The number of small theatre companies scattered around the Los Angeles area precludes me from listing them in this article, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they too are not in on the "give the gift of theatre" game. Search the "Now Playing", "Coming Soon", and "Top Rated Plays" pages on TheatreInLA for a show that interests you, then check the company's website. If nothing is listed, give them a call. They may not offer formal gift certificates, but you might be surprised how many small theatres would be willing to work something out if it means more bodies in their seats.

Finally, while this desire for your patronage does mean that most places are fairly generous with things like expiration dates, remember that return policies, blackout dates, and other specifics will vary. Be a defensive shopper and read all terms and conditions carefully, and make sure the recipient understands them as well.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=60 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=60 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:11:41 -0600 Much Ado About Nothing beginning December 10 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. The performing company of 18 actors and musicians include Chris Butler, Ramon De Ocampo, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Grace Gummer, Helen Hunt, Tom Irwin, Brian Joseph, Greta Jung, Geoffrey Lower, Anthony Manough, Dakin Matthews, Stephen Root, Jared Sakren, FrEd Sanders, David Ogden Stiers, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins.

The full length of the engagement is only 23 performances from December 1 to 19, and is the first full-scale, indoor production presented by the Shakespeare Center. Mr. Donenberg directs, and the production features music by Mr. Lovett.

At last April's annual "Simply Shakespeare" fundraiser, Helen Hunt read the role of Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing." She loved doing it so much that she was quickly in discussions to do the role in a full production with Shakespeare Center's Founder and Executive Artistic Director Ben Donenberg, who was wanting something special to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Shakespeare Center.

Lovett came to the Shakespeare Center in the same way and appeared in two different "Simply Shakespeare" productions. "Much Ado About Nothing" will also be his first appearance in a main-stage Shakespeare Center production.

Director Ben Donenberg said, "We think that Lyle Lovett's music underscores the play exactly the same way the popular music Shakespeare selected to use way back when - and if you like a good grape stomping or know Lyle's lyric 'She's No Lady, She's My Wife,' you can get a feeling for the fun we're going to have with one of Shakespeare's most unlikely weddings."

Tickets for Much Ado About Nothing ($35 to $70, premium tickets also available) go on sale Tuesday, October 26 by phone at 213-628-2772, and online at CenterTheatreGroup.org/MuchAdo. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Center Theatre Group box office (at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles) or at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office two hours prior to performances.

For more information, visit www.shakespearecenter.org.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=59 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=59 Thu, 2 Dec 2010 19:00:37 -0600
On the timeless/classic/family-friendly axis, there are multiple productions of A Christmas Carol. The Sierra Madre Playhouse is presenting an "all-new musical stage adaptation...featuring both familiar Christmas songs and some musical surprises." A production at the Grove Theatre in Upland is being undertaken with a cast of 50. And the Crown City Theatre Company in North Hollywood is presenting something both familiar and a little different: A Chicago Christmas Carol fuses the Dickens story with Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, placing the action in the context of early 20th century labor reform as Scrooge becomes the heartless owner of a meatpacking plant, at least until the denizens of 1908 Chicago help him to change his ways.

Way back in 1992, author David Sedaris first made a name for himself on National Public Radio with an essay called "SantaLand Diaries", about his misadventures working as an elf at Macy's during Christmas time. It was a significant hit, and was subsequently adapted into a one-person play by Joe Mantello (Wicked, Take Me Out). This year, the Blank Theatre Company presents this stage version of The Santaland Diaries at the Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood.

The sheer variety of holiday-themed offerings almost ensures that there is something for everyone, no matter what their level of seasonal enthusiasm. Those looking to have a laugh at the expense of some well-worn holiday stories should check out The Eight: Reindeer Monologues ("What's the true story behind Rudolph's unlikely rise to fame? Does Mrs. Claus have a serious drinking problem?") at Chance Theater. There is also Yo Ho Ho! A Pirate's Christmas (pretty self-explanatory) at NoHo Arts Center, or perhaps The Zombie Holiday Special (ditto) at Theatre Asylum. And for the ultimate in Christmas humbuggery (and I mean that in every sense of the word), there is Merry Filthy Christmas, billed as no less than "the holidays' most disgustingly and disturbingly awesome show." You've been warned.

As stated, many of these shows are perfect for the entire family, while others are most assuredly not (see above). Please take the time to research individual plays you may be interested in. Information can be found by clicking on any of the titles listed on the TheatreInLA site, and from there you can also navigate to the theatre's website.

For a complete list of the holiday shows go to our Holiday Plays page.

Luke Heiden
Contributing Writer

Between October 2010 and June 2011, The Blank will introduce Los Angeles audiences to over 50 new plays through its various programming. Since 1990, The Blank has presented 42 mainstage productions, over 420 fully staged workshops of new plays (in its Living Room Series), and 208 plays by teenaged writers in its Annual Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival. Nearly all of this work has been produced in Hollywood.

20th Anniversary Season

TERRE HAUTE
by Edmund White
Directed by Kirsten Sanderson
October 2 - November 14, 2010 2nd Stage Theatre

Did you know that Timothy McVeigh and Gore Vidal were pen pals? What would their conversations have been like if they had ever met in person? Famed fiction writer Edmund White has imagined just that : f our prison house conversations between the nation's deadliest domestic terrorist and one of the world's most famous and opinionated gadflies. The names have been changed, the ideas have not. This intimate and fascinating portrait of two men, both firebrands who say and do as they believe, delves deeply into the idea of what it means to be American and what one believes they must do for their country.

If we didn't tell you the plays were by teenagers, you wouldn't know. The 12 best plays in the nation are chosen by a panel of theatre professionals from submissions by teenage playwrights. Winning writers are next assigned a mentor and then a professional director who guide their scripts to the stage.  We then cast the plays with some of Hollywood's hottest award-winning actors and present the work in a month-long festival. You have to see it to believe it!

The CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE 2010/2011 season:

The Television Classic Live on Stage!
HAPPY DAYS: A NEW MUSICAL
October 22 - October 31, 2010
Book by Garry Marshall
Music & Lyrics by Paul Williams
Based on the Paramount Pictures television series "Happy Days" created by Garry Marshall

Goodbye gray skies, hello blue!  Happy days are here again with Richie, Potsie, Ralph Malph and the unforgettable "king of cool," Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli.  Based on the hit Paramount Pictures' television series, HAPPY DAYS: A NEW MUSICAL takes audiences to 1959 Milwaukee, when the gang's favorite hang-out, Arnold's, is in danger of demolition!   It's up to Fonzie and the gang to save the day.  Featuring a new book by series creator Garry Marshall, and an entirely new score by Academy Award-winner Paul Williams.  Aaayyyyyy!  This brand new production of the beloved television show is going to have audiences rockin' and rollin'!  HAPPY DAYS: A NEW MUSICAL is recommended for all audiences.

THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES
February 4 - February 13, 2011
Written and Directed by Roger Bean

Following in the footsteps of such previous Cabrillo hits as BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO and THE ANDREWS BROTHERS, winter once again brings a premiere to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.    From Roger Bean, creator of THE ANDREWS BROTHERS, comes the Los Angeles and Off-Broadway hit, THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES.  Come to the 1958 Springfield High School prom, where Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy, better known as the Wonderettes, lead audiences on a musical cavalcade of 1950s and 1960s hits.  "Lollypop," "Mr. Sandman," "Born Too Late," "Sugartime," "It's In His Kiss," "Dream Lover," "Stupid Cupid," "Lipstick On Your Collar," "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," "It's My Party," "Rescue Me," "Respect," and "Son of a Preacher Man," are just some of the classic songs that make THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES a must-see for Cabrillo audiences.  Featuring Original New York cast members Beth Malone & Bets Malone, and New York/Los Angeles theatre veterans Misty Cotton and Darcie Roberts, THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES is the perfect early Valentine's Day date, and is recommended for all audiences.

THE PRODUCERS
The New MEL BROOKS Musical
April 8 - April 17, 2011
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks        

Outrageous, hilarious, a teeny bit offensive, off the wall, and the winner of a record 12 Tony Awards…. It can only mean THE PRODUCERS!  Mel Brooks' riotous musical comedy about a pair of theatre producers who attempt to put on the biggest flop of all time becomes Cabrillo Music Theatre's smash hit in the spring of 2011.  CMT's new production stars Larry Raben (star of THE ANDREWS BROTHERS, Ovation Award-winning director of Cabrillo's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN) and Michael Kostroff (television's SONNY WITH A CHANCE and THE WIRE).  They are joined by Cabrillo favorite David Engel (WHITE CHRISTMAS, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE ANDREWS BROTHERS) in the show-stealing role of Roger De Bris.    THE PRODUCERS contains some mature subject matter and language.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC
July 22-31, 2011
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Suggested by the "The Trapp Family Singers" by Maria Augusta Trapp 

Cabrillo's exhilarating 2010-2011 season comes to a close in the summer of 2011 when Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC takes the Kavli stage from July 22nd through July 31st.  When a postulant, Maria, proves too high-spirited for religious life, she is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval Captain.  Maria's growing rapport with the youngsters, coupled with her generosity of spirit, gradually captures the heart of the stern Captain.  The classic Rodgers and Hammerstein score features, "My Favorite Things," "Edelweiss," "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," and the title song.  THE SOUND OF MUSIC is perfect family entertainment, and is recommended for all audiences.

CABRILLO HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR
December 21 - December 24, 2010 

Continuing a new tradition of providing family entertainment during the holidays, Cabrillo Music Theatre once again presents a special Holiday Show from December 21st through the 24th, 2010.   And, once again, Cabrillo Music Theatre continues its commitment to those who serve in our country's Armed Forces, with a special performance dedicated to local troops and their families.  

Featuring the stars of Cabrillo past and present, 14 high-kicking dancers, an enormous Christmas tree and the Cabrillo Music Theatre Orchestra live on stage, the Cabrillo Holiday Spectacular will provide a lifelong memory for Cabrillo audiences.  The Cabrillo Holiday Spectacular, which plays for six performances only, is perfect family entertainment, and is recommended for all audiences.

Season ticket subscriptions to this blockbuster season are on sale now and can be purchased through the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office, or by calling Subscriber Services at 805/449.2775.   Season subscribers receive the best seats in the theatre, the ability to retain seats season after season, multiple discounts, lost ticket/exchange ticket services, and other privileges.   NOTE:  The CABRILLO HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR is not included in subscriptions, but season ticket subscribers can purchase tickets at discounted prices.

For tickets or ticket information, please call the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office at 805/449.2787; and for group sales of 12 or more, please call 805.497.8613.  The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA.

]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=48 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=48 Wed, 4 Aug 2010 21:16:36 -0500 A housekeeper who hates cleaning prefers trying to dream up the funniest joke in the world, even though she's convinced it might kill her. International City Theatre presents The Clean House, Sarah Ruhl's unpredictable and sublime rumination on the importance of laughter and mess in our lives. Caryn Desai directs Rob Roy Cesar, Kathy Bell Denton, Eileen Galindo; Nadia Nardini, and Caryn West in a four-week run opening August 27, with low-priced previews on August 24, 25 and 26.

Playwright Sarah Ruhl once overheard a doctor at a party say, "My cleaning lady is depressed and won't clean my house, so I took her to the hospital and had her medicated, and she still won't clean." Born out of this chance remark was Ruhl's award-winning play, The Clean House, an off beat and quirky comedy in which four markedly different, yet intimately connected women grapple with order, cleanliness, and the messy ambiguities of life. The Clean House is a play of uncommon romance and uncommon comedy about love, loss, and the power of a good joke.

"I like to see people speaking ordinary words in strange places, or people speaking extraordinary words in ordinary places," explained Ruhl in an interview. "Luckily, I was raised by a family who put a premium on humor. A play without some sadness or a play without some humor, to me, doesn't feel like life, I guess."

"There's always a fine line between comedy and tragedy, and it's an especially treacherous balancing act in this play," says desai. "There are moments when the emotional pain of the characters is funny, which may seem cruel. But the script is so well written that we never stop relating to and empathizing with these people."

The Clean House premiered in 2004 at Yale Repertory Theatre. It earned Ruhl the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, awarded annually to the best English-language play written by a woman, and it was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, recognizing Ruhl as "a playwright creating vivid and adventurous theatrical works that poignantly juxtapose the mundane aspects of daily life with mythic themes of love and war."  It has also received glowing reviews from critics. Variety wrote that "The Clean House marks the arrival of a playwright with a unique comic voice, perspective and sense of theater. A wondrously mad and moving work."The New York Times called it "one of the finest and funniest new plays you're likely to see... tart humor, theatrical audacity and emotional richness."

