Los Angeles,

Madam Butterfly, LA Opera

Karen Weinstein Music March 15, 2016 Los Angeles,

What more is there to say about “Madame Butterfly?” You know the music is glorious; it sticks in your head for days, just as Puccini peppers his themes through the score. What is more, modern audiences ...

Oscars 2016: Live Tweets by Andrew Osborne

Andrew Osborne Etc February 29, 2016 Los Angeles,

Okay…My wife & I are fortifying ourselves with pizza & onion rings…a vapid model’s being vapid on E! It’s #Oscar2016 time! #RedCarpet greatest hits…Michelle Williams, Halle Berry, and that backless dress that made straight guys momentarily hot for Hilary ...

The Magic Flute

LAOpera repeats their animation-meets-Mozart spectacle.

Karen Weinstein Music February 27, 2016 Los Angeles,

  I figure, turn-about is fair play. LAOpera is, once again, mounting the startling production of Komische Opera’s Magic Flute. I raved about it in December 2015, and stick by my opinions, many of which are re-iterated below. My ...

Dream Catcher

Karen Weinstein Theater February 7, 2016 Los Angeles,

      “Dream Catcher,” the current offering at the Fountain Theatre, is a two-hander that sounds as though it will be a polemic. Roy (Brian Tichnell) is a solar power engineer with the opportunity of a ...

Bullets Over Broadway on tour

Karen Weinstein Theater January 9, 2016 Los Angeles,

“Bullets Over Broadway,” is a stage adaptation of Woody Allen’s 1994 movie. It hit the stage in 2014. Set in the 1920’s, the touring company’s stop at the splendidly over-the-top, art deco, Hollywood Pantages Theatre (opened in 1930) is a ...

The Christians

Karen Weinstein Theater December 23, 2015 Los Angeles,

      Let me lay it on the table: the top critics have praised “The Christians.” Christopher Isherwood of the New York Times called it “a mesmerizing drama … a terrific play.” The LA Times’ critic, ...

Appropriate

Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles,

Karen Weinstein Theater October 6, 2015 Los Angeles,

    Families, families, families, love them or hate them, where would we be without them? Add death of a patriarch to the mix and you have a volatile substance, fodder for many a playwright and still the ...

These Paper Bullets

Karen Weinstein Theater September 23, 2015 Los Angeles,

    Here is the recipe: one part ersatz Shakespeare, one part ersatz Beatles, one part fake British accents. Bake for almost two and a half hours. Will you like it? I suppose that’s a matter of taste.  ...

The Princes of Kings Road

Karen Weinstein Theater September 21, 2015 Los Angeles,

  Intense friendship derailed by jealousy and/or competition. It makes a good story. Most of us do not have to scratch very deeply to bring such a memory to mind. The two midcentury architectural icons, Rudolf Schindler and Richard ...

Gianni Schicchi & Pagliacci

Los Angeles Opera

Karen Weinstein Music September 14, 2015 CA,

For the opening of its 30th anniversary season, the LA Opera has turned to Hollywood for a 2 hour and 40 minute double bill: Woody Allen's production of "Gianni Schicchi" and Franco Zeffirelli's "Pagliacci." The Chandler was packed for opening ...