SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN Launches 2016 Tour in Los Angeles Today

This American Blonde Actress and Mississippi Mud Productions announce the first dates of the 2016 tour of SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN, beginning in Los Angeles for a return engagement, and with additional tour dates to follow in Florida, New York City and Long Island, NY, coinciding with the worldwide release of a film for new media version. It will play on the West Coast today and tomorrow, February 5th and 6th, for two shows only at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute on the the James Dean Soundstage, an "environmental" TV studio setting.

It is written and performed by This American Blonde Actress, Jen Danby (of SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN SUPER 8 a film for new media, released this past Christmas; THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL PROJECT: MARILYN MONROE; and Nina in SEAGULL69, an adaptation by Mississippi Mud of Chekhov's SEAGULL set in LA in summer 1969), and developed by research into videos, virtual explorations, books, pictures, interviews, films, conversations, and sites. Fifty percent of all ticket sales on the 2016 tour will support charities including Big Cat Rescue and Stand Up For Gus.

SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN as a solo piece now becomes the first part of a developing new Trilogy surrounding this actress and icon. Sharon Tate was born in Dallas, Texas in 1943, and murdered in the summer of 1969 at the age of 26 in the infamous Manson murders. Part Two of the Trilogy, CHARLIE AND SHARON, takes on this American tragedy in an imaginary meeting between Charles Manson and Miss Tate following August 9, 1969, when she was murdered by his followers. Part Three, SHARON AND ROMAN, is an imaginary conversation between Miss Tate and her husband, international director Roman Polanski, about their life before and after her death. Casting is complete: Jen Danby as Sharon Tate, Daniel Delano as Charles Manson, and Andy McCutcheon as Roman Polanski. The complete Trilogy is being directed by Obie-winning, Tony-nominated, and Drama Desk Winner Austin Pendleton. Part Two of the Trilogy will receive its world premiere June 2016 in NYC, and Part Three dates in the 2016-2017 season will be announced.

"Million Dollar Baby" Sharon Tate had a career that rocketed her from television to starring roles in six films within six years, including playing the aspiring actress Jennifer North in VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Female Newcomer. Her last film, the comedy romp 12 +1 CHAIRS, was shot in Italy with Orson Welles. Comparisons between Sharon, Carole Lombard and Catherine Deneuve that Sharon herself felt an affinity with were part of the magic of this new 20 something sensation. She quickly ascended into international stardom as an actress, model, and style icon, and she was also a blissfully happy wife and mother-to-be living her American Dream with the love of her life, her husband, famous director Roman Polanski. When Sharon was killed along with four others at her home she shared with Roman on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon on August 9, 1969 while he was away in London writing a script for her and Jack Nicholson, it changed the world. Roman and Sharon had been dubbed the "Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford" of the Mod Hip generation, and Polanski described his years with Sharon as "the only time of true happiness in my life." SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN is an imaginary space for Sharon to confess her feelings for this TV interview. Featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES alongside TV's MAD MEN and the book SHARON TATE: RECOLLECTION by her sister Debra Tate, this play is part of the evidence of Sharon's trending allure with a "new generation crushing on Sharon Tate." SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN takes you on a ride as it celebrates this actress, model, and style icon, and it is a love story.

IF YOU GO:

SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN

Friday February 5, 2016 @8
Saturday February 6, 2016 @8

At The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute - James Dean Soundstage
7936 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046

Running time approximately 95 minutes

Ticket price $20 general admission and $10 seniors and students.

50% of all Los Angeles ticket sales will benefit charities Big Cat Rescue, Mountain Lion Foundation, and Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary.

Buy your tickets at sharontateinheavenla2016.brownpapertickets.com, or call 1-800-838-3006. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.

