Don Grigware - Page 2

Actor/director Patrick Burke is nominated for a BWW Award for his outstanding direction of Avenue Q at Group Rep this past summer. This interview shows his deep connection to the show and desire to move it forward. You've been an active member of the Group Rep for years, as an actor and producer.  The Group Rep is not known for having musicals on their season schedules.  How did Avenue Q get on the 2019 Season Schedule?

Actor/playwright Doug Haverty will become Group Rep's new artistic director in January 2020. In our conversation he tells our readers in great detail about the upcoming season and talks in depth about his vision for the theater. How long have you been a member of Group Rep? DH: I started in 1983, so 36 years.

This year's Holiday Spectacular concert for GMCLA was very special due particularly to the direction of the interim leader Jenny Wong. This super talented lady took the chorus to a new high. I have never heard such beautiful harmony and singing, and I have been attending every year...for many, many years. Ernest H. Harrison will assume his new leadership immediately and will hold the baton for the spring concert. Wong was available to rehearse the holiday show, and choosing her was a blessing, so in spite of the positive anticipation of having Harrisonj on board, the chorus is indeed sad at Wong's departure. In a brief speech she told the audience that the all male chorus inspired her.

Actress/singer Ilene Graff may be best remembered to TV audiences for 'Mr. Belvedere' and for her varied performances on Broadway, but for Los Angeles audiences no one holds a cabaret audience more captivated than this down.to.earth yet sparklingly talented lady. On Saturday December 21, Graff brought a fun-filled holiday show to a packed audience at Feinstein's Upstairs at Vitello's. Backed by superb musical director/husband Ben Lanzarone at the piano, Jamey Tate on drums and Dominic Genova on guitar and bass, the 80 minute set was a real family entertainment with Graff's brother Tony nominated Todd Graff as special guest star. Another special guest was Harlan Boll, a pr rep by day and singer by night. Being a holiday show, Graff interspersed her anecdotes of growing up in Brooklyn and being a Jew with colorful Christmas tunes. When she was asked why as a Jew she sang Christian songs, she delightfully replied that Yiddish music is so sad and, 'OK, Im going to sing, but you're not going to enjoy it.' It is this kind of self-deprecating humor that makes Graff so loved and admired.

Actress Kristen Towers Rowles is also an amazing director. She is nominated this year for two BWW Awards. In the conversation that follows she talks about acting, directing and the meaningful choices she has made in her career so far. Congratulations on your BWW Award nominations! Tell our readers in what categories you received them. Thank you. I'm nominated for Best Actress in a Play (Local) for playing Hattie in Laundry and Bourbon at Group Rep and as Director of a Play (Local) for Directing the World Premiere of The Lost Virginity Tour at The McCadden Place Theatre. If you had to choose winning one, which would that be? Why this choice?

As the poster shows, The Merry Little Christmas Show was a visit to Scott Dreier's living room. It was an intimate evening with a very up close and personal man who sang and told stories about his love of Christmas. Scott has a very lovely and warm singing and speaking voice. It doesn't matter if he is singing or talking, it comes across as one on one. He is performing just for you. The 85 minute show included guest star Kurtis Simmons, who sang beautiful original compositions about Christmas as well as dueting with Dreier. Both were backed by superb musician,/musical director Andy Langham, whose rapport with the two singers is top notch.

When I attend a cabaret show, I look for great talent and the ability of a performer to relate to the audience with warmth and humor. I've become a real snob about these things. If they are missing, I might as well have stayed at home. Ladies and gentlemen, I have encountered a brand new nightclub star. Welcome the fabulous Susan Edwards Martin to the world of Los Angeles cabaret. She has performed amongst others in the past few years but An unpredictable Evening with Susan Edwards Martin on Sunday Febreuary 3 at Upstairs at Vitello's was her very first solo show, and, was she worth waiting for. A knockout singer and comic actress, Martin in some ways, might be considered the female Jason Graae. She holds her audience in the palm of her hand with friendliness and charm and exudes a nonstop fast paced energy that never lets down. The laughs come naturally, never forced. She's just funny, pure and simple. Accompanying her at the piano for the hour set was Sam Kriger, who comedically got into the act himself.

