Los Angeles Interviews

Joseph Leo Bwarie Celebrates HOLIDAZE & Garry Marshall
by Gil Kaan - December 11, 2020, Los Angeles

Garry Marshall Theatre and Dark Blue Mondaze presents​​​​​​​ HOLIDAZE HARMONY, a virtual concert featuring recording artists and Broadway stars Terron Brooks and Kamilah Marshall. HOLIDAZE HARMONY's director/producer Joseph Leo Bwarie shares some backstory in creating HOLIDAZE HARMONY, playing Frank...

Manual Cinema's Julia Miller On Re-Imagining CHRISTMAS CAROL
by Gil Kaan - December 11, 2020, Los Angeles

MANUAL CINEMA'S CHRISTMAS CAROL will world premiere for The Soraya, one of its co-commissioners, live-streaming December 11 through 13, 2020 via Marquee TV. Performed live and filmed in Manual Cinema's Chicago studio, Charles Dickens’ holiday classic CHRISTMAS CAROL has been re-envisioned with hundr...

Quadruple-Threat Tom DeTrinis On MAKING FRIENDS & Theatre
by Gil Kaan - December 10, 2020, Los Angeles

Multi-talented, multi-hypenate Tom DeTrinis premieres his one-man show MAKING FRIENDS for IAMA December 17, 2020, with streaming through January 11,2021. Written by Tom and directed by Drew Droege, Tom's performance on his own angst will be filmed live at L.A.’s Pico Playhouse....

Rogue Artists' Sean Cawelti Blends All His Talents Into STORAGE RUN
by Gil Kaan - December 09, 2020, Los Angeles

Building on their long tradition of subversive holiday programming, Rogue Artists Ensemble has created the specific-to-online interactive STORAGE RUN, in which you, the audience decide the ending. The first installment of three episodes premieres December 18, 2021....

Renown Writer/Director John Caird On TWISTing Dickens' CHRISTMAS CAROL
by Gil Kaan - December 05, 2020, Los Angeles

Rubicon Theatre presents the World Premiere of ESTELLA SCROOGE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH A TWIST, a modern day take on Charles Dickens’ beloved 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. Stellar cast of twenty-four includes: Betsy Wolfe as Estella Scrooge, Clifton Duncan as Phillip 'Pip' Nickleby, Lauren Patten ...

Ryan Spahn's NORA HIGHLAND Aiming The Spotlight On The Industry's Homophobia
by Gil Kaan - December 04, 2020, Los Angeles

The Celebration Theatre's program of celebrating new works returns with Ryan Spahn's NORA HIGHLAND airing Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 7:30pm PT on Celebration Theatre's YouTube Channel. NORA HIGHLAND chronicles the casting of a notable gay character in an upcoming Broadway revival, while challengi...

Lori Meeker - An Artist For CHRISTMAS & All Seasons
by Gil Kaan - December 02, 2020, Los Angeles

Multi-medium artist Lori Meeker and her Tin Can Telephone Productions has created an interactive online Christmas experience with WELCOME TO MEADOWLARK FALLS - CHRISTMAS AT HOME. Viewers ordering a set of mailed packages from www.meadowlarkfalls.com will be able to participate in communicating with ...

Busy in These Pandemic Times, Leonard Robinson's Been a Triple Threat - Teaching, Performing & Directing THE GROUNDLINGS HOLIDAY SHOW - ONLINE EDITION
by Gil Kaan - December 01, 2020, Los Angeles

The Groundlings, in continuing their online presence, will Zoom this year's annual THE GROUNDLINGS HOLIDAY SHOW - ONLINE EDITION. This sure-to-be laugh-filled program airing three December weekends features original skits and improvs from the hysterical Groundlings Main Company members....

AN AWAKENING Larry Powell Sets His GAZE On Speaking Out
by Gil Kaan - November 19, 2020, Los Angeles

Playwright/actor Larry Powell has been making the very most of his time in these crazy quarantine circumstances. Larry has two of his plays opening online this week - THE RECLAMATION OF MY BLACK ASS IMAGINATION: AN AWAKENING (as part of Greenway Court Theatre's 20th anniversary season opener IF I SH...