For reservations and information, call the ICT Box Office at (562) 436-4610 or go to www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.

Conceived by an award winning creative team and featuring 22 actors, puppets, music, flying sequences and CGI effects projected on the tent walls at three times the size of Imax screens, this production of Peter Pan made its U.S. premiere on April 27 in San Francisco directly following its successful debut in London in July 2009. The entire interior of the tent is lit with more than 15,000 square feet of Hi-Resolution video so that both cast and audience are immersed in a CGI Neverland. When Peter and Wendy fly to Neverland, the audience flies with them over 400 square miles of virtual London and beyond.

"We knew that San Francisco was the ideal place for us to set up the world's first 360-degree CGI theatre and to launch the US premiere of Peter Pan, but the Bay Area response to our show has exceeded our expectations," said Robert Butters, one of the producers. "Each week more than 7,500 people attend the show, while even more come to Ferry park just to enjoy the fantastic setting and free '100 Years of Peter Pan' exhibit. With our collaborators, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, we are hoping for an equally wonderful reception in Southern California."

By the time the show closes, over 130,000 people will have seen the show in the world's first 360-degree CGI theatre tent on the Embarcadero across from the Ferry Building in San Francisco. There, Peter Pan is a unique collaboration between theatrical producers, threesixty°entertainment, and the City of San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks.

In Orange County, The threesixty Theatre will stand beside the Orange County Performing Arts Center's RenÉe and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on the future site of the Orange County Museum of Art. As in San Francisco and London, audiences in Orange County will begin the journey even before the performance commences. Peter Pan is accompanied by a behind the scenes "Into Neverland" tour and a free "100 Years of Peter Pan" exhibit. Theater patrons are encouraged as well to enhance their trip to Neverland with food and beverage available in the Pavilion.

The threesixty° Peter Pan first captivated audiences in London, where it started performances on May 26, 2009 in Kensington Gardens, where J M Barrie was first inspired to write the story. It played a 16-week sold-out engagement to 200,000 people - including a Royal Gala for the Prince's Trust for Children and the Arts, attended by their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (Prince Charles and Camilla). In addition, an impressive parade of international celebrities enthusiastically attended with their families throughout the summer.

The cast of Peter Pan stars members of the original London production joined by American actors, making it a truly international company. Peter is played by British actor Nate Fallows. Among the original London cast members featured are Abby Ford as Wendy Darling, Jonathan Hyde as Capt Hook/Mr. Darling and Itxaso Moreno as Tinker Bell.

Peter Pan, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up was created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. One night, Peter flies into the London nursery of the Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael, teaches them to fly and leads them to the magical Neverland, "second to the right and straight on till morning", where they live with Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys and meet the notorious Captain Hook.

The tale of Peter Pan has been adapted many times including the Walt Disney animated film and a Broadway musical. However, it was not until this 2009 production, presented by threesixty entertainment, that a production was performed in London's Kensington Gardens, where Barrie was first inspired to create him and where the original statue of Peter Pan has stood since 1912. This 21st century Peter Pan mixes history and magic in equal measure to present a Peter Pan story for adults and children alike.

In Costa Mesa, tickets to see Peter Pan start are $30 to $70. Premium ticket packages are also available, and include admission to the performance, drink voucher, souvenir brochure, Peter Pan audio book and Peter Pan memorabilia. Tickets go sale to the general public on Sunday, July 18. They will be available at OCPAC.org, at the Center's Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling 714-556-2787.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=44 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=44 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:37:53 -0500 First Look Festival Of New Plays, with new works written by Ty Taylor, Douglas Crawford, Ron West,  Joseph Fisher, William Mesnik, Phillip William Brock, and Laura Richardson and directed by Martha Demson, Benjamin Burdick and Amanda Weier. The Festival will begin on Thursday, July 29 and runs through Sunday, September 18 at The NEW Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. (former home of The Actor's Gang) in Hollywood.

The festival is a 2 month celebration of contemporary American theatre and music.  Material has been carefully selected from around the country, and seven new works will be represented in production or in staged reading/concert format.  There will be three full productions and four staged reading and concert events.

The works include:

STAGED PRODUCTIONS: 

THE EXISTENTS
Book by Douglas Crawford and Jason Wooten
Music and Lyrics by Ty Taylor
Directed by Martha Demson
Preview: Thursday, July 29 at 8pm
Opening:  Friday July 30 at 8pm

Performances:  Saturday July 31at 8pm, Sunday, August 1 at 7pm, Saturday August 14 at 8pm, Thursday August 19 at 8pm, Friday August 20 at 8pm.  Sunday, August 1 and August 22 @ 7pm.  Matinee performances;  Sunday August 15th @ 2pm & Sunday August 22 @ 2pm

A new rock musical about a band striving to be more than the sum of its parts. 

A WOLF INSIDE THE FENCE
by Joseph Fisher
Directed by Benjamin Burdick
Preview:  Thursday August 5
Opening: Friday August 6 at 8pm

Performances:  Saturday August 7 at 8pm, Thursday August 12 at 8pm, Friday August 13 at 8pm , Saturday August 21 at 8pm , Thursday September 2 at 8pm, Friday September 3 at 8pm, Friday September 10 at 8pm , Saturday September 11th @ 8pm. Matinees:  Sunday August 8 at 2pm, Saturday August 21 at 2pm & Sunday August 29th @ 2pm

Marion is a child left behind but when her Oregon public school system tries to help, both get more than they bargained for.

A LIFE OF EASE
Written by Phillip William Brock
Directed by Amanda Weier
Preview: Thursday, August 26 at 8pm
Opening: Friday, August 27 at 8pm;

Performances: Saturday August 28 at 8pm;  Wednesday, September 1 at 8pm; Saturday September 4 at 8pm, Thursday, September 9 at 8pm, Thursday, September 16 at 8pm. Friday, September 17 at 8pm and Saturday, September 18 at 2pm. Matinees:  Saturday, September 4 at 2pm; Sunday, September 5 at 2pm; Sunday, September 12 at 2pm; Saturday, September 18 at 2pm

STAGED READING AND CONCERTS:

PALOMA
by Anne Garcia-Romero
SATURDAY, AUGUST 7 at 2pm
&  SUNDAY, AUGUST 8 at 7pm

SONGS OF SIN
by William Mesnick
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14 at 2pm
& SUNDAY, AUG. 15 at 8pm

A musical retelling of the nativity story, BOTH combines modern music and pop imagery with the Biblical story of the birth of Christ. 

ANY RESEMBLENCE
Written by Ron West
SATURDAY, AUGUST 28 at 2pm
& SUNDAY, AUGUST 29 at 7pm

LADY LIBERTY
by Laura Richardson
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 at 2pm
& SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 at 7pm

For tickets, please call (323) 882-6912 for details or visit www.openfist.org  to purchase tickets online or to view complete schedule. ]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=43 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=43 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:25:57 -0500 The Laguna Playhouse, located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, will present the world premieres of I Loved Lucy from October 5th to the 31st, and Daddy Long Legs from November 30th to December 26th.

I Loved Lucy was written by Lee Tannen and is based on his best-selling memoir. Few people knew America's comic sweetheart, Lucille Ball, the way Lee Tannin did. Though distantly related, and 40 years apart in age, Lucy and Lee became the nearest and dearest of friends during the last decade of her life. Get a front and center look at Lucy-the personal side of her very public persona from someone who spent the last of her years beside her while out of the spotlight and around a backgammon table. See what is was like to be her friend, and understand how she was so like and unlike her TV alter ego. Re-live life with Lucy - the stories and shenanigans Lee shared with her - and discover a Lucy like you've never known. It's a funny, irreverent, and bitter-sweet portrait that will only add to the love of a great legend.

Daddy Long Legs is a musical by Tony and Olivier Award-Winner John Caird (Nicholas Nickleby, Les Miserables) and Tony nominee Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre). Set in the early 1900s, this moving story is the vivid account of a young orphan girl as she blossoms into a beautiful, intelligent and vivacious woman. A trustee of the John Grier Orphanage offers a proper education to the 18-year-old Jerusha. The benefactor's only requirements are that Jerusha never know his identity, and that she write him monthly (though he will not respond). She sees him once in shadows and invents a nickname for her mysterious patron-Daddy Long Legs. Her letters to him paint a moving portrait of her lonely life in the orphanage, and the development of her mind and spirit.

Tickets may be purchased on line at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-2787 ext. 1 (group tickets ext. 229).

The season begins in Bohemia as the Troubadour Theater Company stirs up Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale with the soulful music of singer/songwriter Bill Withers, in their musical parody A Wither's Tale. Next, Stephanie Zimbalist stars as Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn in the critically acclaimed one-woman show Tea At Five. For the holidays, the Troubadour Theater Company returns with a brand new musical parody blending the tunes of Billy Joel with the story of the nativity in The First JO-EL. Kicking off the New Year, it's the sexy and irreverent new comedy about finding love by Annie Hendy, The Catholic Girl's Guide To Losing Your Virginity. And finally, Debra Ehrhardt shares her electrifying and hilarious journey to the USA from Jamaica during the turbulent 1970s in Jamaica, Farewell.

Falcon Theatre 2010-2011 5-Play Subscription Season

August 11-September 26, 2010
The Troubadour Theater Company's
A WITHER'S TALE Directed by Matt Walker
Previews: August 11-August 19, 2010
Opening: Friday, August 20, 2010
Closing: Sunday, September 26, 2010

October 13-November 14, 2010
Critically Acclaimed
TEA AT FIVE Written by Matthew Lombardo
Directed by Jenny Sullivan
Starring Stephanie Zimbalist
Previews: October 13-October 21, 2010
Opening: Friday, October 22, 2010
Closing: Sunday, November 14, 2010

December 1, 2010-January 16, 2011
The Troubadour Theater Company's
THE FIRST JO-EL Directed by Matt Walker
Previews: December 1-December 9, 2010
Opening: Friday, December 10, 2010
Closing: Sunday, January 16, 2011

February 2-March 6, 2011
New Comedy!
THE CATHOLIC GIRL'S GUIDE TO LOSING YOUR VIRGINITY Written by Annie Hendy
Previews: February 2-February 10, 2011
Opening: Friday, February 11, 2011
Closing: Sunday, March 6, 2011

March 16-April 17, 2011
International Hit!
Jamaica, Farewell Written by Debra Ehrhardt
Directed by Joel Zwick
Presented in association with Rita Wilson
Previews: March 16-March 24, 2011
Opening: Friday, March 25, 2011
Closing: Saturday, April 17, 2011

All performances, unless scheduled otherwise, are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm and Sundays at 4 pm. All productions and artists are subject to availability.

For tickets and more information visit FalconTheatre.com.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=41 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=41 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:56:41 -0500 The West Coast premiere of Dael Orlandersmith's "Stoop Stories" begins performances Wednesday, July 7 at 8 p.m. and opens Friday, July 9 at 8 p.m. at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. "Stoop Stories," the solo performance piece written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, runs for six performances only through July 11, 2010, as part of DouglasPlus programming.

In "Stoop Stories," Orlandersmith transforms herself into characters from the New York neighborhoods of her youth, capturing the diverse voices and rhythms of urban street life. Her characters include, among others, a rocker-turned-junkie, an impressionable young poetess and an elderly Jewish immigrant who recalls the night many years before when he was sitting at a favorite neighbor bar and a down-on-her-luck Billie Holiday sat down next to him.

Orlandersmith won an Obie Award for "Beauty's Daughter," which she wrote and starred in at American Place Theatre in 1995. Her play, "Monster," premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in November 1996. "The Gimmick," premiered at the McCarter Theatre and went on to great acclaim at the Long Wharf Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop. "Yellowman" also premiered at the McCarter in a co-production with the Wilma and Long Wharf Theatres. She was a Pulitzer Prize Award finalist in 2002 for "Yellowman," which played at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles in 2005. Orlandersmith first performed "Stoop Stories" in 2008 at The Public Theater as part of the Under the Radar Festival, then in 2009 at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. and at The Goodman Theatre. Her other plays include "The Blue Album," created in collaboration with David Cale, "Horsedreams" and "Suicide Girlz." Early in her career, she toured extensively with the Nuyorican Poets Café throughout the United States, Europe and Australia.

In addition to "Stoop Stories," Orlandersmith will bring the world premiere of her new play "Bones" to the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of DouglasPlus programming. Orlandersmith's "Bones," which was commissioned by Center Theatre Group, is directed by Gordon Edelstein. It will be presented for nine performances only, July 30 through August 8.

"Bones," which includes three actors and two onstage jazz musicians, portrays a family - a mother and her grown son and daughter, who are all unable to move forward from a damaged past.

