Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer. He was flamboyant and known for his wit, which usually made fun of Britain’s upper classes. His play, Hay Fever, was written in 1924. His humor target was bad manners and bad behavior. In the play he uses an egocentric family that […]
Faust Film Review
The Deal with the Devil motif is a cultural staple that has endured for centuries. We’ve seen this story play out in multiple ways across multiple mediums such as books, music, paintings and films, of course. The Picture of Dorian Grey, Rosemary’s Baby, Phantom of the Paradise, Bedazzled and even Disney movies like The Little […]
Imagination and Make Believe are the Reality In Lakewood
The future of the theater is in the hands, the faces, and the experiences of children. Go to any local live theater production and you’ll probably see older adults. When I was on the board of directors for Tacoma Actors Guild, we often talked about attracting younger audiences. Grandparents can be key. My wife Peggy […]
The Producers – Lakewood Playhouse Musical Review
I’ve re-read favorite books; watched favorite films over and over again; and watched back to back musicals. Why not? People listen to the same music all the time. Musical comedy is a double plus with music and comedy acting together. Mel Brooks says the essence of comedy is anticipation and payoff. That’s why people can […]
The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber – Tacoma Musical Playhouse Review
Tacoma Musical Playhouse followed up their Full Monty performance in May with an encore presentation of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in early June. It was well received and would have been worth a trip in the snow if we could have just made it to a main road for the original date in […]
Across the Fence: Building Character
The other day, while I was just finishing my first lap of power walking around Waughop Lake, I was chatted up by a gentleman who I had encountered about ten minutes earlier. After another lap in lively discussion, I came away with some huge inspiration and signed copies of three mind-blowing books. The gentleman I […]
Pita Pit Restaurant Review
When our grandchildren were younger we would take them with us on our adventures, staying at hotels and enjoying local theatrical productions. As they’ve gotten older and busier this has become more difficult. We stepped back in time for an enjoyable gathering in Lakewood. We booked a room at the Best Western for us and […]
A Room with a Review – Relaxing in a Lakewood Hotel
When you leave home for a destination vacation, the destination doesn’t really matter that much. Once you’re out the door, you’re having an adventure. We’ve left our north end Tacoma home before and gone to north end B&Bs and had a great time. Earlier in June we left our home and traveled to Lakewood. We […]
Letter: A Father's Influence – answering my critics
Among the many examples my dad set for my life – he loved our country (served in the 10th Mountain Division in WWII); he loved my mom (58 years married); he loved our community (instrumental in obtaining the playground equipment) – and the roles my dad played in my life – baseball coach, Soap Box […]