Sound Expertise Jeff Gardner Sounds Off on THE ZIP CODE PLAYS: LOS ANGELES
by Gil Kaan - November 16, 2020, Los Angeles

With still the absence of live theatre audiences, Antaeus Theatre Company creatively pivots with THE ZIP CODE PLAYS: LOS ANGELES, its series of six new plays as podcasts. ZIP CODE's audio producer/sound designer/foley artist Jeff Gardner broke away from his artistic multitasking to answer a few of m...

Playwright/Director Chelsea Marcantel Deputizes YOU As A CITIZEN DETECTIVE
by Gil Kaan - November 09, 2020, Los Angeles

CITIZEN DETECTIVE, Geffen StayHouse's third production, has already been sold out, just as the first two did. Specifically written for Zoom, playwright/director Chelsea Marcantel has fashioned a mystery who-done-it with the Zoom audience as the solving detectives. Best-selling true crime author Mick...

Shawn Plunkett on SAFER APART by The Left Hand Productions
by Shari Barrett - November 08, 2020, Los Angeles

Writer and director Shawn Plunkett wants to fill the void of no theater by taking audiences back to days of live television, just without the in-person studio audience. 'SAFER APART will be performed LIVE so anything can happen, which is one of the major appeals of attending an in-person show. I am ...

Diana Wyenn on Her Very Personal Journey in BLOOD/SUGAR
by Shari Barrett - November 07, 2020, Los Angeles

Diana Wyenn's solo show BLOOD/SUGAR takes place at the intersection of public health and performance, focusing on her life as a diabetic. Performed live and broadcast from Wyenn's home, using multimedia effects, original movement, and Wyenn's physical surroundings to create a vivid account of the li...

Brett Loudermilk's Swallowing For Halloween
by Gil Kaan - October 23, 2020, Los Angeles

This year's semi-finalist on America's Got Talent, sword-swallower extraordinaire Brett Loudermilk will be presenting THE BRETT LOUDERMILK HALLOWEEN SPECIAL Zoomed live online October 29 & 30, 2020. Special guests for this self-described 'CIRQUE DU SOLEIL meets PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE' include Gilbert G...

Christine Joëlle of REACH at The Road Theatre Company
by Shari Barrett - October 17, 2020, Los Angeles

For an inside look at the creation of 'Reach' by Jennie Webb, one of the four plays being streamed on Saturday, October 24 as part of the UNDER CONSTRUCTION Zoom series, I reached out to that play's producer Christine Joëlle, who shared how the short piece was created via a collaboration with the tw...

Puzzle Master/Magician David Kwong Puzzlingly Mystifies INSIDE THE BOX
by Gil Kaan - October 16, 2020, Los Angeles

Geffen Stayhouse's second full-length virtual production INSIDE THE BOX sold out its six-week run in minutes. Now extended through January 3, 2021, puzzle master and magician David Kwong will interact with his audience INSIDE THE Zoomed BOXes, weaving a tale of past puzzle-makers with puzzle-solving...

Scott Silven On Making His Magical JOURNEY During These Isolating Times
by Gil Kaan - October 15, 2020, Los Angeles

Mentalist/performance artist Scott Silven will west coast premiere his virtual creation THE JOURNEY for The Broad Stage opening October 20, 2020. Storyteller Scott will weave illusions and feats of imagination into his tales of his Scottish heritage for a maximum of 30 fortunate households per onlin...

13Exp's Mikhael Tara Garver Creating Immersive Events for River LA
by Gil Kaan - October 05, 2020, Los Angeles

Mikhael Tara Garver, creator and experiential director of 13Exp, will team up with River LA for RIO REVEALS, a series of immersive, online events on the history and future of the Los Angeles River. River LA donors will have access to the in-person FIREFLY NIGHTS, first of their RIO REVEALS series Oc...

Prolific Director Jon Lawrence Rivera MARCHes Thru The Pandemic With The LALGBT Center
by Gil Kaan - October 04, 2020, Los Angeles

Playrights' Arena's artistic director Jon Lawrence Rivera will world premiere MARCH, inaugurating the Los Angeles LBGT Centera??s innovative new live theatre series, GARAGE THEATRE on Saturday, October 17, 2020. Performances for audiences (in their individual vehicles) will take place in the unique,...

Matthew Herrmann Juggling KAREN CARPENTER, THE WOODS & Many, Many Others
by Gil Kaan - September 29, 2020, Los Angeles

The versatile and frequent Los Angeles theatre collaborator, actor/producer Matthew Herrmann will next be virtually seen in ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME KAREN CARPENTER, a benefit for the Cavern Club Celebrity Theatre at Casita del Campo October 1 live at 7pm PST. Joining Matthew will be familiar face...

