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Friday, July 30, 2010

Ticket Giveaway for South Coast Rep's Cinderella!

Drama Momma Ticket Giveaway! South Coast Rep is letting Drama Momma give away FOUR tickets for an opening weekend performance of Cinderella! Performance times are 1pm and 4pm on Saturday, August 7^th and Sunday, August 8^th. To enter: leave a comment telling why you’re excited to see Cinderella at South Coast Rep. Extra entries can be obtained by: 1. Tweeting the following: @Terry_tkw is giving away 4 tix to see Cinderella @SouthCoastRep over at her Drama Momma blog @OCFamily! http://bit.ly/a8NJLG 2. Follow @terry_tkw on twitter ...and telling me about it here. Contest ends 8pm on Wednesday, Aug 4th. Good luck!! Everyone loves this story of a servant girl who’s transformed into a princess! The fairy tale from long ago has been an opera, a pantomime, a ballet, an ice show, a comic book, a video game, many movies and plays. But this is the most fun—a song-filled show for all ages. Cinderella’s only friends are a cat named Charles, a dove and four white mice. But add a pumpkin, a hip fairy godmother without wand or tu-tu (“Been there, done that!”) and a little magic, and you know what happens! And don’t forget the handsome prince who finds—and then loses—his own true love. He’ll find her again, in spite of those mean step-sisters with feet too big for the glass slipper! SCR’s Summer Players (chosen by audition after at least one year in the Theatre Conservatory) bring all the characters to life in this glorious musical by America’s greatest songwriting team. Regardless of age, everyone must have a ticket, sit in a seat and sit quietly throughout the performance. No children under age 4; no babes in arms.
Posted By OC Family On 07/30/2010 At 12:20 AM Comments (7) TrackBacks (0)
Disclosure: Bloggers are often provided with free products, services and "experiences" from companies for the purpose of testing and reviewing them in a blog post. Any product mentioned in the blog posts of ocfamily.com may have been offered at no cost to the blogger.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach

This is the summer of the Staycation. Finances are tight so I'm doing day trips around Southern California for our family summer fun. One of the events I've been waiting years to do with my son is Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. It sounds strange to describe on paper, but it's magical to witness first hand. Originally entitled The Living Pictures in 1932, the tableaus were created by vaudevillain Lolita Perine for the Laguna Festivals of Arts. She dressed local residents in costumes and seated them behind a makehift frame, creating a life size tableau. The models within the frame would freeze in their tableau, fascinating viewers of all ages. It was the summer of 1983 when I became a volunteer model at the pageant. I worked at the famous La Brisas restaurant on the cliffs of Laguna, overlooking the Pacific during the day and would perform in the pageant each night. It was the 50th anniversary of the pageant and my painting was entitled Empress Eugenie and the Ladies of her Court. I've looked all over for the actual slide of our tableau. It's somewhere in my garage full of memorabilia and I'm sure it will turn up someday. Here's a look at the painting we honored: (I portrayed the lady-in-waiting in the blue gown touching the flowers) Many years have passed and now I'm attending the pageant once more; not as a model, but as an audience member thrilled to be sharing this live art experience with my son. We had dinner at my old haunt, Las Brisas, then took the free trolly to the pageant entrance. My son's a bit of an artist (he creates his own comic books) so I basked in the glow of his perusing the children' artwork gracing the festival courtyard. The secret here is to save your POM ticket. It will gain you admittance to the festival courtyard all summer long for viewing the artwork and listening to the concerts on the grass. Bring your picnic basket of wine and cheese, lawn chairs and enjoy.We had a few minutes before the lights went down. I snapped a photo of the amphitheater as we were sitting down and an usher immediately came and informed me that photography in the amphitheater was forbidden (Perhaps they don't want people to know about all the ghosts haunting the grounds. Look closely at the photo...see the orbs? Ghost hunters say these are supernatural energies. With so much history on these grounds, it makes sense for lost souls to dwell in such a magical place). The lights go down and the audience settles under the open air. Music and stars fill the night as the Narrator weaves a spell of the year's theme: Eat, Drink & Be Merry. My son was mesmerized as paintings, tapestries and sculptures were revealed under the evening stars. I hope he remembers this night forever. I know I will. Pageant of the Masters - where art comes to life is an internationally acclaimed 'living pictures' production that combines the worlds of theater and art. Under the guidance of an experienced and talented staff, volunteers are magically transformed into life-sized re-creations of classical and contemporary painting, sculptures and other works of art. Presentations are accompanied by the music of a full orchestra and live narration in a beautiful starlit amphitheater in Laguna Beach. Eat, Drink & Be Merry, the 2010 Pageant of the Masters will devote its uniquely theatrical celebration of the art of tableaux vivants to share that sense of exuberant joy reflected in breathtaking re-creations of inspirational artworks. Performances are held nightly at 8:30 p.m. through August 31, 2010. Tickets for Pageant of the Masters are $15-$100. Pageant of the Masters ticket holders can present their stub at The Festival of Arts front gate for free admission all summer long. For general information, call 949-494-1145 or visit the website at www.LagunaFestivalofArts.org. The event is located at 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA. Proceeds support the arts and art education in and about Laguna Beach.
Posted By OC Family On 07/26/2010 At 9:03 AM Comments (3) TrackBacks (0)
Disclosure: Bloggers are often provided with free products, services and "experiences" from companies for the purpose of testing and reviewing them in a blog post. Any product mentioned in the blog posts of ocfamily.com may have been offered at no cost to the blogger.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Two Nostalgic HITS and One Big MISS for July

