Rubicon Theatre Company News

 It's a season of magic for students of the arts as Rubicon Theatre Company's summer educational programs swing into action. With four camps, the Jack Oakie Summer Youth Program offers professional level training for budding performing artists as well as emerging young designers and stagecraft enthusiasts: The Stinky Feet camp for five to twelve year-olds, the Fearless Shakespeare Camp for students aged fifteen to twenty-five, the Theatre Camp for kids from eleven to fourteen years old and finally the Musical Theatre Intensive which accepts young actorsingers who are between fifteen and twenty-five years-old. Each camp culminates in a fully staged production. This year's offerings include Giants In The Sky (music and lyrics by Denver Casado, book and lyrics by Kerry Kazmierowicztrimm), The Tempest (by William Shakespeare), Once On This Island Jr. (book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty) and Into The Woods (music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine).

Audiences can celebrate Father's Day weekend at Rubicon Theatre with their families at a nostalgic concert celebrating the iconic "doo-wop" sounds of THE DRIFTERS and Cornell Gunter's COASTERS, playing for 7 performances Friday, June 14 through Sunday, June 16.

Rubicon Theatre Company announces two performances of an intimate concert featuring Golden Globe Award-Winner and Grammy nominee Amanda McBroom, presented as part of the 2018-2019 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Concert Series. Amanda McBroom, a Rubicon favorite both as a singer and actress, returns to Rubicon with a concert version of her hit play Lady Macbeth Sings the Blues on Saturday June 8 at 8p.m. and Sunday June 9 at 2 p.m.

Rubicon Theatre of Ventura has announced a two-week extension of the company's World Premiere presentation of WOMEN BEYOND BORDERS, a funny, poignant and powerful new play about the shared experiences of women everywhere, inspired by the remarkable true journey of a small group of women artists who wanted to find a way to inspire change through creative expression.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is delighted to present French Stewart and Vanessa Claire Stewart starring in the wonderfully comic HARVEY, written by Mary Chase and directed by Andrew Barnicle. Comments Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham and Executive Director Ellen Richard, "We could not think of a better play to end our 98th season with than HARVEY, starring French and Vanessa Claire Stewart under the inspired direction of Andrew Barnicle. French Stewart will be the perfect Elwood, a role he has always wanted to play!

Rubicon Theatre continues the company's 21st "Coming of Age" season with the World Premiere of WOMEN BEYOND BORDERS, a play inspired by and loosely based on the remarkable journey of Lorraine Serena and a dynamic group of California-based artists who founded the non-profit Women Beyond Borders (WBB). Determined to "make art as if the world matters," Serena and her friends fell upon the idea of box as metaphor: hope chest, treasure chest, womb, coffin, etc. They replicated a miniature wooden box no bigger than the size of a human heart and sent the boxes to curators and friends in other countries with the goal of encouraging dialogue, collaboration and community among women and honoring creativity. The founders of WBB were astonished at what came back to them - eloquent expressions of the enormous depth and variety, but also the universality, of women's experiences throughout the world. The boxes were accompanied by equally astonishing artists' statements, in the form of letters, poems and stories asking about transcending barriers: geographical, social, racial, economic, emotional, gender-related, spiritual, etc.

Rubicon Theatre continues the company's 21st 'Coming of Age' season with the World Premiere of WOMEN BEYOND BORDERS, a play inspired by and loosely based on the remarkable journey of Lorraine Serena and a dynamic group of California-based artists who founded the non-profit Women Beyond Borders (WBB).

Back by popular demand, singer, songwriter and activist Noel Paul Stookey, a four-time Grammy Award-winner, returns to his "home theatre" for two concerts, Sunday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. and Monday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m. (just added). Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary in Concert.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to present a co-production with the Rubicon Theatre Company, the critically acclaimed (LA Times Critics' Choice) production of HEISENBERG, written by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) directed by Katherine Farmer (South Pacific, Gulf View Drive) and starring Faline England (Valentine's Day) & Joe Spano (Hill Street Blues and NCIS).  Comments Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham and Executive Director Ellen Richard, "What a special opportunity to co-produce this critically acclaimed production with the Rubicon Theatre Company. Simon Stephens has written a funny, tender and quirky love story that celebrates human relationships in all their complexity. Faline England and Joe Spano are giving masterful performances under the brilliant direction of the gifted Katharine Farmer. Our subscribers and audiences are sure to fall in love with this wonderful and extraordinary play." HEISENBERG begins previews on Wednesday, March 27; will open on Sunday, March 31 at 5:30pm and perform through Sunday, April 14, 2019 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive in Laguna Beach.

