Tag archives: Granada Theatre

Thanks largely to Jonathan & Sylvia, who taught lessons and hosted biweekly swing dances at the Carrillo Ballroom for decades before the pandemic paused presentations, Santa Barbara locals have a thriving swing dance scene that features several styles in the partnered dance, including the Lindy Hop. The pair even brought the late Lindy co-founder Frankie […]

The venerable Granada Theatre was almost packed to overflowing when Opera Santa Barbara staged a magnificent version of Puccini’s beloved masterpiece Tosca. Artistic director Kostis Protopapas conducted the orchestra on stage while stage director Layna Chianakas managed the complexities of the spartan production with film and still images superbly. Greek soprano Eleni Calenos excelled as […]

As an advisor to four U.S. Presidents, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, David Gergen had a front row seat to the highest levels of power and leadership in this country. As an editor for U.S. News and World Report, and a commentator on PBS and CNN, Mr. Gergen became a steady and rational voice on […]

The cavernous stage at the venerable Granada Theatre was socially gridlocked with more than 200 guests for the sixth annual Legends gala emceed by the ubiquitous Andrew Firestone. The recipients, who have illuminated and advanced the performing arts in a significant way, were philanthropists Palmer and Joan Jackson, who have contributed to hundreds of nonprofits […]

It’s no accident that Rodney Gustafson landed in Santa Barbara to launch his State Street Ballet dance company almost three decades ago. The company’s executive and artistic director had targeted returning to town ever since he’d performed as a dancer with the famed American Ballet Theatre (ABT) at the Arlington Theatre many years before. “I […]

The annual Granada Theatre Legends Gala has become one of the most cherished events ever since its debut in 2015, and it’s easy to see why. The evening pays tribute to the trio of pillars that represent foundational aspects of the performing arts in town, an approach that has made the Granada such a smashing […]

With all due respect to Opera Santa Barbara, the opera event of the year may well take place this weekend when the Music Academy (MA) mounts an original and fully-staged production of Tchaikovsky’s popular and beloved opera Eugene Onegin at the Granada on Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Especially if Peter Kazaras’ direction comes close […]

Opera Santa Barbara ended its season in grand style with a lavish production of Verdi’s 1853 classic La Traviata at the Granada, last performed in our Eden by the Beach 11 years ago. Soprano Anya Matanovic was superb as the titular Fallen Woman with her beloved played rousingly by tenor Nathan Granner in the three-act […]

Grand opera is returning to the Granada Theatre. After Opera Santa Barbara’s (OSB) two-plus years filled with ways to creatively cope with the COVID pandemic that ranged from virtual performances, to two Concerts in Your Car outdoor staged adaptations (that included, appropriately, a version of Carmen) and a season of smaller, shorter one-acts, reworkings, and […]

What’s the point of growing up as the daughter of a world-famous, pioneering legend of comedy if you can’t make fun of him in public? That’s part of the premise behind the stage appearances featuring Monty Python co-creator John Cleese and his half-his-age daughter Camilla, the latest of which happens at the Granada Theatre on […]

Jazz is about a lot of things, not the least of which is the ability to improvise in connection with both the music and the other instrumentalists. That’s a Marcus Roberts Trio specialty, as the long-term partnership featuring pianist Roberts, drummer Jason Marsalis, and bassist Rodney Jordan share equally in shaping performances via changes in […]

Choreographer Gerald Arpino, the co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet who succeeded Robert Joffrey as its artistic director from 1988 to 2007 and composed nearly 50 ballets for the company, would have turned 100 next January. So, it’s fitting that Arpino’s 1986 work Birthday Variations forms the centerpiece of the Joffrey’s two-day, eight-work pair of performances […]

John Cleese Presents “An Evening of Exceptional Silliness” on May 25 at the Granada Theatre. John Cleese has revealed his upcoming tour stop in Santa Barbara, May 25, at the Granada Theatre. In our exclusive interview, he gives an affectionate nod to Montecito, his former home for himself and his daughter Camilla, along with a […]

CAMA – the Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara – which is celebrating its 103rd concert season, has elected Edward S. DeLoreto to its board of directors. A CAMA subscriber for 35 years, and a donor for two decades. DeLoreto is passionate about Baroque music.  He has supported the organization through sponsorship of concerts, […]

It was almost two years to the day when State Street Ballet had planned to debut its hugely entertaining version of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, but COVID intervened and the event at the Granada Theatre was cancelled.  But it was clearly worth the wait when the talented dancers, under the direction of artistic directors Rodney Gustafson […]

Santa Barbara Symphony was in fine form under maestro Nir Kabaretti when it staged Beethoven in Bloom at the Granada. The show featured five-time Emmy Award-winner Jeff Beal’s new work The Great Circle, with an impressive backdrop of photos provided by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden of the damage done by the cataclysmic fire and […]

After a couple of months’ hiatus due to the calendar and concerns about COVID, UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2021-22 Creating Hope series resumes next Thursday, February 3, with a recital from violinist Joshua Bell, one of the most celebrated artists of his era. The recipient of a number of enviable accolades from the coveted Avery […]

CAMA – Community Arts Music Association – kicked off its 103rd season with its first performance in 22 months at the Granada with one of the world’s leading orchestras, the 75-year-old Royal Philharmonic from London under the trusty baton of Russian music director Vasily Petrenko, who took charge less than a year ago. Our tony […]

The Sound of Silence pervaded the venerable 1,500 seat Granada Theatre when the Theatre Guild staged the highly entertaining Simon & Garfunkel Story. Creatively staged with videos and photographic backdrops from the 1950s to the 1980s, two talented doppelgängers, Taylor Bloom as Paul Simon and Ben Cooley as Garfunkel, played the dynamic musical duo, who […]

Actress Jisel Soleil Ayon never suspected the casting directors were considering her for the lead role of Jenna when she auditioned for a part as a member of the ensemble for the musical Waitress last year. “I went through the entire process, from Zoom to my last call back in person, thinking I might at […]