9 to 5 is just good fun!

As I was watching 9 to 5, the new musical at The Ahmanson Theater last night, I thought about what a treat it is to be able to sit back and see a show that grabs you and never lets you go until the last note of the last song is played. The show stars Allison Janney (West Wing) who's always wonderful (and who knew she could sing?), and two actresses from The Pantages Theater's production of  Wicked: Stephanie J. Block, who played Elphaba,  and Megan Hilty, who was Glenda. Those two girls can really belt it out, and I swear - if you close your eyes, there are times when Megan Hilty sounds exactly like Dolly Parton, who was in the original movie, and wrote all the songs for this show.  And Charlie Pollock, who plays the crappy boss, Hart, is truly hateable. It's a little jolting in a musical to hear him call the women "bitches" and say "tits" and "shit",  but that's why he's so hateable. Still, the woman in her early '70's sitting next to me was...well... less than amused. 

Do yourself a favor and check out this show - the staging and sets are amazing, on top of the great performances. I promise you, you'll leave happy!

9 to 5 runs through October 19th. www.centertheatergroup.org.

I finally saw a new play!

Sunday night I got to see the new show at The Mark Taper Forum at The Music Center - a revival of The House Of Blue Leaves, which was originally performed in 1971, and I'm so happy I got to see it. It was written by John Guare, who also wrote Six Degrees Of Separation. It's a comedy with a touch of farce, and some crazy-ass nuns who would practically kill to see the Pope and a dude who actually wants to kill the Pope, and another dude who has a crazy wife (actually certifiable) and a girlfriend who has big plans for them as soon as they get rid of the crazy wife. I think this gives you a pretty good idea of what you're in for.

House Of Blue Leaves stars Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm In The Middle) and John Pankow, whom you'd totally recognize if you saw him and Deidrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show) who's great as a big Hollywood director. The show runs through October 19th. www.centertheatergroup.org.

Oh, and before I forget, the Taper has just reopened after being closed for over a year for rennovations, and the ladies bathroom now has 16 stalls. Sweet!

Traitor worth my $13.50!

I was really itching to see a movie over the weekend, (that happens when I go more than two weeks without going to the movies) and ended up seeing Traitor. I'm a huge Don Cheadle fan, and I knew even if the movie proved to be disappointing, Mr. Cheadle would never disappoint me. It turned out to be a really good, unpredictable thriller, and though it certainly has a political point of view, it's not at all overbearing. Big thumbs up from me. On a side note, I saw Traitor at the Sherman Oaks ArcLight, which has a DSW right next door. I ended up buying the cutest pair of shoes after I got out of the movie. Talk about a perfect day!