The Colony Theatre Company is excited to present the fifth and final production of its 36th season, the classy, sassy musical, THE ALL NIGHT STRUT!, conceived by Fran Charnas, directed & choreographed by Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel (Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!) with musical direction by Dean Mora. THE ALL NIGHT STRUT! will preview on Wednesday, March 30; Thursday, March 31; and Friday, April 1 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, April 2 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May 1 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.
THE ALL NIGHT STRUT! is a 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, 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, and
Cab Calloway.
The award-winning
Colony Theatre Company was founded in 1975 as a 99-seat Equity-waiver theatre in Silver Lake. Over the years the company was so successful artistically, and built such a large subscriber base, that in 2000 it was able to move into a 270-seat theatre created for it by the City of Burbank, becoming one of only 5 mid-size professional theatres in the LA area that produce a year-round season of plays and musicals, and that employ actors under contract with
Actors' Equity Association. Since the move to Burbank, The Colony was named one of "25 Notable U.S. Theatre Companies" by the Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac for 8 years in a row and voted "Best Live Theatre in LA" in The Daily News 2006 Readers' Choice poll. The company's audience is so loyal that in an era when subscription is declining dramatically, and when the industry-wide "gold standard" renewal rate of 80% is considered unattainable, for the past two seasons The Colony has achieved a subscription renewal rate over 90%.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
Fran Charnas (Conception / Original Director and Choreographer) has directed theatre at various commercial, regional, and college theaters across the country. The All Night Strut! has toured the United States, Canada, and Europe, and was nationally broadcast on PBS. She also conceived and directed Too Marvelous for Words: The Magic of
Johnny Mercer and co-authored and directed a new 60's musical, Sheboppin', which premiered at the Wilbur Theater in Boston. She is currently preparing a musical based on the life of
Ethel Waters. Fran is the former Administrative Director of The Boston Conservatory Summer Institute in Musical Theater, and she is a graduate of Ohio University and Emerson College.
Murphy Cross (Director/Choreographer) won the Tony Award and Ovation Award for co-creating, directing, and producing Broadway's
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! She is a Broadway acting / singing / dancing alumna of A Chorus Line, Pal Joey, Bubbling Brown Sugar, and Division Street. She has directed Sunday's Children All Fall Down, Blinders, The Magic Feather, Lysistrata, Spirit Awakening, Rosie The Riveter, Hollywood Canteen Christmas Spectacular (Best Director nominee, VTL), Sacrifice, Big Tush, Little Tush, Pinocchio, Now And Then, Is This America, Or What?! Choreography credits include Annie Get Your Gun (with
Donna McKechnie), The Cradle Will Rock, A Good Swift Kick!, Both Barrels, Don't Hug Me, Little Shop Of Horrors, Oh, Coward!, Noel & Gertie, Forum, and Anything Goes. TV choreography includes HBO's "Deadwood," "Carnivale," "Yes, Dear," "Roseanne," "CBS Summer Specials," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "Coach," and "It's
Garry Shandling's Show," and she has choreographed for such stars as
John Travolta,
Debbie Reynolds,
Rip Taylor,
Dick Van Dyke, and
Mary Tyler Moore. Murphy has extensive television acting credits including "Numb3rs," "Cheers," "Night Court," "Family Law," and the classic "Taxi" episodes where she played Louie's blind blind-date - and behind the camera, her short film "Blinders" garnered several festival awards. She is a partner in
Wetrock Entertainment, Inc., whose newest show is the musical First Kids, which is coming soon.
Paul Kreppel (Director/Choreographer) won the Tony Award for co-creating, directing, and producing
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! He also won the Ovation Award and an L.A. Drama Critics Circle nomination for the show's run at The
Colony Theatre, in addition to the IRNE Award at Boston's A.R.T., and a
Lucille Lortel nomination for the Off-Broadway run at the
Atlantic Theater Company. As a partner in
Wetrock Entertainment (with
Murphy Cross), he produced the Ovation Award-winning The Big Voice: God or Merman?, and he is currently developing the musical First Kids by
Abraham Tetenbaum and
Norman L. Berman. Theatre directing credits include the Godspell national tour, Both Barrels, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and world premieres of Zero Hour and Don't Hug Me. On and Off-Broadway acting credits include Godspell, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!, The Proposition, and
Joseph Papp's productions of The Comedy of Errors, Agamemnon, and Alice in Concert, in addition to starring in the national tour of
Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Los Angeles appearances include Reprise's Promises, Promises and The Taper's Cabaret Verboten. Among his hundreds of television appearances, he is best remembered as Sonny Mann on the 80's comedy It's A Living. Others include ER and as Jackie's Dad on That 70's Show. TV directing credits include Dave's World, Brotherly Love, and It's A Living.
