By REAGAN WHEELER
Iconic Records artist Coles Whalen will be performing in L.A. at the Hotel Cafe on Saturday, July 14 at 9 p.m. Whalen left the L.A. after spending 2 1/2 frustrating years in the over-saturated local music scene. She recorded a solo EP, bought a truck, and never looked back. Whalen has performed at more than 150 venues across the western United States, selling nearly 3,000 copies of her EP.
Whalen has just released her third album, “Nothing is Too Much,” this March on Iconic Records. She will be performing songs from her new album at The Hotel Cafe (1623 1/2 North Cahuenga Blvd.). To listen to tracks from her new album, visit www.myspace.com/coleswhalen.
Reagan Wheeler
Shakespeare season
Launching its Fourth Annual Summer Shakespeare Season, Shakespeare Santa Monica is set to launch performances at Reed Memorial Park. Weekend shows are expected to “pack a tennis court with delighted audiences,” said John Farmanesh-Bocca, artistic director.
The plays will start Friday, July 13 and continue through the 29th. “Richard III” plays Fridays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 p.m. An all-female version of “The Taming of the Shrew” plays Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Both will be performed at Miles Memorial Playhouse (1130 Lincoln Blvd.). “Twelfth Night” plays Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., outdoors at Reed Park’s Tournament Tennis Court #1.
Admission is free for anyone 18 and under. Tickets range from $20 to $25, with discounts for students and senior citizens. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (310) 270-3454.
Meditation Center
Hot Summer Nights on Hill Street is presented by the Hill Street Center. The concert series is being put on as a fund-raiser for the Hill Street Center and kicks off July 14. There will be a wide-range of music, including the band Triage — rock, oldies, and R&B — on various Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. The Church in Ocean Park (235 Hill St.) is set to be the venue for these concerts.
‘L.A. Cafe Plays’ returns
The next monthly installment of the Ruskin Group Theatre’s popular “L.A. Cafe Plays” will be on Sunday, July 15. The plays have been dubbed the “Fastest Theatre in Town” due to the rapid turn around of the plays from conception to performance.
The plays will be staged at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. at Ruskin Group Theatre (3000 Airport Drive at the Santa Monica Airport). Tickets are $10. For more information, call (310) 397-3244.
Warped photos
More than 20 Vans Warped Tour artists, including My American Heart, New Found Glory, and Cute Is What We Aim For have authorized the printing and sale of concert photos. The archival prints are available through Front Row Center, a Chicago-based photography company.
For more information, visit www.frcphotos.com.
‘Genius’ of a show
A new reading show is coming to Santa Monica’s Westside Eclectic Comedy Theatre. “The Genius Show” is a monthly humorous essay that premieres July 12 at 9 p.m. The Thursday show will feature writers from “The Office,” “The Simpsons,” “The Ben Stiller Show,” “Mr. Show,” “Lucky Louie,” “Human Giant,” and stars from “The Office.” Writer and performer Wynne Renz will serve as the creative director and host of the show.
Tickets are $5. For more information, call (310) 451-0850.
Homage to Peanuts “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” the newest hit Broadway revival from Samohi’s Santa Monica Civic Light Opera, will start this Saturday at the humanities center theater. The play will show at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on July 14, and will continue to run Fridays and Saturdays for the next two weeks. Don’t miss the final production of the season! Tickets are $20 adults, $15 students, general admission. Call the box office at (310) 458-5939, or visit www.smclo.org.
Emily Skehan
‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’
Terrence McNally’s book turned 1993 Tony Award winner for Best Broadway Musical will be presented at the Main Stage on SMC’s campus. “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is based on the novel by Manuel Puig and will feature music by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb. The show centers around cell mates in Latin America, their fantasies, and dazzling juxtapositions of those fantasies and gritty realities.
Performances are set for July 13, 14, 20, 21 at 8 p.m. and July 15, 21, 22 at 2 p.m. Santa Monica College is located at 19th Street and Pico Boulevard. Tickets are $20, general admission, $18, students and senior citizens, $15, SMC students, faculty, and staff. For more information, call (310) 434-4393 or visit www.smc.edu/theatre.
‘Magic Railroad’
A 3 p.m. family matinee of “Thomas and the Magic Railroad” will be presented on Sunday, July 15 at the Aero Theatre. The 2000 kids feature is directed by Brit Alcroft and based on the award-winning television series. Thomas the tank engine is the star of the show, fending off enemies to help his friends save the railway. Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda do character voices.
