![\"Gedde](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/IMG_6233.jpg\")
<\/a>Gedde Watanabe in the center. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the big one at the top of the page.<\/p><\/div>\n
[Note: If you\u2019re not familiar with the concept, or just need a refresher course (because they\u2019re usually performed around the December holidays, so it\u2019s been awhile since I\u2019ve explained them,) this is what a panto is: It\u2019s a really fun show based on a well-known fairy tale, but is not the exact story.\u00a0 It features\u00a0singing, dancing, some slapstick comedy, a male actor obviously playing a woman, a bunch of double entendres, and a lot of audience participation, often by loudly booing the villain.]<\/p>\n
To announce the new show for this season, and<\/em> new venue, (it moves from the usual Pasadena Playhouse to the humongous Pasadena Civic,) the producers held a lovely reception on the patio of Bistro 45, one of the few Pasadena eateries I reviewed in the early days of my former TV series,\u00a0Karen\u2019s Restaurant Revue<\/em>.\u00a0 So the entire evening was a win-win-win for me!\u00a0 Good food, with people I\u2019m a fan of, for an entertainment I\u2019m crazy about!\u00a0 You know that I was not going to miss this one!!!<\/p>\n Panto actors and producers. Back row: John Tartaglia, Jonah Platt, and Kris Lythgoe. Middle row: Gedde Watanabe. Lauren Taylor, Ben Giroux, Jared Gertner,and Josh Adamson. My New Best Friends, Kris and Becky Lythgoe, not only announced that the offering this year will be Beauty and the Beast–A Christmas Rose<\/em>, (which even Mr. X said will be a \u201clot of fun,\u201d) but they surprised us with the fact that they\u2019re also mounting different pantos in Laguna Beach, San Diego, and even Houston!\u00a0\u00a0You know that I\u2019m tempted to see them all<\/em>! (Well, maybe not the one in Houston because I\u2019ll still be sulking over their Astros beating my Yanks to get to the World Series this year.)<\/p>\n The one in Pasadena will\u00a0star a quartet of Broadway performers, most notably Gedde Watanabe of\u00a0Pacific Overtures<\/em>, whose first panto this will be. (I saw him in The Fantasticks<\/em> at the Pasadena Playhouse last year, and he was adorable, so I look forward to seeing him work again.) I noticed him at the party, being low-key but still holding court, and all of the people at his table had big smiles on their faces the whole time.<\/p>\n The meatballs. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Plentiful interesting hors d’oeuvres were passed for the first half of the fete. They included grilled shrimp, carrot and zucchini tempura, little beef meatballs (on spoons\u2014fun!,) mini salmon-caviar crepes, shot glasses of creamy tomato soup, (which was my fave, even in this heatwave!,) and not one, but two kinds of pizza.<\/p>\n After the appropriate length of time, there were several informative speeches, letting us know about the entire line-up. We also learned that there will be a few performances for the area school children, which, as a former teacher myself, warms my heart. With arts education funding being cut all the time, I\u2019m glad that someone is looking out for these kids!<\/p>\n An interesting decoration on the patio–a Xmas tree made out of empty wine bottles! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Many of the actors who will be performing in the various pantos were on hand to join in the celebration. I was really happy to chat with the dynamic duo of Ben Giroux and Josh Adamson again; they played Cinderella\u2019s wicked stepsisters last year, and they were a riot! (If you missed my review of that show, here ’tis: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/theatrechildren-a-cinderella-christmas<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Because of the larger venue, the run of the panto will be shorter this year, so please make sure you don\u2019t miss it. Even homebody Mr. X will be there! And, of course, so will I! (So, keep an eye out for my review of opening night in December.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PASADENA PANTO SEASON LAUNCH PARTY My regular readers know how much I love the Christmas \u201cpantos\u201d that the Lythgoe family has been bringing to Southern Californians for the past few years. [Note: If you\u2019re not familiar with the concept, or just need a refresher course (because they\u2019re usually performed around the December holidays, so it\u2019s<\/p>\n<\/a>
Front row: Garrett Clayton, Becky Lythgoe,and Riley Costello. Photo by Kareem Cervantes of lowerkace media.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a>