Charles Donelan, Author at The Santa Barbara Independent

Uncategorized By Charles Donelan | Thu Mar 23, 2006 | 12:00pm

consider yourself one of us

Far from being the insular, inbred scene one might expect in a posh resort town so close to Hollywood, the Santa Barbara theater world is populated by a lively and remarkably diverse amalgam of takes on what it means to put on a show in 2006. This spring boasts classic comedies and musicals alongside agitprop, avantgarde, and everything in between. Some of our very best talents will be on display, and the doors are wide open from Ventura to Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and beyond. As the urchins sing to delicate little Oliver Twist, “consider yourself well in!”

By Charles Donelan | Thu Mar 16, 2006 | 12:00pm

Murder Most Funny

Deathtrap

At Victoria Hall Theater, Saturday, March 4.

Deathtrap is Ira Levin’s best work, a play that set the standard for hip, high-velocity comic thrillers back when it premiered on Broadway in 1978. This production, which features Ed Giron in the central role as the cynical, murderous playwright Sidney Bruhl, cranks up the suspense and generates some real excitement in the reversal sequences.

By Charles Donelan | Thu Feb 23, 2006 | 1:09pm

Dueling Flutes

Camerata Pacifica. At Victoria Hall, Friday, February 17. Classical flute players — at least the Irish ones — are really rock stars. After a

By Charles Donelan | Thu Feb 16, 2006 | 4:41pm

Feeling History

The extraordinary Touch the Names, currently in production at Ensemble Theatre Company, pulls the audience into the shadows on a wall. The wall is the Vietnam War Memorial, and the shadows are the lost lives recorded there.

Uncategorized By Charles Donelan | Thu Feb 16, 2006 | 4:18pm

The Full Mantilla

Along with the dazzling modern jazz one expects from Chick Corea, his current band, Touchstone, brought the sights and sounds of new flamenco to Santa Barbara on Tuesday, including a marvelous dancer, Auxi Fernandez, who joined them onstage for the second half of the concert. The addition of the dancer invigorated the crowd, elicited cries of “guapa” (“good looking”) from some, and turned the atmosphere of Campbell Hall into that of a sexy Spanish nightclub for the remainder of the night.

By Charles Donelan | Thu Feb 09, 2006 | 11:26am

Letters That Will Live Forever

Writer/director Randal Myler and musician Chic Street Man share the relaxed confidence of veteran performers. Myler won a Tony for It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, and Spunk, Chic Street Man’s collaboration with George C. Wolfe in adapting the work of Zora Neale Hurston, is legendary in the theater world.

Charles Donelan

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