Marvin Hamlisch and the Pasadena Pops: A Harmonious Union

By Ted AYALA Marvin Hamlisch, the Pasadena Pops Orchestra’s new principal conductor, cut the ribbon on his inaugural season with the Pops on Saturday night in a stylish concert played under the shade of the Rose Bowl. The program beckoned the audience to follow Hamlisch along in a sentimental journey that shined a spotlight on […]

Comic-Con Controversies: “Bones,” “Castle,” “Glee”

By Susan JAMES The cosmic collision of entertainment that was Comic-Con 2011 might have been short one “Bones” panel but it was long on drama. From the “Glee” cast controversies to the “Castle” questions about Beckett’s survival to the big “Bones” reveal of Booth and Brennan’s pregnancy, this year’s convention had a lot of fans […]

Swag was Light, but Comic-Con 2011 was Still Solid

By Charly SHELTON The swag wasn’t that good this year. That is always the first question I get when I say I went to Comic-Con. I’m asked, “Hey did you get any good stuff?”     So let me answer that first – the swag wasn’t that good this year. And no, I didn’t see the […]

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Comic-Con!

Not everyone who attended the annual convention was eager to be there, however once involved it was an experience like none other. By Sabrina WALENTYNOWICZ I was not looking forward to Comic-Con. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t even really know what to expect. After listening to my boyfriend for months begging and pleading […]

Natural History Museum Welcomes Back Dinos

By Charly SHELTON The dinos are back. After six years, they are finally back. For a paleontologist who will specialize in Mesozoic fossils, this is heaven. The new exhibit is in a different wing of the Natural History Museum and it is an amazing exhibit. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles has one of […]

The Austrian Connection: Avanti String Quartet plays Zemlinsky and Schubert

By Ted AYALA The name of composer Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942), when it’s remembered – if it’s remembered at all – is usually as a footnote in the biographies of more famous musicians: as a close friend of Brahms in the elder composer’s final years, as teacher and brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg, as teacher – […]

“Marvin Does Marvin” at the Pasadena Pops July 23

By Ted AYALA Marvin Hamlisch, renowned composer and winner of three Oscars, will be conducting a program of his own music with the Pasadena Pops Orchestra on Saturday. Included in the program will be selections from the Broadway show “A Chorus Line,” the film “The Sting” (for which Hamlisch provided witty arrangements of Scott Joplin […]

Preparing for Nerd Paradise: Comic-Con 2011

Preparing for Nerd Paradise: Comic-Con 2011

By Charly SHELTON Christmas is a joyous time for Christians all over the world. Chanukah is a celebration for all Jews. Halloween brings happiness to goth fans once a year. Or as close to happy as they can get. And for nerds, there is only one time all year when we can truly celebrate, where […]

Milestone Theatre Presents “Distracted” at the Pasadena Playhouse

By Ted AYALA Shortly before the Milestone Theatre’s June 30 through July 10 run of Lisa Loomer’s “Distracted” at the Pasadena Playhouse’s Carrie Hamilton Theatre, I came across an oddly prescient article in the New York Review of Books. Under the title, “The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?” Marcia Angell reviewed a clutch of books […]