Posts by Ken Herman
North Coast Repertory Theatre’s Amazing Necromancy: Damon Runyon and Frank Loesser’s New Musical
Mark Saltzman has crafted “Another Roll of the Dice,” a new musical theater pastiche based on several Damon Runyon short stories and interlaced with a dozen previously unconnected Frank Loesser songs. Long on nostalgia and short on dramatic depth, it is nevertheless an effervescent entertainment.
Read MoreEscondido Premiere of Sturk Oratorio ‘One Small Step’ Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
To mark the 50th anniversary of NASA’s moon landing, at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, a consortium of north county performing ensembles will present the world premiere of Stephen Sturk’s oratorio “One Small Step” on July 20, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
Read MoreSoprano Ellie Dehn and Violinist Augustin Hadelich Gloriously Raise the Bar for Mainly Mozart
The stars were out at Saturday night’s Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra concert at the Balboa Theatre. Coloratura soprano Ellie Dehn sang with breathtaking authority in Mozart’s unjustly overlooked choral gem “Davide penitente,” K. 469, and violinist Augustin Hadelich played a mesmerizing account of Beethoven’s beloved Violin Concerto in D Major.
Read MoreMainly Mozart Orchestra Delivers Haydn and Mozart to Cherish
Mainly Mozart Festival Music Director Michael Francis offered two Mozart Piano Concertos and Haydn’s Symphony No. 49 on Thursday’s Balboa Theatre program. Not surprisingly, virtuoso pianist Anne-Marie McDermott proved the perfect choice of soloist to play the two Mozart concertos back to back .
Read MoreMichael Francis and Mainly Mozart Orchestra Illuminate Superb Mendelssohn Fifth Symphony
To headline Saturday’s opening concert of Mainly Mozart’s 2019 Festival Orchestra series, Music Director Michael Francis sagely featured pianist Jeremy Denk in a thrilling account of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C Major, K. 467.
Read MoreDiversionary’s “Significant Other”: a Significant Production, but a Glib Vehicle
The excellent cast of Diversionary Theatre’s new production of “Significant Other” by Joshua Harmon and the sophisticated direction of Anthony Methvin are the more winning aspects of this superficial play.
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