Lately I’ve been searching out theaters I’ve never visited to learn more about all OC theater has to offer. Here are two hole in the wall venues, both offering up a bit of nostalgia for your entertainment: If you know anything about being a Baby Boomer, Boomers, produced by the American Coast Theater Company at the Lyceum Theater on the Vanguard University Campus in Costa Mesa (that's a mouthful!) will take you down memory lane. You may not be a Boomer, but maybe your crazy Aunt Dolores was a hippy who always smelled funky in an herbal sorta way …or maybe you’re like me: a tail end Boomer, prone to wearing corporate casual and stuck in corporate bondage. Boomers is a musical medley which weaves together television theme songs and top 40 hits from the past 50 years, illustrating the journey of the Baby Boomer generation. Even if you’re a whipper-snapper in your 30’s, you’ll still get a kick out of the musical journey of our past decades set to music. Television hits like Glee and American Idol with overproduced musical soundboard mixing might make the musical quality of Boomers seem a bit thin, but there’s quality to be found in the script and the ensemble cast, especially Tameca DeVant’s ability to belt out some soulful riffs. A bit young to be a boomer, she was definitely cast for her strong singing chops and not her birth year. Take your Signif Other, take your Mom or Dad. You’ll have a good time. Boomers gets a nice warm fuzzy HIT from Drama Momma. Show run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through July 18. Check Vanguard University's website for ticket information. Stages Theater in Fullerton has another trip into the past with a late-night 10pm adaptation of The Twilight Zone television show that’s worth the drive over to Fullerton for a unique date night night-cap. Getting back past midnight too late for you and the babysitter? Tell your son to take his hot date there. He’ll thank you in the morning. Several Twilight Zone episodes rotate performances and you’ll be treated to two episodes with no intermission. I saw Five Characters in Search of an Exit and Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? Both had excellent ensemble casts and the adaptations remained true to the original tv scripts, if memory serves. I was taken back in time to when I was a little kid sitting in front of my family’s black & white Zenith where I really was afraid to touch that dial as the announcer said my tv had been taken into another dimension. Stages gets a Drama Momma HIT for their Twilight Zone adaptations. I hope they keep doing more TZ adaptations as an ongoing late night offering. It’s like going back to a favorite restaurant over and over for the most awesome desserts. I also saw Stages’ 8pm show, Spring's Awakening, which would be considered their main course on the menu. Suffice to say if it was a meal, I’d send it back. Stages Theater leans towards theater pieces not normally part of the OC fare, and I pride them for their experimental nature but when choosing pieces for their season this adaptation of the 1890’s German play should have been skipped. What was a controversial and shocking play in the late 1800’s bears no relevance in today’s society. Productions of Shakespeare’s works are still successful today because the scripts hold a depth of human truth that still ring true and directors can use their individual visions, tweaking Shakespeare’s concepts to help it speak to today’s audiences. Stages’ Spring's Awakening isn’t a world famous piece and even though I researched the historical aspects of the script I still felt like I needed my old high school Cliff’s Notes to understand the symbolism being used. The Ingénue, Wendla, is the only character who’s in her thigh high pantaloons with layers of slips and skirts being pantomimed. At first I thought we were witnessing a costume malfunction, which is every actor’s nightmare: being on stage in one’s underwear. Call me stoopid, but if a theater is going to do an obscure experimental adaptation, I think it would be wise to use some space in the program for the director to share his vision and give the audience a bit of a heads up. Is it to be a modern piece, perhaps with today's insane teen sexual pressures and cutting, like the promo picture implies or a period piece as the on stage mixed bag of costumes suggest? None of it gelled into a cohesive product. I was left confused and frustrated (Not sexually. Theatrically). I must give kudos to three young actors who successfully tread through a horrendous script. Samantha Aneson successfully gave Wendla the naiveté and sweetness of a pure spirit trying to understand the complexities of life while being kept in the dark. Aneson’s Wendla truly was the little lamb being offered up to the lion. Adam Evans’ Moriz Stiefel was a joy to watch. He gave 110% commitment to his character and I became invested in watching his journey into oblivion. Ashley Bravo as Mrs. Gabor, although miscast in age to play a mother, had commitment of character to successfully pull the audience along the precarious path of the play’s story line. If nothing else, Stages’ Spring's Awakening gave some experimental stage time to young performers working on their craft, which is never a bad thing. Drama Momma rates Stages Theater's Spring's Awakening as a MISS, but still recommends you visit them for their Twilight Zone late night shows. I’ll be interested to see how this theater group handles an iconic piece of American theater, Our Town, opening in August. I bet I can leave my Cliff Notes at home.
Posted By OC Family On 07/09/2010 At 12:57 PM Comments (6) TrackBacks (0)
Disclosure: Bloggers are often provided with free products, services and "experiences" from companies for the purpose of testing and reviewing them in a blog post. Any product mentioned in the blog posts of ocfamily.com may have been offered at no cost to the blogger.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

