ELEGIES: A SONG CYCLE Will Come to Hollywood Fringe
Carol M. Becker directs a nine-person cast at the Zephyr Theatre in the William Finn musical
Chromolume Theatre will present Elegies: A Song Cycle by William Finn, in the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival. With musical direction by Isaac Schanno Johnson and directed by Carol M. Becker, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Hollis Dohr, Christopher Fishburne, Andrew Gillespie, Myia LaShaun, Juliana Lustenader, Ella Raziel, Richard Rosales, Kendre Scott, and Judd Yort. The show will run for three performances only at the Zephyr Theatre on Sunday 6/14 at 7pm, Saturday 6/20 at 4:15pm, and Saturday 6/27 at 4pm.
Elegies is an intimate and moving remembrance of departed friends and family — some lost to AIDS, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, beloved pets, and even Finn's own mother. Never morbid, the show is touching, funny, and ultimately buoyant. The styles and tones of the songs range from unabashedly optimistic to hilariously irreverent. Elegies premiered off-Broadway in 2003 at Lincoln Center and was then performed in Boston, Toronto, and London's West End. Running time is 75 minutes.
William Finn, a two-time Tony Award-winner, is perhaps best known for his shows In Trousers (1975), March of the Falsettos (1981), Falsettoland (1990), Falsettos (1992), A New Brain (1998), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2004), Make Me a Song (2007), and Little Miss Sunshine (2011). His frequent collaborators included librettist/director James Lapine and director/choreographer Graciela Daniele, and singer/actors Stephen Bogardus, Carolee Carmello, Stephen DeRosa, Alison Fraser, Keith Byron Kirk, Norm Lewis, Michael Rupert, Mary Testa, Christian Borle, and Chip Zien. He died in 2025 at age 73.
Carol M. Becker is a director/dramaturg and the current artistic director of Neo Ensemble Theatre. Directing credits include Sister from Another Planet (2023 HFF), Dismissed (2022 HFF), Boy Crazy Psycho Slut (2021 HFF), I'll Be With You Shortly, Basement Foley, The Christmas Spirit, I Love You Because, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Violet, and Beau Jest. Assistant directing credits include Mrs. Warren's Profession (A Noise Within), Beauty and the Beast (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Procreation, A Man's a Man, and The Chicago Conspiracy Trial (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble).
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual, open-access, community-derived event celebrating freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community. Each June during the Hollywood Fringe, the arts infiltrate the Hollywood neighborhood: fully equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other unexpected places host hundreds of productions by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers.
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The Most Happy Fella North Coast Repertory Theatre (6/03-6/28) |
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A Haunting Revue II Impro Theatre (6/06-6/26) |
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Bus People – A Hilarious & Optimistic Take on L.A. Public Transit The Actors Company (6/06-6/28) |
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E=MC² Einstein The Musical Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center (7/03-7/26) |
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MISS MAGNOLIA BEAUMONT GOES TO PROVINCETOWN Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre (6/17-6/28) |
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Mike Blaha: Pivotal Nomad Broadwater Studio (6/07-6/24) |
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My Life is a Sonnet Broadwater Studio (6/07-6/27) |
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STRAITJACKET SIRENS The Three Clubs (6/01-6/30) |
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Storytellers Theater: PINOCCHIO @ Sac Fine Arts Sacramento Fine Arts Center (6/26-6/26) |
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The Show Has Been Cancelled (Due to the End of The World) Broadwater Second Stage (6/16-6/27) |