Photo Flash: War Story DOGFIGHT Hunkers Down at Hudson Mainstage

AFTER HOURS THETRE COMPANY (who most recently produced I Love You Because) present, from the Academy Award-winning musical team responsible for "La La Land" and the smash Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen, DOGFIGHT, music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, book by Peter Duchan, musical direction by Elmo Zapp, choreography and co-direction by Jennifer Oundjian and co-directed by Jennifer Strattan. DOGFIGHT will open on Friday, June 2 and perform through Sunday, June 25 at the Hudson Backstage, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.

It's November 21, 1963. On the eve of their deployment to a small but growing conflict in Southeast Asia, three young Marines set out for one final boys' night of partying and debauchery. But, when Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, an awkward and idealistic waitress whom he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, she rewrites the rules of the game and teaches him the power of love and compassion.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Music and Lyrics) are the Oscar-winning and Tony/Emmy-nominated songwriting team behind the Broadway musicals Dear Evan Hansen (Outer Critics Circle Award, Obie Award, Helen Hayes Award, Drama Desk Award Winners; Tony, Lucille Lortel, Drama League Awards Pending), A Christmas Story, The Musical (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), Dogfight, (Lucille Lortel Award winner, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, London Evening Standard Awards nominations), James and The Giant Peach, and Edges. Film credits include "La La Land" (Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA Award Winners) and "Trolls" starring Anna Kendrick (Dreamworks Animation). TV credits include "Smash," "Sesame Street" and "Johnny and the Sprites." Pasek and Paul created the song "Unlimited" for Old Navy's 2014 back-to-school campaign. Current projects include: Dear Evan Hansen which premiered December 2016 at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway; The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman (FOX); Tom and Jerry Return to Oz (Warner Bros Animation); Medusa (Sony Pictures Animation). Honors: Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre (American Academy of Arts and Letters); ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award; Jonathan Larson Award. Both are graduates of the University of Michigan and members of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.

Peter Duchan (Book) Dogfight (based on the 1991 film), had its world premiere in 2012 at Second Stage Theater, in a production directed by Joe Mantello and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. It won the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and was also nominated for five Outer Critics Circle Awards (including New Off-Broadway Musical and Book of a Musical) and two Drama League Awards (including Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical). In addition, the musical received the 2011 Richard Rodgers Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It was originally commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater. Dogfight opened in London in 2014 and was nominated for two Evening Standard Awards (including Best Musical). As playwright, Peter was a 2011-2012 Dramatists Guild Fellow and a 2014 recipient of the Robert Chesley Playwriting Award. His period drama, "Lavender Scare" was a finalist for the 2010-2011 Princess Grace Award for Playwriting.

Peter co-wrote the screenplay for "Breaking Upwards" (with Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones), released by IFC Films in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities in 2010. Peter also served as Associate Producer of the film, which had its world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. It was named Best Feature Film at the Big Apple Film Festival, where it also received the Mitchell D. Bernstein Cityscape Award. It was the opening film of the 2009 Brooklyn International Film Festival and received the Grand Jury Prize (Grand Chameleon Award) as well as the award for Best Narrative Feature. Other screenwriting includes co-writing the short, "Unlocked" (with Daryl Wein), an Official Selection of the Tribeca Film Festival, Gijon International Film Festival, and many others. Peter was Assistant Director for the Broadway production of Sharr White's The Other Place (Manhattan Theater Club, dir. Joe Mantello) as well as the play Not a Genuine Black Man (Daryl Roth's DR2 Theater, dir. Bob Balaban).

He graduated cum laude from Northwestern University and lives in Manhattan.

Jennifer Strattan (Co-Director) has worked as a director and actor throughout Southern California at theatres such as Cabrillo Music Theatre, Pablo's Verdes Performing Arts, Glendale Centre Theatre, Candlelight Dinner Theatre and Musical Theatre West. Notable works include Teahouse of the August Moon, No, No Nanette and Maury Yeston's Phantom. Her next project will be directing the award winning John Burroughs High School Vocal Music Association in "Burroughs on Broadway" (popularly known as B.O.B.). This will be her 7th year helming this project, collaborating alongside Brendan Jennings and Jennifer Oundjian.

