ROCKWELL TABLE & STAGE
POSTED ON MAR 18, 2013 IN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

You know Daily Concepts loves sharing finds with you. With that in mind, we had to tell you about Los Angeles’ Rockwell Table & Stage

Where might you have spotted this happening establishment? Strolling along Los Feliz’ trendy Vermont Avenue. What you won’t see from the front of the brick building is Rockwell’s back patio. Our first introduction to the venue occurred here. Need we say it… yes, it’s as dreamy as it looks. Whilst sipping cocktails and nibbling Filet Skewers, the sound of live music could be heard coming from the restaurant’s interior. Our heads started bopping to familiar tunes. Our waiter tipped us off — it was opening night of For The Records’ The Marshalls: Live Music & Moments from the Directorial Hits of Garry & Penny. We determined then and there to make a return trip.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and, tickets in hand, we stepped inside the restaurant itself. Audience members/diners were just starting to filter in for the show. We bellied up to the bar to partake in cocktails inspired by The Marshalls — Happy Ever After, Marla’s Hooch and Marshall Mule. Word is shows from For The Record, an entertainment company that adapts works of great directors for theatrical concert settings, had gotten its start right there in a small room by the bar when Rockwell first opened its doors. Now, For the Record works with a bevy of stage, record and screen performers bringing out the best of these film works for the nostalgic.

Already pre-set in our heads was what we were ordering for dinner (yes, we’d been watching carbs on our last visit) — Burger & Bottle. Here we must pontificate (and it’s not just because we’d been depriving ourselves of carbs up until then)… the burger is actually described as Rockwell Blue Cheese Fondue Burger. First clue that there’s going to be melty blue cheese goodness. Adding extra flavor were carmelized onions. On the side — one of us had broccolini, one had brussel sprouts… this writer had the Truffle Parmesan Shoestring Fries. Tip: Don’t be good — indulge in the fries. As for the bottle, that’s an ’08 Chandon Pinot Noir Carneros.

Soon enough, a band appeared on the stage. From here, performers rolled out scenes and songs from Pretty Woman. Yes, we were saying the well-known quotes right along with them. The performers made excellent use of the space, not merely sticking to the stage. This kept the audience on its toes and visually stimulated. There were moments, too, when several guests gladly held props during special scenes. Nothing like a little interaction to keep things lively.

The first set, which lasted over an hour included songs like It Must Have Been Love from Pretty Woman, Ready to Run from Runaway Bride and All I Have to Do Is Dream from Riding in Cars with Boys. We must admit, during intermission we wanted to reprise the Heart and Soul/Chopsticks number from Big on the giant piano keys painted on the stage.

The second act started off with a medley of television songs, which are still bouncing around in our heads. Scenes from A League of Their Own unfolded onstage along with songs like This Used To Be My Playground and Choo Choo Ch’Boogie. Still to come, scenes and songs from Awakenings, New Year’s Eve and Beaches that left us wanting to re-rent these beloved movies again.

Dessert appeared not a moment too soon. One of us (sniffle) gets a bit weepy over Beaches’ Wind Beneath My Wings. Chocolate helps. Especially when it’s served sizzling hot in a cast-iron griddle with ice cream and caramel topping melting together in harmony.

And then… it was over. The curtain calls had occurred. The soothing chocolate consumed. And, now that you’ve been reading this, and noted the show dates on the program above, we’re guessing you might be getting sad, too, at not being able to catch The Marshalls… Don’t worry. We wouldn’t leave you without a “happily ever after.” Someone whispered in our ear that The Marshalls might be extended beyond April 6 (check Rockwell’s website for updates), so there’s still time to grab tickets, a seat and order a Burger & Bottle. Can’t make The Marshalls? There are other shows scheduled that promise an evening of feel-good dinner theatre. Coming down the pike — an night with Molly Ringwald on April 9 & 10 and, further down the line from For The Record, evenings of music from Coen Brothers’ and Robert Zemeckis films. Keep an eye out, as well, for Baz Luhrmann, John Hughes and Scorcese-inspired shows.

One last tip — save room for dessert. The Skillet Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie was worth every calorie. Applause all-round!

Read more from Daily Concepts here: http://dailyconcepts.com/rockwells/

“For The Record: The Marshalls” – Los Angeles musical theater review

By Pauline Adamek
Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
Photo credit: Lily Lim.

For The Record: The Marshalls is now playing at Rockwell: Table & Stage, a super-hip and intimate supper club in Los Feliz where you can enjoy exceptional cuisine and tasty cocktails and be entertained by a sensational live performance that changes every few months.

Celebrating the songs featured in the popular movies directed by siblings Garry and Penny Marshall, For The Record: The Marshalls is a upbeat, funny and poignant – not to forget highly entertaining – evening of song, dance and live music.

