Malek Hanna, AnnaLisa Erickson, Mookie Johnson and Andrea Arvanigian in "Songs for a New World" / Photo by Michael Lamont

DOMA Theatre Company presents a mixed bag of vocal talents backed by a bang-up band in Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown’s “Songs for a New World,” an hour-and-45-minute theatrical cabaret of his songs strung together without dialogue at the MET Theatre.

Standout of the four-member cast, Andrea Arvanigian has the vocal chops, the smooth dance moves and a riveting stage presence at her command — all quite evident in her first solo of the evening, “I’m Not Afraid of Anything.” Velvet-coated-powerhouse-voiced Malek Hanna really shined in his featured solo “She Cries.” AnnaLisa Erickson performed all the comic songs reminiscent of Bette Midler, but in need of the pathos and comic timing. Mookie Johnson’s voice strained on many of his songs; I wish their keys had been lowered to better fit his vocal register.

Props to scenic designer Brandy Jacobs for her elaborate, lush double-leveled nightclub set; quite good enough for one of the bigger theater houses in Los Angeles, let alone for a small non-equity venue.

Kudos to sound designer Joseph Montiel for the production’s clear sound system, the best I’ve heard in a small house, allowing the audience to hear the vocals accompanied by, instead of overpowered by, the very efficient band of five, crisply led by conductor Chris Raymond. No kudos for the rain sound effect introducing each act; it sounded more like static from an old record player needle than rain.

Marco Gomez directed his cast sans any layers of subtlety.  All sung their songs with the same full-on intensity. Particularly lacking in direction was Hanna’s soaring solo “King of the World,” in which two women distractingly pawed at his chest while he sang.  If this was supposed to be illustrating passion or seduction, this was an epic fail.

Cute choreography by Angela Todaro was handled with various degrees of proficiency — Arvanigian and Hanna coming out the best.

—Gil Kaan, Culture Spot LA

Performances continue through June 3 at the MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., LA 90029. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.  For tickets, visit www.domatheatre.com or call (323) 465-0693.

Los Angeles Ballet's Christopher McDaniels / Photo by Reed Hutchinson

Ballet dancer Christopher McDaniel was raised from birth by his single grandmother in East Harlem when his drug-dependent mother was deemed unfit.  His father was incarcerated during most of McDaniel’s childhood. Though the boy loved to dance, antisocial behavior, belligerence and violence characterized his early years. However, a school field trip to see the Dance Theatre of Harlem changed his life. This first experience with classical ballet moved him to make a deal with his school principal: if McDaniel could behave and pull his grades up, she would contact the dance company and arrange an audition. Within a year, McDaniel had a full scholarship to the Dance Theatre of Harlem School.

“Dance became my safe place, my secret place,” says McDaniel, “a place where I didn’t feel the need to prove how big and bad I was. I credit dance with saving my life.”

His focus and discipline earned positive feedback from the teachers at DTH. McDaniel found he had a talent for remembering choreography, strength and agility beyond that of most of the other young dancers, and a remarkably high jump. After additional training at Ballet Academy East, Boston Ballet and Jacob’s Pillow, McDaniel graduated from high school at age17 (the first of his family to do so) and signed his first professional contract – with the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble.  He began performing immediately on the DTH 40^th Anniversary Tour.

“The tour mission was to bring dance to communities that may have never seen ballet before,” says McDaniel. “We were bringing a message of hope and inspiration to damaged youth in those communities, and I felt a personal responsibility to be on that stage. I wanted to inspire someone – one kid – the way I had been inspired. I felt I was representing something much larger than myself.”

Currently finishing a second season with Los Angeles Ballet, McDaniel has performed solo parts in both “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake” throughout LA County. He looks forward to working with disadvantaged youth around Southern California as a part of LAB’s Power of Performance! (POP!) program, which brings hundreds of underprivileged children to performances, free of charge, through a network of community partners.

“I know that there is someone out there, in one of those neighborhoods, needing a word of encouragement,” he says. “I received a mandate from my hero, the legendary Arthur Mitchell, at Dance Theatre of Harlem. I’m to live ‘in service to the art form’ – and, to me, that means a commitment to giving back, in any way I can!”

—Penny Orloff

Christopher McDaniel appears with Los Angeles Ballet in “NextWaveLA” – a program of four world premieres by Southern California choreographers Kitty McNamee, Stacey Tookey, Sonya Tayeh and Josie Walsh at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on May 12 at 7:30 p.m., at Glendale’s Alex Theatre on May 19 at 7:30 p.m., and at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage on May 26 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and May 27 at 2 p.m. For tickets and information, visit www.losangelesballet.org.

