Rubicon Hosts HOLIDAY CENTRAL with 35 Seasonal Shows, Now thru 12/23
By: BWW News Desk Nov. 29, 2013
Move over Grinch; Santa Claus is coming to town and taking up residence at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura! Rubicon's November/ December HOLIDAY CENTRAL calendar offers a sparkling array of more than 35 shows and events for all ages. The festivities begin with the return of a holiday revue with six Broadway singers and a local children's chorus; followed by a late-night adult comedy presented in a cabaret setting; a poetic reading of wartime love letters; and culminating with an enchanting new musical from the Tony and Olivier Award-winning director of LES MISERABLES and Nicholas Nickleby and the creators of Jane Eyre and Daddy Long Legs, who will have a five-week residency at Rubicon during the holidays.
A RUBICON FAMILY CHRISTMAS CONCERT
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 through SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and the big jolly man himself reunite with the spectacular singers of A RUBICON FAMILY CHRISTMAS CONCERT for a joyous celebration on the Rubicon stage. Glorious renditions of holiday carols and contemporary songs-of-the-season are performed in styles including classical, pop, jazz and gospel. Anyone in search of an instant dose of Christmas spirit need look no further than A Rubicon Family Christmas Concert, described by one critics at "the best and brightest live Holiday Special in town."
The cast includes Joan Almedilla, Teri Bibb, Trey Ellett, Anthony Manough, Natalie Nucci and Brian Sutherland. Almedilla made her Broadway debut as Kim in Miss Saigon, and played leads in the National Tours of LES MISERABLES and Jesus Christ Superstar. Bibb played the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway and in the National Tour, earning a Helen Hayes Award nomination and a Carbonell Award. Ellett played Mark in RENT on Broadway and in the First National Tour, as well as performing in the National tours of tick... tick...BOOM! and The Full Monty; while Manough's Broadway credits include The Lion King and Jesus Christ Superstar. Nucci's Broadway/National Tour credits include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Jesus Christ Superstar. And Sutherland has played leading roles on Broadway in The Sound of Music, 1776, Victor/Victoria, Steel Pier, Cats, and 110 in the Shade.
The six professionals are joined by a chorus of talented young artists from the region: Daniel Brackett, Meghan Carter, Lexie Collins, Madeline Gambon, Elijah Graham, Gus Graham, Allison Martinez, Sophie Massey, Jade McGlynn, Zoë Reed, Bryce Rigney, Trent Rigney and Xander Young, under the direction of concert pianist MIRIAM ARICHEA.
Director BrIan McDonald recently received rave reviews for Rubicon's season opener The Sunset Limited which starred Tucker Smallwood and Joe Spano at Rubicon. McDonald's previous Rubicon credits include Bus Stop (5 Ovation nominations including Best Play), "Master Harold"... and the boys (Indy and StageScene LA Awards), the World Premiere musical Hello! My Baby by Cheri Steinkellner and Forever Plaid.
Other members of the creative team include Gerald Sternbach (Musical Director), Jeremy Pivnick (Lighting Designer) and BRUCE LANDON YAUGER (Sound Designer). LINDA M. TROSS is Stage Manager.
A Rubicon Family Christmas opens Friday, November 29 at 8 p.m. and runs through Sunday, December 8. Performances are Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. All performance are in Helen Yunker Hall at Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main St. Ventura, CA 93001 (the corner of Main and Laurel). Tickets are $35-$59, with $20 tickets for students/active military with ID. Tickets may be purchased through the Rubicon Box Office at (805) 667-2900 or online at www.rubicontheatre.org.
THE SANTALAND DIARIES
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 and SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7
Outrageous, outlandish and irreverent, THE SANTALAND DIARIES by David Sedaris has been dubbed "the 24 funniest pages ever written in the English language." This true story recounts the tale of an unemployed writer, desperate for work, who takes a job as an elf at Macy's Santaland in NYC. BRIan McDonald stars as the beleaguered elf Crumpet (a rebel without a Claus), who does his best to keep Christmas in his heart while dealing with the humiliation of elf training, stressed-out shoppers, screaming kids and general holiday mayhem. Performed in a cabaret setting in Rubicon's downstairs reception hall, this production is sure to be a sell-out!
