So Cal Arts & Entertainment

Yuri Temirkanov (courtesy IMG Artists) A friend once gave me a ticket he couldn’t use to a concert at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. I thought it was a lousy seat—front row, far right—until I realized it afforded me a terrific view of the conductor, who was so...

Hershey Felder as “Tchaikovsky.” You may recall the wonderful 1949 Alec Guinness movie, “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” where Sir Alec plays eight members of the ill-fated D'Ascoyne family who stand between an ambitious young man and a fortune. Whether you’ve seen it or...

Before “Arsenic and Old Lace” became known as the now-classic Frank Capra movie, it was a Broadway hit. It’s been a mainstay of high schools, dinner theaters and community playhouses for decades; the question is, does this old warhorse (running at Fullerton’s...

Charlie Chaplin in “The Immigrant” (1917). What’s black and white and fun all over? Silent movie comedies, of course. Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy don’t show up that often on television these days, but they are en route to two family-friendly venues...

What would happen if Rex Harrison and Robert Preston met in a taxi on the way to the theatre one night in 1957 and ended up playing each other’s roles—Harrison in “The Music Man” and Preston in “My Fair Lady”?! That’s the clever premise behind “Rex and Bob’s Excellent...

What defines a world-class artist? Itzhak Perlman’s virtuosity on the violin aside, what makes him truly great? The maestro defined it for us last week on his most recent visit to OC, turning his Philharmonic Society concert into an impromptu fan appreciation day....

Mo Arii and Joe Parrish in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (courtesy STAGEStheatre). Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (at Fullerton’s STAGEStheatre through Jan. 29) is one very entertaining play. It gets pretty silly at times but a...

Tessa Auberjonois and Linda Gehringer in “The Roommate.” Photo by Debora Robinson/SCR. Two women living together, reinventing life after marriage. Neil Simon found the idea fruitful when he reworked “The Odd Couple” for female actors. Now Jen Silverman has turned the...

Sam Hartley in "Elf The Musical.” Photo by Jeremy Daniel. By April Braswell, guest blogger Much like a modern day "White Christmas," "Elf The Musical” (now at Segerstrom Center for the Arts through Sunday, January 1, 2017) seems destined to become an annual holiday...

Klezmer music has been described variously as Jewish party music, Jewish soul music, Jewish roots music and Jewish jazz. I’m in tune with any and all of these definitions. I’m not sure I’d agree with Time Out New York that The Klezmatics are “the best band in the...