Jules Aaron News

The Ghost of Gershwin, a new old-fashioned musical, will open Friday, May 9th at the Lonny Chapman Theatre located on the edge of the NoHo Arts District.

The Group Rep presents the world premiere musical 'The Ghost of Gershwin,' with music by Wayland Pickard, book by Doug Haverty, lyrics by Laura Manning, directed by Jules Aaron, choreographed by Michele Bernath, and produced by Richard Alan Woody. The play runs May 9 through June 22, 2014, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm at the Lonny Chapman Theatre at the edge of the NoHo Arts District.

We all pursue someone to love out of our fear of being alone in facing life and death, as once you fall in love, you're not alone any more. And in the pursuit of love, you may just find additional comfort in the company of your kin, whoever and wherever they may be when things go wrong as well as right. After all, a good shoulder to cry on or arms to hug you go a long way when heartbreak takes over your life.

As part of the WORLD PREMIERE of Joan Beber's ETHEL SINGS: Espionage in High C, there will be a special talkback with Robert Meeropol, the son of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, tonight, June 29th immediately following the 8pm performance. ETHEL SINGS opens Friday, June 27th atWalker Space & is directed by Jules Aaron & produced by Linda Toliver & Gary Guidinger for Undercover Productions.

Undercover Productions will present the WORLD PREMIERE of ETHEL SINGS: Espionage in High C, written by Joan Beber. ETHEL SINGS begins previews on June 27th, with tonight's June 28th opening at Walker Space. Directed by Jules Aaron, ETHEL SINGS has set design by Gary Guidinger, lighting design by John Eckert Original Music by Max Kinberg & costume design by Michele Young. Sarah Brown stages manages & Sherry Netherland assistant directs. Ethel Sings is produced by Linda Toliver & Gary Guidinger for Undercover Productions.

The Group Rep presents the French farce by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallieres, translation by Peter Glenville, directed by Drina Durazo, produced by Sherry Netherland. Slamming doors, trysts and secret assignations abound when no one is whom they appear to be in this hilarious, head-spinning bedroom comedy. The show runs tonight, June 28 - August 11, 2013.

Undercover Productions will present the New York Premiere of ETHEL SINGS: Espionage in High C, written by Joan Beber & directed by Jules Aaron. ETHEL SINGS begins previews tonight, June 27th, with a June 28th opening atWalker Space.

As part of the WORLD PREMIERE of Joan Beber's ETHEL SINGS: Espionage in High C, there will be a special talkback with Robert Meeropol, the son of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, on Saturday, June 29th immediately following the 8pm performance. ETHEL SINGS opens Friday, June 27th atWalker Space & is directed by Jules Aaron & produced by Linda Toliver & Gary Guidinger for Undercover Productions.

Undercover Productions will present the WORLD PREMIERE of ETHEL SINGS: Espionage in High C, written by Joan Beber. ETHEL SINGS begins previews on June 27th, with a June 28th opening at Walker Space. Directed by Jules Aaron, ETHEL SINGS has set design by Gary Guidinger, lighting design by John Eckert Original Music by Max Kinberg & costume design by Michele Young. Sarah Brown stages manages & Sherry Netherland assistant directs. Ethel Sings is produced by Linda Toliver & Gary Guidinger for Undercover Productions.

The Group Rep presents the French farce by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallieres, translation by Peter Glenville, directed by Drina Durazo, produced by Sherry Netherland. Slamming doors, trysts and secret assignations abound when no one is whom they appear to be in this hilarious, head-spinning bedroom comedy. The show runs June 28 - August 11, 2013.

Undercover Productions will present the New York Premiere of ETHEL SINGS: Espionage in High C, written byJoan Beber & directed by Jules Aaron. ETHEL SINGS begins previews on June 27th, with a June 28th opening atWalker Space.

The Circle by W. Somerset Maugham is a comedy of manners… a story with 2 triangles, one an elderly couple, and the second, youthful. In the first, the woman, Lady Kitty (played rightfully 'over the top' by a very funny but full of heart Rhonda Lord) has left her first husband, Clive Champion-Cheney (beautifully and truthfully played, but with a dash of humor, by the brilliant Lloyd Pedersen) when she falls in love with the then dashing Lord (Huey) Porteus (very well played by David Hunt Stafford). In the youthful triangle, Elizabeth (elegantly acted by the beautiful Shelby Kocee) is married to Arnold (largely playing an actor as well as a wonderful violinist by the name of Scott Facher), when she realizes that she has fallen in love, and vice versa, with a man of little means, Teddie (handsomely acted by Ross Alden). Now to get things relatively straight, Arnold is the son of Lady Kitty and Clive Champion-Cheney. So it seems that the daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, may be following in the footsteps of her mother-in-law. This all occurs in the beautiful upscale house in Dorset, England in the 1930s, brought to life in the beautiful set design by Jeff G. Rack, great costuming by Michele Young (I was particularly taken by a simple but gorgeous Kelly green period gown that Shelby wore), and good light design by Ric Zimmerman.

On hiatus from the AMC smash hit Mad Men, Vincent Kartheiser comes to the Bay Area to lead a vibrant cast in San Jose Rep's world premiere of the Jonathan Marc Feldman drama The Death of the Novel, directed by Rick Lombardo.The cast also includes Vaishnavi Sharma (Sheba), Patrick Jones, Zarah Mahler and Amy Pietz. Pietz is well-known to TV audiences for her roles in The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Burn Notice, Nip/Tuck, The Closer and Private Practice.

On Wednesday August 22, Group rep presented a special performance of their critically acclaimed production of Jon Robin Baitz' Paris Letter to an SRO audience. Baitz was in attendance and did a talk-back after the show. Below are photos from the evening! Cast on hand included Larry Eisenberg, Lloyd Pedersen, Dan Sykes, Alex Parker, Julia Silverman and Paul Cady. Director Jules Aaron was also in attendance, as well as producers Patrick Burke and Sherry Netherland.

The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre is hosting a Special Event Performance of Jon Robin Baitz' "The Paris Letter" and an after show Q & A with the celebrated playwright, on Wednesday, August 22, at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in the NoHo Arts District.

On hiatus from the AMC smash hit Mad Men, Vincent Kartheiser comes to the Bay Area to lead a vibrant cast in San Jose Rep's world premiere of the Jonathan Marc Feldman drama The Death of the Novel, directed by Rick Lombardo.The cast also includes Vaishnavi Sharma (Sheba), Patrick Jones, Zarah Mahler and Amy Pietz. Pietz is well-known to TV audiences for her roles in The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Burn Notice, Nip/Tuck, The Closer and Private Practice.

It's a pleasure to see an intelligently written play about sexual identity, one that shows how homosexuality has been affected by the American cultural climate over a 40 year period. But, when the piece goes beyond basic issues and delves deeply into raw human emotions, it comes up all the richer. In fact, Jon Robin Baitz' The Paris Letter with its breathtaking scope and poetic literary style may very well be categorized a new classic, and the current production is rendered so beautifully by a stellar cast and crew at Group rep through September 2.

The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre is proud to present Jon Robin Baitz' THE PARIS LETTER, directed by the award-winning, Jules Aaron produced by Patrick Burke for the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, California. The play runs July 20 through September 2, 2012.