The daughter, who can no longer live with "these ugly things in my head," decides that it is time to confront the family's history and summons the three of them to a meeting. They converge on the neutral ground of a shabby airport hotel. There, Orlandersmith's piercing, evocative story riffs between divergent memories and accusations, and moves with a pulsing drive toward a reckoning, a truth so hard that you can feel it in your bones.

Tickets for "Stoop Stories" and "Bones" are $20 for each presentation, or $30 when both shows are purchased together. The tickets are available by calling (213) 628-2772, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, in person at the CTG box office at the Ahmanson Theatre or two hours prior to performances at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office.

Based on the Steve Martin movie and featuring a score by eight-time Academy Award-winner Alan Menken, book by Janus Cercone with Glenn Slater, and lyrics by Glenn Slater, Leap Of Faith will star Raúl Esparza as Reverend Jonas Nightengale, the consummate flim-flam man, and Brooke Shields as Marva, the beautiful small-town woman and single mother who challenges everything Jonas believes in.

Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford is the director and choreographer.

"Leap of Faith" will be presented September 11 through October 24, 2010, with the opening scheduled for October 3.

When his traveling ministry breaks down in a small Kansas town, part-time reverend and full-time con artist (Esparza) quickly pitches a tent and invites the locals to a revival. The sheriff is determined to stop Jonas from separating the townspeople from their money, but Jonas' real challenge arises when he meets a pretty waitress (Shields) and her son, whose love forces an ultimate cynic to take a real leap of faith.

The new musical is based on the motion picture Leap Of Faith produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation and written by Janus Cercone.

Raúl Esparza received Tony Award nominations for Speed the Plow (Actor - Play, 2009), The Homecoming (Actor, Featured Role - Play, 2008), Company (Actor - Musical, 2007) and Taboo (Actor, Featured Role - Musical, 2004). He is only the second actor to have received Tony nominations in all four acting categories. Other Broadway credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Show (his Broadway debut) and the recent lauded Encores! presentation of Anyone Can Whistle. Off-Broadway he appeared in The Normal Heart, Comedians and tick, tick . . . BOOM! (for which he won an Obie Award). He made his film debut in Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty, and will appear in Wes Craven's My Soul to Take, which opens later this year. He just recently finished the indie film GWB. Television credits include "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Pushing Daisies".

An accomplished television, film and theatre actress, New York Times best-selling author, and model, Brooke Shields began her film career at nine and went on to star in such films as Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love and James Toback's Black and White. She made her Broadway debut in Grease for which she won the Theatre Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut. Moving to television, she earned a nomination for Funniest Female Guest Appearance in a Television Series for her turn in the hit show "Friends" and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her own hit comedy series "Suddenly Susan." She is the recipient of Five People's Choice Awards. Her off-Broadway credits include Love Letters, The Vagina Monologues, Love, Loss, and What I Wore (winner of a Drama Desk Award), to name a few. After receiving a degree in French Literature and graduating with honors from Princeton University, she went on to star in Cabaret, Wonderful Town and Chicago on Broadway.

Leap Of Faith is the first production in Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre's 2010-2011 season at the Los Angeles County Music Center.

Tickets for the Ahmanson Theatre's 2010-2011 season are currently available by subscription only. For information and to charge season tickets by phone, call the Exclusive Season Ticket Hotline at (213) 972-4444. To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Ahmanson.

Fresh from Broadway; and  in its delicious Los Angeles premiere, [title of show] is a musical about making a musical created by - and for - people who love musicals!

The cast is small, but the fun is big as Celebration continues its winning streak of hot-hot musicals (Altar Boyz, The Women of Brewster Place) with this 2009 Tony Award nominee.

Michael Shepperd (Director) At Celebration (as actor): The Bacchae, Four, Milk Cartons and Bar Tricks. Michael also adapted Coffee Will Make You Black: the West Coast premiere and run of which was wildly successful. He directed the 2008 version of Celebration Theatre's A Christmas Carol. LA credits: Master Harold and the Boys (Colony Theatre), Intimate Apparel (NAACP Theatre Award: supporting actor) at San Diego Rep, Caroline, or Change (Ahmanson), The Blacks (Evidence Room), Steel: John Henry and the Shaker (Ovation Award, Lead Actor) Oasis Theater, Raisin (ICT, NAACP Theatre Award nomination), and Parade (MTG). Voice of Audrey II in the Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors directed by Jerry Zaks and the recent Musical Theatre West production. Film/TV: "NCIS," "Criminal Minds," "Frasier," "Monk," "Ally McBeal," "Arrested Development, "E.R." and "Strong Medicine."

 The cast of [title of show] features: Jeffrey Landman, Micah McCain, Jennifer Blake and Carey Peters.

 [title of show] has assembled an award-winning design team.  The scenic design is by Kurt Boetcher, the lighting design is by Matt Denman, the sound design is by Veronica Lancaster and the prop design is by Michael O'Hara.  The show is Stage Managed by Marcedes Clanton.  Celebration Theatre's Artistic Director is Michael A. Shepperd, Managing Director is Michael C. Kricfalusi. 

[title of show] is performed at Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. For Tickets, please call 323-957-1884 or visit the Celebration Theatre website at www.celebrationtheatre.com.

Topdog/Underdog, a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity, tells the story of two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, names given to them as a joke by their father.  Haunted by the past and their obsession with the street con game, three-card monte, the brothers come to learn the true nature of their history as they cope with women, work, poverty, gambling, racism, and their troubled upbringings.

After a successful run off-Broadway in 2001 starring acclaimed actors Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright, Topdog/Underdog had an extended run on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre and, in 2002, Parks won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  It also garnered Tony Award wins and nominations. 

Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks was named one of TIME magazine's "100 Innovators for the Next New Wave," Suzan-Lori Parks is one of the most exciting and acclaimed playwrights in American drama today. She is the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the Broadway hit Topdog/Underdog and is a MacArthur "Genius" Award recipient. She has also been awarded grants by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She is recipient of a Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Award, a CalArts/Alpert Award in the Arts (Drama) for 1996, a Guggenheim Foundation Grant and and is an alumnae of New Dramatists. Her work is the subject of the PBS Film "The Topdog Diaries." Suzan-Lori Parks' talks are part performance, part storytelling – always high energy, with an inspired sense of humor.

In 2007 her project 365 Plays/365 Days was produced in over 700 theaters worldwide, creating one of the largest grassroots collaborations in theater history. Her numerous plays include Topdog/Underdog, In the Blood (2000 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Venus (1996 OBIE Award), The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, Fucking A, Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom (1990 OBIE Award for Best New American Play), and The America Play. Her first feature-length screenplay was "Girl 6" written for Spike Lee. She's also written screenplays for Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, and adapted Zora Neale Hurston's classic novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" which starred Halle Barry and premiered on ABC's Oprah Winfrey Presents. Parks is co-author of the screenplay for "The Great Debaters," starring Denzel Washington (December 2007 release). Park's well-reviewed first novel "Getting Mother's Body" (Random House, 2003) is set in the west Texas of her youth and follows the scrappy Beede family as they embark on a riotous road trip in hopes of recovering a fortune of jewels – rumored to be buried with a long-dead relative. She is the author of Ray Charles Live!, a musical based on the life of Ray Charles that premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse. In 2008, Parks was named the "Writer in Residence" at New York's Public Theater, a position she will hold for three years, actively participating in the artistic community of the Public Theater. 

In November 2008 Suzan-Lori Parks became the first recipient of the master writer chair at the Public Theater, a three-year residency in which she will also be a visiting arts professor in dramatic writing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. The Public Theater will presented her new play, titled, "Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 8 & 9)" in June 2009. Ms. Parks will also starred in this world premiere. Her play The Book of Grace premiered during the 2009-10 season at the Public.

Holding honorary doctorates from Brown University, among others, Suzan-Lori credits her writing teacher and mentor, James Baldwin, for starting her on the path of playwrighting. One of the first to recognize Parks' writing skills, Mr. Baldwin declared Parks "an astonishing and beautiful creature who may become one of the most valuable artists of our time."                  

For more information, visit www.topdogunderdog.com. 

The Who's Tommy is a roof-raising musical explosion based on The Who's 1969 concept album. This exhilarating story of hope, healing and the human spirit is filled with iconic hit songs like "Pinball Wizard," "See Me, Feel Me," "Acid Queen" and more. The Who's Tommy originated at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1992 before playing on Broadway for more than two years. The show won five Tony Awards, including Best Score for Who founder and guitarist Pete Townshend's memorable music.

"The entire company is very excited about presenting The Who's Tommy," said Oanh Nguyen, Chance Theater's Artistic Director. "After the success of last year's production of HAIR, we're bringing the artistic team back to tackle this beast of a musical. The Who's music is the definition of classic rock and remains as vibrant today as when the album was first released in 1969."

The cast for Tommy includes: Mark Bartlett (Tommy); Wendi Ann Hammock (Mrs. Walker); Kevin Cordova (Captain Walker); Paul Hovannes (Cousin Kevin); Beach Vickers (Uncle Ernie); Cameron McIntyre (Tommy, age 4); Seth Dusky (Tommy, age 10); Brynne McManimie (Sally); Clarissa Barton (Gypsy); Brian Bitner (Lover/Ensemble); Miguel Cardenas (Hawker/Ensemble); Kyle Cooper (Lad/Ensemble); Arroya Karian (Lass/Ensemble); Elena Murray (Lass/Ensemble); Melinda Porto (Harmonica Player/Ensemble); Kellie Spill (Lass/Ensemble); Seth Weiner (Lad/Ensemble); Joshua Youngs
]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=36 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=36 Wed, 9 Jun 2010 13:36:24 -0500 In The Heights, and fans of the show worldwide gave a sad and sorry heave of breath as they thought that they would never hear the words of this magical musical be rapped onstage by their creator.

In late May however, it was announced that with a special engagement through the Pantages theatre, Lin-Manuel Miranda will be reprising his role as Usnavi for the Southern California premiere of In The Heights, which will raise its curtain on June 22nd at the Pantages theatre.

It was also recently announced that due to the sudden surge of ticket sales since this announcement, an extra two weeks of In The Heights has been pegged to the Pantages's schedule. Tickets for these two weeks just became available to the public on June 6th .

In The Heights follows the stories of the people, young and old, who live in New York's Washington Heights. It won a slew of Tony awards when it premiered in 2008, including best musical.

"To be honest, I've been itching to play with the tour cast since we began their rehearsals last fall," said Miranda. "It has been a joy to watch Kyle Beltran and the rest of this company make this show their own, and to win over audiences all over the country. I'm excited to play at the gorgeous Pantages Theatre, which I had the privilege of visiting two weeks ago. I can't think of a better way to prepare myself for the demands of playing Usnavi in the movie version of Heights. Most of all, I can't wait to get back on that stage, in Usnavi's shoes."

Yes, you read correctly. An In The Heights movie is currently in production, starring Miranda, but this engagement will not be one to miss. Also, an insider tip, Miranda will not be performing the Sunday Matinee 6/27, the Thursday Matinee 7/1, the Sunday Matinee 7/11, the Sunday Matinee 7/18 and the Sunday Matinee 7/25, so keep that in mind when purchasing your tickets.

Award-winning actor Harry Hamlin portrays Sean Flynn, a tough Irish laborer whose daughter becomes a national superstar when it is discovered that a "hickey" on her neck is shaped in the image of Jesus. The cast includes Aviva, Roddy Jessup, Tom Killam, Aaron Leddick, Anastasia Lofgren, Greg Safel and Barbara Tarbuck.

Harry Hamlin starred as Perseus in the original 1981 cult classic, "Clash of the Titans," with Lawrence Olivier, as well as in the ground-breaking and controversial 1982 feature, "Making Love." Hamlin received three consecutive Golden Globe nominations for his role as attorney Michael Kuzak on Steven Bochco's Emmy winning hit TB series, "L.A. Law." More recently, he portrayed the debonair yet troubled actor Aaron Echolls on the critically acclaimed CW hit, "Veronica Mars." Hamlin's stage credits include: the title role in Princeton's McCarter Theatre production of Hamlet; Faust in the McCarter production of "Faustes In Hell;" Moe Axelrod in the Broadway revival of Clifford Odets' "Awake and Sing" at The Circle in the Square Theatre; and Dr. John Buchanan in the Broadway revival of Tennessee William's "Summer and Smoke" at the Roundabout Theatre.

Luke Yankee is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, "Just Outside the Spotlight." His first play, "A Place at Forest Lawn" (co-written with James Bontempo), is the winner of the New Noises Award and the Palm Springs International Playwriting Competition, and is published by Dramatists Play Service. "The Jesus Hickey" is the winner of the TRU Voices Award as well as the Joel and Phyllis Ehrlich Award, given for "a socially relevant, commercially viable new work of theatre." Yankee's Off-Broadway and regional theatre directing credits include: "The Cherry Orchard" with Cynthia Nixon; "Driving Miss Daisy" with Eileen Heckart; "Nite Club Confidential" with Barbara Eden; "Private Lives" with David Canary; and "Oleanna" (Carbonnell Award nomination as Best Director).

