.png)
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 Magical Peter Pan at SPHS
South Pasadena High School put on a spectacular production of Peter Pan this past weekend that had the capacity crowds cheering. From the moment Peter Pan burst through that London window on a flourish...
“The Originalist”- A Fascinating Play for our Time
As the lights dim slightly in the beautiful Pasadena Playhouse, Edward Gero as Antonin Scalia, comes walking forward in full Supreme Court robe as Opera plays to address us directly. The Opera is a...
Ensemble Shakespeare’s Innovative & Intimate “Lear’s Shadow”
From the moment I entered what appears to be a rehearsal room set up for a table read of a play; tables and chairs facing center, covered in scripts and cups of pens with...
A Daring “Man of La Mancha” at A Noise Within
A Noise Within boldly closes out it’s “Beyond Our Wildest Dreams” 25th season with a crackling reimagining of the musical “Man Of La Mancha”. Inspired by the novel “Don Quixote de La Mancha” by...
A Poignant King Lear at A Noise Within
ANW’s superb repertory company takes on Lear as a contemplation of one family’s journey through the devastating effects of dementia. It is at once disturbing and powerful as we watch the ravages of the...
Sublime “Ah Wilderness!” at A Noise Within
Written by Eugene O’Neill in three weeks during the depression, “Ah Wilderness!” is a delightful reverie about the family he never had. In fact, he said the story came to him in a dream...
A Beautiful “Our Town” at SPHS
As patrons take their seats, an actor walks on stage to adjust a chair, pick up a prop and look about as the lights dim. He steps forward into the light and begins telling...
Cirque du Soleil Comes To Town With “TORUK”
Cirque du Soleil’s new adventure, TORUK, is visually spectacular storytelling that takes you on a journey to the world of Pandora in a way that only Cirque can do. It’s a bit of a...
Uproarious production of “The Imaginary Invalid”
A Noise Within opened a deliriously mad production of Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid” that is at once completely free and rigorously precise. Director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott takes on Moliere’s quintessential hypochondriac with all the sardonic...
Incandescent ‘The Fantasticks’ at Pasadena Playhouse
A small troupe of actors break into an old, abandoned theatre and begin scavenging for props and costumes as two musicians find their way to an old piano and a harp. A dashing and...
Gripping Production of THE MAIDS at A Noise Within
Jean Genet’s play “The Maids” is a multi-layered play of rituals, fantasies, masks and mirrors whose story’s origin borrows from the notorious Papin case of 1933. Christine and Lea Papin murdered their mistress and...
The Golden Dragon – A Potent Dish Served Up Hot
In the steamy, cramped kitchen of the Thai/Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant, The Golden Dragon, five cooks are madly chopping, frying and calling out orders, “Number 6: Thai soup with chicken, coconut milk, Thai ginger, tomatoes, button...
Fascinating CASA VALENTINA at Pasadena Playhouse
Harvey Fierstein’s Tony nominated play, “Casa Valentina”, gets its West Coast premiere at Pasadena Playhouse with a luminous cast full of Broadway & television veterans and directed with grace and pathos by David Lee.
The...
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change – A Side-Splitting Must See!
Stop what you are doing and run, don’t walk, to grab your seat and hold on for the ride that is “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at the Fremont Centre Theatre! Running...
FLY Soars at Pasadena Playhouse
FLY opened at Pasadena Playhouse last week with a stirring production that is a visceral education about the heroic story of the Tuskegee Airmen. In attendance at this West Coast premiere were several of the...
