Rubicon Theatre Company News

The Rubicon Theatre Company brings back a Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, 'South Pacific,' in a uniquely intimate two-piano version, featuring stellar performances and a ravishing set design. This one will be talked about for years to come.

Rubicon Theatre Company's 2018-2019 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Concert Series continues with Tony Award-nominee Sharon McNight in her critically-acclaimed one-woman show "Red Hot Mama - the Sophie Tucker Songbook." This biographical concert, written by McNight, chronicles the life and career of the first lady of show business, whose remarkable career spanned six decades. Sophie Tucker was a consummate performer on stage screen and radio, was part of the Ziegfield Follies early in her career, and in addition to her legendary artistry, was a great humanitarian.

Rubicon Theatre's 20th Anniversary Season culminates with a two-piano version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's soaring epic South Pacific, helmed by award-winning director KATHARINE FARMER and featuring a cast of 28 led by Tony honoree BEN DAVIS (Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme) and MADISON CLAIRE PARKS (Luisa in The Fantasticks Off-Broadway).

SOUTH PACIFIC is the final show of Rubicon Theatre Company's 20th Anniversary Season. Winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, SOUTH PACIFIC is set on an exotic island during World War II. The plot follows two love stories about seeming-opposites brought together by the circumstances of war and torn apart by prejudice and fear. SOUTH PACIFIC is based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "Tales of the South Pacific." The timeless score includes beautiful ballads such as "Younger than Springtime" and "Some Enchanted Evening," as well as exuberant up-tempo songs like "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy," and driving anthems like the ever-timely "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught."

The nominees for the 29th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement throughout Los Angeles, were announced this week.

Rubicon Theatre's 20th Anniversary Season culminates with a two-piano version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's soaring epic South Pacific, helmed by award-winning director KATHARINE FARMER and featuring a cast of 28 led by Tony honoree BEN DAVIS (Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme) and MADISON CLAIRE PARKS (Luisa in The Fantasticks Off-Broadway). 

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is delighted to introduce Jane Austen's Emma: The Musical to Orange County for the first time as part of our 2018 Holiday Literature Series!  Book, lyrics, and music by Tony-nominated composer Paul Gordon, directed by Casey Long, and with music direction by Bill Strongin, Jane Austen's Emma: The Musical will preview from November 23rd through November 30th; regular performances will begin December 1st and continue through December 23rd on the Cripe Stage at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

Rubicon Theatre Director of Education and Outreach Beverly Ward announced today that Ventura actor Joseph Fuqua will teach three one-day workshops at Rubicon Theatre Company in November, 2018. Mr. Fuqua is a Yale-trained performer with decades of professional theatre experience and is also a Company Member at Rubicon, where he has performed in more than 20 productions. 

Rubicon Theatre Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns today announced that London-based director Katharine Farmer will helm the company's next two productions, a two-piano version of South Pacific (Dec. 5 - 23, 2018) which concludes Rubicon's 20th Anniversary Season, and Heisenberg (Jan. 30 - Feb. 17, 2019), a co-production with Laguna Playhouse, where the show runs Mar. 27 to Apr. 14, 2019).

Rubicon Theatre Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns today announced that London-based director Katharine Farmer will helm the company's next two productions, a two-piano version of South Pacific(Dec. 5 - 23, 2018) which concludes Rubicon's 20th Anniversary Season, and Heisenberg (Jan. 30 - Feb. 17, 2019), a co-production with Laguna Playhouse, where the show runs Mar. 27 to Apr. 14, 2019).

Get ready to blast off as Rubicon Theatre Company presents the hilarious, out-of-this-world musical RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET, returning to Ventura after its acclaimed run in 2016. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Musical, this fabulously campy send-up of "Forbidden Planet" and other sci-fi films and TV shows of the 1950s and 1960's melds plot elements from The Tempestwith language from multiple plays by Shakespeare. Set on a spaceship sometime in the future, the show features a galaxy of rock-and-roll classics, including "Wipeout," "Good Vibrations," "Great Balls of Fire," "All Shook Up, and "Monster Mash." The jukebox musical spoof rockets into orbit just in time for Halloween - with a gala costume party on Saturday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line on the Harbor. Low-priced previews are October 17-19. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays through November 4.

'I Dig Rock And Roll Music' celebrates the folk-rock era of the '60s and '70s utilizing a six-person band, three of whom were featured in the successful theatrical concert 'Lonesome Traveler.' The show includes hit songs from the folk-rock movement, including protest songs like 'Ohio,' 'For What It's Worth' and others, as well as newly composed songs for the modern era, such as Trevor Wheetman's incendiary 'Dangerous Clown' and Sylvie Davidson's 'Can't Stop That Train.'

Updated this week! Check out upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, September 2, 2018 for both productions in your area and around the country including what/when/where and how to audition!

Members of the press are cordially invited to the World Premiere of I DIG ROCK & ROLL MUSIC which opens this Saturday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. A co-production with Laguna Playhouse, the event continues through September 16 at Rubicon Theatre and runs September 19 through 23 at Laguna. 

The Theatre Group at SBCC will start the season July 11-28, 2018 in the Garvin Theatre with the musical, GREASE.  Book, lyrics and music by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ("Olive Kitteridge") of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child. In the story, Regina and Richard, an affluent mixed-race couple in Los Angeles, have everything except a baby. Wanda and Al, an African-American couple living in an overcrowded trailer in modern-day Louisiana, are too poor to keep their soon-to-be-born child. Through an adoption attorney, the two couples broker a deal. However, circumstances arise that affect their decision and the situation spins out of control. The Wall Street Journal described The Baby Dance as "filled with emotional power and nimble humor." The L.A. Times called it "a stunner…funny as well as perceptive."

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ('Olive Kitteridge') of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child.

Celebrate the leading ladies of country music when Rubicon Theatre Company presents Broadway's Melissa Hammans in NASHVILLE GAL as part of the 2018 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Concert Series.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to announce its 2018-2019 season of shows. Executive Director Ellen Richard comments, "This is a sensational 98th season. We are happy to give our audiences a diverse array of musicals and plays that they will find moving, compelling and entertaining."

Singer/songwriter duo Sylvie Davidson and Trevor Wheetman first met each other while performing in Lonesome Traveler at Rubicon Theatre. Seven years later they return to the stage, married, and with a brand new album to celebrate. Join them for an evening of love and laughter as they share the stories and songs of their lives together.