Abby Carlson News

CROCODILE, INC. will present the world premiere reading of new musical THE GRASSHOPPER on Sat, Oct 7 at Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice.

Torrance Theatre Company opens their 24th season at the James R. Armstrong Theatre with THE ADDAMS FAMILY: A New Musical Comedy; book by MARSHALL BRICKMAN and RICK ELICE, music and lyrics by ANDREW LIPPA; and based on characters created by Charles Addams.

Tilted Keyboard Studios (TKS) has just released a virtual cover of 'Wait for Me' from the hit musical Hadestown. The purpose is to support a cause that is near and dear to their hearts: the return of theatre. Tilted Keyboard has partnered with The Actors Fund to raise money to support those in the industry who were truly hit hardest by the pandemic.

A world premiere stage adaptation based on the 2014 hit musical film, Waiting In The Wings: The Musical is set to play at the Rose Center Theater November 5-14, 2021.

What do displaced actors during a pandemic do when there is no stage in which to perform? They take it to the internet, of course, and that is exactly what the company Creative Quarantine has done. CREATIVE QUARANTINE Presents LES MISÈRABLES In QUARAN-STREAM will broadcast Saturday, June 6, at 7 p.m., on their Creative Quarantine Youtube channel. Based out of Los Angeles, Calif., two dozen actors from all over the country, including Arkansas' own Piper Wallace, came together with co-founders and producers Benji Kaufman and Lara Lafferty to create a fully realized - and fully virtual - tribute to the beloved musical, LES MISERABLES.

With the current theatre world on hiatus, I have created a Spotlight Series on Broadway World Los Angeles which features interviews with some of the many talented artists who make our theatre community so exciting and vibrant thanks to their ongoing contribution to keeping the Arts alive in the City of the Angels. And like so many right now, I wanted to find out how they are dealing with the abrupt end of productions in which they were involved. This Spotlight shines on writer/producer and actor Mykell Barlow, who I first saw onstage in the Los Angeles premiere of 'Dessa Rose' at the Chromolume Theatre. His next big production is his wedding planned for 6/13/2020, which he hopes can go on as planned.

3-D Theatricals of Los Angeles concludes its 2017-2018 Season with the international smash hit Mamma Mia!, dazzling audiences on stage through August 26 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

An invitation-only workshop presentation of Christopher Raymond's Scarlet Letter: The Musical will be taking place at the Greenway Court Theatre in Hollywood on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25, it was announced today. Based on the classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the show features music and lyrics by Raymond, choreography by Angela Todaro, and the director is Kristin Towers-Rowles.

The long awaited revival of Jason Robert Brownand Alfred Uhry's gripping Tony Award-winning murder mystery musical PARADE as presented in 2013 at Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium by 3-D Theatricals (3DT) of Los Angeles and Orange County, once again takes a bow at two Southern California main stage theatres. It began June 1 - 10 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and now continues June 15 - 24, 2018 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

The long awaited revival of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's gripping Tony Award-winning murder mystery musical PARADE as presented five years ago at Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium by 3-D Theatricals (3DT) of Los Angeles and Orange County, will once again take a bow at two Southern California main stage theatres beginning June 1 - 10 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and June 15 - 24, 2018 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Broadway's JEFF SKOWRON*, RUFUS BONDS JR.* and DAVIS GAINES* lead many returning cast members of the original 2013 3DT production.

First of all, kudos to director James Esposito for discovering the musical DESSA ROSE, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Sherley Anne Williams. This awe-inspiring musical received its New York premiere at Lincoln Center in 2005 and it's a wonder no other theater group has decided to produce this timely exploration about the universal need for freedom and equality. With book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, it tells the story of a young black woman (a runaway slave) and a young white woman (an abandoned mother) beginning in the years just prior to the Civil War and continuing through their journey to acceptance in the antebellum South. The audience has the role of playing their grandchildren, to whom the elderly pair tell their story as it is presented to us.

Chromolume Theatre at the Attic has announced the first production of its 2018 Season of Musicals, Dessa Rose. With book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, opening is set for Friday, February 2 at 8pm. The run will continue through February 25 only. The Chromolume's production of Dessa Rose will feature musical direction by Daniel Yokomizo, choreography by Michael Marchak, and it will be directed by James Esposito.

Powerful, poignant and timely as ever, LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT presented the fourth show of its 2016-2017 season, the most acclaimed musical of all time, WEST SIDE STORY, book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein with musical direction by Brent Crayon, choreography by John Todd and directed by Ovation award-winner Richard Israel.

Musical Theatre West (MTW) presents Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice's musical masterpiece Evita at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center February 10-26.

Musical Theatre West (MTW) presents Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice's musical masterpiece Evita at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center February 10-26.

Art-In-Relation (AIR), a new Long Beach based Arts Organization will be holding its first fundraising event on Sunday, February 22, 2015 beginning at 2 p.m. at Ernest Borgnine Theatre in Long Beach. The event is called 'Fresh A.I.R. - a Broadway Benefit.'