Tag archives: play

A Honking Good Concerts Series Comes to a Close
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 3, 2020

Actress-singer Teri Bibb has played the role of understudy-turned-star Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera more than 1,000 times, both on Broadway and with the national tour that included singing a command performance at the White House. A veteran whose experience includes appearing in more than 50 musicals across the country, Bibb’s credits […]

Good Grief, That Could be the Summer Winner
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 27, 2020

For Brian McDonald, selecting You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown as the production for Ensemble Theatre Company Young Actors Conservatory this summer was a no-brainer once it became clear that COVID-19 had made his original choice – Hello, My Baby, by Montecito’s Cheri Steinkellner – impractical. Not only had ETC’s Education Director played the title […]

American Son
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 13, 2020

American Son, a play by Christopher Demos-Brown, already had a power-packed premise before recent events. On the night a teenage boy goes missing, his parents end up at the police station trying to figure out what happened while dealing with officers who aren’t the most forthcoming with information and assistance. While old wounds concerning their […]

SBCC Takes on ‘Curious Incident’
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 27, 2020

Katie Laris wasn’t moved much when she took in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time on Broadway back in 2014. Despite having enjoyed the original 2003 novel by Mark Haddon that is narrated in the first-person perspective by Christopher, a 15-year-old boy afflicted by unnamed Asperger syndrome, the veteran SBCC Theater professor […]

Carey On at the Rubicon: A Powerful, Poignant Point of View
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 6, 2020

Carey Crim finished her original draft of Never Not Once – which gets its area premiere at the Rubicon Theatre Company this weekend – three months before the revelations about Harvey Weinstein exploded into the #MeToo movement in the fall of 2017. “So it became unexpectedly – and unfortunately – timely,” the playwright said over […]

One Last Conversation in Prima Materia
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 2, 2020

Cheri Steinkellner had no idea when she showed up for a one-day introduction to Pacifica Graduate Institute that the visit would eventually have a big impact on her writing. “I just wanted to see what was going on over there, figuring maybe I’d take a weekend program or perhaps get a certificate, because I’d already got […]

Guys and Ghouls
By Richard Mineards   |   October 24, 2019

Gloria Clark, wife of Aussie musician Peter Clark, hosted a Halloween-birthday bash at Tydes at the Coral Casino. The sunset soirée feted three locals who were celebrating birthdays – Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko, TV host Joyce Shaar and realtor Diana MacFarlane – with other guests including Arlene Larsen and Ginni Dreier. Magic Castle emcee […]

In Great Measure
By Richard Mineards   |   October 17, 2019

William Shakespeare was clearly ahead of his time with his play Measure for Measure, which has just opened the new season of the Ensemble Theatre Company at the New Vic. Creatively directed by Jonathan Fox, the production is considered one of the bard’s most beguiling plays, dramatizing one of his more infamous bargains – a […]

Women’s Philanthropy Luncheon
By Lynda Millner   |   February 7, 2019

The Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara held its 35th annual Women’s Philanthropy Luncheon at the Four Seasons Biltmore with a new kind of program. Instead of a speaker there was the Jewish Women’s Theatre from Santa Monica performing. What is the mission of the Jewish Women’s Theater? “We strive to challenge minds, move hearts, […]

Dancing Shoes
By Richard Mineards   |   September 13, 2018

New York choreographer Doug Elkins, after a month-long residency at the Lobero as part of DANCEworks 10th anniversary, put on a fan-tastic 40 minute performance Kintsugi as the culmination of his creative stay in our Eden by the Beach. The 10-year-old company’s six talented dancers – Carolyn Cryer, Alexander Does, Cori Marquis, Donnell Oakley, Eric […]

Book Offers Help in Reframing Life
By Scott Craig   |   March 22, 2018

Greg Spencer, Westmont professor of communication studies, hopes that his new book, Reframing the Soul: How Words Transform Our Faith, will help members of the local community as they remember the challenging events of this past winter. On the night after the massive January 9 debris flow, Spencer said his last thought before going to […]