<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>John Fleck Archives - Cultural Attaché</title> <atom:link href="https://culturalattache.co/tag/john-fleck/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://culturalattache.co/tag/john-fleck/</link> <description>The Guide to Arts and Culture events in and around Los Angeles</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2022 19:38:47 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2</generator> <item> <title>Stage Interview Highlights 2022</title> <link>https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/29/stage-interview-highlights-2022/</link> <comments>https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/29/stage-interview-highlights-2022/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 29 Dec 2022 08:01:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Musicals: 5-6-7-8]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Performers: Close-Up]]></category> <category><![CDATA[The Play's The Thing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[What's Hot]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Adam Pascal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bobby Conte]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Funny Girl]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jason Yeager]]></category> <category><![CDATA[John Fleck]]></category> <category><![CDATA[John Rubinstein]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Joshua Henry]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Julie Benko]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Julie Halston]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Wayne Cilento]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=17595</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Including two Tony Award winners and one funny girl.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/29/stage-interview-highlights-2022/">Stage Interview Highlights 2022</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>We shared with you our classical music and jazz interview highlights from 2022 earlier this week. Now let’s talk plays and musicals in our Stage Interview Highlights from 2022.</p> <p><a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/02/24/john-fleck-still-finds-reasons-to-believe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Fleck</a> rose to a certain type of fame when he was labeled one of the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) Four. Conservatives didn’t like the art he was creating and were up in arms about his receiving money from the NEA. That didn’t stop him and nothing has slowed him down since that controversy erupted in 1990. We spoke about his show <em>It’s Alive, It’s Alive!</em> and his career. He’s wildly entertaining.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe title="John Fleck: The Cultural Attaché Interview" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eKZttCtkRvM?start=3&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p>Before <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/04/28/joshua-henry-talks-all-about-broadway/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joshua Henry</a> joined the Encores! production of <em>Into the Woods</em>, we spoke with him about his Broadway career which included <em>In the Heights</em>, <em>The Scottsboro Boys</em> and a revival of <em>Carousel</em>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe title="Joshua Henry The Cultural Attaché Interview SD 480p" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8r_hmq1dwB4?start=1&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p>We first got to know <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/05/24/wayne-cilento-can-still-do-that-fosse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wayne Cilento</a> as an original member of the Broadway cast of <em>A Chorus Line</em>. He’s the director behind the upcoming revival of Bob Fosse’s <em>Dancin’</em> which will open on Broadway in 2023. This production began its life at The Old Globe in San Diego. So we talked all things Fosse (and perhaps a little <em>A Chorus Line)</em>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe title="Wayne Cilento: The Cultural Attaché Interview SD 480p" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8ywB5FddSM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p><a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/06/21/adam-pascal-is-walking-back-to-pretty-woman/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adam Pascal</a> is best-known for originated the role of Roger in <em>Rent</em>. This year he was on the road in the musical <em>Pretty Woman</em>. We talked about <em>Rent</em>, <em>Pretty Woman</em> and coming to grips with the ups and downs of fame.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="Adam Pascal The Cultural Attaché Interview SD 480p" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gFNWbT4bPug?start=2&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p><a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/08/12/along-the-way-bobby-conte-is-living-a-lot/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bobby Conte</a> had just finished his run in <em>Company</em> on Broadway when we caught up with him before he was performing his show <em>Along the Way</em>. He talked about Sondheim, LuPone (Patti, of course) and his approach to music.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="Bobby Conte The Cultural Attaché Interview HD 720p" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C2FBWUqWeNs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p>If anyone had a Cinderella story this year it was Broadway star <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/08/25/julie-benko-and-jason-yeager-go-hand-in-hand/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julie Benko</a>. She was Beanie Feldstein’s understudy in <em>Funny Girl</em> before taking on the role full time until Lea Michelle joined the show. We spoke with her and husband Jason Yeager about their album <em>Hand in Hand</em>, but you don’t think we ignored <em>Funny Girl</em> do you?