Amber Liekhus

Review: Family-Friendly Holiday Magic Abounds in A CHRISTMAS CAROL
by Shari Barrett - Dec 3, 2025

With its stirring original music, vivid storytelling and exuberant cast, A Christmas Carol at A Noise Within continues to capture the timeless magic of Dickens’ classic - and the enduring hope that kindness can redeem us all.

A Noise Within to Celebrate 13 years of A CHRISTMAS CAROL This Holiday Season
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 28, 2025

A Noise Within’s special brand of holiday magic is set to return for another joy-filled season. The company’s musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol will once again light up the stage. Learn more!

Photos: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE Opens This Weekend At A Noise Within
by A.A. Cristi - May 8, 2025

Step into 1960s Dublin, where an amateur theater group and its passionate leader attempt to bring Oscar Wilde’s Salome to life against all odds. “A Man of No Importance,” Check out the photos, below.

A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE to be Presented at A Noise Within
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Apr 1, 2025

A Noise Within will present A Man of No Importance, an evocative, intimate musical gem from the Tony Award-winning team behind Ragtime. Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.

Review: Musical Theatre West Presents Spirited AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'
by Michael Quintos - Oct 23, 2024

Structured as a non-stop song-and-dance revue without any dialogue, the Fats Waller tribute musical relies on its spunky live band and its crazy-good, five-person cast to sing a songbook filled with (mostly) joyful and (some) sorrowful jazz tunes. The show continues through Nov. 3, 2024 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA.

Musical Theatre West To Present AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 10, 2024

Musical Theatre West will have Long Beach swingin’ and finger snappin’ this fall with Ain’t Misbehavin’ The Fats Waller Musical Show, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center for select nights October 18th - November 3rd.

Review: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH at A Noise Within
by Amanda Callas - Sep 23, 2024

The Skin of Our Teeth is an astonishing production of the classic play at A Noise Within through September 29th.  It is insatiably alive with sharp-fanged wit, whimsical thoughtfulness, and improbable wonder.  The Skin of Our Teeth is audaciously satirical, but also earnest its incandescent meditation on the eternal human cycle of apocalypse and overindulgence.

Photos: A Noise Within Presents Thornton Wilder's THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 13, 2024

A Noise Within opened its 2024-25 “True Grit” season last weekend with “The Skin of Our Teeth,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning, time-bending comic romp by Thornton Wilder that’s a testament to the indomitable spirit of humanity. See photos from the production.

Interview: Ann Noble's Always Multitasking By THE SKIN OF HER TEETH
by Gil Kaan - Sep 6, 2024

Next up for A Noise Within, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Skin of Our Teeth opening September 7, 2024 (with previews already started.) ANW’s co-artistic directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct the cast led by Frederick Stuart, Trisha Miller, Mildred Marie Langford, Christian Henley and Ann Noble with support from Kasey Mahaffy, Cassandra Marie Murphy, Anthony Adu, Stella Bullock, Julia Chavez, Jacob Cherry, Yannick Haynes, Amber Liekhus, Veronica McFarlane, David A. Rangel, Landon M. Robinson, Micah Schneider and Maya Sta. Ana. Ann found time between her multi-tasking to answer a few of my queries.

THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH to be Presented at A Noise Within in September
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jul 23, 2024

Launching the 2024-25 “True Grit” season at A Noise Within,co-artistic directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct The Skin of Our Teeth. Learn how to purchase tickets.

JELLY'S LAST JAM Enters Final Two Weeks of Performances at Pasadena Playhouse
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jun 13, 2024

Pasadena Playhouse's production of the Tony Award-winning musical JELLY'S LAST JAM, directed by Kent Gash will close this month. Learn how to purchase tickets.

Photos: Celebrities on the Red Carpet at Opening Night of JELLY'S LAST JAM at Pasadena Playhouse
by Stephi Wild - Jun 4, 2024

Pasadena Playhouse is now presenting a new production of the Tony Award winning musical Jelly’s Last Jam, featuring a book by George C. Wolfe, music by Jelly Roll Morton, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead with musical adaptation and additional music composed by Luther Henderson. Check out photos from the opening night red carpet here!

Photos/Video: First Look at Pasadena Playhouse's JELLY'S LAST JAM
by Joshua Wright - Jun 3, 2024

Get a first look at Pasadena Playhouse's new production of the Tony Award winning musical Jelly’s Last Jam, now on stage through through June 23, 2024. The production features a book by George C. Wolfe, music by Jelly Roll Morton, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead with musical adaptation and additional music composed by Luther Henderson. 

Interview: John Clarence Stewart's the Jelly in JELLY'S LAST JAM
by Gil Kaan - May 28, 2024

Next up at the Pasadena Playhouse, the Tony Award-winning Jelly’s Last Jam opening June 2, 2024 (with previews starting May 29th). Kent Gash directs the cast led by John Clarence Stewart as Jelly Roll Morton, Cress Williams, Jasmine Amy Rogers; Wilkie Ferguson III, Karole Foreman, Eric B. Anthony, Doran Butler, Chante Carmel, Cyd Charisse Glover-Hill, Summer Nicole Greer, Janaya Jones, Grasan Kingsberry, Amber Liekhus, Davon Rashawn, Joe Aaron Reid, Naomi C. Walley and Hannah Yosef. I had the chance to chat with John Clarence while he was navigating Los Angeles traffic.

VIDEO: Go Inside Rehearsals for JELLY'S LAST JAM at Pasadena Playhouse
by Joshua Wright - May 21, 2024

Get a first look at rehearsals for the new production of the Tony Award winning musical Jelly’s Last Jam at Pasadena Playhouse, featuring a book by George C. Wolfe, music by Jelly Roll Morton, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead with musical adaptation and additional music composed by Luther Henderson.  

Video: See Stewart, Williams, and Rogers in Teaser for Pasadena Playhouse's JELLY'S LAST JAM
by Blair Ingenthron - May 5, 2024

Watch a teaser for Jelly's Last Jam at Pasadena Playhouse in the video here!

Cast Set For JELLY'S LAST JAM at Pasadena Playhouse
by Stephi Wild - May 1, 2024

Full casting has been announced for the new production of the Tony Award winning musical Jelly’s Last Jam.

Review: SWEENEY TODD at A Noise Within
by Andrew Child - Feb 21, 2024

In classic ANW style, Rodriguez-Elliott has simplified everything, returning to the text and highlighting elements of the (mercifully and artfully) truncated libretto. Without a drop of stage blood, she has crafted lasting images of violence that grip us and carry the narrative.

Photos: First Look At Stephen Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET At A Noise Within
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 14, 2024

“Sweeney Todd,” the dark, brooding, yet sharply comic story of love, revenge and meat pies by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, opens this weekend at Pasadena’s A Noise Within. Check out photos of the production.

Interview: Cassandra Marie Murphy's Sharpening Her Acting Chops in SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
by Gil Kaan - Feb 1, 2024

A Noise Within puts their unique spin on Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opening February 17, 2024 (with previews starting February 11th). ANW’s co-producing artistic director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott directs the cast of: Geoff Elliott, James Everts, Amber Liekhus, Joanna A. Jones, Jeremy Rabb, Cassandra Marie Murphy, Kasey Mahaffy, Josey Montana McCoy and Harrison White.  Cassandra, who plays the cutting role of Mrs. Lovett, graciously took time from juggling her rehearsals with her motherly duties to answer a few of my queries.