Dean Mora (Musical Director) is the recipient of the Ovation Award for musical directing Lady MacBeth Sings The Blues at the Rubicon Theatre, and he returns to The
Colony Theatre, having previously worked on No Way To Treat A Lady and The Immigrant. Other musical direction credits include One Touch of Venus, Fade Out Fade In, Good Woman of Setzuan, Seesaw, The Dead, The Threepenny Opera, Do Re Mi, Side By Side By Sondheim,
Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well ..., The World Goes Round, A Little Night Music, Pump Boys and Dinettes, City of Angels, Two By Two, Baby, Man of La Mancha, Ain't Misbehavin', Forever Plaid, The Sound of Music, Weird Romance, Quilters, The Boyfriend, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, The Fantasticks, and Godspell. Outside of the
Theatre World, Dean leads his own big band.
ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM
Michael Dotson returns to The
Colony Theatre following his performance in The Grand Tour, starring
Jason Graae. He recently finished a run of SUDS at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret, and his favorite roles include Bob Crachit in A Christmas Carol and George in I Love A Piano at the
Lawrence Welk Resort Theatre, Gay Divorce for 42nd St Moon in San Francisco, and Forever Plaid at the Las Vegas Flamingo and Actors Theatre of Indiana (where he will perform in The Andrews Brothers later this year). Michael has been a perennial favorite at Sacramento's Music Circus having been seen in over 30 productions over 11 years, including Spamalot, The Music Man, Crazy for You, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Ragtime, and Annie.
JAYME LAKE most recently starred as the clueless Lexie in the long running hit musical, It's the Housewives! in which she made the Back Stage Garland's Critics List 2009 for Best Performance in a Musical. Prior to that Jayme stared as Chelsea in the Off-Broadway production of Hillary Agonistes and she also created the role of Candy in the world premiere musical, YEEHAD! at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. A 2003 graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA), Actor Training Program, Jayme's many stage credits include Ariel in Footloose, Songs for a New World, Tick, Tick, BOOM!!, and Defying Gravity at
Rubicon Theatre Company, Veronica in the world premiere of The Wildest!!! at PCPA, Sandy in Grease, Penny in HONK!, Polly in Crazy For You, Wonderful Town, Little Women, and many more.
SCOTCH ELLIS LORING has performed to great acclaim all over the country. He appeared as Frederick Douglas in the First National Tour of Civil War, and other theatre credits include South Pacific and House of Flowers at the Denver Center Theatre, 80 Days at the
La Jolla Playhouse, and the original company of Jelly's Last Jam and Hope of the Heart, both at the
Mark Taper Forum. In 2009, he released his first album, Standard Scotch, and has just completed the follow up, Original Scotch; both are available on iTunes and Amazon. His television career began with The Facts of Life and now includes Lie to Me, Sons of Tucson, Desperate Housewives, Miss Guided, Wonderfalls, Frasier, 24, Alias, and Malcolm in the Middle. Film work includes Finding
Mr. Wright, Hard Pill, Fight Club, K-911, and Firehouse Dog - where in addition to starring, Scotch wrote and performed the closing theme song Lost Till I Found You. As a writer, Scotch's first produced screenplay, WIG, has been featured in festivals across North America and is currently making the rounds internationally.
Jennifer Shelton toured the country with the First National Company of Ragtime (Livent Inc.) and has performed all over California with such companies as The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra/LA Philharmonic, CLO of South Bay Cities,
Laguna Playhouse, McCoy Rigby, and Sacramento's Music Circus. She's also a frequent headliner of The Carpenter Center, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and Pacific Southwest Symphony. Favorite credits include Jaques Brel is Alive and Well ... for The
Colony Theatre; Songs for a New World, Five Course Love, The Story, Honk!, and Swinging on a Star for International City Theatre; One Touch of Venus, the Spider Woman in Kiss of the Spider Woman,
Lois Lane in It's a Bird ... Superman!, As Thousands Cheer, and Do Re Mi for Musical
Theatre Guild; And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little and A Raisin in the Sun for CCAP; Aldonza in Man of La Mancha for the Rubicon; Cinderella in Into the Woods for Lamb's Players; Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Sarah in Ragtime, and Hello, Dolly! for Moonlight Amphitheatre; Hot Mikado and World Goes ‘Round for Musical
Theatre West; and Rosemary in How to Succeed... for Starlight. Jennifer is a proud member of Musical
Theatre Guild.
THE ALL NIGHT STRUT! has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by Stephen Gifford (LA Weekly Award - Lady). The Lighting Design is by
Luke Moyer (Ovation Award - Dracula). The Costume Design is by Sharon McGunigle (Ovation Award - Alice in One-Hit Wonderland). The Sound Design is by Re
Becca Kessin (Merrily We Roll Along).
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
THE ALL NIGHT STRUT! will open on Saturday, April 2 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday,
May 1. Performances for THE ALL NIGHT STRUT! are Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket prices range from $20.00 - $42.00 (student, senior and group discounts are available). THE ALL NIGHT STRUT! will preview on Wednesday, March 30; Thursday, March 31; and Friday, April 1 at 8:00pm. Opening night performance with reception - all tickets $50.00. There are question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday, April 8, and Thursday, April 21. For tickets, call the
Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.colonytheatre.org.
