG and KING OF THE YEES. But, to be completely honest, I'm having trouble moving on from the death of Sam Shepard. Silly, I know. … Continue reading THE PLAYWRIGHT AS HERO - Shepard, Kushner, Stephens and Yee
SAM SHEPARD - No Joke, He Was The Real Deal
"I was in the presence of an extraordinary man, reinventing himself on the brink of disaster, and realized that this had always been the case with him and his work. His whole life had been in the company of death, and this reminder of his own mortality informed everything he did in the theater and … Continue reading SAM SHEPARD - No Joke, He Was The Real Deal
BILLY HAYES ALERT - IT'S "MIDNIGHT EXPRESS" WEEK IN LOS ANGELES!
Don't look now, but Billy Hayes is back in town. The "Midnight Express" man left Los Angeles in 2014 and hit the road with his one man show for a time, then settled down in Sin City, where he's been negotiating with various pot enterprises who want to market a "Billy Hayes" brand of high-end … Continue reading BILLY HAYES ALERT - IT'S "MIDNIGHT EXPRESS" WEEK IN LOS ANGELES!
IS THERE SOMETHING INDECENT ABOUT "INDECENT"?
On Friday July 14, I went to see the play Indecent at the Cort Theatre on Broadway. The play was "created by" Rebecca Taichman and Paula Vogel, written by Paula Vogel and directed by Rebecca Taichman. The subtitle of the play, which is projected on the back wall of the stage, is "the true story … Continue reading IS THERE SOMETHING INDECENT ABOUT "INDECENT"?
Paul Dooley: Character is Destiny
At the opening of his one-man show at Theatre West, Paul Dooley lists all the other character actors that he's often mistaken for, including Paul Sorvino, Ned Beatty, Charles Durning, Pat Hingle - great actors all of them, memorable from a hundred roles, but seldom identified with just one. They are the actors whose faces … Continue reading Paul Dooley: Character is Destiny
MARTIN LANDAU - ACTOR'S ACTOR, PEERLESS TEACHER, LAST OF HIS KIND
Martin Landau passed from this earth on Saturday at age 89. To those over 55 who watched TV growing up, he was well-known from the Mission Impossible TV series. To more recent TV viewers, he will be remembered from his "last of his breed" producer character on Entourage. To film afficionados, he was well-known as … Continue reading MARTIN LANDAU - ACTOR'S ACTOR, PEERLESS TEACHER, LAST OF HIS KIND
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