Hoboken to Hollywood at Edgemar Center for the Arts

Hoboken to Hollywood

Edgemar Center for the Arts
2437 Main St. Santa Monica

Hoboken to Hollywood: A Journey Through the Great American Songbook, centers on Second Assistant Director Andy and his coming of age while forced into duty on an up and coming crooner's television variety special in the 1960's. The first act is full of Andy's foibles and failings, however in the second act, he is inspired to greatness by the subject of his camera's lens. Featuring many of your favorite songs from the Great American Songbook, the smooth vocal stylings of Luca Ellis, and the incredible 12 piece Paul Litteral Orchestra, we take a journey back in time, and across the country. From Andy's humble beginnings to his promotion amongst the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown.

Thru - Apr 23, 2011

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 3:00pm & 8:00pm

Sundays: 3:00pm

Price: $49.50

Show Type: Musical

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Hoboken to Hollywood Reviews

Average Rating based on 7 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Highly Recommended

"...An ongoing, supposedly comic off-camera crisis is pressed a bit too hard, and breaks for mock advertisements interrupt the smooth-cruising momentum. No matter. This show is a winner for creators Ellis and music director Paul Litteral, with a book by Ellis, Litteral and director Jeremy Aldridge -- all connected with iterations of the similar musical hit "Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara." Applause signs flash to cue audience response, but they're entirely unneeded."

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- Daryl H. Miller

LA Weekly - Highly Recommended

"... Musical director Litteral and his nattily dressed 12-member band (Jessica Olson's costumes are entirely on cue) combine into a flawless, robust performance redolent of the best of Ellington or Basie. Luca Ellis is a knockout from start to finish as the Crooner. How good is he? If you close your eyes while he sings familiar tunes such as "That's Life," "New York, New York" and "Fly Me to the Moon," you'd swear the Chairman himself had come back for one last encore. As masterfully woven together by director Aldridge, the material is so good that the applause signs aren't really needed."

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- Lovell Estell III

Backstage - Recommended

"...As Ellis suavely makes his way through the greatest-hits score (including "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Young at Heart," and "Blue Moon"), he brings to mind the sexy, dreamy style that Sinatra was known for, highlighted by inspired phrasing and impeccable musicianship. Yet the swoon-inducing Ellis wisely stops short of an all-out impersonation, inserting stylistic touches and a personality that are clearly his own, whetting one's appetite for seeing him in other choice musical roles."

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- Les Spindle

LA Theatre Review - Recommended

"...Thankfully, at the heart and soul of the production are the terrific musical numbers, both realistically derivative and highly entertaining in their own right. The gimmick of interweaving the songs with a tongue-in-cheek glimpse into the taping of a TV special is extremely clever, but compromised by some substandard performances by the supporting cast."

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- Joel Elkins

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Crooner Luca Ellis is currently onstage delivering a dizzying display of dazzling standards at The Edgemar in Santa Monica. Don't be deceived by the title Hoboken to Hollywood (and the subtitle A Journey Through the Great American Songbook) – this hit is much more than a cabaret-styled act that merely delivers tune after tune."

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- Tony Frankel

Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended

"...If last night's sell-out crowd is any indication, Hoboken To Hollywood could well go on to the kind of long-running, award-winning smash hit status achieved by Louis And Keely Live At The Sahara-and give Ellis the stardom that's rightly his. Reserve your tickets in advance. Hoboken To Hollywood is well on its way to becoming L.A.'s hottest ticket show."

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- Steven Stanley

StageHappenings.com - Recommended

"... the biggest moments of the show are when the real star performs. Listed in the program only as "The Crooner," the suave and handsome Luca Ellis is the epitome of Frank Sinatra in his early years. Ellis has Sinatra's phrasing, his mannerisms, his style and even his personality. He can show you that he is the "boss." But he can also show his compassionate side as well. He brings back memories when he sings such songs as Old Black Magic, That's Life, Blue Moon, One for My Baby, Young at Heart and, perhaps, the two most memorable, New York, New York and I Did It My Way (among many others). It is like hearing and seeing "old blue eyes" himself."

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- Carol Kaufman Segal

This show has been Jeff Recommended*

*The designation of "Jeff Recommended" is given to a production when at least ONE ELEMENT of the show was deemed outstanding by the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee.

Hoboken to Hollywood at Edgemar Center for the Arts