Joshua Bloom: His voice is more than the sum of his parts

By Rick Schultz
Published on September 11, 2012

The old theater saying that there are no small parts, only small actors, can also be said for opera. Just ask Australian bass Joshua Bloom, who was in town last month to begin rehearsals as Masetto for the Los Angeles Opera production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” The opera’s seven performances run Sept. 22 through Oct. 14 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Deconstructing David Geffen

By Danielle Berrin
Published on September 11, 2012

‘The Neighbors’: Aliens next door

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on September 10, 2012

Benjamin Wallfisch has music in his genes

By Rick Schultz
Published on September 10, 2012

Film composers who venture into the hallowed domain of the concert hall are sometimes greeted with raised eyebrows. Maybe that’s why film-music scholar Jon Burlingame called movie scores a “much-maligned stepchild of 20th-century composition.” Yet for English composer and conductor Benjamin Wallfisch, the differentiation has never been a problem.

Fall Preview 2012: Calendar

By Ryan Torok
Published on September 10, 2012

The Broadway debut of “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone satirizes organized religion in lewd, crude — and musical — fashion. The story of two mismatched Mormon missionaries who are sent to Africa to proselytize pagans was deemed “best musical of this century” by The New York Times, won nine Tony Awards last year — including Best Musical — and is playing at the Pantages for a limited run. Fri. Through Nov. 25. 8 p.m. $35-$175. Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. (800) 982-2787. broadwayla.org.

Laughter: It’s the best medicine in Rogen’s ‘50/50’

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on September 7, 2011

In a back booth at Canter’s, Seth Rogen is digging into his matzah ball soup with gusto as his close friend, screenwriter Will Reiser, sips a glass of club soda.

A woman’s world?

By Danielle Berrin
Published on September 7, 2011

It’s hard to tell, what with the requisite girdles, supervised weigh-ins and protocol panty hose (“not too dark; this isn’t a cabaret”), that the 1960s world depicted in “Pan Am” is supposed to be about the era’s most worldly women.