Posts by Bondo Wyszpolski
The Bard at the Beach-Shakespeare by the Sea rolls through with “Hamlet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Accompanied by their worldly possessions, or at least a truckload of costumes, a motley group of actors has begun their annual summer pilgrimage through the Beach Cities and other towns near and not-so-far. Through August 16, the San Pedro-based theater troupe Shakespeare by the Sea is presenting “Hamlet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The first…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 7/10/14-7/16/14
Thursday the 10th MUSIC High Tide: This group plays surf rock from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Redondo Beach Pier. Come back on Saturday, same time and place, to hear the reggae sounds of West Swell. Free. Information: RedondoPier.com. Friday the 11th THEATER “Sordid Lives”: This black comedy about white trash, written by…
Read MoreGuidance from Afar-The inspired art and life of Julliena Okah
Most artists are encouraged to pursue their craft, their dream, their vision, by family members or by teachers in school. As a child in post-World War II Tokyo, Julliena Okah was already practicing on the piano and violin, but her real encouragement came from “the others.” Okah currently has several pictures on view at 608…
Read MoreMUSIC REVIEW – Less Would Be More on Dennis McNeil’s “About Time” CD
Dennis McNeil, a former opera singer who lives and sings locally, has a mature voice, suited to a lower, darker range, and the 12 songs on “About Time” seem chosen to reflect that. He’s backed up on this disc by a band that’s content to keep a low profile, their playing restrained even when certain…
Read MoreA Midsummer Night’s Nightmare?
The advent of summer seems like a joyous time, full of carefree activity, with not a care in the world. But according to Sir Albert Ryan, our go-to guy when it comes to folklore, myths and legends, the start of summer once had people feeling an icy chill: “From the breaking of dawn on the…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 6/26/14-7/01/14
Thursday the 26th THEATER “School House Rock”: Belasco Theatre Company brings this energetic youth musical from Thursday through Saturday at 7:30, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., in the Hermosa Beach Playhouse, 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. Tickets, $17 general; $15 seniors and children under 12. Information: (310) 379-4208 or go to…
Read MoreTheater-Men for All Seasons
In the beginning, there was light: “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Dawn,” “Walk Like a Man.” Pop music then made a sharp turn when The Beatles, Rolling Stones, et. al., swept through America. The light flickered, dimmed, but up through ‘75, ‘76, there were more hits: “Who Loves You,” “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).”…
Read MoreTheater Review-Cloudy Skies, with a Chance of Rain: “The Country House”
It begins peacefully enough, this new play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Margulies. We’re in the Berkshires – outside of Williamsburg, Massachusetts – and the front room where the story unfurls seems comfortable and inviting. But don’t relax just yet. Susie Keegan (Sarah Steele), home from Yale, isn’t alone for long. Her grandmother, Anna Patterson (Blythe…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 6/19/14-6/25/14
Thursday the 19th THEATER “Oliver!”: Encore Entertainers presents the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 with a matinee on Saturday at 2 p.m., in the Redondo Union High School Auditorium, 1 Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach. Tickets, $25 general; $20 seniors and children 12 and under. Use…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 6/12/14-6/15/14
Thursday the 12th ART “Lime Light,” featuring work by Melanie Moore, Debra Bainculli, Julienne Hsu, Jane Gillespie Pryor, and Alan Nakagawa, in addition to resident artists Robert Wilhite and Paulin Paris, the latter also showing Philippe Charpentier and Olivier Mirquet, is on view by appointment through Sunday at 13709 Cordary Ave., Hawthorne. Information: (714) 345-5086…
Read MoreMemories Aplenty for Johny Barbata-Rock star drummer’s autobiography describes life both on and off stage
BY RYAN BEACHKOFSKI GHOST COLUMNIST Johny Barbata (Turtles, Jefferson Starship, CSN&Y) is one of the essential ingredients in the development of modern rock music. He’s letting us see behind the curtain in a “tell all” book about the life of a professional drummer from the throne of a drum stool. His perspective of the man…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 6/05/14-6/11/14
Thursday the 5th ART “Voices”: Are you hearing them? This art exhibit featuring work by the Mira Costa High School AP Studio Art students, has a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday evening in the Mira Costa Art Gallery, 1401 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach. The show runs through June 10 and gallery hours…
Read MoreA Cathedral of Graffiti Art in El Segundo-A page from history, a page for posterity
David Brafman, Ph.D., may be a curator of rare books at the Getty Research Institute, but at least one blogger and her followers aren’t impressed. “Mr. Brafman is lower than a cow gazing at a knot hole,” reads one post, to which someone else has added: “Mr. Brafman is a pimp. Nothing more.” It’s not…
Read MoreIlluminated from Above Hawthorne’s Cordary Avenue glows with artists
A magician pulls rabbits from his hat or your wallet from his vest pocket. Thinh Nguyen, a conceptual artist who works out of an enclave of aging studios and mechanics’ garages in Hawthorne, is a magician of another sort. As a curator, Nguyen has been pulling credible artists out of his sleeve, if not exactly…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 5/29/14-6/03/14
Thursday the 29th ART “Surroundings”: This exhibition by the knit graffiti collective Yarn Bombing Los Angeles was created in collaboration with Manhattan Beach residents between March and May of this year, and it’s on view through June 26 at the Creative Arts Center, 1560 Manhattan Beach Blvd., M.B. Information: (310) 802-5440 or go to…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 5/15/14-5/21/14
Thursday 15th ART “Reflections”: Work by oil painter Kathie Reis, watercolorist Linda Thompson, and jeweler Marilyn Harrison, is on view through May 25 in the Artists’ Studio Gallery, 550 Deep Valley Drive #159, Rolling Hills Estates. Information: (310) 265-2592 or go to artists-studio-pvac.com. Friday 16th THEATER “The Hollow”: Kentwood Players present Agatha Christie’s 1951 thriller…
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