Category Archives: Arts

Good casting fails to salvage film’s plot Actors’ talents wasted in ‘Road’ to nowhere; coherent story absent The Road to Wellville Written and directed by Alan Parker Starring Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Broderick, and Bridget Fonda The assembly of talent for The Road to Wellville is impressive, but you know what they say about Anthony Hopkins. […]

The theater story behind ‘Story Theatre’ School of Theater brings Aesop and Grimm tales to life By Jeana Blackman Acting director Mel Shapiro finds purity in the simplicity of UCLA’s "Story Theatre." Shapiro describes the show, and its message, most succinctly. "It’s not Shakespeare," he says, "There’s no great meaning. It’s universal tales of greed, […]

Three reasons to stay home on the weekend Stargate Written by Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich Directed by Roland Emmerich Starring Kurt Russell, James Spader and Jaye Davidson There’s a scene in the beginning of Stargate where James Spader’s character Dr. Daniel Jackson explains his drunken sci-fi theories on the creation of the Great Pyramid. […]

Accomplished musician Gothoni returns to L.A. By John Mangum Not many classical musicians can say they’ve received $500,000 for their talents. Pianist Ralf Gothoni can. His extraordinary playing earned him the generous Gilmore Award, which helped expose Gothoni to a wider audience. Probably one of the most eccentric competitions in the music world, the Gilmore […]

Vibraphonist keys up old jazz sound By John Mangum When people think of jazz instruments, they think of the trumpet, the saxophone and the piano. Way down there on the list the vibraphone eventually turns up. Audiences get a rare chance to hear Gary Burton, a leading jazz musician and important proponent of the vibraphone, […]

No pain, no gain Broderick undergoes ‘torture’ to work with Hopkins in ‘Welville’ By Michael Horowitz Daily Bruin Senior Staff Matthew Broderick’s character Will Lightbody in The Road to Wellville is akin to James Caan’s author in Misery. Sure, there are a lot of people around and they’re all being tortured as well, and the […]

Sappy rhetoric loses ‘Paradise’ Depression-era play depicts life during hardship By Lawrence Sullivan During the Great Depression my grandfather sold mustard door to door in Chicago. When it comes down to pushing condiments to muster up a living, Leo Gordon in Clifford Odets’ "Paradise Lost" seems justified in saying "the world has a profound dislocation." […]