Rubicon Theatre continues the company's 21st "Coming of Age" season with the hilarious and harrowing, politically incorrect comedy FUDDY MEERS by playwright DAVID-LINDSAY-ABAIRE. In this outrageously funny roller-coaster ride of a play, Claire, an amnesiac. wakes up each day having forgotten the details of her life. This morning, like all mornings, her seemingly devoted husband Richard greets her with a cup of coffee and a scrapbook of memories. But when he steps away, a limping, lisping man claiming to be Claire's brother pops out from under her bed and says he is there to save her. He takes her to her mother's home in the country, where Claire meets a naive man with a foul-mouthed puppet, discovers her husband and son have kidnapped an aggressive lady cop, and comes face-to-face with her past.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE presents a co-production with the Rubicon Theatre Company, HEISENBERG, written by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) directed by Katherine Farmer (South Pacific, Gulf View Drive) and starring Faline England (Valentine's Day) & Joe Spano (Hill Street Blues and NCIS).

Katharine Farmer directs Lin Blakely (Eastenders/ Silent Witness) as Bea, Michael Brandon (Episodes/Jerry Springer the Opera) as Jorgy, Amy Burke (Serial Thriller) as Kate, Rob Locke (NCIS, General Hospital) as Larry and Mark Rose (True West) as Coles in a timely revival of Jerry Sterner's darkly comic Off-Broadway hit, Other People's Money at Southwark Playhouse. Written in 1989, Other People's Money is a funny, fast-paced and provocative comment on the greed and excess of the 1980s.

Joe Spano and Ovation-Award nominee Faline England portray two lost souls who meet in a London Underground station and embark on an unlikely May-December romance. The story takes unexpected twists and turns that results in a life-affirmation display of how walls need to be broken down, and not built between people of different backgrounds and experiences.

Rubicon Theatre Company opens the 2019 season with HEISENBERG by playwright SIMON STEPHENS, a quirky romance starring Ovation Award-winner FALINE ENGLAND and Emmy and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-winner JOE SPANO. Sweet, sexy and full of surprises, the story follows two strangers whose lives intersect in a bustling London train station. Free-spirited Georgie, an American in her 40s, unexpectedly plants a kiss on the neck of Alex, an Irish butcher in his 70s. She doesn't really know why. Or does she? When Georgie turns up in Alex's shop a few days later, full of contradictions, his conventional life becomes chaotic, uncertain and undeniably richer. Peeling away the many layers of everyday relationships with subtle humor and quiet poeticism, HEISENBERG brings to poignant theatrical life the uncertain and sometimes comical sparring match that is human connection.

Stephen Simon's recent play, Heisenberg, opens this week at the Rubicon Theatre. Two strangers meet at a London train station where an unlikely romantic relationship develops between them. Joe Spano plays Alex, an Irish butcher, set in his ways. A complete stranger, Georgie (Faline England), kisses him. Subsequently, Georgie comes careening straight at him like an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. What collision or connection will come next?

Rubicon Theatre Company opens the 2019 season with HEISENBERG by playwright SIMON STEPHENS, a quirky romance starring Ovation Award-winner FALINE ENGLAND and Emmy and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-winner JOE SPANO. Sweet, sexy and full of surprises, the story follows two strangers whose lives intersect in a bustling London train station.

Tony Award nominee Sharon McNight stars as legendary vaudeville entertainer Sophie Tucker, 'the last of the red hot mamas' in 'Red Hot Mama: The Sophie Tucker Songbook,' a bravura performance of one of the great performers of the 20th century.

Rubicon Theatre Company opens the 2019 season with HEISENBERG by playwright SIMON STEPHENS, a quirky romance starring Ovation Award-winner FALINE ENGLAND and Emmy and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-winner JOE SPANO. 

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature MISS SAIGON, A CHRISTMAS CAROL and More!

Rubicon Theatre Company has announced what is expected to be the biggest and most extraordinary Kids for Kids Benefit Concert in the company's history for Saturday, December 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the theatre, located at 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. More than 70 young people will be performing onstage or via video in an entertaining musical variety show that raises funds for scholarships for next summer's education and outreach participants.