Alisa Hayashida
Alisa Hayashida is an arts and culture columnist and critic for South Pasadenan News, covering the greater Pasadena Metro area and Los Angeles Metro area. She is a valuable arts advocate in South Pasadena, with an extensive background in theatre arts. She has been a proud South Pasadenan for over 27 years.
A Romantic Triumph – BRIGADOON at Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse continues its sterling commitment to celebrating the great American musical with a ravishing new production of Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon—and what...
So Fetch! SPHS Drama Club’s “Mean Girls” is Fizzy, Fearless, and Full of Heart
South Pasadena High School Drama Club delivers a Mean Girls that’s as sparkly and sharp as a Burn Book page—until it quietly turns the...
Love is Love at New Revival of “La Cage Aux Folles” at Pasadena Playhouse
The message of the new revival of the beloved Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein musical comes in loud, proud and clear; love is love...
Pacific Overtures Bears Witness to History
UPDATE: Now extended through December 8
East West Players opened it’s third production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Pacific Overtures”, directed by Tim Dang, on Sunday and...
An Enchanting Midsummer Night’s Dream Awaits You
“It's been around for 500 years for a reason,” says director Nick Hoffa about Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. “The plot is incredibly intricate and...
KOOZA! Cirque du Soleil Makes Triumphant Return to Santa Monica Pier
The roar from the crowd was thunderous as Cirque du Soleil’s KOOZA premiered at Santa Monica Pier Thursday night. The audience was filled with...
The Mark Taper is Back with an Explosive “American Idiot”
A palpable energy was in the air as the Mark Taper Forum came roaring back Wednesday night with the explosive premiere of Green Day’s...
It’s a Joyful SEUSSICAL Jr. at Young Stars Theatre Academy
A joyful noise is not only emanating from a small speck of dust, but also from Fremont Centre Theatre as Young Stars Theatre Academy...
A Wild “Skin of Our Teeth” Tells a Human Story at A Noise Within
A Noise Within has kicked off their 2024-25 “True Grit” season with a deliriously theatrical and irresistible production of Thornton Wilder’s 1942 Pulitzer Prize...
DRAGON LADY Part I of The Dragon Cycle
On the eve of her 60th birthday, Maria Porkalob Sr. fires up her new karaoke machine to regale her granddaughter Sara with her astonishing...
Cyrano de Bergerac at Pasadena Playhouse Asks Us to Look Inward
Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, freely and radically adapted by Martin Crimp and directed by Mike Donahue, is a boldly poetic retelling of a...
A Most Delightful “Into The Woods” at Young Stars Theatre Academy
Young Stars Theatre Academy's summer theatre camps are in full swing with two, back to back productions of Stephen Sondheim's "Into The Woods Jr."...
Hitchcockian Comedy Awaits You in ‘The 39 Steps’ at South Pasadena Theatre Workshop
Looking for a laugh? I mean the kind of side-splitting laugh that we all need right now? Look no further than the absolutely madcap,...
Wine & Song Begins New Residency at THE DAILY
Brad Colerick is pleased to announce a new residency for WINE & SONG at Justin Prietto's new restaurant in South Pasadena, THE DAILY, located...
Music Center Spotlight Winner, Holly Lacey of South Pasadena
Holly Lacey, a rising senior at South Pasadena High School, has won the prestigious Music Center Spotlight Competition in the classical instrumental category. “It...
4th of July Pancake Breakfast South Pasadena | Fire Station Hosts the Kiwanis Club...
Hundreds of South Pasadenans came out bright and early for the much anticipated and beloved tradition of the Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast on 4th...
H@ppy F@ggot | A Gen X Love Story
Scot Zeller recently found himself in a small theatre sitting next to a very young, out and proud person that he found fascinating. He...
“Tiny Father” Tackles Big Problems | Mike Lew’s new play at Geffen Playhouse
It’s 2am in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when we meet Daniel, the new father of a very sick baby, born prematurely at 24...
SPHS Graduation 2024 | “Don’t Wave No Goodbye”
As the strains of pomp and circumstance rang out, played by the SPHS orchestra led for a final time by Howard Crawford, the South...
HAY FEVER | A Wacky Weekend in the Country
A delightful afternoon tea of witty banter and British madcap shenanigans await you at the South Pasadena Theatre Workshop production of “Hay Fever”, Noel...
Movies in the Park 2024 | Summer in South Pasadena
The South Pasadena Community Services Department will host three dates of Movies in the Park this summer. Admission is free and patrons are encouraged...
JELLY’S LAST JAM Electrifies the Pasadena Playhouse
It’s 1941 and jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton has died and is lying on a gurney at the Los Angeles County Coroner. He wakes...
A Subversive Delight Awaits You at A Noise Within’s MISALLIANCE
What I love about A Noise Within is that they consistently bring us lushly designed, beautifully produced classical works that, more often than not,...
The Last Five Years deconstructs a Marriage | theatre review
A young woman is alone and bereft in her New York apartment, packing her things as she sings of the sad and bewildering end...
Wine & Song | A Backyard Hootenanny
We are fortunate to have an amazing amount of talent right here in the Nine Ten Thirty zip code and this Wednesday our local...
Final Wine & Song at Lost Parrot Cafe | Wednesday May 22
This Wednesday, May 22, 2024 marks the final Wine & Song of its Lost Parrot Cafe residency. What a terrific run of incredible shows...
The Wonder and Mystery of “The Body’s Midnight” at Boston Court
It’s the beginning of summer in California when we meet Anne as she contemplates a lime. She’s thinking of the tree in her backyard...
Wine & Song at Lost Parrot Cafe | Trailand Eltzroth, Jeff Berkley & Paula...
Let's keep the music rockin', post Eclectic Music Festival. Come on out to Wine & Song at Lost Parrot Cafe Wednesday evening at 7pm....
BRIGHT STAR has a Powerful Story to Tell
The ebullient, young cast of Bright Star, at South Pasadena High School, leaves it all on the stage and sings their earnest hearts out...
SPARC 15th Year Celebration Inaugurates New Permanent Home
Members of the South Pasadena Arts Council, along with city officials and South Pasadenan arts advocates gathered at the site of SPARC’s new gallery...
