ENTERTAINMENT
By Jana Colver | April 10, 2014
When a customer asks a librarian to help them find a funny novel, it can be a challenge to find one that fits an individual's sense of humor. One person may appreciate dark humor, while another may enjoy satire or gentle humor. If you think you might enjoy a story embracing wacky characters and plots that involve crime, romance, dysfunctional relationships and even aliens depicted in a comedic light, then check these out: "The Facades: A Novel" by Eric Lundgren: One night in the decrepit Midwestern town of Trude, a celebrated mezzo-soprano vanishes during rehearsal.
ABOUT
June 14, 2013
PAGE KEYS Good luck at University of Arizona You are a wonderful young lady with so much kindness and love in your heart. Your smile lights up our life…and your special laugh is infectious. Treasure your high school memories and friends. You will succeed in anything you put your mind to do. Remember this quote: “you'll never be poor by giving” You have done such a wonderful job & we are extremely proud of you. Keep going…ZOT! We love you- Dad, Mom, Megan
ENTERTAINMENT
By John Depko and Susanne Perez | February 13, 2013
In my final years in the public defender's office, identity theft became a factor for many clients wrongly accused of crimes. Someone would be arrested for a crime while possessing false identification in the client's name. After making bail, the criminals would disappear while a warrant was issued for the real person whose ID they had stolen. I saw firsthand the devastation in the lives of these victims. On top of false criminal charges, the real criminal could destroy the victim financially by using their credit cards or taking out loans in the victim's name.
NEWS
By Bree Ogden | November 5, 2012
My grandmother, Joanne Ruth "Mimi" Mulder, was born Nov. 6, 1936, in Seattle. She spent a short while in Yakima, where her grandparents, Ruth and Wheeler Warren, ran one of the first Washington apple-packing companies. Soon after, she moved to sunny California and was raised in South Pasadena. Her beauty was discovered at 15, when she was chosen as a Jonathan Logan contestant winner, whereupon she flew to Paris for two weeks with her mother, Marjorie Warren Mulder. She was nominated and crowned a Rose Princess in the Rose Parade's 1954 Court.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Tom Titus | September 27, 2012
Art, much like beauty, often is in the eye of the beholder. One man's masterpiece might easily be another man's rubbish. It's not, after all, like sports where there are clear-cut winners and losers. Yasmina Reza's caustic comedy "Art," however, is a slam-dunk winner. First unveiled at South Coast Repertory several seasons ago, it's now on view at the Newport Theatre Arts Center where even a directorial switch in mid-stream hasn't compromised its comedic impact. When original director Michael Ross became seriously ill midway through rehearsals, NTAC called on another A-list director, Gigi Fusco Meese, to bring the show home in grand style.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Tom Titus and By Tom Titus | September 13, 2012
Alan Ayckbourn often has been termed the British Neil Simon due to his prodigious output of plays in a quirky comical vein. South Coast Repertory has yet to mount a Simon show, but has produced myriad Ayckbourn offerings and is quite familiar with the territory. The latest SCR-Ayckbourn collaboration, opening the new season, is "Absurd Person Singular," a wacky exercise set in three kitchens of the past, present and future and directed by company co-founder David Emmes. It's steeped in black humor — especially the second of the three sequences, wherein one character spends the entire act silently attempting various forms of suicide as the others bustle with various chores around her. As the lights come up, Jane (Kathleen Early)
ENTERTAINMENT
By John Depko and Susanne Perez | May 17, 2012
John Madden directed the fun-loving Oscar winner "Shakespeare in Love" and the gritty spy thriller "The Debt. " He employs his skills somewhere between these two extremes in"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. " The story follows several aging Brits needing a cheaper way to live out their golden years. They all end up at a rundown ancient hotel in India. Their disparate lives quickly begin to intertwine in an unexpected way. Dev Patel is excellent as the young entrepreneur who lures the "elderly but beautiful" to his hopeful enterprise.
NEWS
October 31, 2011
COSTA MESA — The city is hosting a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. The drive, run by the Red Cross, will be in the city's Emergency Operations Center at the Police Department headquarters, 99 Fair Drive. Donors will receive a $5 coupon for Acapulco Mexican Restaurant Y Cantina and two VIP tickets to the Laugh Factory. They will be also eligible to enter a regional drawing for a $500 shopping spree. To sign up, contact Dan Baker at (714) 754-5156 or visit http://www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code "cmpol".
ENTERTAINMENT
By Susanne Perez | October 6, 2011
A comedy about cancer isn't easy, but writer Will Reiser and co-star/co-producer Seth Rogen draw from personal experience to give "50/50" that rare blend of raw humor and emotion without artifice. There are no wrong notes in this movie. Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is 26 with a beautiful girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard) and a beautiful mother (Angelica Huston), who both seem self-centered. Adam also has a rare form of cancer. Numbed by the news, he endures insensitive doctors, clueless co-workers and chemotherapy.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Tom Titus | September 15, 2011
When he was a child, Noel Coward's mother took him to a succession of mediums and psychics, an experience he used to create one of his most enduring stage comedies. "Blithe Spirit" — which Coward reportedly took five days to create — is celebrating its 70th anniversary, and it's still entertaining audiences worldwide. This weekend, and Sept. 23 to 25, it's raising the spirits at the Costa Mesa Playhouse in an attractive and enjoyable production. Director David A. Blair's enthusiastic cast captures the flavor of the play's 1940s-era characters, although a bit of tightening still is required to repair some uncomfortable gaps due more to tempo than interpretation.