Catherine Rahm News

How do you solve a problem like that child Shelby?! You don't. A tender, funny, sad, funny play about the family tug of war between mother (M'lynn) and daughter (Shelby). And their friends who all come to the same beauty parlor where life and its issues get discussed and dissected in a very Southern and ladylike way. A perennial favorite of the American stage!

BRIGHT STAR opens on September 26 at Garden Grove's historic GEM THEATRE presented by the award-winning One More Productions - one of Southern California's leading musical theater companies.

Kentwood Players, the community theater group based at the Westchester Playhouse, was founded in December 1949 by Jan and Arky Marcom, for whom the group's annual Marcom Masque Awards are named. The first Marcom Masque Awards were presented for the 1957-1958 season with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof winning the award for Best Play. The 2018-2019 season included the following six productions: Match, Daddy's Dyin', Who's Got the Will?, Dangerous Obsession, Disney's The Little Mermaid, Our Town, and Sunday in the Park with George. Awards are determined by all Kentwood Players members who voted by secret ballot in several artistic categories after seeing each show, Season Subscribers, and production teams for all shows.

'Pippin' is a musical written by Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson and originally directed by Bob Fosse. It tells the story of the young son of Charlemagne desperately looking for a place to belong.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the musical PIPPIN, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Roger O. Hirson. Performances take place at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. There will be a complimentary pre-show champagne and dessert reception between 7:00-7:30pm for season subscribers and their guests attending the Saturday, May 18th performance. Performance dates are May 17th through June 22nd on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm.

Kentwood Players presents the play DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, and book by Doug Wright based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film. Performances take place at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. There will be a complimentary pre-show champagne and dessert reception between 7:00-7:30pm for season subscribers and their guests attending the Saturday, November 10th. Performance dates are November 9th through December15th on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. In addition, there will be two Saturday matinees at 2pm on December 1st and December 8th.

Kentwood Players presents the play DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, and book by Doug Wright based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film. Performances take place at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. There will be a complimentary pre-show champagne and dessert reception between 7:00-7:30pm for season subscribers and their guests attending the Saturday, November 10th. Performance dates are November 9th through December15th todays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. In addition, there will be two Saturday matinees at 2pm on December 1st and December 8th.

Kentwood Players presents the play DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, and book by Doug Wright based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film. Performances take place at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. There will be a complimentary pre-show champagne and dessert reception between 7:00-7:30pm for season subscribers and their guests attending the Saturday, November 10th. Performance dates are November 9th through December15th on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. In addition, there will be two Saturday matinees at 2pm on December 1st and December 8th.

Climbing the corporate ladder has always been easy for some and difficult for others. This somewhat-dated story, given how the 'Me Too' movement has changed the male-female office environment these days, follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called 'How To Succeed In Business' to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive, tackling such familiar but potent dangers as the company 'Yes' men, backstabbing co-workers who want to succeed by causing you to fail, sexy secretaries looking for love and marriage, high-level executives who use their power to seduce sexy secretaries in private offices and at office parties, office-wide caffeine addiction, and, of course, true love.

Anyone who has ever been involved in a volunteer theatrical production will certainly understand the craziness associated with amateurs attempting to put on a play due to both their lack of acting experience, taking direction, or the maddening interference from its meddling playwright who drops in at every rehearsal with newly revised and/or added scenes which contradict what they have already been rehearsing. Such is the case in Rick Abbot's comedy PLAY ON! which is currently being presented at Theatre Palisades as the second show of its 2018 season, directed by Sherry Coon and produced for the community theater group by Martha Hunter and Sue Hardie.

