The Pasadena Playhouse puts my doubts to rest.

You might think a one-woman show about Ann Landers is a terrible idea. I certainly did. But last night I saw the show, and it was, as they say, a delight. I know how that sounds, but I can't really think of a better word, so you're stuck with it. 

Mimi Kennedy, whom you might know as the Dharma's mom for Dharma And Greg stars in The Lady With All The Answers. If you've ever seen or heard Ann Landers, well, let me tell you, she has that woman down pat. 

Did you know Ann Landers knew Lyndon Johnson and a Supreme Court Justice (who's name escapes me) because of her work with the Democratic party? Neither did I. Did you know she was strongly opposed to the Vietnam War and actually managed to get permission to go to the field hospitals in Vietnam during the war to visit the wounded men? Neither did I. She did a ton of stuff I never knew about - really impressive stuff - but I won't tell you anything else because I don't want to ruin the surprises. 

I admit that during the first 15 minutes of the show I thought the whole topic was too slight to warrant a stage play, but I was won over pretty quickly. 

Go, learn a little somethin' somethin', and have a delightful evening!

www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.

The Lady With All The Answers

October 17th - November 23, 2008

What a beautiful bathroom!

As I mentioned in a post about 6 weeks ago, The Mark Taper Theater at The Music Center in downtown L.A. has been completely redone. I raved about the new women's bathroom with 16 stalls, and I wanted to show you a photo. They actually included a bathroom photo in the press kit. They were clearly as impressed with themselves as I was. I tried to load the photo onto this blog, but I didn't know how to change the format. Now I do. And here, people, ta ta da - is the beautiful new bathroom. It brings a tear to my eye.

Phantom!

The Glendale Centre Theater is "America's Family Theater" doncha know. I went there on Friday night with my parents to see Phantom! which is not my favorite musical. Not by a long shot. But my parents are not young and so I try to spend as much time with them as possible, although I admit I have my limits, which is why I turned down their invitation to Medieval Times a couple of weeks ago.

So here's the deal - none of us noticed that the show was called Phantom!, music and lyrics by Maury Leston, not Phantom Of The Opera, music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The dude's name is Maury - how good could this show be???? Well, it turned out to be pretty damned good. The original Phanton is extremely dark, but this version had quite a bit of humor. Don't get me wrong, it still ends badly, but the balance of light and dark made it much more enjoyable for me. And high five for Maury. The songs were really good. This was not a low-rent production. The cast was top notch, the costumes were terrific, and the theater's in the round, so there's really not a bad seat in the house. Shut my mouth!

www.glendalecentretheater.com

The Ex List

I know it's a chick show but I don't care. It's great. The Ex List debuted on CBS at 9pm last week and I loved it. Elizbeth Reaser's the star and she's someone you'd recognize if you watch Grey's Anatomy (another chick show) or a show from a couple of years ago called  Saved about a crazy-ass ambulance driver that starred Tom Everett Scott. I've always thought she was really talented and was so happy she got her own show. I love the characters on the show and the writing's really good. Give it a watch, won't you?

The 10

I'm just gonna throw this out there - I watched a DVD last night that I thought was pretty damned entertaining. I'm a little wary of recommending it after reading a few comments on IMDB because apparently not everyone was as entertained as I was. But that's the risk you take with comedy, right? I hated Stuck On You and Dazed And Confused, but you probably loved it. Inexplicably. 

The 10 is made up of 10 short stories, each based on one of the 10 Commandments. It stars a ton of people, including Paul Rudd, Adam Brody, Oliver Platt, Rob Corddry, Gretchen Moll, Liev Shreiber and Winona Ryder. 

In the commentary, the director's mom says she liked 70% of the movie. I think that's about right. But the stuff that works, really works. Here's a quote to give you an idea of what it's about: 

Duane Rosenblum: Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I were the one who were ass-raping you every night. 

Dr Glenn Richie: You know, I think you're feeling the energy of our friendship and projecting it into something else that isn't there.

Duane: No Glenn, I'm not....I'm not projecting. I can't look at you without fantasizing about shoving you up against a wall in the laundry room, and punching you in the mouth...And then raping you. Without your consent, of course.

Dr. Glenn Richie: Hey, that's what makes it rape, right?

Rideshare Week Oct. 6-10!

Today I write to you in my official capacity as a Traffic Reporter, which I take very seriously. No, I really do. I'm not kidding. I really do. In fact, this afternoon I went to a luncheon that the California Rideshare people throw every  year for the fine traffic reporters of this city. Oh sure, it's a chance to catch up with people I haven't seen since last year (in the photo are fellow traffic reporters Sioux-z Jessup and Donna Page), eat yummy food at Maggiano's, and give out Golden Pylons,  but it's also a reminder that next week is Rideshare Week.

We really do have some great reporters out there and I got to present Tommy Jaxson, the morning drive traffic reporter at KNX 1070, with his Golden Pylon. Some day, when I'm on vacation, you should tune in and give him a listen. He really does an outstanding job. I, myself, have TWO Golden Pylons. I'm not bragging or anything. I'm just sayin', in case, you know, you were wondering. 

So the bottom line is - if you can, try to rideshare one day next week, or maybe jump on the Metro or the bus to get to work. Or, if all else fails, call in sick to work. That's one less car on the road, right?

p.s. I wish I had shared a ride to the luncheon. I parked in the Farmer's Market parking lot instead of The Grove parking lot, not realizing they charge you differently, and ended up paying $18 for 3 hours of parking. F-me.