The Colony Theatre Company presents the fifth and final production of its 35th anniversary season, the unforgettable 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.