Emily Kottler, Caitlin Jemison, A. Leslie Kies, Tim Herzog and Taylor D'Andrea in “Psycho Beach Party” at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre / Photo by Saul Saladow

A revival of Charles Busch’s 1987 camp classic “Psycho Beach Party” has been mounted at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre with mixed results.

Busch has a reputation for being a little off-center in his entertainment pieces.  He had previously taken upon himself to essay “Psycho’s” lead ingénue role of the virginal Chicklet to great acclaim. “Campy” would be a frequent description of Busch’s theater creations. This spoof of the 1960s beach blanket movies is about a teenage girl with multiple personalities breaking into an all-male surfing club.

At the Morgan-Wixson, Chicklet is played by a young, age-appropriate actress Taylor D’Andrea, who though definitely not overweight is undeniably not “a stick” in figure as described in the script. Most of the actors cast don’t look like buff, tan Malibu surfers from1962.

The beach set designed by Thomas A. Brown, though traditional, gets a clever assist from a movie-screen backdrop of filmed sunsets and ocean waves.  Sound effects signaling Chicklet’s multiple personality changes occur so inconsistently, they do nothing to enhance the transitions. Willam Wilday directs his attractive cast in a straightforward and realistic manner. These elements, as well as a rather long party dance sequence, add up to a very non-campy show, which can’t be what Busch originally intended.

The strongest element of this production, Tim Herzog has the right look (bronzed bodybuilder muscles), the right commanding stage presence and the right amount of camp acting chops for his role as Kanaka, the King Surfer of this beach.  Some of the better performances include: Heidi Appe as Chicklet’s controlling mother, Caitlin Jemison as the glamorous movie “actress” (not “star”) Bettina Barnes, Emily Kottler as Chicklet’s BFF Berdine, and Isaac Deakyne as Yo-Yo, the surfer dude with a preference for interior design and setting hair.

Kudos to Morgan-Wixson for keeping in this production the scripted four-letter words and the guys kissing.

—Gil Kaan, Culture Spot LA

Performances continue through May 20 at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. (midnight show on Saturday, May 12). For tickets, visit www.morgan-wixson.org, or call (310) 828-7519 for reservations.

Graham Skipper and Jesse Merlin in "Re-Animator: the Musical" at the Hayworth Theatre / Photo by Thomas Hargis

Based on the 1985 cult classic “H.P. Lovecraft’s Re-Animator,” “Re-Animator: the Musical,” currently at the Hayworth Theatre, takes enthusiastic audiences to a new high, or should I say a new low, as in the best of lowbrow.  Think Saturday afternoons in front of the old black-and-white television watching cheesy sci-fi flicks in which you can tell the attacking monster towering over the skyscrapers is really a 6-inch toy robot. If dodging spurting blood is a welcome challenge, this show’s perfect for you!

Director Stuart Gordon has the very talented cast singing, dancing and dying in multiple speeds of fast, faster and fastest — all to maximum effect.  The audience barely has time to breathe between laughs and screams and moans in this quick hour-and-a-half spectacle.

All these wonderful actors portray their insane characters with 150% craziness and conviction. (Well, only one character would be considered sane.) The cast is the original from the Steve Allen Theater, where the show enjoyed a long run.

The plot follows a uniquely brilliant medical student named Herbert West (played by the committed, manic Graham Skipper with a Charles Manson stare) who enrolls in med school to “steal” back his mentor’s medical discovery pilfered by its head professor Dr. Carl Hill.  You have to wonder: Is West brilliant? Is he insane? Is he brilliantly insane or insanely brilliant?

Jesse Merlin as Dr. Hill alternately creeps you out, then sings like a commanding operatic lead baritone. The med school is run by Dean Halsey performed by the master of a comic reaction, George Wendt from “Cheers.”

West rents the available basement of fellow med school student and sensitive hunk Dan Cain (Chris L. McKenna with stage presence to spare) who happens to be dating the dean’s beautiful daughter Meg Halsey (Rachel Avery is very effective in the sole role of sanity). One could marvel and appreciate the collective stunning vocal talents of West, McKenna, Merlin and Avery, if one weren’t so busy laughing and screaming — and dodging spurting blood.

All technical aspects in this production deserve shout outs for greatly adding to the enjoyment of this show: the multi-functioning one-door set piece designed by Laura Fine Hawkes, the music and clever lyrics by Mark Nutter, the perfectly timed sound effects interspersed between and during the melodic synthesizer stylings of David O, and the costumes reminiscent of the graveyard scene in “Night of the Living Dead” successfully executed by Joe Kucharski.

