Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal to Host 12/14 Auditions for 9th Annual LA'S NEXT GREAT STAGE STAR

Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal, the most critically acclaimed, award-winning supper club of its kind in the greater Los Angeles area, has set Sunday, December 14, 2014 as auditions for its 9th consecutive year of LA's Next Great Stage Star, it was announced today by Executive Producer Michael Sterling of Michael Sterling Publicity and Production in Los Angeles, CA.

"Our annual auditions in search of 10 men and 10 women between 18 and (for the first time) 32 years of age, is highly anticipated by the hierarchy of those associated with the business of presenting Broadway musical theatre in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California. "We couldn't be more grateful to our professional colleagues and select corporate entities for their consistent support of Stage Star since its inception," said Sterling.

For her fourth year - actress, concert headliner, author, businesswoman, and arts philanthropist Barbara Van Orden joins Sterling as Co-Executive Producer by gifting LA's Next Great Stage Star® with the Barbara Van Orden Grant which provides invaluable financial assistance for production of the annual competition. Sterling went on to say, "They don't make Barbara Van Orden's anymore. Without her passion for live performance and her dedication and loyalty to young hopefuls who dream about having a professional career in the arts, we couldn't exist to the extent of which we do." www.barbaravanorden.com

Los Angeles musical theatre and television performer/writer/director/producer Peter Welkin returns for his third year as Associate Producer, with James Lent set as Musical Director for his sixth consecutive season. www.peterwelkin.com. www.jameslent.com

Interested talent may call Michael Sterling Publicity and Production at (818) 623-7300, Ext. 2 to request an audition appointment. Auditions are by appointment only and will be scheduled between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. at the Performing Arts Center (www.performingartscenter.net) located at 7735 North Sepulveda Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406. A musical accompanist will be provided.

Having premiered in late 2006 with its first winner (Merissa Haddad) chosen in early 2007, LA's Next Great Stage Star® is the only known such competition on the west coast and will be presented at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal in North Hollywood's trendy NoHo Arts District. The Federal, part of the Knitting Factory Entertainment Corporation, Sterling's Upstairs is dedicated to presenting the best of Broadway performers in concert; as well as nightclub artists dedicated to the Great American Songbook. LA's Next Great Stage Star® 2015 will be presented as a series of six Sunday matinees: beginning January 4 and continuing through February 8, 2015. The reality competition will be presented to a live audience of each Sunday.

Loosely patterned after "an audition process", LA's Next Great Stage Star® is geared to discovering new talent for the musical theatre stage. As has become the standard, 20 contestants will be selected from auditions to compete for the 2015 title, a $1000 cash award, a headlining engagement at Sterling's Upstairs during the New Year, and other valuable prizes. Contestants selected from auditions to compete in the competition are subject to a one time entry fee of $425.

This year's competition will once again be judged by a live audience and an overall panel of LA musical theatre's most creative forces. Judges will give a live critique to each contestant at every competition. Audience members and Judges will also vote on vocal and acting ability, stage presence and personality.

Judges for LA's Next Great Stage Star 2014 included:

MUSICAL THEATRE & THEATRICAL CASTING DIRECTORS

Michael Donovan - Michael Donovan Casting TV, Film, Theatre - Artios Award Winner

Peter Matyas - Peter Matyas Casting TV, Film, Theatre - Artios Award Winner

Michael Serna - Walt Disney Parks & Resorts

Mark Simon - Center Theatre Group - Los Angeles Music Center

MUSICALTHEATRE PRODUCERS, WRITERS, DIRECTORS & CHOREOGRAPHERS

Cate Caplin - Director/Choreographer - Over 200 production in theatres and performance venues in Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl, Edinburgh Arts Festival, John F.Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Opera House

Daniel Dawson - Producer - 3D Theatricals - Plummer Auditorium/Fullerton, CA;

Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center; Redondo Beach, CA

Joshua Finkel - Director/Vocal/Acting Coach; Co-Star - Broadway/London/U.S.

National Tour: Kiss of the Spider Woman)

David Galligan - LA Stage Alliance Lifetime Achievement Ovation Award; Director of S.T.A.G.E.

(Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event) - 29 consecutive AIDS fundraising spectaculars

1984 - 2013. Director: Academy Award and Tony Award winner Rita Moreno; Director: Tony

Award winner and 6-time Emmy Award winner and Tyne Daly

Bruce Kimmel - Producer/Director, President and CEO of Kritzerland Records;

Creator of Kritizerland Presents at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal

Lee Martino - Joel Hirschorn Award Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre; 3-Time Recipient of LA Drama Critics Circle Awards; 4-time Los Angeles Ovation Award winner;

Director/Choreographer: The Wrong Man; When You Wish: The Story of Walt Disney

Michael Matthews - 2012 Ovation Award Winner as Best Director of a Musical (The Color Purple); Resident Co-Artistic Director - Celebration Theatre/Hollywood

Calvin Remsberg - Premier Vocal Coach/Broadway Musical Theatre Star; Director/Los Angeles 2013 Revival of Bare...A Pop Rock Opera; Director/Sweeny Todd, Into the Woods

EQUITY DEPARTMENT THEATRE AGENTS & TALENT EXECUTIVES

Anthony Boyer - Stage 9/DDO - Equity Department Head; and TV, Film

Steven Dry - Connor Ankrum & Associates - Equity Department Head; and TV, Film

Victoria Morris - Lexikat Artists Management Group - Talent Executive: Stage, TV, Film

Sasha Passero - Kazarian Ruskin & Associates - Equity Department Head

Dave Secor - Daniel Hoff Agency - Equity Department Head; and TV, Film

Alisa Taylor - Brady, Brannon & Rich Agency - Equity Associate Agent; and TV, Film

Contestants will compete at each competition with no eliminations until the Finale on February 8, 2015. Following the final sing by all 20 contestants on that date, the Finale will determine the selection of one winner and four top finalists. Additionally, the winner of LA's Next Great Stage Star® 2015 and its four runners-up will also be awarded audition opportunities by Southern California producers, directors and casting directors.

As a direct result of LA's Next Great Stage Star®, more than half of the annual competition's overall 160 contestants have been cast in top regional theatre shows, Las Vegas productions, and network television shows; while 11 have made either their Broadway and/or Off-Broadway debuts; or are appearing in Broadway U.S. National Tours. An average of 50 percent of "all" contestants in each year's edition of Stage Star are signed by the competition's musical theatre agent/judges.

Sterling's Upstairs, housed at The Federal located at 5303 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601, is produced by Michael Sterling of Michael Sterling Publicity and Production, a Studio City-based entertainment company. Known for its creative menus of California chic, gastro pub cuisine, The Federal's creative California chic, gastro pub cuisine, coupled with its vintage 1926 interior fused with contemporary design sensibilities, is one of the most successful dining and entertainment destinations in Los Angeles. www.thefederalbar.com

Since 1980, Sterling has represented such stellar clients as Elizabeth Taylor, Lance Armstrong, Scott Hamilton, Dorothy Hamill, David Copperfield, Joan Collins, Alan Thicke, Carol Lawrence, David Brenner, Andy Gibb, and Robert Goulet. Aside from his celebrity clientele, he has represented various national theatre and arena tours, Los Angeles theatre productions, Emmy Award-winning television specials, celebrity books, albums and CD's. Sterling is also a critically-acclaimed director of musical theatre in Los Angeles, and has produced various theatrical events and productions throughout Southern California. www.msapr.net

In September, 2009, Sterling joined Broadway World.com and BWW TV to produce television coverage of select Los Angeles theatre and red carpet opening night events for which he also serves as host. In 2010, Sterling and actor/director Paul Stroili joined forces to co-host and co-produce the highly successful, weekly radio series State of the Arts presented by Breakdown Services and Performing Arts Live on the LATalkRadio.com Network. Since its May 31 debut, State of the Arts continues to review Los Angeles theatre and interviewed innumerable Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy Award winners and nominees and performers. www.latalkradio.com/sota.php.

Musical Direction for the competition will be provided by James Lent. Mr. Lent not only received a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Yale University; but has appeared in concert with symphony orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad. He is currently on staff at AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy) College and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Hollywood; as well as UCLA music programs. Mr. Lent also serves as a Musical Director for many Los Angeles musical theatre productions and solo concerts.