In All Honesty is a touching, offbeat comedy that reminds us anything is possible. Richard is a British office worker living a sensible, uneventful existence. He is forced to take the tube while his car is in the shop. After missing the first train, he is accosted by Eileen, a strangely charming young woman sitting on a bench. Although he's none- too-certain getting friendly with her is a good idea, they meet each day, and eventually Eileen changes the way Richard thinks about strangers, breakfast, birthdays, manatees, luck and life. This witty story of two idiosyncratic souls is filled with heartwarming insights and lots of laughs.

In All Honesty is the second of five plays written by Quinn-Sosna-Spear, a senior at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara. Sosna-Spear has had two previous productions presented at Rubicon as part of the company's Young Playwrights' Festival, the first directed by Gioia Marchese and the second by Brian McDonald. Since then she has won the California Young Playwright's Award, and will have her latest play work-shopped at The Old Globe in San Diego this spring. Sosna-Spear begins USC in the fall as a Screenwriting major.  

Spear's vision is in capable hands with Director Devin Scott, Co-Artistic Director of the Mentor Theatre Company, an organization dedicated to helping young or first-time artists produce their work. He has directed, performed, and produced over 40 productions in both California and New York City, where he attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre and was the founding Co-Artistic Director of the Bridge Theatre Company. Scott currently serves as Vice President of the Santa Barbara Performing Arts League.
Says Scott, "In All Honesty delivers a study of life's little joys, the in-between moments, nuances and gestures that so often lends life its sweetest hues."

"Sosna-Spear's characters are true originals," continues Scott, "and the play offers an authentic slice of life as fate delivers them, without explanation, at respective personal crossroads."

It's a pretty simple set-up. Five writers arrive at 11 PM on June 4th to compose a ten minute play. At 8 AM the next morning (when the writers are all sleep-deprived and craving caffeine) the directors walk in to read these ten minute shorts, and quickly cast them by 10 AM with actors that will arrive at 9 AM.

"From there," said managing director Anthony Galleran, "the directors and actors rehearse all day - learning lines, blocking, scrounging for props and costumes, etc.  By 11pm that night, 5 brand new plays that did not exist 24 Hours earlier are performed in front of a live audience."

Getting a show created and running in 24 hours has proven to be challenging, but that doesn't stop The Hunger Artists Theatre from making it happen every year. "No one else in the area had done anything like it and we had no idea if anyone would come and we mostly wanted to see if we could pull it off," said Galleran. "It was a chance for us to be completely goofball and sleep deprived."

David Yu, literary manager and frequent actor of the Hunger Artist stage took part in 24 Hour Theatre last year by auditioning to act in one of the shorts. "I showed up when the actors were called which was about 10-11 am," said Yu. "It was kind of amazing and crazy being in a piece that was barely written that morning." Yu will be returning this year, but this time he will be wearing his director shoes.

To sign up to audition for an unforgettably unique 24 hour experience, visit www.hungerartists.com . The 24 Hour Theatre event will begin on June 4th at 11 PM and end at 11 PM June 5th when the plays are world premiered.

James Bean

Take a journey down the 405 Freeway circa the 1970s when highways were hopping and surface streets were for sissies - when you could get from Downtown to the Westside in 20 minutes, and not just in a Toyota. There you'll find those super-flashy stewards of safety and suave-ness, Ponch and John, in CHiPS the Musical. Rest assured, Ponch and John are still wearing their well-starched uniforms, packin' the heat, and looking fine enough to cause a fender-bender while battling criminals of the worst kind: female eco-terrorists sporting roller skates and short shorts! The boys on bikes are back...and this time, they're singing!

Troubadour Theater Company is celebrating its fifteenth year of laughs. Los Angeles' renowned ensemble of actors, comedians and musicians has performed throughout southern California since 1995. Their fast-paced, laugh-filled "adaptations" of classic plays, as well as their original works and hilarious sketch material, make Troubadour a unique and exciting experience for theatergoers of any age. The company is a Not-for-Profit organization and has performed charitably for many causes including animal conservation, adult rehabilitation, AIDS awareness, California Literacy Night for LAUSD, Children with Autism and other youth programs. Past productions at the Falcon Theatre include: Oedipus the King, Mama!; Frosty the Snow Manilow; As U2 Like It; A Charlie James Brown Christmas; JACKson FROST; Much Adoobie Brothers About /othing; Little Drummer Bowie; Hamlet, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince of Denmark; Santa Claus is Comin' to Motown; It's a Stevie Wonderful Life; OthE.L.O. and Alice in One-Hit-Wonderland 1 & 2. In addition to the Falcon, Troubadour has performed at the Getty Villa, Hollywood's Ford Amphitheatre and Matrix Theatre, Santa Monica's Miles Playhouse, LA Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts, Garden Grove Theater Center, the Long Beach Carpenter Center, the Ojai Shakespeare Festival, the San Francisco Fringe Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival (Australia) and in Hailey, Idaho, in conjunction with Company of Fools at the Liberty Theatre. The Troubies were recently honored with 12 Ovation Award nominations for their productions of Alice in One-Hit-Wonderland 2: Through the Looking Glass, As U2 Like It and It's a Stevie Wonderful Life, walking away with three awards for Best Director of a Musical, Best Costume Design and Best Season.

Theatre Out is a niche theatre that specializes in gay and lesbian theatre, a move that many theatres in the mainly conservative Orange County scene sadly stray away from.

"When we first thought about creating our own company, we looked at the types of plays we were interested in," said managing director David Carnevale. "And [we] realized that the overriding arch was that they were all related to the LGBT community.  So, we thought: 'Why not?'"

Theatre Out emerged into the Orange County theatre arts scene a number of years ago, but it wasn't until recently that the drive of their three founders (David Carnevale, artistic director Jack Millis, and producing director Joey Baital) brought this amazing concept and company to a cozy home in Santa Ana's bohemian Artist's Village.

Although their material is based on a niche, according to Baital, it has not stopped theatre-goers from attending. "Although our productions are focused on a niche market, the demographic of our audience is quite diverse," said Baital. "It's pleasing to see interest and support from all walks of life, not just the LGBT [Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender] community."

The company is also gaining respect from the acting community as a legitimate and professional theatre company.  "Their performance space is very versatile, and everyone who works there is friendly and fun to be around, yet they always maintain a professional environment," said Travis McHenry who played Wolf in their recent production of Bent.

"The audience members we had in Bent tended to be very responsive and engaged because many of them were gay and took the story very personally," added McHenry. "It made it more rewarding to be a part of that because I knew I was touching the souls of the audience."

To find out more informatin about Theatre Out visit their website at www.theatreout.com.

James Bean

The newly founded Coeurage Theatre Company, an underground organization headed by artistic director Jeremy Lelliot, debuted in February with their original production Head Over Heels, written by company member and new playwright Eric Czuleger.

Heels was incredibly well received, and critically heralded especially for its tightly written scenes and outstanding cast of women. The best part about it? All the members in the audience decided their own ticket price.

That's right, along with new and rarely produced works (their current project, Don Juan In Hell is enjoying a run until May 16), the Coeurage Theatre Company also employs a strict "pay what you want" policy to ensure that their art is available for anyone who wants to see it.

Although the company hasn't exactly found a permanent home in the LA area, (they rent out spaces to produce their theatre, but can't quite get their hands on a leased building yet), it hasn't affected the quality of their work.

"The energy in the house on opening night [of Don Juan] was electric," said Lelliot. "The cast has found innovative ways to make the words come alive."

Sadly, due to their fledgling status, they have had a hard time keeping the house full, and had to cancel last Sunday's matinee performance. This is the first time they have done so since their creation.

"The reason of course is that there's so much bad theatre around, critics and others don't really want to waste time with yet another upstart group of amateurs" said managing director Gedaly Guberek. "And yet we have a talent pool of amazing actors... so we're in the slow process of trying to prove to the world that we're worth your time."

The company is taking temporary residence in the NoHo London Music Hall, but they have their sights on a bigger and brighter future.

"Our ensemble is inspired by an imaginative understanding of Courage" said Guberek. "Coeur, French for heart, and Rage, meaning fervor, on fire; together, Coeurage is a heart enflamed with passion, which we bring to each and every production. We have passion for our art and aren't afraid to show it. We ain't no cowardly lion!"

You can follow the Coeurage Theatre Company on their website, www.coeuragetheatre.com.

James Bean

Supernova tells the story of Mabel Davies, a not-so-simple housewife in Des Moines, Iowa, who has spent years living for everyone else.  Following the appearance of a magazine with a dog-eared page on her kitchen table, and the events that follow, Mabel finds her life changing in extraordinary ways.  A 'supernova' is defined as an extremely luminous stellar explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy before fading from view. Supernova ponders fate, destiny, love, and radicalism. Playwright Timothy McNeil is a member of the Stella Adler Academy faculty, and his play Anything had its world premiere at the Elephant in 2008.  That production received four LADCC Award nominations, winning three, and was also nominated by GLAAD as best production of the year.  Three of McNeil's other plays have been produced locally:  Los Muertos, Margaret, and Crane, Mississippi.  Directed by Elephant Producing Director Lindsay Allbaugh, Supernova opens May 22 and runs through June 27 at the Elephant Space.

Parasite Drag is a drama about a small town Illinois family and the stories that haunt them.  Estranged brothers Gene and Ronnie are forced together to make arrangements for their sister, a homeless drug addict dying of AIDS.  At first glance, the two men seem to be polar opposites.  But as their sister's tragedy forces open old wounds, we see that they are very much alike, united forever by a dark, tragic past.  Mark Roberts began his career as a stand-up comic and actor.  His credits include appearances on Seinfeld, Friends, The Practice, The Larry Sanders Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and The Naked Truth.  Now a producer on the CBS television series Two and a Half Men, Mark's other plays include Couples Counseling Killed Katie, Welcome to Tolono, Where the Great Ones Run, and Rantoul and Die, which, after receiving its world premiere in Los Angeles last year, will open in Chicago this fall.  Parasite Drag, directed by David Fofi, will open on August 13 and run through September 18 at the Elephant space.

The Little Flower of East Orange, first produced at New York's Public Theater in the spring of 2008, is an unconventional family drama centering around Therese Marie and her anxious, angry children.  The events of the play unfold mostly in Therese Marie's hospital room, where she very well could be on her death bed.  She contends with visits from a patronizing doctor, a friendly police detective, and an assortment of apparitions, most notably the ghost of her father.  She also fights to maintain her dignity as her son Danny, recently out of rehab, insists on making her confront the ugly secrets of her past.  Stephen Adly Guirgis is the author of such plays as Our Lady of 121st Street, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, which was produced by the Elephant in association with VS. Theatre Company in 2008.  That production won four LADCC Awards, two Garland Awards, and received two LA Weekly Award nominations.  The Little Flower of East Orange, directed by David Fofi, will run November 5 through December 18 at the Lillian Theatre.

The Elephant's 2009 productions of The Idea Man by Kevin King and Block Nine by Tom Stanczyk (performed in repertory by two different casts, one all male and one all female) were nominated for a total of six LA Weekly Awards (winning three for Block Nine), and four Ovation Awards, winning one for Best New Play (The Idea Man).

"I believe that Los Angeles audiences will love this new season," said Ritchie. "The Ahmanson's 44th year at the Los Angeles Music Center continues the tradition we are known for - presenting the highest quality theatre in the country by premiering a major new musical, by offering Angelenos the first chance to see the best of Broadway, by honoring a treasured musical that 25 years ago redefined the genre, and by providing a special first-look at what will be the hottest ticket in Hollywood in the summer of 2011.

"This is a season that represents the broadest possible range of theatricality, from the powerful rock musical that grapples with mental illness, "Next to Normal," to the gospel-infused new musical of deceit and redemption, "Leap of Faith," and from the explosively funny, four-character comedy of "God of Carnage" to the game-changing epic musical of "Les MisÉrables," it reminds me how multi-dimensional the word 'theatre' is and it makes me proud to see how the definition continues to expand."

The 2010-2011 Season

Leap of Faith
A World Premiere Musical
September 5 - October 17, 2010
Opens September 26, 2010

The world premiere of the new musical "Leap of Faith" opens the Ahmanson Theatre's 2010-2011 season with all the passion, fervor and high theatrics of a rousing, gospel-charged tent revival, where miracles occur like clockwork.