This special performance is recommended for a mature audience and will be presented downstairs with seating at cocktail tables. Beer, wine, mixed drinks and snacks will be available for purchase prior to the performance.
As an actor, McDonald has appeared on the stages of the Denver Center, Theatre Virginia, The Lyric Stage, La Mirada Performing Arts Center, Ensemble Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center and the Ahmanson. He received the L.A. Weekly Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance as Gaveston in the Circle X production of Edward II directed by Michael Michetti, and has previously appeared at Rubicon in The Importance of Being Earnest and Man of La Mancha.
The Santaland Diaries is directed by STEPHANIE COLTRIN who recently joined Rubicon as the company's new Director of Production. Coltrin was formerly the Artistic Director at Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities and Hermosa Beach Playhouse, where she produced and directed numerous musicals and plays, including Miss Saigon (Ovation Award for Best Musical) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
The Santaland Diaries runs for two performances only, Friday, December 6 at 10 p.m. and Saturday, December 7 at 10 p.m. downstairs in Santa's Village at Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main St. Ventura, CA 93001 (enter through Laurel St. entrance and go downstairs). Tickets are $35 each. Please call Rubicon Theatre Company's box office at (805) 667-2900 or visit rubicontheatre.org.
LUCKY IN LOVE
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13
LUCKY IN LOVE is an original play based on the letters and lives of MICHELINE and ALBERT SAKHAROFF. The story begins the day after the Liberation of Paris. Two young women bicycling along the Seine are stopped by G.I.s asking for directions. Sylvie, fluent in English, converses with the Americans, while Mickey, a shy au pair, stands quietly by. She is approached by a soldier of Russian descent who speaks to her in French. Mickey and "Sack" (as he was called) speak for only a few moments and exchange addresses. Their subsequent letters resonate and echo through time to tell the story of a remarkable, fateful love that grew and flourished despite the strains of war and distance, differences in upbringing and religion, and, ultimately, death.
Lucky in Love is adapted by Karyl Lynn Burns and Jenny Sullivan, with SULLIVAN directing. The show is a benefit for the MICHELINE SAKHAROFF FUND FOR WOMEN ARTISTS AT RUBICON.
Burns co-founded Rubicon in 1998, and serves as the company's Producing Artistic Director. Sullivan has directed Off-Broadway and for numerous regional companies including Williamstown Theatre Festival (six seasons as a resident director), The Long Wharf, Pasadena Playhouse and The Falcon (current production of The Mystery of Irma Vep). She is an Artistic Associate at Rubicon and has directed more than 20 productions for the company.
LUCKY IN LOVE takes place on one-night-only, Friday, December 13 at 7 p.m. The performance will be presented in Helen Yunker Hall at Rubicon Theatre Company located at 1006 E. Main St., Ventura, CA 93001 (the corner of Main and Laurel).
Regular tickets are $75 each. VIP tickets, which include a post-show gala and a tax-deductible contribution to Rubicon are available for $150. Please call Rubicon Theatre Company's box office at (805) 667-2900 or visit rubicontheatre.org.
LITTLE MISS SCROOGE
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18 through MONDAY, DECEMBER 23
LITTLE MISS SCROOGE is a new modern-day musical from the Tony and Olivier Award-winning director of Les Misérable and Nicholas Nickleby and the creators of Jane Eyre and Daddy Long Legs. Little Miss Scrooge combines the love story from "Great Expectations" with the ghost story from "A Christmas Carol."
The plot follows Estella Scrooge, a cool and calculating Wall Street whiz (and a direct descendent of Ebenezer), who goes to Pickwick, Ohio on Christmas Eve to shut down the Harthouse Hotel, a haven for the lost, lonely and dispossessed. Estella's intentions to foreclose, however, are forestalled by her history with the attractive proprietor Phillip (Pip) Nickleby, and by the arrival of a snowstorm. Trapped for the night, Estella is visited by three eccentric ghosts representing the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future who, well...give her the Dickens. Part love story, part ghost story - Little Miss Scrooge is a testament to Charles Dickens' passionate commitment to social reform and his belief in the power of human kindness and generosity.
