BY PATRICIA MORISON When it came time for opening night in Philadelphia, we had no idea how the show would do. We hadn't even heard Robert Russell Bennett's orchestrations yet.…
BY JOSHUA FINKEL I coach actors to say their name as a statement, not a question. Use a "down glide" or period after it, not a question mark, which is…
BY PATRICIA MORISON A lot of the battles Alfred and I had on the set we worked out. There was a scene where there was a table between us and…
BY PATRICIA MORISON Cole was a very, very dear friend and he was very helpful to me. For some reason or other, I think he liked me, so I didn't…
NOTE FROM CARY GINELL In July 2010, I produced a piano/vocal songbook for Alfred Publishing of music from "Kiss Me, Kate." With the help of the Cole Porter Trust, I…
BY CARY GINELL Cabrillo Music Theatre's "Kiss Me, Kate," which begins a nine-show run at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza October 18, is a show that could not have…
BY JOSHUA FINKEL Fixing a tempo mid song. Let’s say that even though you set your tempo correctly, the accompanist did not interpret it as such. NEVER glare at the…
California Lutheran University has received more than $800,000 for a center for the arts from the estate of its first employee. Ethel Beyer, a Camarillo resident who died in November at…
BY KRISTOPHER KYER Whenever heading into a new production, usually there is the “read through.” It is rough at best, as much “cold reading” by the actors is being done.…
BY CARY GINELL To anyone who has never seen a Gilbert & Sullivan show, you don't know what you are missing. It can be argued that W. S. Gilbert and…