Filed under Features …

ASSASSINS – Misfits of the American Dream

It’s an interesting time to bring Stephen Sondheim’s musical, Assassins, to the stage. A play about people who decided it’s their life’s purpose to kill a president. It took 14 years for the show to be received on Broadway, and went on to win 5 Tony Awards. Still, theatres have often shied away from producing the show with its provocative topic, scenes with gun pointing at the audience and “accidental” stage shootings (blanks, of course) that will leave some audience members rattled. Continue reading »

Fifty Shades Darker – Film Review

The sequel heard around the world is finally coming to theaters, Fifty Shades Darker, seemingly from the title anticipates the story going deeper (no pun intended) than the last and pushing back the layers around the characters that are Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and the formidable Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). The first one directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, served to push the envelope a bit and introduce audiences to the characters and the world of S&M, Continue reading »

Cary Leibowitz: Museum Show – THE CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM

If you’re into meek, kitsch, and self-deprecating work, you’ll hit the jackpot at The Contemporary Jewish Museum’s current exhibition, Cary Leibowitz: Museum Show. Although Leibowitz’s work has been included in approximately one hundred and fifty group exhibitions and featured in nearly… Continue reading »

Magical Nathaniel Magic Show!

I didn’t know what to expect when I went to see Magical Nathaniel Magic Show! at El Cerrito High School. In his early 20’s, he’s already been performing for about 9 years. He became interested in magic at the tender age of 3. I already admired this performer without seeing the show, due to the fact that not many of us get to follow the dreams we had as teenagers, let alone those at age 3. Continue reading »

Women’s March Oakland – Photos

Gloomy weather didn’t keep Oakland residents away from the Women’s March from Madison Park to Frank Ogawa Plaza. Here are a few moments and creative signs that I captured yesterday. Continue reading »

Watch 20th Century Women This Weekend and A24 Will Make a Donation to Planned Parenthood

A24 has announced that it will make a donation to Planned Parenthood in honor of each person that goes to see the Golden-Globe® nominated film 20th Century Women this weekend. Continue reading »

Join the Ghostlight Project – Eve of Presidential Inauguration

Th eve of the presidential inauguration—it and over 100 theaters and theatrical organizations across the country will launch The Ghostlight Project, a collective, simultaneous action, together creating “light” for challenging times ahead. Continue reading »

La La Land – Film Review

Writer and director Damien Chazelle, brings his musicality as he did in Whiplash to La La Land, creating a film that is as reminiscent of the past as it is unique to the present. La La Land feels like an ode to classical movies without being cliché or a copy of anything else. The unfolding love story was beautiful and exciting to watch. Continue reading »

Manchester by the Sea – Film Review

In Manchester by the Sea, writer and director Kenneth Lonergan shows the realities of dealing with grief and heartbreak, from the decisions one faces when laying someone to rest to the pervasive memories of the past with that person. Continue reading »

Cirque du Soleil’s – LUZIA – U.S. Premiere

If you’re looking for something magical go no further than Cirque du Soleil’s 17th show presented under the Big Top, LUZIA. It’s its 38th original production since 1984, they have performed in more than 400 cities on six continents. The massive white-and-gold Big Top can be seen from the highway at San Francisco’s AT&T park. You’ll not only be taken to another world but you’ll be experiencing it first, the Bay Area is its U.S premiere. Continue reading »