By Charly SHELTON There are a few things attached to Ireland for people around the world. Some are embarrassing and overplayed, like leprechauns, green beer and Riverdance. Some are positive, like the beautiful Irish brogue, Guinness and real Irish music. Whiskey holds a spot within this zeitgeist as being natively attached to Ireland yet, for […]
By Charly SHELTON The magic of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter continues to grow, extending now into the summer evenings with a gigantic Patronus spell. The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle is a brand new experience in the Wizarding World at Universal Studios Hollywood, and the perfect way to end the day. Using projection […]
By Néstor CASTIGLIONE Once a mainstay of the Baroque and Classical periods, the mandolin’s importance fell off a bit during the 19th and most of the 20th century. An instrument with ancient roots, the mandolin enjoyed great prominence during the Baroque period, inspiring a slew of concertos by some of the era’s most famous composers, […]
LA THEATRE BEAT BY STEVE ZALL AND SID FISH July 2017 The Fourth of July is not the only thing exploding this month – so is the local theatre scene! Just look at all these: “The Cake” Della, a baker who makes cakes, has her life turned upside down when […]
By Charly SHELTON Forgive the awful, hackneyed title to this article that every critic has used since 2007 when the first film was released. But it really is the best way to describe the latest iteration of the Transformers saga, subtitled “The Last Knight.” Sure, they’re robots in disguise, but there is more to this […]
By Charly SHELTON E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, has come and gone and this year had many of the biggest names in games lined up to show off their wares: “Destiny 2,” “Call of Duty: WWII,” “Far Cry 5,” “Assassins Creed Origins,” “Super Mario Odyssey,” “Sonic Mania,” “Metal Gear Survive” and more. There were also […]
The road to at least one notorious locale is paved with good intentions, though on occasion that path forks its way elsewhere as LA Opera’s recent performance of “Thumbprint” bore dubious witness to. An approximately 90-minute work by Kamala Sankaram with a libretto by Susan Yankowitz, the work depicts the real-life horrors suffered by Mukhtār […]
By Charly SHELTON A few weeks ago, back in early March, a confectionery icon held a soft opening to little pomp or circumstance at Universal CityWalk. Though a huge trend in Portland, Denver and Austin, this is the first location to hit the Golden State. The wait times were long, the doughnuts were sweet and […]
E3 – the Electronic Entertainment Expo – is here and the new and upcoming releases look great. Whether it’s big name releases like Far Cry 5 and Destiny 2, or new gaming avenues in virtual reality and wearable technology like the Phase Space VR system or the Whirlwind environmental effects generator, E3 can suit any […]
By Néstor CASTIGLIONE Discounting his various works that remain unpublished, existing only as stillborn sketches or destroyed altogether, Maurice Ravel’s compositional output comes out to just under 60 works, about one work for every year of his life. He was a fastidious composer, ever attentive to any single note that strayed from his vision of […]