Posts by Bondo Wyszpolski
Beer! Music! More beer! Brew Lagoon returns to Seaside Lagoon
Something’s brewing in South Redondo Gasser’s Mike Bouchard on this year’s Brew Lagoon: 5 bands and over 20 breweries The rendezvous took place in a generic shopping center, but as soon as I climbed into the car the person next to me brought out a greasy mechanic’s rag and said, “I’m sorry, padre, but you’ll…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for April 20 to 25
Friday, April 20 A rainbow in your future “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” opens in the Mira Costa High School Auditorium, 1401 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach. This is the school’s drama department’s big spring musical, and it’s a fun show. Performances, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., plus Thursday, April 26, at…
Read MoreCome to church, and see the strippers
Working Girls In the pews with Gypsy Rose Lee If you’ve never seen a live striptease, you may want to head over to the Manhattan Beach Community Church. Well, let’s couch this another way. The church theater’s spring production is “Gypsy,” the 1959 musical, based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee with music by…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for April 12 to 18
Thursday, April 12 Some you win, some you lose “Almost, Maine,” written by John Cariani, is being presented by the Torrance Theatre Company, 1316 Cabrillo Ave., Torrance. The play consists of nine vignettes about love and loss, and it’s being directed by Gary Kresca. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at…
Read MoreThe Joanna Medawar Nachef Singers present Georges Tomb
The Promise of Greater Things to Come Lebanese musician and composer premieres a new work on Sunday with the Joanna Medawar Nachef Singers at the Norris Theatre Before his performance with the San Remo Symphony Orchestra, which took place in the Italian city’s opera hall, Georges Tomb was introduced by maestro Francesco Attardi as “the…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for April 5 to 11
Thursday, April 5 Some you win, some you lose “Almost, Maine,” written by John Cariani, is being presented by the Torrance Theatre Company, 1316 Cabrillo Ave., Torrance. The play consists of nine vignettes about love and loss, and it’s being directed by Gary Kresca. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at…
Read MoreSaint Peter, forever remorseful
“Lagrime di San Pietro” (Tears of St. Peter) performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale – a review This being the Easter weekend, let me tell you about the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s performance of Orlando di Lasso’s “Lagrime di San Pietro,” conducted by Grant Gershon and presented in Disney Hall this past mid-March. The…
Read MorePastel chalks and engine grease at Lexus
It’s Pastel, Passionate and Pastoral The Pastel Society of Southern California’s annual show is on view through May 4 in Torrance “John, party of two. John.” In case you’re wondering, I’m sitting outside a busy restaurant with Lynn Attig and her sidekick, Bernard Fallon, both of them key figures (Lynn’s the president) of the Pastel…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts line-up: March 29 to April 4
Thursday, March 29 How worlds find common ground “Karen Koblitz: Cultural Diplomacy” is a mid-career survey, and it’s on view at the El Camino College Art Gallery, located on the school campus at Crenshaw and Redondo Beach boulevards, Torrance. The reception is Thursday (tonight) from 7 to 9 p.m. Closed for spring break from April…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for March 22 to 28
Thursday, March 22 Pretend it’s the real deal The rock musical “Green Day’s American Idiot” is being performed at 1 p.m. on Thursday, as well as 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 3 p.m. show on Sunday, in the Campus Theatre of El Camino College, Crenshaw and Redondo Beach boulevards, Torrance. This ECC…
Read MoreSeeking eternal love at Long Beach Opera
“The Invention of Morel” at Long Beach Opera (a review) Basing their new opera on the 1940 novella by Adolfo Bioy Casares, Stewart Copeland and Jonathan Moore’s “The Invention of Morel” opened last Saturday in Long Beach and concludes this weekend. It’s a co-commission by Chicago Opera Theater, where it premiered last year, and Long…
Read More“Little Mermaid” finds love in El Segundo
Swimming with the Fishes Sound Stage Live!’s production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” opens tonight (Thursday) in El Segundo We can help Eric and Ariel fall in love by pretending to be birds and frogs. Really! Just keep reading and you’ll find out how. But first… Jeff Cason is sitting towards the back of the…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for March 15 to 21
Thursday, March 15 Put it in gear Speaker and author Curtis Zimmerman discusses “Living Life at Performance Level” at 7 p.m. in Marsee Auditorium at El Camino College, Crenshaw and Redondo Beach boulevards, Torrance. Zimmerman is an entertainer and the author of six books. Tickets, $10 to $24. Call (800) 832-ARTS or go to centerforthearts.org.…
Read MoreDon’t Look Back: Orpheus and Eurydice
Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice” at LA Opera (a review) Would the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck ever have imagined that “Orpheus and Eurydice,” his myth-based opera that explores the depths (literally, in this case) some of us will go for love, would one day be upstaged by a painting? And so we’ll begin with Arnold Böcklin’s…
Read MoreShockBoxx Bares All on Saturday night
ShockBoxx goes au naturel Breasts, butts, blooms and blossoms in Hermosa Beach No matter how diverse or how many art shows are presented at ShockBoxx Gallery, people are always suggesting new ideas to co-owners Laura Schuler and Michael Collins. And, not so long ago, one of their artists from a previous exhibition suggested they do…
Read MoreSouth Bay arts calendar for March 8 to 14
Friday, March 9 Where talent shines ACT II’s 32nd annual community variety show, featuring singers from the South Bay area who perform songs from Broadway musicals that became movies, takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, in the Norris Theatre, 27570 Norris Center Drive, Rolling Hills…
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