"Leap of Faith" is based on the Steve Martin movie and features a score by eight-time Academy Award-winner Alan Menken, book by Janus Cercone with Glenn Slater, and lyrics by Glenn Slater.

When part-time reverend and full-time con artist, the Reverend Jonas Nightengale, stops in a small Kansas town with his traveling ministry, he quickly pitches a tent and invites the locals to a revival. The sheriff is determined to stop Jonas from separating the townspeople from their money, but Jonas' real challenge arises when he meets a pretty waitress and her son, whose love for him forces this ultimate cynic to take a real leap of faith.

A "brave, breathtaking musical" is what Ben Brantley of The New York Times called "Next to Normal," which will have its West Coast premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre.

With a thrilling contemporary score, "Next to Normal " is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other.

Winner of three 2009 Tony Awards, "Next to Normal" has music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey (both won a Tony Award for Best Score). "Next to Normal " is directed by three-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif ("Next to Normal ," "Rent" and " Grey Gardens").

Rolling Stone raved about the musical, "Rock is alive and rolling like thunder in 'Next to Normal .' It is the best musical of the season by a mile. Next time you think the Broadway musical is dead, head off to 'Next to Normal .' It'll pin you to your seat." Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News said the musical is "... next to wondrous - hopeful and uplifting ... 'Next to Normal ' is an exceptional show that says something meaningful and powerful." Adam Feldman of Time Out New York called it "... surprising and moving, a thoughtful, emotional musical for grown-ups."

The scathingly funny "God of Carnage," winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play, will have its West Coast premiere in an exclusive Center Theatre Group engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre.

"God of Carnage," hailed by Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post as "... gleefully nasty fun," is set in a gentrified section of Brooklyn where two married couples meet to sort out a playground fight between their sons. At first, niceties are observed but as the evening progresses and the rum flows, the gloves come off and the night becomes a side-splitting free-for-all of verbal brawling as tempers rise and inhibitions fall.

CameRon Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary tour of one of the greatest musicals of all- time and the world's longest running musical.

"I'm delighted that 25 years after 'Les Miz' originally opened in London there is still a huge audience to see this marvelous show," said producer CameRon Mackintosh. "Over the years I have seen many successful but visually different productions, so it has been exciting to develop this new design which draws inspiration from the brilliant drawings and paintings of Victor Hugo himself. Integrated into spectacular modern projections, the new 'Les Miz' is a magnificent mix of dazzling images and epic staging, driving one of the greatest musical stories ever told."

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, "Les MisÉrables" is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of "Les MisÉrables" includes the classic songs "I Dreamed a Dream," "On My Own," "Stars," "Bring Him Home," "Do You Hear The People Sing?," "One Day More," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," "Master of The House" and many more.

The imaginative Cirque du Soleil will provide a unique opportunity for Ahmanson season ticket holders to be among the very first in Los Angeles to see the company's new production in their new home in Hollywood at the Kodak Theatre.

This production will be a permanent show at the Kodak, running year-round. Ahmanson season ticket holders will have exclusive first priority seating in previews of this production during the summer of 2011. The production will open in the fall of 2011.

A lyrical, fanciful, kinetic foray into the seventh art (cinema), Cirque du Soleil's new production (as yet unnamed) will bring together dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation as it takes spectators on a fantastic voyage right to the heart of the movie-making process.

From illustration to animation, black and white to color, silent films to talkies, fixed shots to swooping camera movements, audience members will witness the poetic construction/deconstruction of this art as an object and as a way of transcending reality.

For the Cirque du Soleil engagement, Ahmanson season ticket holders will receive all of the usual season ticket perks, including free ticket exchange.

Tickets for the Ahmanson Theatre's 44th season are currently available by subscription only. For information and to charge season tickets by phone, call the Exclusive Season Ticket Hotline at 213-972-4444. To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org.

According to Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Andrew Barnicle, "Our 90th anniversary season is filled with the types of plays that our audiences really enjoy. This year we have three distinct musicals, one of which is a World Premiere co-production. And, by popular demand, Hershey Felder returns to The Laguna Playhouse with an amazing one-man musical about the legendary Leonard Bernstein. We also have a World Premiere about the great comedienne Lucille Ball, and I'll be directing Noel Coward's classic comedy, Private Lives, to close out our season. It's a great way to salute The Laguna Playhouse on its 90th anniversary."

"Our current season (2009-2010) was created with the community and the economy in mind. The enthusiastic response we received from our audience motivated us to continue and expand the accessible programming for our celebratory 90th Anniversary Season," adds Managing Director Karen Wood. "I invite you to join us as a subscriber for our exciting five play season, and then enjoy even more evenings with us as we expand our offerings to include entertainment such as big bands, an author's series, comedians, and a spectacular surprise event on New Year's Eve! We're also delighted to be hosting a number of local art organizations during our 90th Anniversary Season. This is a new era at your Laguna Playhouse. Come join us!"

 LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE 2010-11 SEASON

Life Could Be A Dream
July 6 - August 29, 2010
Written and Directed by Roger Bean

 SH-BOOM! From the "marvelous" mind of creator Roger Bean, comes the Crooning Crabcakes, the boy group banned from the Springfield High School prom which made it possible for The Marvelous Wonderettes to perform. The guys get one more chance at fame and fortune as Denny, Eugene, Skip and Wally form a singing group to enter and win the local radio contest and realize their dreams of making it to the big time! Will these delightfully goofy guys be able to pull it together and win the contest? Featuring such classic songs as "Stay" (Just a Little Bit Longer)," "Runaround Sue," "The Great Pretender," "Tears On My Pillow," "Unchained Melody," "Earth Angel," "Little Darlin'," and of course the title song, Life Could Be A Dream is another musical trip down memory lane that will leave audiences laughing, singing and cheering. Winner of multiple Ovation Awards, LA Drama Critics Circle Awards, and LA Weekly Awards.

World Premiere musical by Tony and Olivier Award-Winner John Caird (Nicholas Nickleby, Les Miserables) and Tony nominee Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre). Set in the early 1900s, this moving story is the vivid account of a young orphan girl as she blossoms into a beautiful, intelligent and vivacious woman. A trustee of the John Grier Orphanage offers a proper education to the 18-year-old Jerusha. The benefactor's only requirements are that Jerusha never know his identity, and that she write him monthly (though he will not respond). She sees him once in shadows and invents a nickname for her mysterious patron—Daddy Long Legs. Her letters to him paint a moving portrait of her lonely life in the orphanage, and the development of her mind and spirit.

Hershey Felder returns to The Laguna Playhouse in MAESTRO: The Art of Leonard Bernstein, a new work from the creators of George Gershwin Alone, Monsieur Chopin and Beethoven, As I Knew Him. With a story spanning the entire twentieth century, Leonard Bernstein, America's greatest musician, broke through every artistic ceiling possible to become the world's musical ambassador. Conductor, composer, pianist, author, teacher, librettist, television star... for Leonard Bernstein, boundaries simply did not exist. Join us on this fascinating journey as Hershey Felder brings the composer of West Side Story, Candide, Mass and more to life.

For tickets to the season and more information visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award winner is adapted by Patrick Barlow (Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), directed by Maria Aitken and features sets and costumes by Peter McKintosh. The production is based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and on the book by John Buchan.

Seeking a frivolous night out at the theatre, Richard Hannay is lured into a world of intrigue by a mysterious woman claiming to be a spy. When she winds up dead in his flat, he flees London with the police hot on his trail. This is a classic portrayal of one man's flight from wrong accusation through a series of misadventures and old fashioned romance.

Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps features a cast of four actors - Claire Brownwell, Ted Deasy, Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson - who, against all odds, breathlessly and hilariously attempt to reenact all of the characters, locations and famous scenes in Hitchcock's 1935 film thriller with just a few props and a lot of theatrical ingenuity and split second quick changes.

Tickets for Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps start at $20 and are available by calling 213-972-4400 or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Special half price tickets The 39 Steps are also availabe at Goldstar.

In this affectionate spoof of 1950s sci-fi movies, a down-and out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon "Audrey II" grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination! 

Little Shop Of Horrors has book and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, the pair who went on to rejuvenate animated movies with their work on  Disney's "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Aladdin."  Little Shop Of Horrors bears their unique touch: a bright, colorful score, complemented by a hilarious story with slightly larger-than-life characters, all presented with tongue firmly "planted" in cheek.   Songs include "Suddenly Seymour," "Somewhere That's Green," "Feed Me," and the title tune will leave audiences humming - those that survive the plant, that is!

"Little Shop Of Horrors is a clever collaboration of songs and humor," says Carole W. Nussbaum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cabrillo Music Theatre.  "Audiences have been snapping their fingers to this music everywhere - Off-Broadway, on Broadway, and in the movies.  Cabrillo Music Theatre is proud to bring another Kavli Theatre premiere to our audiences."  Adds Nussbaum, "We've got the sets and costumes from the Broadway National Tour - and the plant from the local alien florist!"

 Little Shop Of Horrors stars Southern California theatre veterans Jim Holdridge (Seymour Krelborn), Callie Carson (Audrey), Gibby Brand (Mr. Mushnik), and Damon Kirsche (Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., and other roles).

Little Shop Of HorrorsS performs April 23rd through May 2nd, and will be directed by Cabrillo Music Theatre's Artistic Director, Lewis Wilkenfeld.  John Charron will choreograph, while Matthew Smedal musical directs and leads the Cabrillo Music Theatre Orchestra.

For tickets and more information visit www.cabrillomusictheatre.com.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=20 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=20 Wed, 7 Apr 2010 20:35:20 -0500 Tooth and Nail, invites you to spend Labor Day weekend with the Laneys, a typical New Jersey family with a few extraordinary features: all three daughters were adopted, the parents are keeping a big, bad secret, and Dad is experiencing a temporary personality disorder.  Add the exotic new neighbors to the mix, and you have a Sunday dinner you'll never forget.

Ms. Acosta's play blends the comic and tragic absurdities of family life to hilarious and moving effect.  Her first full-length play, Tooth and Nail was inspired by watching The Lion in Winter and wondering "what if?"...what if someone suddenly became Peter O'Toole with all his infectious dynamism - someone who wasn't like that at all?  Mix that image with Ms. Acosta's affinity for the musicality of New Jersey-speak and her personal determination to face life's horrors with redemptive humor, and you have the recipe for this gutsy comedy that "combines the screwball and the heartrending to stunning effect" (StageSceneLA).

Director Matt Gourley is a seasoned improv performer and actor, and co-creator of the popular iTunes-featured podcast, Superego.  His long-standing acquaintance with Ms. Acosta brought him to this project, his first at LFT.  But Fate may have set him up long ago: his first role ever was as Prince John in The Lion in Winter.  The rich parallels between the bloody-minded Plantagenets and the battling Laney family fascinate him.

Reprising his role as Gerald, father and king of the Laney household, Gregory Mortensen returns to LFT where he directed the acclaimed 2009 production of Hay Fever.  Melanie Jones, Artistic Director of LFT, appears as his wife, Ellie; other cast members who are returning to the LFT stage include Kalie Quinones, Scott Hartman and Catie Doyle.

For tickets and more information visit www.littlefishtheatre.org.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=21 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=21 Wed, 7 Apr 2010 20:34:48 -0500 Broadway/L.A. has announced an addition to its roster of live stage attractions playing the Pantages Theatre during its 2010-2011 Season. Avenue Q - the smash-hit Broadway musical about real life in New York City, as told by a cast of people and puppets through an acclaimed, Tony-winning book and score - will return to Los Angeles for a limited one week engagement, March 1-6, 2011.

Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone's looking for the same things he is: a decent job, a stable relationship, and a "purpose." Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that "the real world" isn't so bad, after all!

Avenue Q is the creation of a host of talented young theatre artists and features music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx; and directed by Jason Moore.  Avenue Q features a cast of people and puppets who tell their story in a smart, risqué and downright entertaining way.

Avenue Q opened on Broadway on July 31, 2003 to great critical and popular acclaim.   The New York Times hailed it as "a breakthrough musical of a very different stripe.  Savvy, sassy and delicious!" and Entertainment Weekly claimed it was "one of the funniest shows you're ever likely to see!"

Avenue Q went on to win three 2004 Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Original Score of a Musical (Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx) and Best Book of a Musical (Jeff Whitty).  More than 1,500 performances later, Avenue Q remains one of Broadway's biggest and most enduring successes, playing to enthusiastic audiences eight times a week.

For more information on Avenue Q, please visit www.AvenueQOnTour.com.

