Jacqueline Wright News

The west coast premiere of DISTRACTIONS AT THE CRASH SITE: Short Plays by Steve Yockey, directed by Ryan Bergmann, will preview on Wednesday, May 1 at 8pm; opens on Thursday, May 2 at 8pm (press opening) and will run through Saturday, June 1 at Theatre of NOTE.

Something mysterious is going on. Danger, not out of the question. Something… funny. Add a classical string duo. Written and directed by Tony Award winning actor and Second City alum Paul Sand, the world premiere of The Pilot Who Crashed the Party opened at Hollywood’s Broadwater Theatre. Check out photos from the production here!

Tony Award winning actor and Second City alum Paul Sand is proving yet again that you are never too old to follow your dreams in the entertainment world. His resume includes being a Tony and two-time Drama Desk Award-winning actor, writer and director who has been working in film, television, and theatre for over 60 years. And now at the age of 91, he is excited to be directing the world premiere of The Pilot Who Crashed the Party, his off-beat homage to drawing room comedies of the ’30s, this time set in his beloved Santa Monica Mountains. I wondered what his secrets might be to having such an extraordinary lifetime of work and still be writing and directing at 91. So I decided to speak with him to find out!

Something mysterious is going on. Danger, not out of the question. Something... funny. Add a classical string duo. Sit back and enjoy the world premiere of The Pilot Who Crashed the Party, written and directed by Tony Award winning actor and Second City alum Paul Sand. Opening night is set for Saturday, April 8 at Hollywood's Broadwater Theatre, where performances continue through May 7.

Theatre of NOTE will start the new year with the World Premiere of Kirsten Vangsness (“Criminal Minds”) starring as “Nimrod” in the world premiere of NIMROD by Phinneas Kiyomura and directed by Alina Phelan. 

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble joins with Tony Abatemarco to produce Thresholds of Invention, a new series of first looks at pieces-in-progress by prominent L.A. visionaries working in pop-up form.

Paul Sand Projects has announced that it will present a workshop production of THE PILOT WHO CRASHED THE PARTY: A Dangerous Satire in Two Acts, a new play written and directed by Tony and two-time Drama Desk Award winner Paul Sand.

The Echo Theater Company has moved the previously announced Echo LABFest 2022, readings of seven new plays developed in the company's Playwright's Lab under the leadership of Brian Otaño and Hannah Wolf, online.

Interview with award-winning playwright/director Sharon Yablon whose love of surrealism, noir and the darker side of Los Angeles led to the creation of A GARDEN OF TERRIBLE BLOOMS, which offers a dreamlike tour of short plays led by characters through a city that is vanishing, even as they move through it. Each play is set in a different part of L.A., or in nearby places where locals go to escape the city, but find themselves still haunted by it.

Dear Marie, the newest episode in award-winning playwright/director Sharon Yablon's A Garden of Terrible Blooms “short plays of the weird and surreal set in Los Angeles” podcast series, is set to launch on Valentine's Day. To date, ten episodes are available for listening at www.terribleblooms.net.

The Tank (Meghan Finn, Artistic Director) will present the World Premiere of Birthday in the Bronx, written by Paul Hufker (Pedro Reyes' Doomocracy; Manufacturing Mischief at The Tank) and directed by Michaela Escarcega (Resident Director at The Tank) at The Tank (312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues), February 20-March 8. Performances will be on Thursday, February 20 at 7pm, Friday, February 21 at 4pm, Friday, February 21 at 7pm, Saturday, February 22 at 7pm, Sunday, February 23 at 7pm, Monday, February 24 at 7pm, Friday, February 28 at 7pm, Saturday, February 29 at 7pm, Sunday, March 1 at 3pm, Monday, March 2 at 7pm, Thursday, March 5 at 7pm, Friday, March 6 at 4pm, Friday, March 6 at 7pm, Saturday, March 7pm, Sunday, March 8 at 3pm, and Sunday, March 8 at 7pm. Tickets ($20) are available for advance purchase at www.thetanknyc.org. The performance will run approximately 70 minutes, with no intermission.

Driving Wilde, inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, recently opened at Theatre of Note. Read what the critics had to say!

Theatre of NOTE continues its 2019 season with the world premiere of DRIVING WILDE by Jacqueline Wright, directed by Bart DeLorenzo.  DRIVING WILDE will preview Friday and Saturday, August 16 and August 17 at 8pm, and will open on August 22 at 8pm and run through September 21 at Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd (just north of Sunset) in Hollywood.                                                                            

Theatre of NOTE continues its 2019 season with the world premiere of DRIVING WILDE by Jacqueline Wright, directed by Bart DeLorenzo.  DRIVING WILDE will preview Friday and Saturday, August 16 and August 17 at 8pm, and will open on August 22 at 8pm and run through September 21 at Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd (just north of Sunset) in Hollywood.    

Theatre of NOTE presents an entirely NOTE-grown 2019 season! All of this season's playwrights are either current or former NOTE members with plays revolving around the theme "Seeking Truth in a World of Deception.'

As with each passing season, 2018 proved to be another exceptional year for theater not only in Souther California in general but also in Orange County---my home base. This year, the OC finally welcomed the debut of what has become this century's most awarded and most renowned stage musical ever about the Founding Father etched regally on the 10 dollar bill. Meanwhile, So. Cal. enjoyed a powerful surge of new stage works that explored Asian-American experiences, a positive step forward in the presentation of diverse voices we seldom hear from on the stage. A pair of touring musicals---both opening in the O.C. in early 2019---made such an impact in their Los Angeles engagements for me personally that I had to include them in my list, even though I have not 'officially' reviewed the productions for print. With that said, here is my 'Best of 2018' from Orange County and adjacent locales nearby---a mixture of outstanding shows and brilliant performances that made a lasting, memorable imprint in my theatergoing experience this year.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is excited to announce that Sharr White's The Other Place will be adding performances on Friday, October 26 at 8pm; Saturday, October 27 at 3pm and 8pm; and Sunday, October 28 at 3pm. Performances will take place at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage.

In award-winning playwright Sharr White's intriguing 2011 psychological drama THE OTHER PLACE, the play's compelling central figure, 52-year-old laboratory scientist turned drug company marketing exec Juliana Smithton, narrates her own fascinating story directly for the audience. For its stirring Orange County Premiere production currently on stage at Chance Theater in Anaheim through October 21, Juliana is played with powerful, intense ferocity by Jacqueline Wright, in what will surely be noted as one of the season's most memorable dramatic performances you will long remember this year.

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is excited to announce the fifth show in its 20th Anniversary Season ... The Other Place. Written by Sharr White and directed by Matthew McCray, The Other Place will preview from September 21 through September 28; regular performances will begin September 29 and continue through October 21 at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage.

Theatre of NOTE is proud to announce the 23rd Annual Hollywood Performance Marathon, on Saturday, January 20 beginning at 3pm and continuing until dawn, at Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd. (just North of Sunset) in Hollywood. NOTE's Hollywood Performance Marathon celebrates its twenty-third year with over 50 performers who will donate their time and talent to benefit Theatre of NOTE. This highly anticipated local tradition is an all-day-all-night extravaganza of eclectic performances, including comedy, juggling, poetry, puppets, performance art, dance, music, monologues and much more!