FREE Movie Mondays @ OCPAC

Orange County of the Performing Arts Center kicks off FREE MOVIE MONDAY JULY 12 WIZARD OF OZ Guests encouraged to dress as their favorite character; prizes will be given for the best costumes WHAT The Orange County Performing Arts Center’s enormously popular FREE Movie Mondays on the community plaza returns this summer beginning July 12 with the timeless classic The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland. The Center will again hold fun and entertaining pre-performance theme contests for this summer’s film screenings. For The Wizard of Oz, guests are invited to dress as their favorite character from the film. The best costumes will win prizes such as tickets to the Orange County Fair, goodies from Broadway shows scheduled to appear in the Center’s 2010-11 season and other fun-filled prizes. The contest is open to all moviegoers and will start at approximately 7:30 p.m. The alfresco film series is held on the Center’s community plaza with the films projected on the side of Segerstrom Hall. Guests are encouraged to bring beach chairs or other easily portable seating items. Set-up begins at 5:30 p.m. with the movie starting at dusk (approximately 8 p.m.). Guests may bring their own snacks and picnic suppers. Barbecues and similar food preparation will not be permitted. The rest of the summer’s Movie Mondays line-up includes: July 19 - Some Like it Hot July 26 - Oliver! August 2 - Dirty Dancing August 9 - Mad Hot Ballroom WHERE Orange County Performing Arts Center community plaza 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa 92626 WHEN Monday, July 12, 2010 Set-up begins at 5:30 with the contest scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Movie starts at dusk (approximately 8 p.m.)
Posted By OC Family On 06/29/2010 At 7:45 AM Comments (2) TrackBacks (0)
Disclosure: Bloggers are often provided with free products, services and "experiences" from companies for the purpose of testing and reviewing them in a blog post. Any product mentioned in the blog posts of ocfamily.com may have been offered at no cost to the blogger.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Circus is Coming to Town!