What you will most likely talk about after leaving the theater will be the very effectual special effects and makeup (from the brilliant minds of the original movie’s Tony Doublin, John Naulin and John Buechler, now joined by Greg McDougal and Tom Devlin).  These visual geniuses maximize the cheese factor with a lot of the aforementioned spurting fake blood, phony limbs, detaching eyeballs, decapitated heads, a cat puppet, scary hypodermics, and the amazing set of human innards that you have to see to believe.

Warning: DO NOT wear your designer clothes. DO put on the plastic ponchos the theater offers you. A lot of fake blood squirts into the audience!

This award-winning musical will be delighting and horrifying LA audiences for a limited run before performing in New York and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

—Gil Kaan, Culture Spot LA

Performances continue through July 8 at the Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90057. Show times are Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 and 10:30 p.m. For tickets, visit www.Plays411.com/reanimator, or call (323) 960-4442 for reservations.

Julia Duffy and Richard Chamberlain in "The Heiress" at the Pasadena Playhouse. / Photo by Jim Cox

The Pasadena Playhouse should inherit a healthy box office with their current talented-cast revival of the surprisingly delightful “The Heiress.” Having not experienced past incarnations of writers Ruth and Augustus Goetz’s classic on film or stage, I was more than pleasantly surprised that this period drama, suggested by the Henry James novel “Washington Square,” was quite often interrupted by the audience’s laughter.

Especially entertaining were the many biting, dead-on barbs of stage and screen legend Richard Chamberlain as the well-respected family physician Dr. Austin Sloper. Chamberlain successfully mines the intended, yet unexpected laughs each time a pearl of wisdom rolls ever-so-trippingly out of his mouth.  Chamberlain dominates the stage with his authoritative voice and his commanding presence (making it quite easy to overlook some fumbled words, like “your daughter” instead of “my daughter”). His put-downs also seemed to be 21st-century digs in this 1850s period drama. For example, when Catherine models a wine-red-colored gown (her mother’s favorite color) for her father’s approval, Chamberlain’s rapier cuts with “Yes, but your mother dominated the color.” Bull’s-eye right between her eyes!

Chamberlain’s long-time widowed Dr. Sloper heads a household at 16 Washington Square consisting of his sister Lavinia (Julia Duffy of “Newhart” fame), also widowed by her deceased pastor husband; shy, socially-inept daughter Catherine (soap opera star Heather Tom); and maid Maria (Elizabeth Tobias).

After the play’s introductory scenes between the doctor, his daughter and her aunt, the action (and the play) gets stimulated when guests arrive for a small dinner party. The doctor’s other sister Elizabeth (Gigi Bermingham) appears with her daughter Marian (Anneliese Van Der Pol), Marian’s fiancée Arthur (Chris Reinacher) and Arthur’s distant cousin, the uninvited Morris (Steve Coombs).

Obvious to all involved (both onstage and in the audience), Morris is attempting to woo Catherine. Coombs charms and seduces as the possibly conniving Morris.  This smooth and worldly Morris—Is he or isn’t he after Catherine just for her inheritance? Is Dr. Sloper just being an overprotective father, or does he really see through Morris’ charade of love for his daughter? Is Aunt Lavinia truly concerned about her niece’s lack of social wiles and companionship, or is she just scheming to prolong her gratis room and board at 16 Washington Square?

As both Chamberlain and Duffy play their respective characters, neither are villains or meddlers, as they could have been interpreted.  Both give their characters much heart and soul to be caring and sympathetic in their dealings with the poor, introverted Catherine.

Tom convincingly plays the naiveté and hurt of Catherine to almost annoying disbelief. One wants to shake her into reality and out of her tunnel vision of love. But Tom handles her changes of character from low, low self-esteem to attempts of standing up for herself quite believably.

Effective costuming by Leah Piehl and the proper posturing of the cast greatly suggest the 1850s. The stunning front parlor set of 16 Washington Square vividly created by set designer John Iacovelli, combined with Brian Gale’s dramatic side/back lighting of the large parlor windows which reveal the front courtyard at various times of day and night, make for a picture-perfect postcard of an 1850s luxury interior.

Dámaso Roderiguez directs this close-to-three-hour production with a firm hand and steady, even pacing — with never a dull moment to be had.

Quick prop changes between scenes were efficiently and cleverly performed by the maid and an unbilled butler, with Tobias’ maid providing in her scenes just the perfect amount of comic relief.