The 2010/2011 Colony Theatre Company Season:

Grace & Glorie
Written by Tom Ziegler
June 12 - July 18, 2010 (Previews June 9 - 11)

Grace is a feisty illiterate 90-year-old who has checked herself out of the hospital and returned to her ramshackle cottage in the mountains of Virginia. Enter Gloria, a transplanted New Yorker with a Harvard MBA, now volunteering as a hospice caregiver. Which one do you think needs saving? At first, cultures and generations hilariously collide, but over time they realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. A celebration of the strength and resiliency of women at every age, Grace & Glorie is a poignant comedy about love, loss, and the search for meaning in all of our lives.

A stirring drama about one of the first freed slaves to graduate from an American university - and he did it almost 40 years before the Emancipation Proclamation. Based on a true story, Free Man of Color explores the life of John Newton Templeton, a fascinating but forgotten figure in our history. A young African-American scholar, he learns in the course of the play that with freedom comes great responsibility and that his future is not as obvious as the color of his skin. Winner of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Outstanding New Work in Chicago, Free Man of Color speaks to the humanity in us all and reminds us that true freedom is derived not from the law but from determining our own destiny.

Before there was Bewitched, before Wicked and Harry Potter, there was Bell, Book and Candle. Gillian is a beautiful witch living in 1950s New York City who is smitten with her handsome upstairs neighbor. She casts a little spell, and he is immediately and completely captivated by her. But Gillian must be careful - if she falls in love with him, she could lose her magical powers forever. Will she be undone by her own mischief? A frothy and spellbinding romantic comedy, Bell, Book and Candle shows that love might be the most bewitching spell of all.

Hollywood 1939. Famed producer David O. Selznick is three weeks into filming his latest historical epic, Gone With The Wind, but the screenplay just isn't working. He hires script doctor Ben Hecht to rewrite the script in five days - but Hecht has never read the book. What's a mogul to do? Selznick pulls director Victor Fleming from The Wizard of Oz and with Hecht, the three men spend five days locked in the producer's office re-enacting Margaret Mitchell's bestseller to craft a screenplay that will become one of the most successful films of all time. Inspired by true events, Moonlight and Magnolias is a wildly funny and winning story that illuminates the behind-the-scenes business of movie-making - and the larger-than-life egos - during the golden age of Hollywood.

A classy, sassy musical celebration that carries us through the Depression, World War II, and the postwar boom. From the funky jive of Harlem to the sophisticated elegance of El Morocco and the romance of the Stage Door Canteen, this international hit sings, soars, and struts with its sublime, timeless music and sheer energy with songs that tug the heart, tickle the funny bone, and raise the rafters. Songs include In The Mood, Fascinating Rhythm, As Time Goes By, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Ain't Misbehavin', and more, by such legendary composers as Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern, Cab Calloway, and George Gershwin.

The Colony Theatre Company is a 35-year-old organization dedicated to bringing the finest quality theatrical productions to Los Angeles. The theatre is located at 555 North Third Street, at the corner of Cypress, in the heart of the Burbank Media Center. For further information, call 818-558-700 or visit their website at www.colonytheatre.org.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=18 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=18 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:42:03 -0500 The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced the winners and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2009. The 41st Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony took place Monday, March 22 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.

Awards were given in twenty categories, honoring excellence in theatre over the past year.  Eight special awards were given, including an award honoring Kirk Douglas for his lifetime contribution to Los Angeles theatre; and the new Milton Katselas Award for career or special achievement in direction, sponsored by Katselas Theatre Company.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle was founded in 1969.  It is dedicated to excellence in theatrical criticism, and to the encouragement and improvement of theatre in Greater Los Angeles.

The award recipients for the 2009 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards are as follows:

Production

• Life Could Be a Dream, David Elzer, Peter Schneider & Roger Bean, Hudson Mainstage
• Parade, Center Theatre Group and the Donmar Warehouse, Mark Taper Forum
• Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre Company, Matrix Theatre

McCulloh Award for Revival
(For Shows between 1920 and 1980)

• Equus, The Production Company

Direction

• Shirley Jo Finney, Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
• Marilyn Fox, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre

Writing

• Brian Christopher Williams, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins, West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre

Writing (Adaptation)

• Kitty Felde, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater

Music Direction

• David O, The Wasps, The Lost Studio
• Michael Paternostro, Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
• Phil Reno, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre

Choreography

• Matthew Bourne, Stephen Mear, and Geoffrey Garratt, Mary Poppins, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh at the Ahmanson Theatre

Musical Score

• Susan Birkenhead and Charles Strouse, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre

Lead Performance

• Sam Anderson, The Bird and Mr. Banks, The Road Theatre Company at the Lankershim Arts Center
• Bruce French, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
• Jim Hanna, Equus, The Production Company at The Chandler Studio Theatre
• Deidrie Henry, Coming Home, The Fountain Theatre
• Laurie Metcalf, Voice Lessons, Zephyr Theater
• Samantha Sloyan, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre

Featured Performance

• Hugo Armstrong, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater
• P.J. Griffith, Setup & Punch, The Blank Theatre Company at the 2nd Stage Theatre
• Andrea Hutchman, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
• Sally Smythe, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre

Ensemble Performance

• Hunter Gatherers, Furious Theatre Company at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre
• Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
• Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre

Set Design

• Jeff McLaughlin, A Skull in Connemara, Theatre Tribe

Lighting Design

• Haylee Freeman, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
• David Lander, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

Costume Design

• Gregg Barnes, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre

Sound Design

• Ron Klier, Blackbird, VS. Theatre Company at the Elephant Studio Space

Solo Performance

• Danny Hoch, Taking Over, Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

CGI/Video

• Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater

Puppet and Mask Design

• Wes Crain, Lena Garcia, Lynn Jeffries, Elizabeth Luce, and Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater

Makeup Design

• Ann Closs-Farley, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater  

Fight Choreography

• Victor Warren, Stranger, Bootleg Theater

Special Awards

• The Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an outstanding new play was awarded to Julie Marie Myatt for The Happy Ones. The award was accompanied by an offer to publish and a $1000 check funded by Samuel French, Inc.
• The Polly Warfield Award for an excellent season in a small to mid-size theater was awarded to Celebration Theatre. The award was accompanied by a $500 check, funded by the Nederlander Organization.
• The Bob Z award for career achievement in set design was awarded to Sibyl Wickersheimer. The award was accompanied by a $500 check, funded by contributions from the theatrical community.
• The Angstrom Award for career achievement in lighting design was awarded to Luke Moyer. The award was accompanied by a $1000 check, funded by Angstrom Lighting.
• The Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater was awarded to the Rubicon Theatre Company. The award was accompanied by a $500 check, funded by Disney Theatricals.
• The Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre was awarded to Jason Robert Brown. The award was accompanied by a $500 check, funded by David Elzer/Demand PR.
• The Milton Katselas Award for career or special achievement in direction was awarded to Richard Israel. The award was accompanied by a $1000 check, funded by Katselas Theatre Company.
• A special award for lifetime contribution to Los Angeles Theatre was awarded to Kirk Douglas.

The Curtain Call Series brings Disney's Beauty and the Beast; the Center premieres of Rock of Ages, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Night Ranger, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more; plus Dolly Parton's hilarious 9 to 5: The Musical. And as a Bonus Event, the Center welcomes back Mamma Mia!, the global sensation featuring the music of ABBA.

Center President Terry Dwyer said, "The Center has a great Broadway Season lined up for 2010 - 2011, with 10 shows that encompass much-loved classics, eagerly-awaited revivals and several of the newest shows and productions that have lately taken Broadway and the musical theater world by storm. It's the kind of season that our audience has come to expect from the Center, one that showcases the richness and variety of the musical theater tradition."

2010-2011 Season

Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
October 12 - 24, 2010

A stunning reinvention produced by Lincoln Center Theater, South Pacific swept the 2008 Tony Awards®, winning seven honors including Best Musical Revival. The breathtaking new production features a cast of 34 and a full orchestra of 26 members -- the largest orchestra of any touring Broadway production. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. The beloved score's songs include "Some Enchanted Evening," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," "This Nearly Was Mine" and "There is Nothin' Like a Dame." USA Today cheers, "Gorgeous! South Pacific doesn't just float; it soars!"

Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the smash hit Broadway musical, comes to the Center in an all-new production from the original Broadway creative team! Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature film, this eye-popping spectacle has won the hearts of over 35 million people worldwide. This classic musical love story is filled with unforgettable characters, lavish sets and costumes, and dazzling production numbers including "Be Our Guest" and the beloved title song. Experience the romance and enchantment of Disney's Beauty and the Beast !

Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to almost 100 million spectators around the globe. Its name is synonymous with innovation and exhilaration in high-quality entertainment. Now, Cirque du Soleil is bringing its unique brand of theatricality and spectacle to the Center in a not-to-be missed production.

The Public Theater's new Tony-winning production of Hair is the most electric celebration on Broadway! This exuberant musical about a group of young Americans searching for peace and love in a turbulent time has struck a resonant chord with audiences young and old. Hair features an extraordinary cast and dozens of unforgettable songs, including "Aquarius," "Let the Sun Shine In," "Good Morning, Starshine" and "Easy To Be Hard." Its relevance is undeniable. Its energy is unbridled. Its truth is unwavering. It's Hair, and IT'S TIME.

There's only one Broadway show this season with the heart of a musical comedy and the attitude of a sold-out, arena-rock spectacle -- Rock of Ages. Don't miss this hilariously good time about a small town girl and a big city dreamer who meet in LA and learn the Sunset Strip's greatest lesson: Don't Stop Believin'! You'll want to sing out loud to some of the most powerful songs ever written by music legends Journey, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Foreigner, Pat Benatar and more. Get ready to raise your voice and lift your lighter -- Rock of Ages comes home to Southern California.

Entertainment Weekly calls Wicked "the best musical of the decade," and when it first played the Center in 2006, it broke box office records and sold out in record time. Winner of 26 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards®, Wicked is Broadway's biggest blockbuster, a cultural phenomenon and was just named "the defining musical of the decade" by The New York Times.

Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the land of Oz. One -- born with emerald green skin -- is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for "the most complete and completely satisfying new musical in a long time" ( USA Today ).

9 to 5: The Musical is a hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era. This new musical comedy is based on the hit movie and features DOLLY PARTON's original hit title song along with her new Tony Award®- and Grammy- nominated score. The book is by PATRICIA RESNICK, co-writer of the original screenplay. 9 to 5: The Musical tells the story of three unlikely friends who conspire to take control of their company and learn there's nothing they can't do -- even in a man's world. Outrageous, thought-provoking and even a little romantic, 9 to 5: The Musical is about teaming up and taking care of business... it's about getting credit and getting even… and it's coming to the Center!

Mamma Mia! is the ultimate feel-good show that has audiences coming back again and again to relive the thrill. Now it's your turn to have the time of your life at this smash-hit musical that combines ABBA's greatest hits, including "Dancing Queen," "S.O.S.," "Super Trouper," "Take A Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All," with an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship. Whether it's your first visit or your fourteenth, see the show that has the whole world coming back for more, because every time feels like the first time at Mamma Mia!

Beginning in July 2011, the world's most famous nanny will arrive at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Combining the best of the original stories by P.L. Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film, the Tony® Award-winning Mary Poppins is everything you'd hope for in a Broadway musical -- and more. Produced by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, the show includes such wonderful songs as "Chim Chim Cher-ee," "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Let's Go Fly a Kite" and, of course, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." The NY Daily News hails Mary Poppins as "a roof-raising, toe-tapping, high-flying extravaganza!" Let your imagination take flight at this perfectly magical musical!

More than fifty years ago one musical changed theater forever. Now it's back on Broadway mesmerizing audiences once again. From the first note to the final breath, West Side Story soars as the greatest love story of all time. Directed by its two-time Tony® Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents, West Side Story remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The new Broadway cast album of West Side Story recently won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway's finest and features such classics of the American musical theatre as "Something's Coming," "Tonight," "America," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere."

Season tickets to the Broadway and Curtain Call Series as well as the Bonus Event can be purchased online at OCPAC.org. Tickets for the Bonus Event are available at this time only with the purchase of a season ticket package. Single tickets will go on sale approximately six weeks prior to the engagements. Tickets and additional information may also be obtained by contacting the Center's Box Office at 714.556.2787 or visiting 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 92626.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Pacific Coast Highway and the Ventura (101) Freeway. The amphitheaters are terraced into the hillside, so audience members are advised to dress casually (warmly for evenings) and bring cushions for bench seating. Picnickers are welcome on the grounds before or after the performances. For tickets, group discounts, and a full schedule of theater, music and family entertainment, call (310) 455-3723 or go to www.theatricum.com.
]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=15 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=15 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:59:27 -0500 Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris which will preview on Wednesday, April 7; Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, April 10 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May 9 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center. The production conception, English lyrics, and additional material is by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman and is based on Jacques Brel's lyrics and commentary with music by Jacques Brel.