JEN DANBY (Sharon Tate) Stars as Sharon Tate in the just-released film for New Media, SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN SUPER 8, based on her play version. With Mud: Sharon Tate in SHARON TATE IN HEAVEN in New York, Lido Beach, and Los Angeles, Nina in SEAGULL69, Jane in VIEUX CARRÉ, Maggie in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, Marilyn Monroe in her original solo piece THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL PROJECT: MARILYN MONROE, Catharine in SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER, Vivien in the solo piece VIVIEN LEIGH: THE LAST PRESS CONFERENCE, Helena in LUST, all under Austin Pendleton's direction; Blanche Dubois, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Mud Actors Lab (dir. Mr. Pendleton) and The Cherry Pit (co-directors Brian Lady and Mr. Pendleton), Vivien in ORSON'S SHADOW (dir. Lauren Reinhard), and Blanche DuBois for a charity staged reading of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Geoffrey Owens as Stanley Kowalski, directed by Peter Zinn, produced by Mississippi Mud as a fundraising event for the Martin Luther King Center in Long Beach NY. Select stage: HEDDA GABLER, VALPARAISO, THE RIMERS OF ELDRITCH (dir. Amy Wright, HB Studio). Film/TV/New Media: The Wooster Group "Dailies" as Paula in PAULA and BAD PICTURES opposite Jim Fletcher (GATZ), TRUE HOLLYWOOD SITTER, RUN #3, ALL MY CHILDREN, LOVE MONKEY. Directing credits: VIEUX CARRÉ (NYC, with Mud, in an AEA run), WHAT OF THE NIGHT? by Maria Irene Fornes, HB Studio, and MOONY'S KID DON'T CRY (Lido Beach). Founder & Artistic Director of Mississippi Mud and founder of This American Blonde Actress™ as actress, director, producer, teacher/acting coach. Ken Park Talent 212.566.8672 kenparkmgmt@aol.com. AEA, SAG-AFTRA.

AUSTIN PENDLETON (director) has directed SEAGULL69, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, VIEUX CARRÉ, SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER, and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Mississippi Mud, as well as THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL PROJECT: MARILYN MONROE a solo show world premiere written by and starring actress Jen Danby. Mr. Pendleton has worked as an actor with Mud in the roles of Dr. Dorn in SEAGULL69 and Dr. Sugar in SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER. He acts and directs with Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago and has been a member of the Ensemble for many years. He has directed three Chekhov productions at Classic Stage Company: UNCLE VANYA, THREE SISTERS (for which he won an Obie), and IVANOV, featuring, between them, such actors as Maggie Gylenhall, Peter Sarsgaard, and Ethan Hawke, as well as HAMLET, starring Mr. Sarsgaard. He has acted in many movies and in recurring roles on such TV series as HOMOCIDE and Oz, as well as on Broadway in, most recently, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, with Natalie Portman and Linda Lavin, in a script revised by Wendy Kesselman, in whose musical, THE BLACK MONK, he played the title role. He has written three plays: ORSON'S SHADOW, produced at Mud after its off-Broadway run which lasted the year of 2005, at the Barrow St. Theatre, directed by David Cromer; UNCLE BOB, which has been produced in NY, around the country and internationally; and BOOTH, which starred Frank Langella in its productions in New York, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven; as well as the libretto for A MINISTER'S WIFE, music by Josh Schmidt and lyrics by Jan Tranen, commissioned and produced by Chicago's Writers' Theatre in 2009, and at Lincoln Center in 2011. All these works have been published. He directed Elizabeth Taylor on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's THE LITTLE FOXES. Most recent New York productions include THE LAST WILL (in which he also appeared), by Robert Brustein, at the Abingdon Theatre, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY, by Stephen Adly Giurgis, at the Atlantic Theatre Company and then at Second Stage (from which it went on to win the Pulitzer Prize), and STRAIGHT WHITE MEN (as actor) written and directed by Jean Young Lee, at The Public Theatre. He teaches acting at HB Studio, in New York.

LISA RAYMOND (video design): Managing Director, Marketing/Media Head - Mississippi Mud Productions. As a multi-media artists Lisa can often be found behind a computer or a camera. She works in the visual arts areas of website and graphic design, video, photography, and also consults on social networking. Clients have included MoMA, Brooklyn Museum, Sotheby's, Christie's, the NFL, Elite, and Ford Models. lisaraymond.com

Mississippi Mud Productions is a Made in the USA theatre and film company, working with artists from around the world. Mississippi Mud Productions is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit 501(c)(3).

Need more Los Angeles Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...

Get Los Angeles Emails & Offers

Get the latest news, discounts & more