Harmonica Virtuoso Buster Shows Fun in Getting Blues

Audiences at this week’s “Open House at the Hollywood Bowl,” the weekly performance series for ages 3-12, are being treated to a taste of the blues courtesy of Brody Buster, a blues harmonica virtuoso fresh from the Montreux Jazz Festival who shares the bill with acclaimed storyteller Diane Ferlatte.

Buster, who has played with and won the esteem of the legendary B.B. King, fronts his own “Black, White and Blues Band,” has recorded on the Motown label with the Four Tops, opened for Jerry Seinfeld in Las Vegas and has made several national TV appearances. But there’s one more thing that makes this accomplished artist a natural for this particular gig.

Brody Buster is only 11 years old.

The rockin’ phenom, a fifth grader from Kansas, started playing the blues harp at 7. Since age 9, he has been wowing audiences, skeptical critics and jazz pros.

* “It’s a True Story, Buster,” Hollywood Bowl, Box Office Circle area, today-Friday, 10 and 11:15 a.m. (Arts workshops with Riua Akinsheguin and West African drummers follow at 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.) Shows: $3; workshops: $1. (213) 850-2000.

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Outdoor Play: For a summer afternoon of enchantment, don’t miss the return of Theatricum Botanicum’s spirited Shakespeare-under-the-trees production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” beginning Aug. 3 at the rustic outdoor theater in Topanga. Preschoolers are too young for it, but this playful tale of mischievous fairies, thwarted young lovers and mistaken identity, which was a highlight of last year’s summer season at the theater, is a sunlit romp for the rest of the family.

* “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, Saturdays at 4 p.m., Aug. 3-Sept. 14 and Sundays at 7:30 p.m., Aug. 11-Sept. 15. $15; $8.50, seniors and students; $4 for ages 6-12. (310) 455-3723.

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Monster Mishmash: “The Secret of the Webbing Purple” at the quaint, kid-friendly Enchanted Forest in Woodland Hills, an original musical by Francine Greshler Feldmann, has a work-in-progress feel, the whimsical charm of an elementary school play and not much finesse.

The cast, a mix of adults and children, includes Renee Cohen as Madeleina, who must brave the dreaded “Webbing Purple” monster (Rundy Duphiney) to find her cat Mike (Nik Duphiney). She is helped by forest friends, including Tamaras Tomato (opera singer Elizabeth Bice, in tomato padding, fishnet stockings and heels).

There’s little dynamism in Caroline Marshall’s staging, but on the plus side, the monster is truly scary, Cohen has a confident “Annie”-style voice and Lalaine Vergara Paras, a tiny sprite with droll personality plus, is a comical Bee.

Feldmann’s pop-style score is tuneful with a couple of standout numbers, although her lyrics come a cropper now and then: “We’re all sensitive, we’ll stay that way until we’re old, but I’d love to dance with you. . . .”

A more professionally presented version of the story, narrated by Burgess Meredith, with vocals by Feldmann and Kent Fox, is available on a modestly produced audiocassette.

* “The Secret of the Webbing Purple,” Enchanted Forest, 20929 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills Village Shopping Center, Monday-Friday, 2 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m., no performances this Sunday. Ends Aug. 3. $10; (818) 716-7202. Running time: Under one hour.

* Audiocassette: Blue Dalmatian Productions, P.O. Box 902, Santa Barbara, CA 93102, $11.