Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
The Cat & Fiddle is easily my favorite L.A. hangout. Trendy, but not snooty, this pub and restaurant is one of the places to be seen this. People have a difficult time remembering what it’s called – I’ve heard Fiddle Dee Dee, Cat in the Hat and Cat in the Fiddle – but in a city filled with poseur clubs, the Cat & Fiddle stands out as winner.
All the liquor I’ve ever consumed in my lifetime would fill a martini glass. OK. Maybe two. When I was in college, one of my cousins – also not a big drinker – told me I would have to learn to drink socially or I would risk being viewed as an oddball. I’ve been viewed as odd for many reasons, but not drinking has never been one of them. Why don’t I drink?
With “Kabuki Medea,” Wisdom Bridge Theatre uses traditional Japanese Kabuki-style theater to tackle Euripides’ Greek classic “Medea.” The result is a splendidly clever tale that is familiar, enacted in a way that is not. Almost 400 years old, Kabuki theater is based on highly stylized and exaggerated moves. In Shozo Sato’s production, which opened Monday night, the actors speak English, but with exaggerated Asian inflections. The rich costumes and demure movements are decidedly Japanese, but the thoughts behind them are Western. The Greek locales in Euripides’ play are substituted by medieval Japanese islands. This adaptation keeps the Western names that Euripides gave his heroes. By the end of the first act, the audience doesn’t find it at all surprising that a Japanese nobleman would be named Jason.
She’s not a former actress, TV reporter or radio personality. So what’s Bertice Berry doing with her own talk show?
Pop singer Chris Isaak makes a one-night stand here tomorrow.
It wasn’t just its homebase that differentiated Fluid from its Sub Pop label mates. It was, according to guitarist James Clower, a matter of attention – or lack thereof. “I don’t want it to sound like I’ve got sour grapes, because I don’t really,” Clower says. “But (Seattle’s) Sub Pop (Records) kind of blew us off because we lived in Denver and all its other bands lived there. They didn’t want to have to deal with us. That’s one of the reasons why we decided to switch labels.”
Which came first for the Gin Blossoms? The hit single “Hey Jealousy,” or the record company’s campaign to change the group’s image with a new video, new promo photos and a new album cover? The hit single, oddly enough.
“In a sense, we do take mischievous pleasure doing what we’re doing,” said vocalist Michael Hutchence. “But we’re not trying to tease our fans, really, because this (club tour) is part of an ongoing world tour. We’ll be back. Why we chose to play in clubs for our first trek of our U.S. tour is really quite simple. It was time for us to get back to the basics, which meant getting back into the clubs we started our careers in.
Chinese-American. The hyphen between the nationalities says it all to playwright Elizabeth Wong, whose latest piece, “Kimchee and Chitlins,” is running at the Victory Gardens Studio Theatre.
“All Kinds of Love” isn’t the “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” that’s for sure. When Carl Reiner created the classic ’60s TV series, his married couple – Rob and Laura Petrie – weren’t allowed to sleep together in the same bed, much less dally with next-door neighbor Milly.