Each summer, the Torrance Theatre Company opens its season with a musical production at the James Armstrong Theatre. This year, it's SISTER ACT, the feel-good musical comedy smash based on the hit 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg as disco diva Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses a murder and is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won't be a found: a convent! Featuring original music by Tony (and eight-time Oscar) winner Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), this uplifting musical was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The Torrance Theatre Company production is directed by Jim Hormel with musical direction by Bradley Hampton, and choreography by Christopher Albrecht, and features an outstanding live orchestra who knows how to rock the house! The production features a cast of 30 actors from all over Southern California, starring Ashley Elizabeth Crowe as Deloris who transforms herself into Sister Mary Clarence. Crowe will grab your attention every moment she is on stage with her booming voice and over-the-top energy.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the new Broadway musical "BIG FISH" with Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa and Book by John August, based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the Columbia motion picture written by John August, opening Friday, March 17 through Saturday, April 22, 2017 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Los Angeles, CA 90045. Pre-show sweets and champagne receptions will take place from 7:00-7:30pm on opening night March 17 for members and their guests, and on Saturday, March 18 for subscribers and their guests.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the wickedly inspired musical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN with book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, opening Friday, November 11 through Saturday, December 17, 2016 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Los Angeles, CA 90045. The production is directed and choreographed by Alison Mattiza, assisted by Musical Director Catherine Rahm and Assistant Director Valerie Ruel, produced by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete by special arrangement with Musical Theatre International.

Kentwood Players, the community theater group based at the Westchester Playhouse, was founded in December 1949 by Jan and Arky Marcom, for whom the group's annual Marcom Masque Awards are named. The first Marcom Masque Awards were presented for the 1957-1958 season with 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' winning the award for Best Play.

Here's your first look at the musical murder mystery 'SOMETHING'S AFOOT' that spoofs detective stories, most particularly Agatha Christie's, And Then There Were None (a.k.a. Ten Little Indians). The play involves a group of standard British mystery characters (the Cockney servants, the brash retired military man, the imperious dowager, the snoopy spinster, the ne'er-do-well nephew, the ingenue couple) who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour. When the wealthy lord is found dead, it's a comical race against the clock and some outrageous booby traps to find out whodunit.

Here's your first look at the musical murder mystery "SOMETHING'S AFOOT" that spoofs detective stories, most particularly Agatha Christie's, And Then There Were None (a.k.a. Ten Little Indians). The play involves a group of standard British mystery characters (the Cockney servants, the brash retired military man, the imperious dowager, the snoopy spinster, the ne'er-do-well nephew, the ingenue couple) who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour. When the wealthy lord is found dead, it's a comical race against the clock and some outrageous booby traps to find out whodunit.

MAME, the 1966 multiple Tony Award winning musical, based on the biographical novel Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade by Patrick Dennis and subsequent play and film Auntie Mame by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, is a wonderful, warm, and witty narrative enhanced with Jerry Herman's evocative, lively, and sentimental music and lyrics. Bohemian Mame Dennis is a larger-than-life personality living in New York City during the Great Depression. Mame has a collection of eccentric, wealthy society friends and her life is one endless party; that is until her young nephew Patrick "walks into her life."

Kentwood Players presents the Tony Award winning musical "Into the Woods" with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, from Friday, November 14 to Saturday, December 20 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, with two Thursday night performances at 8pm on December 11 and 18 at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Shawn K. Summerer with musical direction by Catherine Rahm, produced by Lori Marple-Pereslete and Tony Pereslete by special arrangement with Music Theatre International.

American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is known for his immense contributions to musical theatre for over 50 years. He is the winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and the Laurence Olivier Award. Sondheim fans are in for a treat this holiday season with two Sondheim shows playing within just a few miles of each other: Kentwood Players at the Westchester Playhouse is presenting 'Into the Woods' and Chromolume at the Attic Theatre is presenting 'Putting it Together' with both productions opening on November 14, 2014.

INTO THE WOODS is tied together by an original story involving a childless baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, their dealings with a Witch who has placed a curse on them, and their interaction with other storybook characters during their journey. Join Cinderella, Little Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel, Jack the Giant Slayer, and many other famous storybook characters as they each venture into the foreboding woods in search of magical items, love, money, or simply a purpose in life. This classic mash-up of Grimm's fairy tales teaches all of us the true consequences of what it means to "get your wish."