"The Trip Back Down" Stuck in Neutral by M.R. Hunter

Sometimes, you can’t go back. John Bishop’s 38-year-old drama about a down-on-his-luck stock car racer receives a thoughtful but frustrating revival at the Whitefire Theatre. Ironically, the main impetus of the formulaic storyline cruises down memory lane as Bobby Horvath (Nick Stabile) returns to his hometown of Mansfield after a near fatal accident on the track and perpetual failure.

Playing on Broadway for two months in 1977, “The Trip Back Down” probably had more muscle in its own time than it does now. It’s stout and unwieldy plot would benefit from a major overhaul by restoring the predictable drama from its clunky 2.5 hours to a lean, mean 90 minute machine. As it stands, the play putters along aided by the efforts of a strong ensemble pushing it forward.

House of Blues Crossroads Restaurant at Downtown Disney - Anaheim, California by Valerie Mitchell

Crossroads at House of Blues has a new menu created by Chef Aaron Sanchez who you may have seen on the Food Network. There are Southern classics and modern dishes including steak, seafood, burgers and vegetarian options.

Last Weekend! Ensemble Theatre Company Gives "Good People" a Good Turn by M.R. Hunter

David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Good People” at the New Vic in Santa Barbara imbues this multi-layered drama about class, conscience and integrity with robust performances and verve. The Tony-nominated play received its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in 2012 with Jane Kaczmarek as Margaret, a “Southie” Bostonian struggling mother from the wrong side of town, but this production with Alicia Sedwick in the role is as good if not better in its frankness.

Being frank is part of Margie’s charm but also her downfall when she finds herself unemployed, uneducated and without options due to a checkered past and a sharp tongue. Her hard-edged persona though is a front to hide the rising panic and vulnerability that slyly reveals itself. Caught by circumstance and misguided choices from her teenage years, Margie’s desperation spurns her to go begging for a job from a former high school flame who made good as a doctor, now living in the posh side of town, Chestnut Hill, a far cry from the projects they grew up in.

Eyestrology: Happy Birthday Pisces! by Cici Psy-Chic

For the month of 2/18/14-3/20/14

Happy birthday to these celebrity February Pisceans: Dr. Dre (2/18), Seal (2/19), Rihanna (2/20), Jennifer Love Hewitt (2/21), Drew Barrymore (2/22), Dakota Fanning (2/23), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2/24), Sean Astin (2/25), Fats Domino (2/26), Josh Groban (2/27), Bernadette Peters (2/28), Tony Robbins (2/29)

Celebrity March Pisceans: Ron Howard (3/1), Daniel Craig (3/2), Jessica Biel (3/3), Patricia Heaton (3/4), Eva Mendes (3/5), Shaquille O’Neal (3/6), Bryan Cranston (3/7), Aidan Quinn (3/8), Matthew Gray Gubler (3/9), Chuck Norris (3/10), Johnny Knoxville (3/11), Ron Jeremy (3/12), Dana Delany (3/13), Billy Crystal (3/14), Eva Longoria (3/15), Curtis Lovell III (3/16), Mia Hamm (3/17), Queen Latifah (3/18), Bruce Willis (3/19), Spike Lee (3/20)

Ole dreaded Mercury is in retrograde until Feb. 28. That means an uptick in delays, miscommunication and technological snafus. This would be an ideal time to lay low and take a personal assessment about springing forward come March. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to hit the gym or join in a yoga class to get our bodies beach-ready. Relaxation and rejuvenation is the best way to beat the retrograde blues so book a day at the spa or grab a pal for a mani/pedi. The best way to deal with our anxiety is by nursing ourselves into better form, face and fashion.

Get the detailed forecasts for all of the signs... 

Book Lovers Go Antiquarian in Pasadena by Robert Kerr

This past weekend was the 47th California Antiquarian Book Fair at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The show alternates locations every other year from being held in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

This year, the show celebrated Shakespeare's 450th birthday with a panel discussion of what people ate during the Bard's time, art displays, and lots of old editions of Shakespeare's works on display and for sale.

There were over 200 exhibitors from all over the world with books on various subjects from anatomy to children's classics. The price of the books could range from $25 to well over $100,000. Among these were rare signed editions by Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, and Ray Bradbury.

In the lobby there were displays on loan from private collections and libraries, as well as information about antiquarian book societies. Here, visitors could see a replica printing press like the one Benjamin Franklin used. This was provided by the International Printing Museum located in Carson. They were very informative about how the printing press revolutionized the way the world had access to information. A two man crew working a press like this could turn out 300 pages a day, as opposed to about 10 pages a day copied by hand. They also allowed you to print a page with a line from Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 2 to keep as a souvenir. 

Paperback Collectors Show & Sale

Coming up on Sunday, March 16th, is another great book show. The Paperback Collectors Show is the largest vintage paperback show in the world. Now in its 35th year, it will be in a new location: Glendale Civic Auditorium. Vendors from all over the country will be offering paperbacks and pulps of all genres.

Throughout the day there will be author signings by Harlan Ellison, Dennis Etchison, Earl Hamner, William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson, and many others. The show is from 9:00 - 4:00 and admission is $5.

For a complete list of author and artist appearances and signing times check their website: www.LA-vintage-paperback-show.com

More upcoming BOOK EVENTS 

Time to get inappropriate at Filmforum

Curators Jaimie Baron, Lauren Berliner and Greg Cohen will be on hand to introduce the world premiere of the 6^th edition of the Festival of (In)appropriation. Founded in 2009, the Festival of (In)appropriation is a yearly showcase of contemporary short audiovisual works that appropriate film or video footage and repurpose it in "inappropriate" and inventive ways. 

Whether you call it collage, compilation, found footage, détournement, or recycled cinema, this kind of work generates novel juxtapositions of elements which produce new meanings and ideas unintended by the original makers – meanings and ideas that are, in other words "inappropriate." 

This year's show includes new work by Gregg Biermann, Celeste Fichter, Zoe Fothergill, Josh Hite, Soda_Jerk, Justin Lincoln, Emma Osbourn, Cheryl Pagurek, Liz Rodda, Kelly Sears, Scott Stark and Tina Takemoto.

For more event information: www.lafilmforum.org, or 323-377-7238
 
Tickets: $10 general, $6 students/seniors; free for Filmforum members. Tickets are available by credit card in advance from Brown Paper Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com or at the door.

“The Real Thing” at Two Roads Theatre Forgets its Real Audience by M.R. Hunter

Audiences are funny things. They can be as interesting as the show itself, if not more in some respects. 

Picture, if you will, an assemblage of 50 theatergoers gathering on a dreary evening, made gloomier by the drizzle and the news of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death. It was a Superbowl Sunday and yet, these people had tromped out to see Tom Stoppard’s biting romantic comedy “The Real Thing.”

These people braved the elements. They parked their cars. They wore perfume and ran a brush through their hair. In other words, they came prepared and eager. A few may have been friends or family of the performers and felt dutifully obliged to dash out after a football party to support their relations. No matter the motivation for being there—they were and to their credit, the audience was in lively form.