Ear for Eye Photos - West End

Told in three separate one-act stories, the World Premiere of Leda Siskind's play THE SURVEILLANCE TRIOLOGY explores the ways in which private citizens have become victims of ever-present eavesdropping by forces able to be kept secret until the damage has been done. Directed by Amanda Conlon at Theatre 40, ultimately you may just walk out at the end wondering just how you are being watched and for just what purpose, especially when you turn your cell phone back on and begin interacting with it.

The 1936 Hungarian play PARFUMERIE by Miklos Laszlo has the humble distinction of living in the shadow of the more famous movies (and Broadway musical) that it inspired. In fact, Hollywood has cashed in on the play not once but three times - the first adaptation was the 1940 Ernst Lubitsch romantic comedy 'The Shop Around the Corner,' starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, which was followed by the 1949 screen musical version 'In the Good Old Summertime,' starring Judy Garland, and much later by the 1998 Nora Ephron movie 'You've Got Mail,' with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. And of course, the Broadway musical 'She Loves Me' - adapted from the play by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joe Masteroff - opened in New York in 1963 and is now one of the most beloved (and revived) musicals during the Christmas season each year. All I can say is for those who enjoy this story of mistaken identity between pen-pal lovers should see one of those versions

For the past several summers, I have attended the Festival of Arts and The Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. But this year, I also decided to also visit two other art festivals along Laguna Canyon Road rather than spend any time cruising the town as I had done before. The full-day of exploring all the artistic delights on display this year at all three locations left me dazzled by all the talent on display, while wishing I had lot of extra income to purchase and bring home many of the awe-inspiring items that caught my fancy. But the real highlight of the day was viewing the abundance of 'local color' on display in this summer's 'Under the Sun' themed Pageant of the Masters.

Love makes the world go around, even when it seems to have stopped in its tracks. Such is the message of 'Outside Mullingar,' a romantic comedy that's perfect for the return of the American Irish Repertory Ensemble (AIRE).

Long before Felix met Oscar, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were ill-fitting roommates in the south of France, which turned out to be a fateful co-habitation that changed the face of art - as well as Van Gogh's face! Playwright Brendan Hunt cleverly re-imagines these two art masters as the subjects of Neil Simon's original draft of The Odd Couple, which Hunt presents as being co-written with yet another of the oddest couples possible - Sam Shepard, here introduced as Steve, an oddball busboy looking for his first big break.