JENNIFER OUNDJIAN (Co-Director/Choreographer) has been choreographing and designing award-winning show choir, musical theatre productions and large event performances for more than two decades. She has been the resident Artistic Director and Choreographer for John Burroughs Powerhouse Showchoir (known as one of the inspirations for the Fox TV show "Glee") for 23 years. Her work has been featured on TV Shows such as "The Voice," "Dancing with the Stars," "Ellen," "America's Got Talent" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She has directed and choreographed large event performances at local venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, LACMA, and abroad in Hong Kong and Beijing.

Her LA theatre credits include Broken Beauty Vignettes, The Apple Sisters, The Harmony Boys, and glory|struck's productions of American Idiot, bare, and Almost Famous in Concert. With a BFA from CalArts in costume design/theatre design, her shows consistently push the boundaries of creativity and passion.

Elmo Zapp (Musical Direction) is a vocalist/multi-instrumentalist by way of Iowa and the University of Miami, FL. He has musically helmed runs for After Hours Theatre Company's productions of tick, tick...BOOM! and I Love you Because, Glory|Stuck's prodcutions of Spring Awakening in Concert, Bare: A Rock Musical, Bare: A Rock Musical Reunion Concert, TAP+Ed SHeeran, and the west coast premiere of Green Day's American Idiot and Almost Famous in Concert. Elmo was also called upon to MD SuckerLove's The Unauthorized OC Musical, arrange and MD for The Unauthorized Musical of A Walk to Remember and was assistant MD for a reading of Home Street Home, a new punk musical written by Fat Mike of NOFX. Also an avid producer, Elmo runs a recording studio having over 50 productions on youtube, soundcloud, and spotify including his stamp on cast recordings of Spring in Concert, Bare, Cruel Intentions Musical, OC Musical and several covers and originals by artists such as Payson Lewis and Kelley Jakle to name a few. Not forgetting his love of performing, Elmo has played and continues to jam bass and cello for several bands, indie artists, and musicals and fits in lending his voice to productions playing Otto in Glorystruck's Spring Awakening, Larry Fellows in Almost Famous in Concert, Nosmo in a reading of Home Street Home.

WETTERHAHN (Producer) is the Founder and Producer for After Hours Theatre Company. Previous producing credits include Jonathan Larson's tick, tick...BOOM!, Pasek and Paul's song cycle Edges, and Salzman and Cunningham's I Love You Because. He is a recent graduate of UCLA where he was Director of Casting for HOOLIGAN Theatre Company, one of the largest student-run theatre groups in the country.

Cast of DOGFIGHT will feature: Payson Lewis, Nicci Claspell, Trent Mills, Spencer Strong Smith, Emily Morris, Peter Allen Vogt, Stephanie Andersen, Austin Powell, Aliya Stuart, Nevada Brandt, Harrison Meloeny, Everjohn Feliciano, Emily Barnett, Erik Hall, and Jilli Marine.

Design Team for DOGFIGHT is as follows: Set Design by Justin Ryan Brown; Lighting Design by Andrew Schmedake; Sound Design by Julia Pinhey; Costume Design by Julius Bronola; Hair Design is by Ariana Castiglia: Props Design is by Shen Heckel. Stage Manager is Juliana Scott. DOGFIGHT is produced by Graham Wetterhahn.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

DOGFIGHT will open on Friday, June 2 and run through Sunday, June 25 at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.

Performances are Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm & Sundays at 7:00pm. Ticket prices are $40.00 for all performances. Tickets and more information about the show are available at www.plays411.com/dogfight.

Photo Credit: Nicole Priest

Spencer Strong Smith, Payson Lewis and Trent Mills
Payson Lewis and Nicci Claspell
Payson Lewis
Spencer Strong Smith, Payson Lewis and Trent Mills
The company
Nicci Claspell and Payson Lewis
Nicci Claspell and Payson Lewis (with Peter Allen Vogt in background)
The company
Spencer Strong Smith and Emily Morris