—Gil Kaan, Culture Spot LA

Performances continue through May 20 at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena 91101. Show times are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. For tickets, visit www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org or call the box office at (626) 356-7529.

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet performs Alexander Ekman's “Tuplet” at UCLA Live on April 28. / Photo courtesy of UCLA Live

Several times on April 28, Benoit-Swan Pouffer, the French-born artistic director of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, walked through the lobby of Royce Hall looking like he was nervous. He made eye contact with passersby, stopped to chat with other young, stylishly dressed people, but mostly, he looked as if he couldn’t sit still. That evening’s performance was his company’s second of a two-night engagement at UCLA Live. It’s surprising to think Pouffer would be worried, considering he’s incredibly gifted at spotlighting beatific dancers, with just enough impeccable training mixed with the gift of free flow. Cedar Lake’s versatile movers wrap their bodies around choreography like Silly Putty. Toned, flexible and funky, this performance was a prime example of how they ease from one choreographer’s work to the next, shifting effortlessly from one particular style to another.  If my attention ever wandered throughout the night’s three sets, it was no fault of the dancers.

Especially not Jon Bond, who makes 28-year-old Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman’s “Tuplet” piece his own. The scene opens with a white screen, Bond standing as a black silhouette. Every time he moves, a sound escapes. An arm causes a whirring, a foot evokes a beep, and a shoulder lets out a hum. Simple, but evocative. By replacing counts of eight with noises, the body becomes a toy and the movements more relatable. The rhythmic exercise roots dance firmly in everyday life. But there’s nothing ordinary about Bond’s graceful execution. He plays his body like a virtuoso. Or, more likely, Bond acts as DJ, his body acts as turntables that blend and create sounds with every revolution.

“Nothing isn’t a rhythm,” a voice blares out to the crowd. “What would life be without rhythm?” This question and the topic are consuming passions of Ekman’s. In a following skit, six dancers stand in a line, and one by one (in varying orders) burst into a specific motion when their names are called (pre-recorded in their own voices). Separate motions are performed for the first and last names. Bond’s is the funniest, especially his last name. He crouches to the floor at the prompt of Jonathan, but wacks himself back, as if struck by lightning when he hears Bond. Ekman has fun with ordering the names, placing Bond’s multiple times in a row. Bond handles each body shake with aplomb, bouncing back in seconds in a ready-set position. That his moves elicit awe and laughter is a testament to Bond’s physicality and Ekman’s vision.

Sandwiched between Regina van Berkel’s “Simply Marvel” and Hofesh Shechter’s “Violet Kid,” “Tuplet” serves as a bridge between the calm and chaos. All three sets, however, perfectly illustrate the appeal of contemporary ballet. Similar to the composition of each Cedar Lake dancer, the choreography’s emphasis on blending tradition, discipline and classical lines with fluidity, pulsing and hybridity of styles allows audiences to connect with a wider range of emotion and revel in the body’s capacity for the unimaginable.

—Jessica Koslow, Culture Spot LA

As this year’s season draws to a close, UCLA Live will be announcing big changes on May 22, including its name to Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. Visit www.uclalive.org.

"Pieces" is currently onstage at the Complex Hollywood Flight Theatre. / Photo copyright 2012 Rick Simone

“Pieces,” currently at the Complex Hollywood Flight Theatre, ignites with a strong cast of five, tightly reined by director Brian Zimmer in their compelling interpretation of Chris Phillips’ powerful script.

Phillips’ intense script cleverly misdirects your focus with dialogue duplicitous in its meaning and intent.  It seems like anything said about one person or group can be re-interpreted to apply to another person or group.

“Pieces” centers on the preliminaries of the murder trial of Shane Holloway (played sometimes flirty and confident, then other times hopeless and lost by a very effective Chris Salvatore). This 20-something twink has been accused of fatally stabbing his rich keeper, an older, successful Hollywood producer with a reputation for keeping a never-ending supply of handsome twinks at his beck and call.

The opposing counsels happen to be long-time friends, as the prosecutor Mary Hamilton (the wonderful Nina Millin) pulled strings to get Rory Dennis (Jonathan Gibson) assigned as Shane’s public defender. Aggressive blogger/reporter Nick Goff (Joe Briggs) stalks both lawyers attempting to get the inside scoop on this headline-making gay murder trial.

Once the play’s interrogation lamp comes off Shane and the spotlight settles on Rory, Rory’s deep, deep hidden biases reveal themselves. Both Mary and Nick question Rory’s real intent in defending Shane in what Mary sees as a slam-dunk case for the prosecution.