Presenting moments from the marvelous movies of Garry and Penny, a core cast of seven bright-eyed and enthusiastic performers (plus the live musicians) are joined each night by a guest singer. On opening night the guest was Kacie Sheik, and what a powerhouse voice! Payson Lewis also wowed us with his impressive pipes, and the entire cast is superb.

In fact, with the burgeoning success of these shows over the past two-and-a-half years, Rockwell: Table & Stage has become a draw for guest artists such as Sutton Foster to use as a safe, low-pressure workshop kind of space to try out material. Foster performs a selection of her faves in concert on Wednesday, Feb 27.

Anyway, on opening night of For The Record: The Marshalls there was plenty of raucous excitement swirling around the audience, and that energy was more than matched by the scintillating performances throughout the evening.

While there is a central catwalk, the players actually run, sing and dance all over the room, even up at the sound-mixing desk and atop the bar!

Photo credit: Joanna Strapp.

Wearing patent leather thigh high stiletto boots and a tight, midriff-revealing white top, a bewigged Jackie Seiden strutted her stuff down the catwalk, portraying Julia Robert’s character from Pretty Woman for three songs and scenes (even flashing her red panties – wow!) Steve Mazurek is fantastic as the Richard Gere character, especially for a solo of Roy Orbison’s title track. Mazurek as Gere even mimes the performance a lovely quiet interlude of classical piano (played by MD Christopher Lloyd Bratten.

Next they seamlessly segue into a hilarious scene from Overboard with Ginifer King (pictured) hilariously portraying Goldie Hawn’s snotty socialite.

The band gave a fun salsa interpretation of the famous ‘Heart and Soul/Chopsticks’ scene from FAO Schwarz toy store that features in Big, (the central catwalk is marked with keys just like the floor piano).

Photo credit: Joanna Strapp.

Various songs from movies such as Runaway Bride and The Preacher’s Wife close out Act One, with a powerful rendition of Carole King’s hit tune ‘I Feel the Earth Move’ from The Other Sister bringing the house down.

Other highlights include the beautifully matched voices for a duet of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ from Riding in Cars with Boys and also the pure and emotive duet rendition of ‘Dreamin.’

Act Two includes a medley of tunes from the various TV shows the Marshall siblings are famous for (Laverne and Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Happy Days etc) plus several scenes from A League of Their Own including the legendary ‘There’s no crying in baseball’ scene – here Derek Manson does a fantastic impersonation of Tom Hanks. You gotta see this show just to experience one of the guys who’s forced to don drag to portray one of the female baseball players! Of course you have to have some soppy songs from Beaches, but trust me – this cast and our trusty MD present a wonderful new arrangement to Wind Beneath My Wings.

There’s a lot of comedy throughout – I even detected a few clever improv moments by the quick-thinking performers.

There’s even a tap dancing routine in ‘The Glory of Love,’ jitterbugging in ‘Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,’ a Gospel medley, torch song solos, operatic flourishes, superb harmonies – this show has it all!

Do not miss this marvelously entertaining show!

Kacie Sheik. Photo credit: Lily Lim.

Read more about ArtsBeatLA at: http://www.artsbeatla.com/2013/02/for-the-record-the-marshalls/

The greatest musical in the history of musicals. Ever. Of all-time.

Opening Fri, For the Record: Boogie Nights is an R-rated, totally live, musically driven tribute to Paul Thomas Anderson’s film lexicon, orchestrated by the same company that’s produced similarly minded odes to John Hughes, Baz Luhrmann, and the Coen Brothers, which should be more than enough background to make you want to Fargo. But just in case…

This’s the first to take place in the Rockwell Kitchen & Stage’s new, twice-as-big-as-the-shoebox-it-was-in-before space, which’s big enough to do crazily choreographed, in-character selections like a short-shorted Rollergirl-driven “Brand New Key” (from Boogie), an emotionally charged reading of Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” (Magnolia), and even some selections from There Will Be Blood and Punch Drunk Love, w/ songs by Jon Brion, which should ALSO be enough to make you want to Largo. Just in case you’re all like “ugh, these’re all gonna be terrible singer-actor-dancer-wannabes looking for a break“, the cast is already, um, broken, w/ various members having appeared on Broadway in shiz like Les Mis, on TV shows like American Idol, and in movies including Death Proof – see, you should definitely, er, g…Tarantino.

Also amazing: they’ve even got a specialty hot dog menu w/ film-referencing franks, including the 10in “Big Diggler” and the mac-and-cheese-topped “Todd Porker”, as well as a party-pop-and-booze-filled Punch Drunk Punch, which’s, hello, just one more reason you should Faygo.

