The Hollywood Bowl for Summer

HOLLYWOOD BOWL: I know I kicked off with the Hollywood Bowl last month, but there are two shows this month that I feel really need your attention. The first is the 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular with Steve Martin & Martin Short. Sure, the word “Spectacular” gets batted around a lot, but it only starts to describe the fireworks at The Bowl. After an evening of orchestral pops and the comedy of Martin and Short, the firework display is absolutely amazing.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic plays a medley of patriotic tunes while hundreds and hundreds of pyrotechnics are ignited in absolute synch to the magnificent music. And it seems to go on and on. The same show will be presented on July 2, 3 and 4.

The other Bowl show you should know about is a concert staging of Kinky Boots, the musical. With music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein, the tale of a young Brit who inherits his family’s shoe business is packed with pop music and drag queens – lots and lots of drag queens. Charlie, the heir to the factory, is a straight man with fiancé in tow, but he meets a free-spirited drag performer named Lola, played by Wayne Brady (who played the role briefly on Broadway).

Lola’s club act includes her ”Angels,” a group of drag artistes. Most of us know Lola needs thigh-high boots, Charlie gets his factory to manufacture them, and they become a worldwide hit, marketed as Kinky Boots. A concert staging means the Philharmonic will be visible on stage behind the performers. There will be full costumes and many set pieces, but not full backdrops, etc. Each summer’s stage musical is a big hit so this one is scheduled for three nights (and the Bowl seats 18,000!). Plays July 8, 9 and 10. Tickets/info at www.hollywoodbowl.com.

MOULIN ROUGE: I have not been to New York since this show opened so I bought my July seats at the beginning of this year. Based loosely on Baz Luhrmann’s film, it is a love story surrounded by spectacle and lots of popular tunes such as “Lady Marmalade,” “Roxanne,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Royals” and many, many more. Plays through September 4 at Hollywood’s beautiful Pantages Theatre. www.BroadwayInHollywood.com

DEAR EVAN HANSEN: Do not be turned off by the failed attempt to film this musical last year. There is a reason this show is still playing on Broadway and in fact booking its second tour to Los Angeles. Evan Hansen, a 17-year-old with social anxiety issues is told by his therapist to write letters to himself. One of those letters end up in the pocket of a student who commits suicide and that student’s parents decide that Evan must have been their son’s only friend. Evan encourages that belief and the rest of the show is about the results of that ruse. The music is very upbeat and the book and lyrics funny and hip. Plays at the Los Angeles Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center through July 31. www.centertheatregroup.org