Laguna Playhouse Presents 'An Evening with Rita Rudner' 5/29-30

Rita Rudner, one of the country's top comedians, brings her hilarious wit and clever one-liners to The Laguna Playhouse for an exclusive two-day engagement titled "An Evening with Rita Rudner" on Saturday, May 29 and Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 8 pm at The Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

What began as a one-month booking for Rudner in 2000 led to a ten-year engagement and over one million tickets sold as a headliner at Harrah's on the famous Las Vegas Strip. Voted "Best Comedian in Las Vegas" eight times and the "Favorite Female in Las Vegas" several times by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rudner is a true star in the city of sin.

Up until now, Orange County residents who wanted to see Rita perform live had to travel to Las Vegas to see her show. A part-time resident of Monarch Beach, Rudner wanted to give back to the local community by bringing her show to Orange County.

"I love Laguna. I've been coming here for twenty five years and this is the first time I'll be making any money," said Rudner.

Tickets to "An Evening with Rita Rudner" are $45 and $55, and can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-ARTS (2787).

ABOUT Rita Rudner
In addition to her Las Vegas show, Rudner has had three highly-rated HBO specials, and she has performed all over the world, filling Carnegie Hall in New York three times and the Gibson Amphitheatre (formerly the Universal Amphitheatre) in Los Angeles twice. She also completed sell-out tours of Australia and England. Rudner was seen on HBO's "Comic Relief" in 2006, and in June 2008 she starred in the first stand-up comedy special to be aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Rudner is also a New York Times best selling author. Her five books include the bestselling non-fiction titles "Naked Beneath My Clothes" and "Rita Rudner's Guide to Men," and the novels "Tickled Pink" and "Turning the Tables." Her collection of essays, "I Still Have It...I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It," was published by Harmony Books in 2008.

In addition, Rudner is an award-winning television host, having garnered the Gracie Allen Award for Best Program Host-Entertainment for her syndicated daily TV show, "Ask Rita," which ran for two years. She is also well known for her comedy writing, and helped write the 2001 and 2003 Oscar shows with Steve Martin and the 2002 Oscar broadcast with Whoopi Goldberg. Rudner, with her husband Martin Bergman, also wrote the script for the award-winning film "Peter's Friends" starring Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Kenneth Branagh, Imelda Staunton, Stephen Fry and Rudner.

For more information on Rita, log on to her website at www.ritafunny.com or become her fan on Facebook.

ABOUT THE Laguna Playhouse
Founded in 1920 and celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2010, The Laguna Playhouse is one of the oldest continuously-operating theatres on the West Coast. The Laguna Playhouse has evolved from an amateur theater into a professional venue that is now a member of League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a prestigious body of the nation's largest non-profit professional theatres. In addition to employing Equity actors, The Playhouse is also a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group, the national organization of American professional theatre.

More than 100,000 theatergoers annually attend performances at the Laguna Playhouse. Its continued artistic excellence, audience popularity and critical acclaim have helped make The Playhouse one of Southern California's most important nonprofit theatre companies. Over the years, the Laguna Playhouse has garnered numerous awards from Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, NAACP, Backstage, OC Weekly, and many more, and was named Best Arts Organization by ArtsOC.

The Laguna Playhouse is noted for its Youth Theater, Education and Outreach programs. In 1989, the Youth Theater was recognized as "Outstanding Children's Theatre" by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. The theater's touring production, TheatreReach, brings books to life on stage for elementary school children throughout southern California.

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