Category Archives: Reviews

Westside Ballet’s “Nutcracker” Is Magical

In the 1975 musical “A Chorus Line,” one of the song’s refrains is “Everything is beautiful at the ballet.” Watching the Westside Ballet’s presentation of “The Nutcracker” on Friday night, the song echoed back in my mind: everything was beautiful … Continue reading

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Dante Greco, a Palisadian, Is a Shining Star at Theatre Palisades 

The current fare at Theatre Palisades is the entertaining, laugh-filled “A Comedy of Tenors,” and one of the play’s most entertaining actors is Dante Greco. After reading that this young man grew up in Pacific Palisades, CTN secured an interview … Continue reading

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 “Dangerous Corner” at PaliHi Is Well Acted and Provides a Thoughtful Evening

“The point is, I think—there’s truth and truth. … the real truth—that is, every single little thing, with nothing missing at all, wouldn’t be dangerous. … But what most people mean by truth, what that man meant in the wireless play, is … Continue reading

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Don’t Miss “A Comedy of Tenors” at Theatre Palisades

  If you have lived in Pacific Palisades for a few months or your entire life and have yet to attend a show at Pierson Playhouse presented by Theatre Palisades, go to this one. If you don’t leave with a … Continue reading

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“Avenue Q” Delights at PaliHi – Only a Weekend Left

If you’re looking for an absolutely delightful and silly way to spend an evening examining racism, sex, the internet and even naked puppets, the Palisades High School production of “Avenue Q” will not disappoint. Director (and resident) Nancy Cassaro-Fracchiolla writes, … Continue reading

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“LIZASTRATA” AT THE GETTY VILLA: Humorous and Relevant, Centuries Later 

  By LIBBY MOTIKA Circling the News Contributor Willkommen back! Leave your troubles here! No Covid here, life is beautiful, exhorts the Master of Ceremonies, a la “Cabaret,” on the opening night of the Getty Villa’s outdoor theater. The audience … Continue reading

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Theatre Palisades Reopens with a Tense, Vigorous ‘Wait Until Dark’

By LIBBY MOTIKA Circling the News Contributor   Live theatre is back! That was evident Friday night as an eager crowd entered Pierson Playhouse proudly wearing their LTIB sticker! A long-delayed hiatus and yearlong pause on the opening of “Wait … Continue reading

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Holly Sidell’s Hit Solo Show, Deconstructing Holly, Comes to Hollywood Fringe Festival

  Holly Sidell shared her story of surviving breast cancer in an online show, “Deconstructing Holly,” in December. Then she said, ““While undergoing cancer surgery to remove my lady parts, I floated in the space between life and death.” Sidell … Continue reading

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Theatricum Botanicum Opens with a Joyful ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’    

  LIBBY MOTIKA Circling the News Contributor Opening the 2021 summer season with “Midsummer Night’s Dream” after the pandemic-driven dormancy, the Theatricum Botanicum couldn’t have chosen a better play to confirm the joy and magic of theater. From its founding … Continue reading

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Theatricum Botanicum’s “Julius Caesar” Pertinent Toda

By LAUREL BUSBY Special to Circling the News A palpable joy filled the audience at Theatricum Botanicum when Julius Caesar began. After more than a year without local theater, the crowd exploded with applause when narrator and soothsayer Gerald Rivers … Continue reading

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