Javon Johnson Is Always Listening, Writing & Loving STILL.
by Gil Kaan - September 28, 2020, Los Angeles

Javon Johnson, the most winningest poetry slam competitor to-date ('Humble brag,' Javon interjecting), will open the Pasadena Playhouse's new streaming platform PLAYHOUSELIVE September 30, 2020 with his one-man show STILL. Poet/performer/professor Javon shares his most timely take on the complexitie...

Marc Antolin On Entering the ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS Bubble
by Gil Kaan - September 18, 2020, Los Angeles

Emma Rice, the creator and leader of the UK theatre company Wise Children, has remounted the interrupted U.S. tour of her ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS. Wise Children will present a LIVE production of ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS (with dancing and kissing) livestreaming from the Bristol Old Vic stage September 22 thro...

Dennis Hensley MISMATCHing & Working With Divas
by Gil Kaan - September 17, 2020, Los Angeles

Dennis Hensley's long-running THE MISMATCH GAME has reinvented itself to the new normal of ZOOM for two weekend nights, September 26 and 27, 2020. Dennis shared some history of his charitable project, produced pre-pandemic on the stages of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Dennis dons his hosting polyest...

Magician Extraordinaire Helder Guimarães Closing THE PRESENT With A GRAND FINALE
by Gil Kaan - September 16, 2020, Los Angeles

Magician extraordinaire (I'm a convinced eyewitness!) Helder Guimarães has been performing his virtual magic show THE PRESENT (a Geffen Playhouse production) since May 7, 2020; when it had an initial run of four weeks, (selling out in under an hour!). With his third (and, sadly, final extension), He...

Beth Malone Being FUN HOME, An AMERICA's Angel & Celebrating Kritzerland's 10TH
by Gil Kaan - September 11, 2020, Los Angeles

Kritzerland will celebrate their ten years of producing monthly cabarets with their 109th show THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW, livestreaming this Sunday September 13, 2020. I jumped at the chance to pose a few queries to Beth Malone, Tony nominated for her lead role as author Alison Bechdel in FUN HOME, ...

Lesley Fera on Creating the PRETTY LITTLE WINE MOMS Podcast
by Shari Barrett - September 11, 2020, Los Angeles

Combining her television and stage experience has led Lesley and her husband Ned Mochel to create the podcast, 'Pretty Little Wine Moms,' producing new episodes every Wednesday. Lesley hosts the show along with her 'Pretty Little Liars' co-stars and friends Holly Marie Combs and Nia Peeples. But it ...

Bursting Emma Rice's ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS Bubble
by Gil Kaan - September 08, 2020, Los Angeles

Emma Rice, the creator and leader of the UK theatre company Wise Children, will virtually premiere her ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS months after live theatre was shuttered aborting their U. S. tour. The livestreaming from the Bristol Old Vic stage September 22 through 28 will benefit 30+ theatres worldwide, ...

Kerry O'Malley SINGing HAPPY Again With Kritzerland
by Gil Kaan - August 07, 2020, Los Angeles

Kritzerland will present its 108th show SING HAPPY! THE SONGS OF KANDER & EBB as a benefit for Group Rep this Sunday August 9, 2020 at 5p PST via their Facebook and YouTube pages. This tribute to legendary composers John Kander and Fred Ebb (hosted by its incomparably witty producer Bruce Kimmel and...

ISC's David Melville & Melissa Chalsma On Being Free, Social Awareness & The Future
by Gil Kaan - August 03, 2020, Los Angeles

As live theatre remains in lockdown, Independent Shakespeare Company (ISC) is morphing their Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival into a free, livestreaming program of four FESTIVAL EVENTS on Saturdays in August, and a hybrid stage production of ROMEO & JULIET Labor Day weekend. ISC's co-founders...

Mindy Sterling On Staying Home & Being a Groundling
by Gil Kaan - July 27, 2020, Los Angeles

The Groundlings alumni and Austin Powers fan favorite Mindy Sterling will be special guesting on The Groundlings weekly online Wednesday show THE CRAZY UNCLE JOE SHOW July 29, 2020, zooming at 8p PST. This hour of improv starts with suggestions from the audience and weaves characters through time an...