The idea for Little Miss Scrooge originated with Paul Gordon (composer, lyricist and co-bookwriter), a pop composer who made his mark on the New York theatre scene with his Tony Award-nominated score for the Broadway musical Jane Eyre, which he co-wrote with Caird. His musical Emma was launched at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and has since enjoyed productions at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theater of St. Louis and the Old Globe Theatre, where it won the 2011 San Diego Theatre Critic Circle Award for Best Musical. Gordon also received the 2007 Bay Area Critics Circle Award for the book to Emma.
John Caird (co-bookwriter and director) hails from Britain, where he has established himself as a premiere director and writer of plays, musicals and operas. He has received multiple Olivier Award nominations, winning the top honors for his direction of the musical Nicholas Nickleby and for his revival of the musical Candide. Caird received the Tony Award for his direction of Nicholas Nickleby and LES MISERABLES. He was honored with a L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award for the book of Daddy Long Legs. Caird has directed classic plays at noted British theatres such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, with star-studded casts including such luminaries as Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Ben Kingsley.
Gordon and Caird previously worked together on the Tony Award-nominated musical Jane Eyre, as well as Daddy Long Legs, which has played fifteen U.S. cities and five countries.
For Little Miss Scrooge, Gordon and Caird are joined by Sam Caird (co-bookwriter and co-director). Sam graduated from Oxford University in 2010 where he studiEd English Literature. He has directed his own adaptations of The Nose by Nikolai Gogol and Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens, and was assistant director for Constellations at the Royal Court last season.
Little Miss Scrooge features a cast of 15 extraordinary actors. The production marks the return of Ventura native Andrew Samonsky in the role of Phillip (Pip) Nickleby. Samonsky last appeared on the Rubicon stage in the West Coast premiere of tick... tick...BOOM! which then transferred to the Coronet in L.A. Samonsky has since appeared in three Broadway shows: the Tony Award winning production of Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific as Lt. Joseph Cable ( also on the Live from Lincoln Center PBS broadcast), Scandalous and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Samonsky stars opposite Rebecca Ann Johnson as Estella Scrooge, who has appeared with L.A. theatres such as the Center Theatre Group, Deaf West and Musical Theatre West. She has been featured on television shows "The Middle," "Community," "Las Vegas," and in the films "Breaking Wind" and "Anger Management."
The cast also includes Adam Halpin (Glory Days on Broadway) as Bob Cratchit, RICHARD GOULD (The Phantom of the Opera L.A. and S.F. companies) as Ebenezer Scrooge, Sarah Litzsinger (Broadway's longest-running Belle in Beauty & the Beast) as Jenny Dawkins/Sissy Jupe, Golden Globe Award-winner Amanda McBroom (creator of the song "The Rose"/Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris) as Marla Havisham/Molly, Megan McGinnis (World Premiere of Daddy Long Legs at Rubicon/ LES MISERABLES on Broadway) as Betty Cratchitt/Mercy Pecksniff, JAMES O'NEIL (National Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar) as Merdle/Jaggers and Daniel David STEWART (Master Harold...and the boys) as Smike. ELLIOTT GRABER and ALYSON LINDSAY return in the ensemble.
The actors are backed by a five-piece musical ensemble lead by Musical Director Brent Crayon. Brad Haak serves as Musical Arranger, Supervisor and Orchestrator.
Set and costume design for Little Miss Scrooge is by Olivier Award-winner David Farley (Sunday in the Park with George); lighting design is by Paul Toben (The Story of My Life); and sound design is by BRUCE LANDON YAUGER (Jesus Christ Superstar).
Little Miss Scrooge begins December 18 with a limited run through December 23. Shows are scheduled as follows: Wednesday, December 18 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.; Thursday, December 19 and Friday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, December 21 at 2:00 pm and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, December 22 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.; and Monday, December 23 at 7:00 p.m. Regular ticket prices range from $35 to $59; $20 for students and active military with ID. All performances are in Helen Yunker Hall at Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura. Tickets may be purchased by calling (805) 667-2900 or visiting the Rubicon website at www.rubicontheatre.org.
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