Lois Wyse

The board of The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation will honor lyricist/composer Sheilah Rae at a private reception on April 20, 2023 at The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South.

New York Theatre Barn announced it is honoring its co-founder, Sheilah Rae, with the company's first Lifetime Achievement Award.  The award recognizes her exceptional contributions to musical theatre as a writer, composer, lyricist and performer for over 50-years, and her co-founding and outstanding service and vision for New York Theatre Barn (NYTB) for more than a decade.  Joe Barros, artistic director of NYTB, and Rob Wyse, board president of NYTB, made the announcement at the February 4th New Works Series. Each noted her deep understanding of the journey from page to stage.

'Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation,' the late advertising executive, author and columnist Lois Wyse once said. For author Marj June Gibbins, it was her grandson that connected the dots which not only strengthened their family relationship but also led her to become a published author with the first book of her children's book series entitled 'Adventures of Willem and Booey: Book 1: Melbourne Holiday.'

Santa Monica Playhouse presents Actor's Repertory Theatre (ART) in the return engagement of the 'dazzling' (Daily Bruin) original Jewish musical, BACKSTREET, a passionate and whimsical portrait of life, love, and loyalty played out by a family of Backstreet Ladies in a house of Jewish 'working girls' in the New York ghetto, circa 1905. This gem from the Playhouse Jewish Heritage Program by the creators of the immensely popular Sholom Aleichem quartet of plays - Author! Author!, Because of You, The Clown Prince and The Great Fair - and part of the ongoing Santa Monica Playhouse (SMP) 50th Anniversary Celebration of Theatre, opens May 15, 2010.

Santa Monica Playhouse presents Actor's Repertory Theatre (ART) in the return engagement of the 'dazzling' (Daily Bruin) original Jewish musical, BACKSTREET, a passionate and whimsical portrait of life, love, and loyalty played out by a family of Backstreet Ladies in a house of Jewish 'working girls' in the New York ghetto, circa 1905. This gem from the Playhouse Jewish Heritage Program by the creators of the immensely popular Sholom Aleichem quartet of plays - Author! Author!, Because of You, The Clown Prince and The Great Fair - and part of the ongoing Santa Monica Playhouse (SMP) 50th Anniversary Celebration of Theatre, opens May 15, 2010.

Charlie Lustman's original pop music operetta about surviving cancer as he says 'one song at a time', Made Me Nuclear: the Operetta, a guest production at the Santa Monica Playhouse, is extended by popular demand. This show, which is presented by the Sarcoma Alliance will now be performed through January 31, 2009.

The critically acclaimed Made Me Nuclear, now in its fifth month, is extending for an additional eight weeks. Charlie Lustman's original pop music operetta about surviving cancer is 'simply irresistible' says the LA Times. This 'feel good cancer musical' (LAT) is an 'inspiring' tale that will 'grab you in a bear hug right away and not let go. 'Touching...life-affirming...his songs are pitched in an intimate, jazzy, bluesy style,' says the LA Weekly. WHO: Written and Performed by Singer/Songwriter Charlie Lustman. Lustman grew up in LA and is a graduate of Berklee College of Music; he spent ten years touring the world performing and released two studio albums in Denmark: The Golden Road, vol.1 and SHAYA. He also wrote and performed live the theme song to the ABC TV program 'The Mike and Maty show.' He is perhaps best known to Los Angeles audiences for his role in rescuing and reopening The Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, the last remaining silent cinema in the world, which he turned into a one-of-a-kind successful working revival theatre lauded by film buffs globally. In 2006, after being diagnosed with a rare cancer in his upper jaw he sold the theatre and returned to his first passion -music. Writing and composing throughout his treatment and recovery he produced his third studio album, Made Me Nuclear, arguably the first pop music album about surviving cancer. Released in July 2008 'a-dollar-a-disc' will be donated to The Sarcoma Alliance, the only national organization dedicated to helping those afflicted with this rare disease. Made Me Nuclear, the Operetta, now in its fifth month, is the theatrical adaptation of the album arguably the first pop operetta about surviving cancer. Directed by Chris DeCarlo. DeCarlo has been directing, writing and acting in Los Angeles for over 40 years and is acknowledged for his critically acclaimed crafting of world and American premiere productions by such renowned playwrights as Michel Garneau, Stephen King, Brenda Krantz, Robert B. Parker, Sheila Rae, Annie Reiner, Sammy Shore, Robert Waldman, David Williamson, and Lois Wyse, including five of Playwright Jerry Mayer's plays. He has directed more than 200 plays on three continents, from the Henry Street Settlement Theatre in New York to the Dream Factory in Warwickshire and the gargantuan Hitomi Memorial Hall in Tokyo. As a performer, DeCarlo has created more than 300 roles, with over 10,000 on-stage performances. Over a quarter of a million people have been touched by his award-winning characterization of Yiddish humorist Sholom Aleichem.

Charlie Lustman's original pop music operetta about surviving cancer as he says 'one song at a time', Made Me Nuclear: the Operetta, a guest production at the Santa Monica Playhouse, is extended by popular demand. This show, which is presented by the Sarcoma Alliance will now be performed through January 31, 2009.

Described by the L.A. Times Critics' Choice as, '... perfectly simple -- and simply irresistible,' Charlie Lustman's original pop music operetta about surviving cancer one song at a time has been extended a second time. The new closing date is Saturday, November 29, 2008