“Am I putting him on or vice versa?”

It’s a quote from screenwriter Marty Kaplan’s 1992 film adaptation of Noises Off, the perfectly absurd play about the perfect absurdity of putting on a play, written by Michael Frayn in 1982. It’s also one of the quotes my dad and I toss back and forth when the people in our lives get wacky, and it has been since we first saw the film starring Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Nicollette Sheridan, Marilu Henner, and Michael Caine and directed by Peter Bogdonovich. That was sometime before laser discs (we later bought, then lost a treasured copy). Still, I didn’t see Noises Off the play until the classical repertory company A Noise Within debuted their production in Glendale last fall.

To any production—film or stage—the first act of Noises Off is crucial: A “tech” rehearsal of Nothing On (the play within the play), it introduces us to the characters of Noises Off and the characters they play in Nothing On. Still with me? Good. Here, Geoff Elliot (as exasperated director Lloyd), Deborah Strang (as washed-up star Dotty), Jill Hill (as drama-queen Brenda Blair), Stephen Rockwell (as oversensitive actor Federick), Mikael Salazar (as vocabulary-challenged actor Garry), Apollo Dukakis (as alcoholic old-timer Selsdon), and Lenne Klingaman (as fragile stage manager Poppy) do a fine job setting up the ensuing farce. At times their lines, often passive-agressive quips that end in “darling,” pass too quickly to sink in, but the players pick up depth as they go on. Emily Kosloski, who only recently joined A Noise Within and plays dim-witted beauty Brooke, and Shaun Anthony, who plays overworked stagehand Tim, are fun to watch throughout.

The production’s impressive staging—a large set that requires seven crew members to turn around between the first and second acts and back again between the second and third—keeps the audiences in on both sides of the joke, literally.  It's exhausting just to watch, but seeing the stagehands at work adds yet another layer of meta to the drama.

I can't say that Noises Off is particularly relevant today—the closest the story gets to gloom and financial doom is two characters evading Brittain’s Inland Tax Revenue in Nothing On—but who cares. It’s hysterical and smart. And there is one other quote from the script, one that might be comforting to recall when life goes from wacky to worse: “If we can just get through the play once tonight - for doors and sardines. That's what it's all about, doors and sardines. Getting on, getting off. Getting the sardines on, getting the sardines off. That's farce. That's the theatre. That's life.”

A Noise Within has extended their production of Noises Off with eight performances February 5 – 14.

This weekend is your last chance to visit Chairry, Pterri and Pee Wee Herman himself at Club Nokia. I saw the show recently and grinned when the hyperventilating fan seated nearby squealed “NO! WAY!” as the familiar zigzaged and checkerboarded Playhouse set emerged from the darkness. I have to admit it was pretty magical to see these old TV friends appear before you in real life and three dimensions, even though the show runs about the length of three episodes of Pee Wee’s Playhouse. If I was watching at home I would have gotten up to make a sandwich, but the joy of the crowd around me was intoxicating and the parade of characters was nonstop. It’s hard to believe that the first Pee Wee Herman Show (1981) is now older than Pee Wee’s beloved 1950s educational films were when he made that first HBO Special. I really hope this helps get his new movie made, but might suggest that Pee Wee’s biggest adventures have always been outside the playhouse walls.

Let me be clear. I don’t like Las Vegas. I can’t imagine there is anything that will ever get me to change my mind. However, every once in a while I find something so irresistible to do there I eschew my hatred, deal with America’s mecca for smokers, and book a flight to sin city. In this case, it was the last performance of Bette Midler’s The Showgirl Must Go On at Caesars Palace.

For some reason, I chose to arrive a day before The Divine M’s performance. What am I, crazy? So what did I do? I went to see Divas Las Vegas at the Imperial Palace. The show, hosted by Frank Marino (in drag as Joan Rivers), features a who’s who of divas all performed by men in drag. Amongst the “stars” who graced the stage were Britney Spears, Diana Ross, Beyoncé, Cher, Madonna, Tina Turner, Liza Minnelli and of course, Bette Midler. For a split second I was hoping that the real Bette would make an appearance to see her drag alter-ego as her character did in The Rose. But that was just my imagination running away with me. Joseph Santellano, who portrayed Bette Midler, was very good indeed. And the show itself was entertaining. Not only did my seat give me a good view of the action on stage, I was also able to see into the wings and watch some very fine-bodied men get ready for each number. It would be nice, however, if occasionally drag shows had performers who actually sang in addition to getting dolled up as their favorite women instead of just lip-synching. There goes that imagination of mine again.

Sunday night was the big event. I had great seats and was ready for a great evening. Long before Ms. Midler stepped on stage, the energy within the Coliseum Theatre was palpable. We knew it was going to be a significant evening and she certainly didn’t disappoint. Sure, the show was probably the same show she had performed over her two years there, but this performance was tinged with a combination of exuberance and sadness.

Bette Midler still has it. She can sing, she can dress like a mermaid and operate an electric wheel chair better than anyone else, she can tell dirty jokes and she can relate to her audience in such an intimate way that, in spite of there being over 4,000 people, you feel at moments like she is singing just for you.