In 2006, this forgotten treasure of musical theatre was rediscovered in New York, and now it returns triumphantly to Los Angeles where it hasn't been seen in years. The genius of Jacques Brel is beautifully captured in this brilliant collection of timeless songs - songs of passionate desire and heartbreak, of youthful exuberance and world-weariness, of joyful hope and forgotten dreams. As fresh and poignant as ever, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well... reflects the full scope of what it means to be alive, where every song is a story.                                                              \

Director Jon Lawrence Rivera is making his Colony debut.  Mr. Rivera just directed Oedipus El Rey by Luis Alfaro at the Theatre @ Boston Court (and its original 2008 workshop at the Getty Villa). Other recent works include The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown (with an Asian-American cast at East West Players), Miss Saigon by Schönberg/Boublil, Ruby, Tragically Rotund by Boni B. Alvarez, Laws Of Sympathy by Oliver Mayer, The Joy Luck Club by Susan Kim, Sea Change by Nick Salamone (2009 LA Weekly Award for Direction), The Third From The Left by Jean Colonomos (2008 NY Fringe Festival), Hillary Agonistes by Nick Salamone (2007 NY Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Direction), Havana Bourgeois by Carlos Lacamara (2008 GLAAD nomination), Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn (Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre), Conjunto by Oliver Mayer, References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot by Jose Rivera, the Sondheim/Lapine musical Into The Woods, and Barefoot Boy With Shoes On by Edwin Sanchez.  A four-time Ovation Award nominee, he is the founding artistic director of Playwrights' Arena, and his productions have garnered over 100 local and international awards.

Musical Director Brent Crayon has had the privilege of working with such notable artists as Stephen Schwartz, Daisy Prince, Scott Schwartz, Chen Shi-Zheng, Kay Cole, and Richard Maltby, and he is thrilled to be working once again with Jon Lawrence Rivera. Favorite productions include the West Coast premieres of Songs for a New World and Tick, Tick...BOOM! and the world premiere productions of Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots and John Bucchino's It's Only Life. An accomplished and multi-faceted musician, Brent has been a featured soloist in ensembles throughout Southern California, including Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and the Ventura Chamber Orchestr

Ticket prices for Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris range from $37.00 - $42.00 (student, senior and group discounts are available). For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.colonytheatre.org.    ]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=14 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=14 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:26:29 -0500 Deaf West Theatre, Ed Waterstreet, Artistic Director, has announced their next production, My Sister In This House by Wendy Kesselman. Directed by Michael Unger, My Sister... will begin previews on Saturday, April 10 and is set to open on Saturday, April 17 at 8pm. The engagement will run through Sunday, May 30. My Sister... follows the critical and audience success of their last production, the special 30th anniversary Children of a Lesser God last Fall.

Based on the true story of the Papin sisters, who suffered an abusive childhood followed by a dark and foreboding workplace in 1930s France, My Sister In This House is a haunting play exploring class struggle, identity, and what happens when the need for connection and companionship is abused and ignored. This bizarre tale inspired many writers of the era, including Jean Genet and Jean Paul Sartre.

The themes of this play are highlighted by the unique theatrical experience for which Deaf West Theatre is known. In this production, deaf and hearing actors will perform in a multi-lingual setting of American Sign Language, spoken English, and open captioning. The divide between the deaf and the hearing worlds provides added thematic weight to the world in which the Papin sisters live.

Three special 10am performances (Tuesdays; April 20, May 18 and May 25) will be offered for local deaf and hard of hearing high school students as part of Deaf West Theatre's Dramatic Gestures educational outreach programming.

Tickets are on sale now, and prices are $15 for previews, $25 for regular performances, and $50 for opening night. To purchase tickets, visit www.deafwest.org, or call 818-762-2773.

Starting out as a Country & Western singer in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy and his two friends, Joe and Jerry, form 'The Crickets' and with the support of a local radio DJ, 'Hipockets' Duncan, they begin to carve out a career in music.

After an inauspicious start at Decca Records in Nashville, Buddy and the Crickets sign a contract with up-and-coming innovative record producer, Norman Petty. Within hours of meeting they start to record Buddy's biggest hit "That'll Be The Day" which will rocket up the charts to number one in a matter of weeks. Buddy Holly & the Crickets suddenly become the hottest act in the country.

Now successful, the Crickets travel to New York, where Buddy meets and proposes to Maria Elena Santiago, the Puerto Rican receptionist of his music publisher, after a courtship which takes all of five hours! Newly married and ambitious, Buddy completely shifts his focus to New York and an inevitable rift develops between him and the Crickets. After a declaration of home truths during a recording session in Clovis, the band split and Buddy unexpectedly finds himself having to pursue a solo career. The 'Winter Dance Party 1959' is a tour that is travelling by bus through the Midwest, quenching the teenage thirst for the new music called Rock & Roll. The tour is hard work, the weather conditions appalling and the performers are alternating between sleeping in the luggage racks and dropping into hospital to be treated for frostbite.

Here, Buddy's final performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, with Ritchie Valens ("La Bamba") and the 'Big Bopper' J.P. Richardson ("Chantilly Lace") is recreated. After the concert, Buddy breaks his promise to his pregnant wife not to fly as he and the other two headliners board a small plane and fly off into the night for Moorhead only to crash into a ploughed field shortly after take-off. There are no survivors.

The tragedy snatches away the lives of three of the world's most dynamic musical talents - Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17) and the Big Bopper (28) - and as the legend says, it was "the day the music died..."

Buddy Holly's brief life has become the stuff of legend. Now, Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story tells the incredible story of the three years in which Buddy Holly became the world's top recording artist with a show that features over 20 of Buddy Holly's greatest hits including "Peggy Sue," "That'll Be The Day," "Oh Boy," "Not Fade Away," "Everyday," "Rave On," "Maybe Baby," "Raining In My Heart," Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba," and the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace." Over 20 million people from around the globe have come to see Buddy and experienced the magical talents of the young man with glasses named Charles Hardin 'Buddy' Holly, whose musical career spanned an all-too-brief period in our history. Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story is a celebration of that legend and catches that unique mixture of innocence, determination, humor and charm that truly deserves the billing: "The World's Most Successful Rock & Roll Musical."

Tickets range from $35 - $50 and can be purchased at La Mirada Theatre's website, www.lamiradatheatre.com or by calling the La Mirada Theatre Box Office at 562-944-9801 or 714-994-6310.

One New York critic, in writing about Trying, said that the play "demands a duo who work unfailingly in synch, with a cadence that plays to little intellectual dances." That's exactly what audiences will get at Rubicon, where the actors have been working in synch for much of their lives. The production stars father-and-daughter actors Robin Gammell and Winslow Corbett.

Scion of an old Philadelphia Mainline family (his ancestor William Biddle bought land directly from William Penn and he was a distant relative of James Madison), the real Francis Biddle was a complicated man. A Harvard graduate and a successful attorney, he threw off the expectations of his upbringing and made it his life's work to stand up for the downtrodden and fight for what is right. And yet, despite his sense of social justice and the great good he achieved in his lifetime (he was part of the tribunal that convicted Hermann Goering and Rudolph Hess), he was not without contradictions. It was Biddle's duty during World War II to order the FBI to round up Japanese-born American citizens and take them to interment camps, a fact that continued to haunt him throughout his life. In a letter to Stanford Professor Shiko Furukawa, he later wrote, "Never again will I trust that mystic cliche 'military necessity.'

Joining Gammell on stage as Sarah, is his daughter Winslow Corbett, who made her Rubicon debut (and worked with her father for the first time ever) in You Can't Take It With You, playing Alice Sycamore. Although recently graduated from the conservatory at program at SUNY Purchase, Corbett (also the daughter of actress Gretchen Corbett), has amassed an impressive number of credits. In New York, she has appeared as Thea in The Lark at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Jill in The Skin Game for the Mint Theatre, and Gladys in Skin of Our Teeth at Lincoln Center Director's Lab. She recently made her South Coast Rep debut as Poppy in Noises Off . In the National Tour of The Graduate , she starred as Elaine. Other credits include Williamstown Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, ACT and Pittsburgh Public. Winslow should prove to be not only a match for Judge Biddle, but for Gammell as well.

Trying originated at the Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago, where The Chicago Sun-Times called the play, "One of the finest pieces of theatre I have seen in many years -- a glittering, diamond-hard script." It moved Off-Broadway in 2004 in a production starring Fritz Weaver and was one of the final roles essayed by James Whitmore (in Washington, D.C. ). Alan Mandell garnered great acclaim as Biddle for his performance and encore run at the Colony Theatre a few years ago. The production has continued to receive recognition throughout the world. Of the London premiere in 2009, critic Kevin Quarmby wrote, "It's rare to leave a theatre having been moved to laughter and tears by a production, the simplicity and integrity of which is as refreshing as it is strangely reassuring. Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass is an astonishing play."

Tickets may be purchased in person through the Rubicon Theatre Company box office, located at 1006 E. Main Street ( Laurel entrance). To charge by phone, call 805-667-2900. Or visit Rubicon online at www.rubicontheatre.org .

While not part of the traditional 7-Show Package, Broadway/L.A. Season Ticket Holders will be given first opportunity to purchase the best available seats for three additional events at the Pantages Theatre in 2010-2011: the Farewell Engagement of The Phantom of the Opera, Spring Awakening and Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles will all revisit Southern California during the season.

Season Tickets will go on sale to the general public at a later date. First access will be given to those who are signed up to receive email "e-lerts" from Broadway/L.A. To register, please visit www.BroadwayLA.org. Following an exclusive online-only ordering time frame, Season Tickets will be available for order by phone toll-free at 866-755-BWAY (2929) or by mail order. To encourage the public to take advantage of our faster and easier online ordering option, those ordering Season Tickets online will also enjoy savings of up to $14 for each person in their season package.

In addition to the full 7-Show Season Ticket Package, Broadway/L.A. offers a smaller package that covers the first five season events of the year (West Side Story, Hair, Traces, Rock Of Ages and the TBA show). Season Packages start as low as $153 for a 5-Show Plan, or $237.50 for a 7-Show Plan.

While tickets for individual productions will not go on sale to the public until later dates (to be announced), those who wish to purchase 10 or more tickets to any single performance are welcome to reserve priority seats now by calling Nederlander Group Sales West toll-free at 866-755-3075 or by visiting www.nedgroups.com.

The 2010-2011 season includes:

West Side Story
Pantages Theatre
November 30 - December 19, 2010

Last season, West Side Story returned to Broadway and became a huge hit, proving as powerful and poignant to modern audiences as it was when it forever changed theater a more than fifty years ago. From the first note to the final breath, West Side Story powerfully envelops audiences in one of the greatest love stories of all time.

The new West Side Story opened at Broadway's legendary Palace Theatre last March, receiving the kind of critical acclaim that tells New Yorkers there's a new must-see theatrical event in town. Soon, audiences from near and far were flocking to the show, which resulted in box office records that would propel the lavish $14 million production to recoup its investment after running just 30 weeks.

Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
Pantages Theatre
January 5 - 23, 2011

An electric celebration which paved the way for some of the greatest musicals of our time, Hair is a force of undeniable, unwavering and unbridled passion.

With a score including such enduring musical numbers as "Let the Sun Shine In," Aquarius," "Hair" and "Good Morning Starshine," Hair depicts the birth of a cultural movement in the 60's and 70's that changed America forever.

The musical follows a group of hopeful, free-spirited young people who advocate a lifestyle of pacifism and free-love in a society riddled with intolerance and brutality during the Vietnam War. As they explore sexual identity, challenge racism, experiment with drugs and burn draft cards, the show resonates with an irresistible message of hope more than 40 years after it first opened on Broadway.

Hairwon the 2009 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival and is currently playing on Broadway where it also received the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical. The Hair cast recording was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

Traces
Ricardo Montalban Theatre
January 11 - February 20, 2011

7 Fingers (Les 7 doigts de la main) is an acclaimed French Canadian company of performers who have pioneered a whole new brand of circus. Their show, Traces, became the runaway hit of the 2007 Edinburgh Festival, and now it is coming to Los Angeles for the very first time.

Combining awe-inspiring circus training with infectious urban energy, seven performers dazzle audiences with their gravity-defying displays of skill. Members of the troupe balance casually on each other's heads, tumble through hoops, and leap spectacularly up giant poles without using their hands.

But Traces is more than just a display of acrobatic brilliance. Snippets of the performers' real lives are revealed through film clips, narration and music. We are gradually drawn into their story, and by the final, dramatic climax of the show, the audience is on the edge of their seats, willing the performers to pull off what might have seemed impossible before the show began.
Set to a soundtrack ranging from rock 'n roll to blues to hip hop, Traces is a thrill-a-minute show that has left audiences begging for more.

