DISASTEROID! Opens at Sacred Fools This Month

Sacred Fools Theater Company is adding another show to its jam-packed calendar, as the musical Disasteroid! drops into the Broadwater Black Box Theater late night the first three Fridays during April. Written by Zachary Bernstein and directed by Guy Picot, this impending-apocalyptic musical exploring love, backyards, and tax deductions comes to Earth this coming Friday, April 6 at 11pm.

Sometimes the end of the world isn't the end of the world. Mabel's a philanthropist trapped in a loveless marriage; Arthur's an amateur astronomer trapped in a tax office. But he has a secret: the earth is shortly going to be destroyed by an asteroid. So what the heck, let's fall in love and grab life by the throat while we still can. Will these two find meaning in their lives just as they are to be cut short? But what if he's wrong and the planet keeps spinning? That really would be the end of the world.

After the original local run of Disasteroid! back in 2012 at Theatre Underground, the show has gone through a vigorous workshopping/revision process through Sacred Fools' own New Works Development program.

"The original production of Disasteroid! was my personal gateway into the world of Sacred Fools, so it's been a pleasure to put it through the gauntlet that is the New Works Development program and watch it become a much stronger musical," says writer-composer (and show drummer) Zachary Bernstein. "The vision was to write a musical with an intimate story and a small cast that's at once charming and silly, and I think we pull that off very well."

Disasteroid! Production Team

Writer/Composer/Music Director Zachary Bernstein is a writer and songwriter. He composed original music for Past Time and The Mother Ship at Sacred Fools Theater as well as Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance at the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival. He records and performs solo as The Bicycats, including his latest album release, Don't Be Surprised When You See Us Bears. To hear more music: www.thebicycats.bandcamp.com

Director Guy Picot has directed his own shows The Christmas Present (Sacred Fools and Theatre of Note), and Bonnie in Brighton, which has been performed in Brighton, London, Edinburgh and LA. He is Associate Director with LA's Sock-Puppet Sitcom Theatre. As an actor, he played Charlie Chaplin in Stoneface, both at Sacred Fools in 2012 and Pasadena Playhouse in 2014. For British TV he has written episodes of Bad Girls and Footballers' Wives.

Producer David Mayes is an attorney by day and a 99-Seat theater producer by night. For Sacred Fools he has produced or co-produced Hamlet Shut Up, Richard III, Neverwhere, Bill & Joan, A Woman of No Importance, Skullduggery and Mom's Dead.

The band for the show includes Bernstein on drums, joined by Gordon Wimpress on Guitar and Eric Radoux on bass. The Choreographer for Disasteroid! is Sarah M. Kruger and Graphic/Projection design is by Jim Pierce.

Disasteroid! Cast

The quartet of actors for the show features three familiar faces to the Sacred Fools stage and one newcomer. Heather Roberts (Mabel Bellcoat) and Dagney Kerr (Mitzi Stern, The Observer & Daisy) both appeared in all three theaters of the Broadwater Theater Complex in Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, while John Bobek (Arthur Edgley) appeared in 2016 at Sacred Fools as Claudius in Skullduggery: The Musical Prequel to Hamlet. Joining them and making his Sacred Fools debut is Matthew Bohrer (Pete Petty & Richard Bellcoat), whose local credits include Marjorie Prime (World Premiere, Mark Taper Forum) and The Sunshine Boys, with Danny DeVito and Judd Hirsch (Ahmanson Theater).

The Art Couple Extends Again!

We're also proud to announce that we've added four more performances to the run of our smash hit The Art Couple! Originally scheduled to close on April 7, the show has been extended for two more weekends and now MUST CLOSE on Saturday, April 21. The added performances are April 13, 14, 20 and 21, all at 8pm. For more details about the show, see the original press release.

Additional Programming at Sacred Fools

Along with The Art Couple extension noted above, Disasteroid! hits during the run of Sacred Fools' latest world premiere Akuma-shin (see previous press release). Adding to the late-night fun on Saturdays is the Serial Killers Playoffs (see previous press release). For more information on these and other upcoming performances, please visit www.sacredfools.org.

Akuma-shin Donate What You Can Performance - Friday, April 6

This Friday, in prime-time at 8pm before Disasteroid!'s launch, it's "Pay What You Can" with a twist! Half of all proceeds for this performance will be donated to Nature and Culture International, whose mission is to protect biologically diverse ecosystems in concert with local people in Latin America. Other recent beneficiaries have included ProjectQ, Direct Relief and The Center for Inquiry.