There were two unique moments in the show that deserve mention. The first was when she brought ukulele player (I should probably say maestro) Jake Shimabukuro, who accompanied Ms. Midler on “In My Life,” to the stage. They had performed this song for the Queen (I relinquish “the” to HRM) last year. It was beautiful. While she left the stage to “iron her next costume,” Mr. Shimabukuro played a solo version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” He was staggeringly brilliant. Jeff Beck would have been awestruck. (See him do a version of it here)

Speaking of brilliant, Ms. Midler called Gladys Knight to the stage and she sang “The Way We Were.” I know someone else had a hit with that song, but I can’t remember her name because this performance made everyone forget the song has ever been done before.

It was clearly an emotional night for Ms. Midler. The crew at the theater built a sign that said “Aloha Bette” at the top rear of the theater. She appeared to break down a few times in the last third of the show. But with the support of her 13-piece band, the Harlettes, the Caesar Salad Girls, and her audience (which included Wayne Newton, Robert Wagner, Marie Osmond, Carole Bayer Sager, and yours truly), she made it a one-of-a-kind night that none of us will ever forget. Or, in the words of one concertgoer at the end of the show, “That was so much better than Cher!”

A mellow crowd made its way to the front half of Echo Park’s Echoplex on Thursday night when the Fruit Bats took the stage following DJ Turquoise Wisdom, Extra Classic, and Citay in a “Filter presents” lineup.

Lead singer Eric Johnson (also of The Shins) opened the show with his glasses on, but took them off when they wouldn’t stay put. That made it hard for the self-described  “helpless man-child” to read the set list but no matter, he got a little help from his friends—including bassist Ron Lewis, also a Shins band member.

I was interested in going to the show to hear “When U Love Somebody” live—an adorable pop song featured in Youth in Revolt. I hoped they’d have some other engaging songs too, and they did. Between “Magic Hour,” a dreamy love song, a rocking cover of Neil Young’s “Revolution Blues,” and the slow, country-inspired “Singing Joy to The World,” the band I knew very little about impressed me. They performed a standout cover of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” so naturally it could pass as one of their own, then rounded out the set by honoring fans requests (and requesting some Guinness for themselves). By the time they wound down to a quiet end, the Portland-by-way-of-Chicago band found a fan in me. I went home and looked up some of the songs they played. Both 2003’s Mouthfuls and 2009’s The Ruminant Band include enough good songs to merit purchasing the full albums—and that’s just half of the decade-old band’s discography. Their debut album, Echolocation, came out in ’01, and Spelled in Bones which features the Rilo Kiley-esque “Earthquake of ’73,” was their ‘03 release. Check them out, I did and it led me to some fetching new iTunes.

Photographs courtesy MySpace.com

MTV abandoned music videos long ago, but can you imagine a world where your favorite TV show doesn’t open with a theme song? Where SNL doesn’t have guest music appearances?  It isn’t pretty, and that’s why The Grammy Foundation set out to raise awareness of the important relationship between music and television with a star-studded event, “Cue the Music: A Celebration Of Music And Television," the 12th Annual Grammy Foundation Music Preservation Project at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Thursday night.

Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson, the host for the night, described the event, which showcased TV footage from the Paley Center for Media, as a “tribute to the synchronicity between television and music” throughout American history. A black and white clip of The Beatles crooning “She Loves Me” on The Ed Sullivan Show served as an introduction for singer-songwriters Colbie Calliat and Jason Mraz, who took the stage barefoot and filled the cozy theater with a harmonic rendition of Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual.”  The duo behind the Grammy-winning song “Lucky” then paid tribute to The Sonny and Cher Show by singing “I Got You Babe.” Calliat, in a glimmering cream sequined dress, looked her part. Jason made for a taller Sonny, (thankfully) sans ‘stache.

Their performance just got things started: Latin Grammy-winner Jorge Moreno then paid homage to I Love Lucy, Solomon Burke performed “Woke Up This Morning” (to the delight of the Sopranos fans in the audience), Melanie Fiona took the stage in black chiffon to honor Kermit the Frog with a tear-jerking rendition of  “The Rainbow Connection,” which was first written and performed for Sesame Street; and Train front man Patrick Monahan sang  “Video Killed the Radio Star,” the first song that aired on MTV.

Finally, Robinson introduced a band who “led the way in promoting music through alternative techniques” by airing in 2006 on four TV shows: Scrubs, One Tree Hill, Cold Case, and Grey’s Anatomy. The Fray took the stage, with lead singer Isaac Slade, who is more used to mosh pits than theater seating, asking everyone to stand for his grand piano performances of “You Found Me” and “How to Save a Life,” which were passionate enough to guarantee a standing ovation anyway.

The night was a perfect prelude to Sunday’s Grammy Awards, where Jason Mraz took home an award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. I hope the Grammy Foundation preserves footage from “Cue the Music” in their permanent collection. It would make for great TV.