685,A discussion with Alcroft will follow the screening. Also, prior to the show will be a benefit auction for the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund at 1:30 p.m. Rare Thomas memorabilia will be available for sale.
For more information, call (323) 466-FILM or visit www.aerotheatre.com.
Marina Waterside
The 2007 season of Marina del Rey Summer Concerts opens Thursday, July 12, 7 p.m., waterside at Burton Chace Park (13650 Mindanao Way).
Both classical and pop series run concurrently throughout the summer, on alternate weeks: Classical every other Thursday, pop on alternate Saturdays. All concerts begin at 7 p.m. and are presented free to the public. Host for the series is Rich Capparela, popular personality on FM station KUSC 91.5.
Highlights of the 2007 season are the July 12 appearance of the 86-voice Southern California Master Chorale presenting Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana;” the stellar young violinist Lindsay Deutsch performing works by Prokofiev and Gershwin; a musical preview of the Los Angeles Opera’s 2008 season; and the brilliant pianist, Xin Xin, performing works by von Dohnányi and Rachmaninoff.
A special Thursday night WaterBus service will operate 5 p.m. — midnight during the concerts on July 12 and 26 and August 9 and 23 for concertgoers who prefer water transportation to and from the concerts. For more information, call (310) 305-9545.
Vidiots on the silver screen
Santa Monica’s iconic and beloved video store Vidiots — “The best video store on the planet” — has been immortalized in the hilarious short film “Three-Fifty” by writer/director Maurice Chauvet and is burning up the film festival circuit this summer.
BAC,“Three-Fifty” world-premiered in Aspen, Colorado at the Aspen Shorts Fest and has been on a roll since then. Next local festivals are Dances with Films on July 12 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles and then in the South Bay for Hermosa Shorts Festival on August 10. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/threefiftythemovie.
A circus show of fashion, music and art
Project Ethos, a group of young artists, designers and self-starters with an artistic eye of the future will share their visions at Cirque de Ethos this Friday, July 13, at the Avalon in Hollywood. The event will feature up and coming fashion designers, as well as musical acts including One Republic, and exhibits by artists.
The theme of Project Ethos’ fifth event is a meld of French circus and Moulin Rouge with a twist of Tim Burton and a pinch of film noir.
Avalon is located at 1735 Vine St. in Hollywood. Admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Cirque De Ethos begins at 8:30 p.m. and will continue until 2 a.m. For more information, visit www.projectethos.com.
Shakespeare gets a remodel
Thanks to the generosity of the S. Mark Taper Foundation, the Will Greer Theatricum Botanicum is all spruced up for summer. Theatricum is the grateful recipient of an $80,000 donation, half of which was used for renovations on the Youth Pavilion amphitheater and replacing the “tiring house” on the outdoor stage. The remaining $40,000 goes to support the theater’s popular School Days program. This arts education program brings over 10,000 students a year from elementary, middle and high schools across Los Angeles and Ventura on field trips that help them learn about the life, times and works of William Shakespeare. The trips include workshops of theatre games and stage techniques, and a professional performance of a Shakespeare play in a natural outdoor setting. Foundation funds are bridging the gap between the cost to schools and the actual cost of the program.
Acoustic series launches
The Synergy Cafe & Lounge (4437 Sepulveda Blvd.) presents a new monthly acoustic series of benefit concerts. Master of Ceremonies Mark Islam will be accompanied by six musical acts: Jane Bolduc, Tom and Byron, Lauren Adams, Larry John McNally, RIck Cunha and Adam Gold.
In lieu of a cover charge, 100 percent of donations raised will benefit Children of the Night, a Hollywood-based non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing runaway teens from prostitution and pornography.
For more information, call (310) 482-3490 or visit www.synergycafelounge.com.
Pottery party
A new ceramics exhibition at Santa Monica College is now open. Works by SMC students, faculty and alumni will be displayed until July 21 at the Schomburg Gallery in Bergamot Station. The show, put together by the college’s ceramics department, is a first of its kind. Schomburg Gallery is located in the Bergamot Station Arts Center, 2525 Michigan Ave. E3A, 90404. For more information, visit www.schomburggallery.com
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 12, 2007. Read the original PDF.