A Twisted Christmas Carol marks Doug Engalla's eighth production as Director at The Group Rep. Doug has worked with Phil Olson since 1997 on a number of productions, including five World Premieres in the Don't Hug Me series (most recently, as director of Don't Hug Me, We're Family in 2018), as well as the 2016 World Premiere of A Nice Family Christmas (featuring Tony Award-nominated actor, Marcia Rodd) at The Group Rep. A Twisted Christmas Carol is Doug's sixth World Premiere as Director with Phil Olson. Doug's cast of Phil Olson's A Nice Family Gathering - also in 2016 at The Group Rep - earned a Best Ensemble, Small Theatre nomination from the NAACP Theatre Awards. Doug's previous directing project at the Group Rep was for Neil Simon's Rumors in 2018. He is preparing to open A Twisted Christmas Carol this Sunday December 15. You have such a great rapp

Actress Roslyn Cohn is remarkably versatile. She is nominated for a BWW Award this year for The Sound of Murder at Theatre 40. In our converrsation she tells our readers about her work and who and what she admires in the acting profession. Tell us about your BWW nomination for The Sound of Murder at Theatre 40. What kind of character did you play? RC: I was excited to get a nomination for this show as we didn't get the amount of reviews we should have

Actress/singer Gina D'Acciaro has a remarkable show Famous Adjacent that I reviewed this past year. She is up for a BWW Award for it, Cabaret - Intimate Space, Female. She is terribly funny, yet down.to.earth and very likable. In our conversation she tells us in depth about herself and her show. To what do you attribute your success with Famous Adjacent? What makes the show so appealing? In a city without actors competing, would it be as big a hit? 

Actor/singer Scott Dreier needs no introduction. His involvement with The Doris Day Project is amazing and next Sunday he will present The Merry Little Christmas Show for two performances only at the Colony Theatre. In the conversation that follows he talks in depth about both. Tell our readers about your Christmas show. Is this the first time you have done one at Christmas? SD: This is my first official Christmas show! Of course, as a singer, I have been hired many times over the past years to sing for different Christmas and holiday events. And I have always absolutely loved getting to sing these timeless, gorgeous songs. I have always wanted to create a holiday show. And the inspiration for it has been watching those classic Christmas specials of Perry Como, Andy Williams, The Carpenters, etc. No matter how many times I watch those specials during the holidays, it just feels like they are each effortlessly transporting me with them into the cozy comfort of their living rooms.a?? And I wanted to create a show that would honor that feeling that we all get and just help take people

Who can beat the prolific talent and indomitable spirit of Irving Berlin? His music is ageless. On film Holiday Inn in 1942 introduced the world to 'White Christmas' that became a great big movie hit as well but not for another 12 years. Many forget that White Christmas was a hit in 1954. Then White Christmas became a hit onstage in 2000 and Holiday Inn didn't come to Broadway until 2016. We're talking almost a hundred years, and people still crave Irving Berlin.

There is only one Levi Kreis. No one can compare! He has the voice of country, pop, jazz and r&b rolled into one and filled with a deep soulful yearning that is at once reocognizable yet clearly out of reach. He is bar none the most fascinating singer of our time. Saturday December 7, Kreis returned to the Renberg Theatre of the LGBT Center on McCadden in Hollywood for a unique Christmas concert with special guest star Jason Antone, a deliriously talented crossover classical singer who also happens to be his life partner. Backed by two musicians Josh on guitar and Garrett on drums, referred to throughout the 105 minute set as the Levi Kreis band, and two backup singers Danisha and Miss Pam, Kreis lit

