ON STAGE

with STAN JENSON

HOLLYWOOD BOWL: One of my favorite aspects of summer is theatre under the stars and my #1 favorite venue is the Hollywood Bowl, a monstrous venue that seats around 18,000 people and has been in existence for nearly 110 years. Admittedly it takes a bit of effort to visit the Bowl. Most of the car parking is remote, but the shuttles before and after concerts are surprisingly efficient. The front third of the seating is individual boxes for two or four guests. You can order dinner there, or bring your own, including wine.

Take a look at the season’s calendar at www.hollywoodbowl.com . In addition to headliners like Janet Jackson, The Cure, Charlie Wilson, Boy George and Gladys Knight, there are a number of light classical evenings, an annual mariachi festival, jazz festival, etc. Try to schedule a performance which includes fireworks. Their pyrotechnic displays are accompanied by a symphony orchestra playing patriotic tunes that are magnificent.

As always when booking tickets make sure that you are booking directly with the bowl at HollywoodBowl.com. The re-sellers work hard to look like they are the official theatre box office and then charge a fortune!

HEAD OVER HEELS: I saw this musical on Broadway five years ago and it quickly became one of my favorite shows. When I saw that San Diego’s wonderful Diversionary Theatre was producing it, I was thrilled. The show uses songs by the Gogo’s to tell a story that dates back to the 16th century, but believe me, it is the opposite of “stuffy.” The first number is “We’ve Got the Beat” with the full company onstage. Other favorites of mine include “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” “Vacation,” and of course, “Head Over Heels.” It deals a lot with gender, but not nearly in the politically intense manner that we hear on the news every day. I don’t need much of a reason to visit San Diego, and Diversionary is the third-oldest LGBTQ+ theatre in the country, currently producing their 37th season. May 25 – June 18. Diversionary.org

A TRANSPARENT MUSICAL: Based on the hit Amazon Prime original TV show, A Transparent Musical is the ground-breaking new musical that shines a light on a Los Angeles Jewish family who are universally relatable, imperfectly human, and startlingly familiar. From the very first note, this genre-bending new musical comedy follows a trail of family secrets to unearth a story of self-discovery, acceptance, and celebration. A Transparent Musical is the uplifting comic story of the Pfefferman family, whose patriarch is finally allowing their true selves to emerge as Maura, the transgender matriarch she always knew she was. Maura’s ex-wife is left questioning a lifetime of partnership, her oldest daughter unravels her own perfect life, her son runs the other way, and her youngest child begins to discover who they really are. If you haven’t visited the Los Angeles Music Center’s Mark Taper Forum, you are in for a treat. With only 738 seats wrapped around a stage that thrusts into the auditorium, you’re never more than a dozen rows from the stage. May 20 – June 25. CenterTheatreGroup.org