</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="Julie Benko and Jason Yeager The Cultural Attaché Interview HD 720p" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ro8tjG3bl4Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p><a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/10/15/julie-halston-talks-life-love-and-nude-beaches/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julie Halston</a> is one-of-a-kind. She’s also a Broadway star, has a recurring role on <em>And Just Like That</em>, and a wonderful conversationalist. This might be our most purely enjoyable interview of the year.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="Julie Halston The Cultural Attaché Interview HD 720p" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7OJchhSDgGM?start=365&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p><a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/11/03/tony-winner-john-rubinstein-goes-solo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Rubinstein</a> originated the role of <em>Pippin</em> in the Stephen Schwartz musical directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. He’s currently on stage in his first one-man show as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Los Angeles. We talked Ike, Fosse and politics!</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="John Rubinstein The Cultural Attaché Interview HD 720p" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H7b3c4ZjT68?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p>Those are just some of our Stage Interview Highlights from 2022. Be sure to go to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@attache4culture/featured" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube channel</a> to check out all of our interviews to date and to subscribe.</p> <p>Tomorrow we conclude our interview highlights with some of our favorite interviews from the world of opera!</p> <p>Photo: Jared Grimes and Julie Benko in <em>Funny Girl</em> (Courtesy Polk and Company)</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/29/stage-interview-highlights-2022/">Stage Interview Highlights 2022</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2022/12/29/stage-interview-highlights-2022/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>John Fleck Still Finds Reasons to Believe</title> <link>https://culturalattache.co/2022/02/24/john-fleck-still-finds-reasons-to-believe/</link> <comments>https://culturalattache.co/2022/02/24/john-fleck-still-finds-reasons-to-believe/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Performers: Close-Up]]></category> <category><![CDATA[What's Hot]]></category> <category><![CDATA[it's alive It's Alive!]]></category> <category><![CDATA[John Fleck]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Odyssey theatre]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://culturalattache.co/?p=15904</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>"I want to have faith that this democracy can survive. I want to have faith that that the polarization can stop that. There's a way to communicate humanely with one another."</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/02/24/john-fleck-still-finds-reasons-to-believe/">John Fleck Still Finds Reasons to Believe</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>“I do push a lot of buttons. But it’s the side effect of being a channeler of our zeitgeist.” For five decades performance artist John Fleck has been pushing buttons. His early performances in bars and clubs in Los Angeles and New York are the stuff of legend. He regularly challenges the status quo as he did in 1990 when he was part of the <em>NEA Four</em> who battled conservative politicians on the subject of obscenity. Their case went all the way to the Supreme Court and they were victorious. He’s a provocateur whose shows have been performed across the country.</p> <p>Just as theater has returned to performances, so has Fleck. His new show, <em><a href="https://odysseytheatre.com/whats-on/its-alive-its-alive/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it’s alive, It’s Alive</a></em> just opened at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. It is arguably Fleck’s most topical show as it covers everything from the pandemic to cancel culture and everything in-between. Fleck plays multiple characters and sings a diverse selection of songs.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15908" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Scott-Roberts-John-Snow-and-John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Scott Roberts, John Snow and John Fleck in “it’s alive, It’s Alive!” (Photo by Cooper Bates/Courtesy Odyssey Theatre Ensemble)</figcaption></figure></div> <p>When we spoke last week via Zoom (you can see the full interview <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKZttCtkRvM" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a> on our YouTube channel) Fleck, who turned 70 last year, still has a lot on his mind. Surprisingly having faith in these troubled times is amongst the reasons Fleck has to believe. </p> <p>“This was to celebrate the resiliency of a theater and our spirit,” he said of the show’s creation. “You know, it’s alive. It’s alive. Then it started to get deeper. It’s alive. It’s alive! There was a virus going around it and the politics, I mean it’s a monster. So I just channeled all of this stuff and out it popped.”</p> <p>Fleck revealed his goal in creating the show, which had a workshop production at the Odyssey Theater last year.