The scene between Rory and Nick where Rory unloads a diatribe of his dislikes amazes!  Gibson unleashes his verbal torrent of pent-up emotions and realizations brilliantly! Wow! And Briggs deftly handles Nick’s stunned responses with spot-on hesitation and compassion as needed.

Also involved in these pre-trial complications, Paolo Andino hits all the right notes with the right posturing, right car (a BMW), and right clothes as Jonathan Nielson, the very successful gay film publicist who initially introduced Shane to the murder victim.

Message plays can be preachy when not put together correctly. “Pieces’” is a message play done very right. “Pieces” seduces you into an entertaining tale of stereotypes. Then when you’re totally involved with the characters, the stereotypes become twisted and turned upside-down and exposed.

Kudos to all connected with “Pieces.”  I would love to see this play produced with a larger production budget. The combination of this production’s writing, acting, and direction was strong enough to overlook the many times the actors walked and talked out of their light.

—Gil Kaan, Culture Spot LA

Performances continue through May 6 at the Complex Hollywood Flight Theatre, 6472 Santa Monica Blvd., LA 90038. Show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. (no Thursday, May 3, performance). For tickets, visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/233226.

Jane Kaczmarek, Jon Tenney and Cherise Boothe in "Good People" at the Geffen Playhouse / Photo by Michael Lamont

The Geffen Playhouse scores a bingo with the West Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Good People,” nominated for a Tony Award for best play.

The strong cast of six is headed and fueled by Jane Kaczmarek as the unapologetic, take-no-prisoners, steamrolling Margie, a just-fired single mother of a grown-up mentally-challenged daughter living in South Boston.  Is she a victim of her own circumstances and environment? Or can’t the very proud Margie simply take responsibility for her many bad choices? Is Margie a scam artist? Or is she one of the “good people”?

Lindsay-Abaire’s tight script (with no extraneous words) features a number of unpredictable surprises in a fast-paced two-hour-10-minute production, and it’s a pleasure not knowing or guessing what’s coming next.  Director Matt Shakman gives the actors (and the audience) just enough time to breathe between thoughts. The vivid set designs of Craig Siebels smoothly and quickly convert from a store’s back alley to a cramped little kitchen to a bingo hall to a luxurious and spacious living room, and back.

Poor Margie! She’s at the end of her rope just having been let go from her minimum wage cashier’s job by her supervisor Stevie (nicely limned by Brad Fleischer who deftly balances his powerlessness with sympathy for Margie’s dire situation).  In Margie’s desperation, she verbally assaults Stevie’s manhood by telling him that word around the store pegs him as gay — because he likes to play bingo.

Fortunately (or not), Margie has a support team of sorts when she returns home — her landlady/babysitter Dottie (Marylouise Burke runs with all her delicious retorts and one-liners) and her good friend Jean (played by Sara Botsford with just the right snark and optimism to offset Dottie’s pragmatism).

When the ladies’ conversation on Margie’s limited job opportunities peters out, Jean changes the subject, casually mentioning her bumping into their high school classmate Mike, now a successful doctor (realistically and charismatically played by Jon Tenney). When Margie, thinking Mike could help her get a job, finally gets face-to-face with him in his uptown office, their niceties quickly disintegrate into dueling one-upmanship and grabbing the last word.  Overhearing Mike take a call discussing party arrangements, Margie gets herself invited to Mike’s mansion in an affluent Boston suburb.

Arriving at the party, Margie meets Mike’s wife Kate (Cherise Boothe is great with a lethal dig and the variety of emotions she’s unexpectedly put through.) Cases of mistaken identity occur (rather reasonably). Because of Margie’s appearance (dressed up for Margie), Kate mistakes her for a catering person.  Because Kate’s African-American, Margie’s taken aback that she’s actually Mike’s wife.  What starts out as an innocent evening becomes an all-out battle royale with Kate uncomfortably in the midst of it. Who does have the last word in this very explosive scene?  You’ll have to wonder by the looks on both Kate and Mike’s angry faces.

The final scene has Margie back in the bingo hall with her girlfriends, and her ex-boss at a nearby table.  The relentless Margie just cannot give up.  But a stunning reveal of information forces Margie to finally — what? Grow up? Take responsibility for her choices? Be realistic?

BRAVO to all involved!

—Gil Kaan, Culture Spot LA

Performances continue through May 13, at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, LA. Show times are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. For tickets, visit http://www.geffenplayhouse.com or call (310) 208-5454.