IT'S ONLY LIPSTICK is Back This Thursday!

During her 22-year career in the beauty and cosmetics industry, when Claudia DiMartino found herself exhausted and working around the clock or when colleagues stressed out over projects, she would often say, "It's only lipstick." Then, after a life-changing event in 2001, Claudia's catch phrase took on a completely different meaning...and she has been pursuing her true dream ever since.

DiMartino shares her inspiring, heartwarming and hysterical tale in her wildly popular and acclaimed solo show It's Only Lipstick, playing on Thursdays from July 6-August 17 at the Whitefire Theater in Sherman Oaks. Directed by acclaimed solo show veteran Jessica Lynn Johnson, It's Only Lipstick is DiMartino's story of surviving the dysfunction of an Italian-American family in Brooklyn to weathering the instability of being a marketing executive in the beauty industry in corporate America. A hit of the 2017 SoloFest, where it made its one-night-only premiere, It's Only Lipstick also takes patrons though a surprising and dramatic event that led DiMartino to her destiny and the belief that it's never too late to go after your dreams.

"When I performed at SoloFest, the audience response was amazing and I had so many requests to bring the show back so I thought it was time to give it a full run," DiMartino said. "The show addresses different aspects of my life. I deal with growing up in an Italian-American family in Brooklyn with a lot of discipline and making practical choices in life. I deal with the craziness of corporate America and trying to fit in. I deal with struggling with faith and being desperate. But mostly, I deal with my life's journey of coming into my own when so many people said no."

That life dream meant moving to Los Angeles and pursuing an acting career, which DiMartino has done with great success since 2001. She's had roles on Major Crimes, The Middle, Parenthood, Greek and General Hospital Night Shift as well as feature films He's Just Not That Into You and The Boston Strangler. DiMartino also had the lead role in the film The Grievance Clause. Another film of hers, and one DiMartino is very proud of, is Life Sentence, which is being presented in prisons to help rehabilitate inmates. For the stage, It's Only Lipstick is her first solo show.

In the show, DiMartino plays forty characters, starting from her life at age 10 through adulthood. She takes on dysfunctional family members, teachers, bosses and some surprises along the way. As for the life-changing moment...well, that's a surprise too.

"I think It's Only Lipstick resonates with people on many levels, including family, work and faith," DiMartino said. "The people in our lives and life's circumstances can rob us of our dreams and destinies. But, there is always hope. This show is about following your passion and going for it."