NoHo Arts Center presents the return of Yo Ho Ho: A Pirate's Christmas

The multi-award-winning NoHo Arts Center Ensemble (NoHo ACE) presents the third return of its smash-hit, critically-acclaimed original holiday musical, perfect for the whole family, YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS, from the creative team that brought you Dorian, The Ghost and Mrs Muir and Lizard, music and lyrics by Scott DeTurk and James J. Mellon and written and directed by James J. Mellon. YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS will open on Friday, November 26 at 7:30pm and will run for five weeks through Thursday, December 23 at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd. (at Lankershim) in North Hollywood.

A group of directionally challenged Pirates invade the North Pole in the return of this holiday family classic. YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS is the musical event of the holiday season. See how the citizens of the North Pole, including Santa, Mrs. Claus and their many happy elves, (especially a nine year old elf named Eve) save Christmas from the the famous pirate, Black-eyed Johnny, and his gang of wacky buccaneers. You won't want to miss this musical feast of shanties, songs, Santa Claus, and snow.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

JAMES J. MELLON (Director/Choreographer) is proud to be the Artistic Director of The NoHo Arts Center and NoHo ACE, the resident theatre company of the Center. His extensive background in the entertainment industry covers theatre, television, film, recording and dance. As an actor, he made his Broadway debt as Riff in WESTSIDE STORY, directed by Jerome Robbins, performed in A CHORUS LINE, 42ND STREET, and as Jesus in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. He has worked at such theatres as, The Goodspeed Opera House, The New York Shakespeare Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Walnut Street Theatre, The Kennedy Center and The Folger Theatre in Washington D.C. As a director, he created for the Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. the highly acclaimed 'expanded' version of THE FANTASTIKS, starring "Greater Tuna" stars Joe Sears and Jaston Williams. For NoHo ACE, Mr. Mellon directed or directed/choreographed World or West Coast premieres of JERUSALEM, A BOY CALLED LIZARD (Ovation Nomination-Original Musical) based on the novel by Dennis Covington, FEED, a play workshopped and developed by NoHo ACE (LA Weekly nomination-Directing), THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (Ovation Nomination, LA Weekly nomination-Original Musical) which he also adapted from the novel of the same name, BUSH IS BAD (co-directed with Jay Willick winning the LA Weekly award-Acting Ensemble, nomination Best Musical), THE THIEF, PEST CONTROL (LA Weekly nomination-Best Musical) for Canum Entertainment, and last years INSANITY (Co-Produced With Larry Russo). As a writer, he also created DORIAN, a contemporary adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" at the prestigious Buell Theatre, the crown jewel of The Denver Theatre Center and the West Coast Premiere in 2005 at The NoHo Arts Center (Ovation Nomination). His original musical, AN UNFINISHED SONG, was nominated for numerous awards and has been produced in New York, Los Angeles (Tiffany Theatre), Boston (Charles Playhouse) and Sydney, Australia. James received three "Los Angeles Drama-Logue" awards for his book, music and lyrics to THE DREAMER AND THE RUNNER, (an earlier version of AN UNFINISHED SONG). His screenplay, BIRD OF PREY, starred Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Tilly and Lesley Ann Warren. James is the Pastor of The NoHo Arts Center for New Thought and shares his life with his husband Kevin (November 2008 - thank you Gov. Schwarzenegger) and his children Will and Nora.