Southern California Guide

by Valerie Summers The multi-talented Hershey Felder filled the house on opening night at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.  Multi-talented is an understatement when describing this brilliant actor, playwright, composer, virtuoso pianist, set designer, singer and storyteller who possesses an impressive and intimate knowledge of the personal history of […]

by Valerie Summers The best recipe for fun filled holiday entertainment calls for a mixture of Charles Dickens’ traditional and beloved A Christmas Carol spiced with contemporary comments about the world we live in. Mix in the musical genius of Carole King.  Stir thoroughly with a colorful, talented group of actors, singers and dancers who […]

by Valerie Summers Six exceptionally multi- talented performers, both singers and musicians, brought the house down with their renditions of the songs of stars of Rock and Roll as well as some of their own compositions. The energy flowing between the stage and the audience was palpable as the musicians encouraged participation with singing along […]

by Valerie Summers Just opened, one of the funniest comedies of the year…Screwball Comedy, at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills.  The packed house was roaring with laughter as the tale of a wanna be reporter who  is assigned to interview the newspaper’s owner’s son regarding his pending marriage gets her chance.  Set in the 1930’s, […]

by Valerie Summers   Kinky Boots exploded onto the stage of the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood to a packed house and did not disappoint.  The colorful, high energy performers introduced the audience to some unusual characters in the unlikely setting of a gentlemen’s shoe factory in England about to go out of business.  Winner of […]

by Valerie Summers The Old West burst into life capturing the story of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance now playing at the Rubicon Theatre. Written by Jethro Compton and adapted from the short story by Dorothy Marie Johnson, the action packed play follows the short story much more closely than did John Ford’s legendary […]

by Valerie Summers Expertly choreographed to reflect the title of this high energy recreation of the 1987 film, Dirty Dancing exploded onto the stage of Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre.  The story takes place during the summer of 1963 in a Catskill Mountain resort where 17-year old “Baby” Houseman, her older sister and parents are vacationing for […]

by Valerie Summers Although the Valley Performing Arts Center opened three years ago, my first visit occurred recently when I headed over to the San Fernando Valley for a performance featuring the great jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis.   Situated on the southeast corner of  the California State University, Northridge campus, the stunning  glass walled landmark […]

by Valerie Summers Multi-talented does not begin to describe  Daniel Beaty, star of The Tallest Tree in the Forest which just opened at the Mark Taper Forum at the Los Angeles Music Center.  In this one-man show, Beaty artfully and believably portrays the life story Paul Robeson but embellishes the tale with more than a […]

by Valerie Summers More than a century ago, real estate baron Henry Huntington brought super-surfer George Freeth from the surfers’ paradise in Hawaii to the Southern California seaside resort of Redondo Beach.  This exciting new addition to the fledgling beach town proved only the beginning of the diverse community which it has become. Today, vacationers […]

Attending a performance of the Pageant of the Masters each summer at the Irvine Bowl in the picturesque town of Laguna Beach is a tradition I always look forward to.  Every year I am captivated by the astoundingly accurate recreations of life-sized great works of art which magically appear on stage accompanied by live orchestral […]

A human cast of more than 40 in addition to a cast of amazing life-sized equine puppets brought what was originally described as a children’s book to life on the Ahmanson stage of the Los Angeles Music Center.  The author, Michael Morpurgo disagrees.  He feels that the tale set during World War I in England […]

Shades of Gray — no not that book — it’s a new one man play written and performed by Tom Dugan — Robert E. Lee- Shades of Gray at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills.  Mr. Dugan, whose critically acclaimed one-man play, Nazi-Hunter — Simon Wiesenthal, is back bringing to life another perhaps misunderstood historical figure […]

by Valerie Summers The iconic blue and yellow striped tent is back on the beach next to the Santa Monica Pier.  An excited crowd gathered  under the gigantic tent in anticipation of what was in store.  The newest Cirque du Soleil continues to amaze and delight audiences with its unique themes, amazing talent and comedy.  […]