DIAVOLO's Jacques Heim Safely Creating THIS IS ME With Vets
by Gil Kaan - July 24, 2020, Los Angeles

DIAVOLO/Architecture in Motion's The Veteran Project will premiere its THIS IS ME: LETTERS FROM THE FRONT LINES on The Soraya Facebook page Friday July 31 at 4p PST. Returning to The Soraya for their fourth engagement, DIAVOLO's latest movement piece deals with our current pandemic isolation from th...

Source Material's Samantha Shay Navigating IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES
by Gil Kaan - July 20, 2020, Los Angeles

Source Material's IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES will world premiere via Zoom July 25, 2020 at 4pm PST. Directed by Source Material's artistic director Samantha Shay, IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES posits the state of theatre in these COVID-19 times using a mash-up of Chekov monologues, drinking duels and coron...

THIS WILL BE Ali MacLean's YEAR @ SheLa Arts
by Gil Kaan - July 13, 2020, Los Angeles

The third annual SheLA Arts' Summer Theater Festival has gone completely digital this year, running July 13 through July 19, 2020. I had the socially distant chance to pose a few questions to one of the five elected playwrights chosen for this year's festival, Ali MacLean, whose THIS WILL BE OUR YEA...

Josh Shaw of MADAMA BUTTERFLY at Home Computer Screens
by Maria Nockin - July 06, 2020, Los Angeles

Named as one of Musical America's Top 30 Innovators in Classical Music, Josh Shaw is the Executive and Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Project (POP), one of L.A.'s most exciting opera companies. During the past nine seasons, Shaw has directed over 35 productions at POP. Since 2011, Shaw  has dire...

Playwright France-Luce Benson's Been Ready For SHOWTIME - BLUES
by Gil Kaan - June 26, 2020, Los Angeles

In these pandemic times, The Fountain Theatre has been Zooming their SATURDAY MATINEE series, the latest on June 27 being France-Luce Benson's SHOWTIME BLUES. The cast of this reading includes Cecil Blutcher, Suzette Azariah Gunn and Matt Kirkwood. I had the socially distant opportunity to pose a fe...

Janet Eilber On Martha Graham's IMMEDIATE TRAGEDY & The Lightbulb Moment With Bob Fosse
by Gil Kaan - June 18, 2020, Los Angeles

The works of the incomparable Martha Graham remain a must-see for modern dance aficionados. The Martha Graham Dance Company's latest work IMMEDIATE TRAGEDY will premiere online Friday, June 19 at 4pm (PDT)/7pm (EDT) on The Soraya Facebook page. In collaboration with composer Christopher Rountree and...

The Fabulous Playwright Vincent Terrell Durham Waxes on His POLAR BEARS, BLACK BOYS & PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHIDS
by Gil Kaan - June 17, 2020, Los Angeles

To commemorate Juneteenth this Friday June 19th, the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project will present Vincent Terrell Durham's POLAR BEARS, BLACK BOYS & PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHIDS as a free, live Zoom reading. Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project has gathered groups of regional theatres in various cities ...

Director Jane Page On HUMAN ERROR & New Forms of Storytelling
by Gil Kaan - June 12, 2020, Los Angeles

North Coast Rep's west coast premiere of playwright Eric Pfeffinger's HUMAN ERROR will go on as originally planned, only in these times of social distancing, being presented online from June 15 through June 29, 2020. HUMAN ERROR's a comedy of a medical mix-up that brings two couples of opposing life...

Grammy-Winning Guitarist Laurence Juber on Whitefire, VERY BRADY & Hope
by Gil Kaan - June 10, 2020, Los Angeles

Guitarist Laurence Juber, with a musical resume longer than your arm, will play his first full-length concert since the beginnings of our stay-home orders in AN EVENING WITH LAURENCE JUBER, a virtual benefit for Whitefire Theatre June 13, 2020. LJ graciously took some time for this interview between...

NATIONAL PUPPETRY CONFERENCE's Pam Arcerio Pulling The Right Strings @ The O'Neill
by Gil Kaan - June 05, 2020, Los Angeles

First up in the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's newly revamped 2020 Summer Season - now online, the 30th NATIONAL PUPPETRY CONFERENCE (PUP) running June 8 through June 12, 2020. PUP, with an already sold-out main CONFERENCE, is offering the public a series of five master classes, as well as, two fre...