ON STAGE

with STAN JENSON

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE – Orange County: I don’t think I have ever recommended a ballet in this column but an upcoming opportunity caught my eye and I wanted to share it with you. Like Water for Chocolate began as a novel written by Laura Esquivel and released in 1989 and has sold several million copies. It was subsequently released as a film in 1992 and was the highest grossing foreign film in the USA and Canada up to that time. Its newest life is as a three-act ballet danced by the American Ballet Theatre. The family saga set in 19th century Mexico tells the story of Tita, a young Mexican woman who is overwhelmed by a sense of duty and family tradition, unable to marry until her mother dies. It has now been staged as a full-length ballet by Christopher Wheeldon, who also directed and choreographed the Broadway hit MJ The Musical. The original score by Joby Talbot will be performed live by the Pacific Symphony under the direction of Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra. The production at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center will be the North American premiere and will only be seen for six performances from March 29 – April 2. Tickets start at $29 and are available at SCFTA.org.

CORTEO – Los Angeles and Palm Springs: Cirque du Soleil constantly reinvents itself. Their newest outing, Corteo, is actually a revival of a 2005 production which toured the world in Cirque’s huge, brightly-striped tent, but it has been re-staged. Corteo is Italian for cortege, the parade that follows a funeral. A clown that has died watches his own cortege which includes the important people in his life, and those people are the circus acts. The original production was retired in 2015, but it has been revived to play large arenas with the audience sitting on only two sides, facing each other, and also in large proscenium houses (audience facing one direction towards a traditional stage). For their Los Angeles dates they will use the 7,000-seat Microsoft Theatre, across from Staples Center, from March 23 – April 30. Tickets are available at www.cirquedusoleil.com/corteo or www. MicrosoftTheatre.com. They will also return to Southern California for four performances in Palm Springs’ new Acrisure Arena August 31 – September 3. For those tickets go to www.CirqueDuSoleil.com/ Corteo and scroll down through the cities until you come to Palm Springs. For our readers in the Coachella Valley it will be a great opportunity for a first look at the arena -- and a terrific show!

DID YOU SEE WHAT WALTER PAISLEY DID TODAY? – La Mirada: I take great delight in finding new shows, theatres, and presentational styles. Sure, I have had to kiss a few frogs, but I have also found some of my most exciting evenings in the theatre. I came across Did You See What Walter Paisley Did Today? being performed at the La Mirada Theatre this month and I’m excited to trek out to see it (La Mirada is just north of Buena Park). This is a world premiere musical but its creators all have numerous Broadway hits in their resumes, and the La Mirada season will serve as a proving ground before the show hopefully moves to Broadway. Described as “A beatnik horror comedy musical,” the story involves a beatnik sculptor in San Francisco who stumbles upon a new style of art that thrusts him into fame, fortune, and perhaps some big trouble. That’s all the tease we get. Three-time Emmy winner Randy Rogel (“Animaniacs”) serves up a delightfully varied score of cool jazz, Petula Clark-like knockouts, Neil Sedaka bubblegum pop, and more. Sounds like a lot of fun! The musical plays from March 18 to April 2 and seats range from $28 - $40. Tickets and further information at LaMiradaTheatre.com.