MAGIC MOMENTS
Mega composer and master showman Burt Bacharach got a lot of love, sweet love, at this year’s Mancini Musicale at UCLA’s Royce Hall. BB was presented with the prestigious Hank Award, which recognizes artists who make major contributions to American music.
Ginny Mancini and Phil Ramone were among the many turning out to fete the famed balladeer, but that’s what friends are for.
It’s hard to beat Burt when it comes to hits. He’s the man behind an astounding 66 Top 40 singles, including “Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head,” “I Say a Little Prayer for You,” “The Look of Love,” “Walk on By,” “Promises, Promises,” and “What’s New Pussycat.” His artists span the spectrum from Herb Alpert to Dionne Warwick to Isaac Hayes to The Average White Band to Elton John to Doris Day and yes, even The Five Blobs.
The event benefited the Henry Mancini Institute, which provides education and training for the Burt Bacharachs of tomorrow.
LONDON CALLING
OMG-or should I say-Good Lord! If it’s been a while since you’ve hopped across the pond, here’s a London theater update. Yes, the place is filled with age-old faves like Agatha Chritie’s “Mousetrap,” now in its 52nd year and 21,000th plus performance, but brace yourself for some smashing surprises.
These days familiar tunes seem to be all the rage with “Rat Pack”-the musical, “Rod Stewart”-the musical, “We Will Rock You” (Queen)-the musical. Heck, there’s even “Jerry Springer”-the opera.
You may not find Val Kilmer as Moses, but you will find David Hasselhoff doing the razzle dazzle in “Chicago.” And before DH was just a beefy hunk in trunks, bear in mind that he was a huge singing star in Deutschland.
But one production that really caught my eye was called “Darwin in Malibu.” Here’s the lowdown on the story: Charles Darwin winds up in a beach house overlooking the Pacific with a girl young enough to be his daughter. Believing that the heated debate about the “Origin Of Species” is far behind him, Darwin now finds guidance from cheap tabloid horoscopes and trashy beach reading. But when his old friend Thomas Huxley washes up on the beach with the bishop of Oxford, he finds himself entangled in a life and death comedy about God, science, love, loss and the sex life of barnacles. The tag line-who needs evolution when you have plastic surgery?
For added realism, the production features copies of our beloved newspaper, The Malibu Times as stage props. Wonderful, I say!
So, if you’re willing to part with a few quid, could be a good excuse to pop round to Jolly Olde and check it out. Cheers!