Big screen megahit to stage megahit seems to be the norm today for a new Broadway musical especially if it starts as a Disney film. Following in the footsteps of The Lion King is Frozen, so popular with today's young and adult audiences that Frozen II is on the near horizon. Currently onstage at the Hollywood Pantages, Frozen the Musical does have its moments and is indeed a perfect show for the holidays and will be in town at the Hollywood Pantages until February 2. Visually stunning onstage is

In training for the acting profession yours truly studied ballet, and I was always the first to throw the line off. I could not dance...ballet or any other form. I know so little about dance, then how can I write about it? Well, when Matthew Bourne is involved, I am envelopped in magic. What a treat to attend a Matthew Bourne event! Yes, his ballet productions are events ...  filled with magical storytelling without a word of dialogue. Like singers or actors, the ensemble tell the story through movement, with Tchaikovsky's gorgeous music to back it up. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Anger, violence and at the opposite extreme,  sensual appeal, blatant or subdued, and love are the most readily reognized emotions in this art form. Bourne divides his production into four acts with an intermission between Ac

This interview is directed to playwright Phil Olson, so tremendously popular for his Don't Hug Me series of musicals. His new play A Twisted Christmas is about to open Upstairs at GrouRep on December 14. Tell our readers about your A Twisted Christmas Carol. When you say that it is the Dickens tale Texas style, what exactly do you mean? Is there a lot of the humor of Don't Hug Me and its characters in this piece? A Twisted Christmas Carol is a Texas spoof of Charles Dickens' classic story, a?oeA Christmas Carol.a??

BT McNicholl is the producing artistic director of La Mirada Theatre of the Performing Arts and occasionally directs a show. He is currently in rehearsal for the Lythgoe Panto Peter Pan and Tinker Bell A Pirate's Christmas to open this week at the Laguna Playhouse. In our conversation he talks in detail about the Panto. What do you like about the Panto productions? BTM: They're eminently accessible -- contemporary pop songs fused with plucky twists on well-known tales. Plus, these productions feature exceptional professional talents, so -- for children experiencing theatre for the first time -- it's an introduction at a very high level. Best of all, it's a family tradition that can be repeated annually, but without ever becoming stale -- the content keeps changing (one year it's PETER PAN, the next year it's SNOW WHITE, then ALADDIN, etc) -- but the theatrical experience remains vibrant and participatory.

D. Scott Eads brought his holiday show to Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal entitled Christmastime in the Key of Bing Sunday December 1 to a packed house of loving fans. The show came in at about 100 minutes and is ideally suited to a theatre stage. Not only were we treated to a fine carol selection and to a bevy of guest stars, but Eads featured story readings that in a larger space could be staged with more creative flair. But, as is, it was more than a fulfilling evening of holiday mirth.

Michael Mullen works onstage and behind the scenes. He is a superb costumer and an equally marvelous actor. In our conversation he talks about his 7 BWW Award nominations and overall about the joy of being in the theatre. How does it feel to be nominated four times for a BWW Award for costuming? MM: It feels really cool to be nominated for 4 BWW Awards for Costume Design. I loved working on all 4 of the shows. It was fun to delve into the 1930s with She Loves Me. I love the Victorian period which I got to do with The Importance Of Being Earnest. The Elizabethan period is one of my favorite time periods which we set The Merchant Of Venice in. And Roots was a series of 4 one-act shows that allowed me to create costumes from modern day to Peter The Great to Ayn Rand to a comedic cockroach.

Filipino/American actress Ashley Argota is known for her roles on television, such as Lulu on the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP,[2] and Kelly Peckinpaugh on the Nickelodeon sitcom Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures. She is no stranger to the stage either, creating diverse characters over the years in the Lythgoe Family Pantos. In our talk, Argota talks about playing Tinkerbell in this year's Panto at Laguna Playhouse entitled Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, A Pirate's Christmas, playing December 4 through the 29th.