Read more: http://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/los-angeles/los-feliz/for-the-record-boogie-nights_comedy_live-music_events#ixzz1zV8B4uAg

via Thrillist

Co-creators Shane Scheel and Christopher Lloyd Bratten presented “For the Record: Tarantino in Concert” last week at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. The show was adapted from multiple works of Academy Award-winning director Quentin Tarantino including “Reservoir Dogs,” “Kill Bill,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “Inglourious Bastards” among others. Check out photos from the show below!

The show has previously been performed in Los Angeles and received a makeover before being taken to South By South West in Austin, Texas earlier this year. The Ace Hotel has also hosted the “For the Record : Baz Luhrmann” and “For the Record: John Hughes” editions and will be hosting the Coen Brothers as well as a reprise of the John Hughes editions later this year.

Performers included Ginifer King (“Struck By Lightning,” Broadway’s Gypsy, Steel Magnolias), Darryl Semira (Broadway’s Spamalot, Mamma Mia), Jason Paige (Blood Sweat & Tears, RENT at the Hollywood Bowl), Anneliese vanDer Pol (Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast), Danielle Mone’ Truitt (Disney’s The Princess and the Frog), Anderson Davis (Broadway’s South Pacific, Les Miserables), Lisa Datz (Broadway’s The Full Monty), Steve Mazurek, Angela Pupello, and Dionne Gipson.

Currently playing in the newly renovated Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Feliz is “For the Record: Boogie Nights” consisting of songs and scenes from the works of multiple Academy Award-nominated Los Angeles director Paul Thomas Anderson. “For The Record: Boogie Nights” runs until Saturday, August 4. For more information, visit fortherecordlive.com.

Read more:http://losangeles.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-FOR-THE-RECORD-TARANTINO-IN-CONCERT-at-Rockwell-Table-and-Stage-20120622##ixzz1zVXi3qum

via BroadwayWorld.com

Last night a lavish postmodern public masturbation session went down at the Rockwell in Los Feliz, with a full cast performing the movie music of director Paul Thomas Anderson. The show, titled For the Record: Boogie Nights, also featured music from other Anderson films including Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and the hilarious baptismal scene from There Will Be Blood.

Though the show quickly ventured into costumed disco fun, it began on a serious note with songs from Magnolia. For those who aren’t familiar with Anderson’s work, many consider this to be his grand opus of sorts; it’s a somber flick that deals with issues like drug addiction, sexual abuse, unrequited homosexual love and cancer. But it’s also got one hell of a soundtrack, bolstered by the heart-wrenching Aimee Mann songs “Wise Up” and “One”. (Magnolia actually becomes a musical of sorts for a moment when the cast randomly bursts into “Wise Up.”) But…

…last night’s directors Shane Scheel and Anderson Davis interspersed enough of the film’s comedic moment’s — Tom Cruise’s character screaming “Respect the cock! Tame the cunt!” — for the audience not to want to get open a vein in the restroom.

Dirk and Rollergirl get it on.

But the real fun began after the frogs had fallen from the sky (Magnolia fans will understand) and they broke out the bell-bottoms. The Rockwell is an intimate dinner theater so the revue was preformed all around the room, with Juliette Goglia — playing Rollergirl — skating past folks’ tables. The set list was full of classics like “Boogie Shoes,” “You Sexy Thing,” “Sister Christian” and the finale “God Only Knows.” The lonely cuckold

“Fooled Around and Fell In Love” was one of the most sexual things I’ve ever seen preformed onstage, complete with a couple (perhaps unintentional) nipple-slips. Also the mostly shirtless actors made me feel extremely inadequate about my own body. The acting was solid last night, with each performer playing multiple rolls. Derek Ferguson is a dead ringer for Dirk Diggler. He has the ditzy self-confidence down to a tee — Eddie Adams from Torrance really believed he was a big, bright shining star.

Sure, it’s more of us patting ourselves on the back in Hollywood and playing around in art we’ve already created postmodern love children, but For the Record is a good time. It’s well-acted, funny, touching at moments, and you get to go: Oh, I love that part of this movie in your own head about 80 times.

And people have responded to these shows: Paul Thomas Anderson is only one in a series of directors whose music Scheel has chronicled. Speaking with him over the phone, Scheel says that his favorite movie music placement director of all time is Quentin Tarantino, who was the subject of a different For the Record show.

“He actually came to a show and loved it,” says Scheel. “He stayed out until 4 in the morning drinking the entire cast under the table.” Next up after the PTA show spells in August is Martin Scorsese. It’s all so meta it can make your head spin.

I won’t throw out any spoilers, but I will say that this version of Boogie Nights didn’t ruin one of the best movie endings of all time. After all, thirteen inches is a tough load, it don’t treat you gently. Now… where the fuck is Ringo!

Personal Bias: If you put a gun to my head, I’d have to say Boogie Nights is my favorite film of all time.

The Crowd: A bit older, with money in their pockets.

Random Notebook Dump: They give you a Broadway-style playbill at the show, which is a nice touch.

via LA Weekly