</p> <p>“I’m channeling not just the world, like all the fear. I’m channeling extreme right wing fear and I’m channeling the left wing fear and I create these characters. I pretty much created like an opera of sorts where I created this mythological COVID germ that I play who’s just all about love. They’re not here to kill us. They’re here to actually save humankind. It’s all packaged in a lovely cabaret. Sometimes it makes an audience go, ‘you’re going too far,’ but that’s what I love to do.”</p> <p>Reading the <em>rehearsal script</em> for <em>it’s alive, It’s Alive!</em> makes it clear this is a very timely show. Fleck is aware of its topicality and also of its shelf life.</p> <p>“This is a show in the moment. I have no plans to do this show again. It’s just too contemporary. It’s a living organism and it has to be done now. That was always the nature of my work when I started doing performance pieces. You know, I studied with Rachel Rosenthal and those folks and I was really into these happenings like, you create a show, you do it and then you move on. So I create a new show every year. But then I started realizing that’s too much work. So I started running shows and they were generic enough in terms of times the specificity that I could do them a year later, two years later; like my last show, <em>Blacktop Highway</em>. I could still do that. But this show is definitely a living entity and has to be done now. Or it’s like cheese. We have to eat it now or it’s going to get moldy.”</p> <p>When asked if his audience is mostly filled with like-minded people, Fleck makes it clear that he is equal opportunity with his commentary.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15909" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-696x392.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1-747x420.jpg 747w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/John-Fleck-in-22its-alive-Its-Alive22-Photo-by-Cooper-Bates-Courtesy-Odyssey-Theatre-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>John Fleck in “it’s alive, It’s Alive!” (Photo by Cooper Bates/Courtesy Odyssey Theatre Ensemble)</figcaption></figure></div> <p>“I like to kind of like tear both sides apart a little bit so we can take a look inside what motivates both. I address the whole like cancel culture thing. My family in Cleveland loves to call us the cancel culture. But you know how loud the right wing cancel culture is? We both got to see how we’re both involved in this. It’s a dialog. It’s a conversation. They’re calling me cancel culture and us cancel culture. And yet they’re canceling abortion, right? They can say, like in Florida, don’t say ‘gay.’ I think we all need to just take a good look at ourselves. Some shits and giggles kind of helps diffuse the tension, if you ask me.”</p> <p>While continuing to question what we’ve become as a society, Fleck offers a surprising perspective.</p> <p>“Everything seems to be black and white. You’re either a liberal or conservative or none or you’re pro-life or pro-choice or, or pro-gay, anti-gay. I don’t know just what happened. I don’t know. It’s hard to have faith sometimes when when I see what’s going on. But hey, I’d rather choose to have faith that that we can somehow get through this right now.”</p> <p>He then elaborates on his definition of faith.</p> <p>“God has kept this world spinning for a long time. Faith, you know, I always think is being in a 12-step program. There’s a lot of fear. But I think for me and for people I’ve talked to in my orbit, there’s a lot of faith. I want to have faith that this democracy can survive. I want to have faith that that the polarization can stop that. There’s a way to communicate humanely with one another. You hear the sea level is going to rise by a foot in 50 years. I mean, God, how do you have faith that the world is going to survive? I don’t know what what keeps us going. Why don’t we get up in the morning? I have faith that the day is going to be good.”</p> <p>I reminded him of a 1983 performance at the One Way Bar in Los Angeles where Fleck, donning a cardboard cake costume, dropped that costume and revealed himself to be naked. He then sang, “There’s no penis, like show penis, like no penis I know.” When he thought back to those days and looked at where he is today he was pleased with the decisions he’s made in his life.</p> <p>“I never imagined doing bigger shows. At the time I was just hoping they wouldn’t throw beer bottles at me. They were punk rockers. developed some really good survival skills and I kept studying. I feel I had a choice. Shall I come to New York? I really should become a more serious performance artist. There’s always this thing between New York and L.A. That New York was more serious. Who cares about theater in L.A. But you know what? Being here in L.A. was the best choice for me because I got the best of both worlds. I got to be a performance artist and I got to work in TV and some great roles.</p> <p>“I always feel I’m not a religious person, but I always feel like I had a guardian angel, a higher power, whatever you want to call it, looking over me. Thank God I was receptive enough to follow that path. I feel that creature who I was back then and in the 80s, getting on top of that bar, might have been mighty proud of what we became.”</p> <p><em>it’s alive, It’s Alive!</em> runs through March 20th. For tickets and more information, please go <a href="https://odysseytheatre.com/whats-on/its-alive-its-alive/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</p> <p>Main Photo by Cooper Bates/Courtesy Odyssey Theatre Ensemble</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2022/02/24/john-fleck-still-finds-reasons-to-believe/">John Fleck Still Finds Reasons to Believe</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2022/02/24/john-fleck-still-finds-reasons-to-believe/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>