Rock Of Ages
Pantages Theatre
February 15 - 27, 2011

Just over 5 years from the time the show was born in a bar less than half a mile away on Hollywood Boulevard, Rock Of Ages will open at Pantages Theatre. This 1/2 mile journey 5 years in the making is a lifetime of difference for the show, which has since become one of the biggest cult phenomena of Broadway's new century.

Rock Of Ages transports audiences back to the Sunset Strip, circa 1987, where a small town girl meets a big city rocker in L.A.'s most famous rock club. There, they fall in love to the greatest songs of the 80s in an awesomely outrageous story about dreaming big, playing loud, and partying on!

New Line Cinema recently won the screen rights for Rock of Ages. Librettist D'Arienzo will not only pen the screenplay but will direct the feature film as well.

The musical is an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits from such rockers as Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia and Whitesnake.

TO BE ANNOUNCED
Pantages Theatre
March 9 - 20, 2011

Burn The Floor
Pantages Theatre
April 26 - May 8, 2011

Years before Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance turned ballroom dancing into must-see TV, one sizzling show was setting stages ablaze around the globe. Burn The Floor, the electrifying Latin and Ballroom dance spectacular that has thrilled audiences in over 30 countries, brings the fire and passion of live ballroom performance to the Broadway stage.

Directed and choreographed by Jason Gilkison, former World Champion Latin and Ballroom dancer, and guest choreographer on the fourth season of So You Think You Can Dance, Burn The Floor brings the talents of 20 award-winning international dancers from around the globe. Burn The Floor is a breathtaking blend of Latin and Ballroom dance first conceived as a special performance at Sir Elton John's 50th birthday celebration in 1997. Two years later, the show made its world premiere in the U.K. and quickly took the globe by storm.

From Harlem's hot nights at The Savoy, where dances such as the Lindy, Foxtrot and Charleston were born, to the Latin Quarter where the Cha-Cha, Rumba and Salsa steamed up the stage, Burn The Floor takes audiences on a journey through the passionate drama of dance. The elegance of the Viennese Waltz, the exuberance of the Jive, the intensity of the Paso Doble - audiences will experience them all, as well as the Tango, Samba, Mambo, Quickstep, and Swing. Burn The Floor is ballroom, reinvented.

Shrek The Musical
Pantages Theatre
July 12 - August 7, 2011

Shrek The Musical, based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film that started it all, brings the hilarious story of everyone's favorite ogre to life the stage.

In a faraway kingdom turned upside down, things get ugly when an unseemly ogre - not a handsome prince - shows up to rescue a feisty princess. Throw in a donkey who won't shut up, a bad guy with a SHORT temper, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand... and his name is Shrek.

Shrek The Musical tells the story of this swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, the unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren't only found in fairy tales.

Featuring a terrific score of 19 all-new songs, big laughs, great dancing and breathtaking scenery, Shrek The Musical is part romance, part twisted fairy tale and all irreverent fun for everyone!

Optional Season Event #1
The Phantom Of The Opera
Pantages Theatre
September 23 - October 17, 2010

The national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom Of The Opera, known as the Music Box Company, will play its final performance right here in Los Angeles at the Pantages Theatre.

The musical has been represented on the road since the First National began performances in Los Angeles in May 1989. Since that time, there have been three U.S. national touring productions. The First National Tour (Christine Company) played Los Angeles and San Francisco for a combined total run of almost 10 years, grossing $305,192,485 with 3,902 performances and 6.6 million patrons. The Second National Tour (Raoul Company) played major markets during an eight and a half year run, grossed $393,608,819 with 3,364 performances and 7.5 million patrons. The Third National Tour (Music Box Company) is the only production still currently touring the U.S. and has played over 7,000 performances and recently celebrated its 17th anniversary in December 2009.

With some of the most lavish sets, costumes and special effects ever to have been created for the stage, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom Of The Opera directed by Harold Prince traces the tragic love story of a beautiful opera singer and a young composer shamed by his physical appearance into a shadowy existence beneath the majestic Paris Opera House. Adapted from Gaston Leroux's classic novel of mystery and suspense, this award-winning musical has woven its magical spell over standing room audiences in more than 100 cities worldwide and is now the longest running show in Broadway history.
The Phantom Of The Opera has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is directed by Harold Prince. Lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Hailed as the "Best Musical of the Year" by the NY Drama Critics Circle, the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle and the Tony Awards, Spring Awakening has emerged as one of the most talked about new musicals of Broadway's last decade. The show swept the 2007 Tony Awards, winning eight out of its eleven nominations, including Best Musical, Best Director (Michael Mayer), Best Book (Steven Sater), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones), Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams), Best Featured Actor (John Gallagher Jr.).

Based on the infamous 1891 Frank Wedekind play, Spring Awakening features an electrifying score by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics Steven Sater, direction by Michael Mayer and choreography by the award-winning Bill T. Jones. Set against the backdrop of a repressive and provincial late 19th century Germany, this groundbreaking musical tells the timeless story of teenage self-discovery and budding sexuality as seen through the eyes of three teenagers. Haunting and provocative, Spring Awakening celebrates an unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with power, poignancy and passion.

From The Ed Sullivan Show to Abbey Road, Rain covers the Fab Four from the earliest beginnings through the psychedelic late 60s and their long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. All the music and vocals are performed totally live, and audiences sing along to such Beatlemaniac favorites as "Let It Be," "Hey Jude," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Come Together," "Can't Buy Me Love," and so many more.

The four band members look and sound just like The Beatles, so much so, that audiences lose themselves in the experiencing, giving themselves over to a kind of heightened reality that involves not only music, but a multi-media, multi-dimensional experience that includes historical video footage and hilarious television commercials from the 1960s, as well as live close-ups that transport audience members into an even more intimate encounter.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=9 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=9 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:22:54 -0600 RFK: The Journey to Justice by Murray Horwitz and Jonathan Estrin, a commission for L.A. Theatre Works led by the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and co-commissioned by the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, Stanford Lively Arts at Stanford University, and the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond, wraps up a two-month, ten-city national tour with five performances at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles March 17-21. 

RFK: The Journey to Justice is directed by John Rubinstein and stars Henry Clarke as Robert F. Kennedy, Philip Casnoff as John F. Kennedy, and Kevin Daniels as Martin Luther King. Also in the cast, playing a variety of characters that includes RFK aide John Seigenthaler (whom Horwitz and Estrin interviewed as part of their research); Lyndon B. Johnson; Coretta Scott King; and Cesar Chavez among others, are Michael Leydon Campbell, Kyle Colerider-Krugh, Ross Hellwig, Thomas Vincent Kelly, Sheilynn Wactor and John Wesley.  L.A. Theatre Works will record the Skirball performances for broadcast on its nationally syndicated radio series, which airs locally in Southern California on 89.3 KPCC every Saturday from 10 pm - midnight and can be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.

How did Robert Kennedy ultimately grow into his role as a leader within the civil rights movement?  Horwitz and Estrin spent months combing through articles, speech transcriptions and private conversations to uncover the sequence of events that transformed Kennedy from a political player to a true believer in a higher cause. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous 1960s, the resulting docudrama chronicles the challenges, victories and defeats of the civil rights movement through RFK's experiences, as he ultimately became one of its principal champions and crusaders.  His moving story provides a compelling and dramatic illumination of this crucial decade, enabling a new generation to hear the words, feel the tension, and explore the issues that still resonate today.

"In 1960, neither Bobby Kennedy nor his brother was very involved with civil rights," explained L.A. Theatre Works Producing Director Susan Loewenberg.  "They thought it was an important issue, but also something that had to be managed politically, because it was fraught with danger for them with regard to the Southern Democrats, whom they did not want to alienate. They were very focused on getting John elected."

As Horwitz and Estrin conducted research for the play, they began to realize that the crux of the story was of one man's journey over eight years of incredible change - a story that mirrored what was going on in society at the time.

"By the end, he was a true believer," Horwitz concluded. "It was no longer just politics."

For three decades, L.A. Theatre Works has been the leading radio theater company in the United States, committed to using innovative technologies to preserve and promote significant works of dramatic literature and bringing live theater into the homes of millions. L.A. Theatre Works' radio theater series is heard locally in Southern California every Saturday from 10 pm to midnight on 89.3 KPCC, and can also be streamed on demand at www.latw.org. The series is also heard on the following stations (check local listings for broadcast times): 89.7 WGBH, Boston; 91.5 WBEZ, Chicago; 94.9 KUOW, Seattle; 90.1 WABE, Atlanta; 94.1 KPFA, Berkeley; 91.1 KRCB, North Bay (San Francisco); 89.3 KVPR, Fresno; 89.1 PRX, Bakersfield; and many other stations nationwide.

For tickets and information, call the L.A. Theatre Works box office at 310-827-0889 or go to www.latw.org.]]> http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=8 http://www.theatreinla.com/news.php?articleID=8 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:21:45 -0600 Despite the closing of Pasadena Playhouse, Furious Theatre Company has made arrangements to remain upstairs in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre for now and open the West Coast Premiere of Men Of Tortuga by Jason Wells one week later than originally planned. Men Of Tortuga will now preview on Wednesday, February 24; Thursday, February 25 and Friday, February 26 at 8 p.m. with a new opening date of Saturday, February 27 at 8 p.m. and run through Sunday, March 28 at the home of Furious Theatre Company, the Pasadena Playhouse Carrie Hamilton Theatre, 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena.

"We've been heartened by the outpouring of goodwill from the arts community" Furious Theatre Company General Manager and Ensemble member Nick Cernoch said. "The closing of Pasadena Playhouse will no doubt dramatically change our future and we are exploring all possibilities for the short and long term life of our company. Now more than ever we'll need the support of our fans and all theatre lovers out there to help us keep growing and to produce the rest of our 2010 season. We will have exciting news in the coming month regarding a location for the Los Angeles premiere of boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb and plans for the World Premiere of Matt Pelfrey's NogoodDeed. Southern California audiences have come to expect a unique "furious" experience from us and despite this game-changing challenge, our ensemble will keep working to deliver."

Men of Tortuga deals with three power-brokers scheme with a weapons specialist to assassinate a despised opponent... Too bad they're all such incompetents. The bungling only gets worse as Maxwell, the senior power-broker, takes a young idealist under his wing. Suddenly his long-dormant conscience begins to reawaken and he must decide whether the ends justify their means.  This comedic thriller discloses a sharp parable that takes a crack at the nastiness of covert governmental and corporate operations.  

The critically-acclaimed Furious Theatre Company are artists in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse committed to edgy, innovative and original works. The company debuted in April 2002 after they were generously granted the use of a 9,000 square foot section of Armory Northwest, a former plastics factory. The company converted the raw warehouse into an alternative performance space. Risers were constructed, the lighting grid hung and stage curtains built, all by the ensemble.  In that converted warehouse, they rapidly produced five plays in 12 months.  These productions earned 6 NAACP Theatre Award nominations, two LA Weekly Award nominations and numerous critics' picks from the Los Angeles media. The company also received the Pasadena Arts Council's Gold Crown Award and The Debut Award from Back Stage West. In September 2003, the City of Pasadena reclaimed the Armory Northwest and Furious needed to move. After a 13-month search, the Pasadena Playhouse granted Furious a residency at its Balcony Theatre (later renamed the Carrie Hamilton Theatre), the Playhouse's 99-seat second stage. 

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.furioustheatre.org. For more info call 626-792-7116.  Single ticket prices are $32; Students $10 rush; Previews are $15.

Actor, playwright and musician Jeff Daniels wrote Escanaba in da Moonlight for Michigan's Purple Rose Theatre in the 1990s. He wasn't sure how the show would be received at home, let alone anywhere else. The play was an overwhelming success, not only in Michigan, but also throughout all the states, including at Little Fish Theatre in 2009.

Audiences were eager for more deer camp antics, so, in 2006, Daniels took us back in time with a prequel called Escanaba in Love. The show, set 40 years before Escanaba in da Moonlight, shows the humble beginnings of Albert Soady Jr. and his true love, Big Betty Balou. The play has that same Daniels' off-beat, quirky "Yooper" humor found in the first play, plus some very poignant themes about love and forgiveness, making this theatre piece just as heartwarming as it is hysterical.

Gia Jordahl, who helmed the original Escanaba production in 2009, will direct both Escanaba in Love and Escanaba in da Moonlight. Judging by the success of last year's adventure into Yooper territory, Escanaba in Love promises to be the perfect vacation from winter blues and the ideal way to hunt down some hearty laughter .

For tickets and more information visit LittleFishTheatre.org