I’d Follow Kamchàtka Anywhere

The Pied Piper’s tune was so irresistible that rats followed it to their deaths, and the children of Hamelin skipped after the Piper into a mountain tomb. Kamchàtka exercises a similarly spellbinding – though, thankfully, not fatal – allure. Eight members of the Barcelona-based theater troupe are here for La Jolla Playhouse’s WithOut Walls (WoW) Festival. Last night, where Kamchàtka led, I followed. And the journey raised juicy questions about dissolving the fourth or possibly the fifth wall and turning theater into life.

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La Jolla His Girl Friday Looks Great Despite Script Clunks

What a hoot it might be to see the La Jolla Playhouse do The Front Page, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s delicious newspaper valentine, with the company presently assembled for something called His Girl Friday. There would have to be some slight tweaking of the décor to move a decade back from 1939 and a couple of important casting fixes. Otherwise, though, this large, deep and fully engaged troupe, guided by the buoyant direction of Christopher Ashley, might well deliver a richly satisfying version of an American classic…

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Theatre Communications Group to Hold Its 2014 National Conference Here

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announced today that its 2014 national conference will be held June 19-21 in San Diego. Theatre company artistic and managerial staff members, board members, individual theatre artists, and students from across the country are the prime audience for the gathering, which will be centered at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel, near Petco Park and the convention center.

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