Claire Adams News

Rubicon Theatre Company (RTC) is pleased to announce the cast for the West Coast premiere of NICK PAYNE'S profoundly moving play INCOGNITO, directed by Ovation nominee and Indy Award-winner KATHARINE FARMER. This dazzling new drama explores what it means to be human and how memory and imagination shape our identities.

Before Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty teamed up for iconic works like Ragtime, Once on this Island, and their current Broadway hit Anastasia,they wrote a crazy little musical called LUCKY STIFF. It was their first collaboration and, though it never made it to Broadway, it won the pair a Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre and launched a 30-year partnership that has helped shape the genre ever since.

Actors Co-op (Ovation Award-Winner 2014 Best Intimate Theatre Musical for 110 in the Shade) presents the fifth and final show in its celebratory 25th Silver Anniversary season, the killer musical from the writers of Ragtime and Once On This Island, LUCKY STIFF, book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, choreography by Julie Hall, musical direction by Taylor Stephenson and directed by Stephen Van Dorn.  

Actors Co-op (Ovation Award-Winner 2014 Best Intimate Theatre Musical for110 in the Shade) presents the fifth and final show in its celebratory 25th Silver Anniversary season, the killer musical from the writers of Ragtime and Once On This Island, LUCKY STIFF, book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, choreography by Julie Hall, musical direction by Taylor Stephenson and directed by Stephen Van Dorn.  LUCKY STIFF will preview on Wednesday, May 10 & Thursday, May 11 at 8pm and will open on Friday, May 12 at 8pm and run through Sunday, June 18 at the Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St. (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.

On the eve of HAIRSPRAY LIVE!, North Hollywood Arts District's newest theatre exceeds expectations with their production of HAIRSPRAY.

The answer to last year's question of whether the digital arts venture STAGE RAW could bring back its awards ceremony celebrating the best of LA's up-to-99-seat theaters, the answer is YES. STAGE RAW is pleased to announce the SECOND ANNUAL STAGE RAW LOS ANGELES THEATER AWARDS, championing the best work of 2015 in L.A.'s still-embattled theaters of up to 99-seats.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum/book by Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart/ music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim/Cabrillo Music Theatre, Thousand Oaks/directed by Lewis Wilkenfeld/choreographed by John Charron/through February 14 A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum is silliness personified from its zany characters and inane plot contrivances to its corny yet witty dialogue. It is clever farce set to music. Mistaken identities, zippity fast exits and entrances...it has no rhyme or reason but is terribly, terribly funny with belly laughs about every two seconds. Cabrillo's current revival is astonishingly good with a delicious cast and superlative direction from Lewis Wilkenfeld. It's a practically flawless production.

Laurel and Hardy must be smiling in the comedy Valhalla. Cabrillo Music Theatre's near-perfect production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which opened last night at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza's Scherr Forum, brings back the classic, broad humor from vaudeville, performed by an inspired cast of crazies who not only aren't afraid of anything going wrong, but are probably HOPING for mishaps that would destroy any other show. This is, of course, because Forum is one of those shows where spontaneity and the unexpected is almost as obligatory as Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart's uproarious script and Stephen Sondheim's witty lyrics.

There are undoubtedly other productions worthy of merit in 2015 which I did not cover. This list is based only on what I saw and reviewed. (alphabetical listings; Equity, Equity-waiver & Non-Equity productions are mixed) (artists performing outside LA may be included in performance categories) No set, costume, or technical awards. I leave that to the bigger awards and to the expertise of those who really know those fields inside out.

As the topic of guns in society becomes more and more prominent during the upcoming election season, Stephen Sondheim's controversial 1990 Off-Broadway and off-beat musical Assassins has increased in its relevancy. Rarely staged today, Assassins is an event that commands attention, and last week, we traveled to the Pico Playhouse in Los Angeles to see their version of the show, which also featured several performers familiar to Ventura County audiences.

Assassins/book by John Weidman; music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim/presented by Red Blanket Productions with Punk Monkey Productions at the Pico Playhouse/directed by Dan Fishbach/thru September 27 A word or two before I start this review. In the film Judgement at Nuremberg, Spencer Tracy who plays the judge of the tribunals, states emphatically at the end that in the light of today's changing values, condoning these actions may seem logical, but it is not - or never is - right. Assassination is murder pure and simple. I will never condone it, even though I may understand the circumstances. I may laugh and enjoy Assassins and weigh the killers' motivations, but I will never accept them.

Red Blanket Productions presents the multi-Tony Award-winning musical ASSASSINS with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. directed by Dan Fishbach, music direction by Anthony Lucca, and choreography by Lili Fuller. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Red Blanket Productions presents the multi-Tony Award-winning musical Assassins with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. directed by Dan Fishbach, music direction by Anthony Lucca, and choreography by Lili Fuller.

On August 21 Red Blanket Productions will present a rare revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Assassins at the Pico Playhouse in West LA. Director Dan Fishbach and actor Zachary Lutsky, who plays assassin John Hinckley, recently took time out of their busy schedules to talk about the show. It is particularly relevant this year as we recollect the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. BIOS:

Red Blanket Productions presents the multi-Tony Award-winning musical Assassins with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. directed by Dan Fishbach, choreography by Lili Fuller, with live orchestral quartet conducted by music director Anthony Lucca.

OKLAHOMA! opens tonight, Friday, July 17th , 2015, playing until Sunday, July 26th, and features an added mid-week matinee on July 22nd, at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

Red Blanket Productions presents the multi-Tony Award-winning musical Assassins with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. directed by Dan Fishbach, music direction by Anthony Lucca, and choreography by Lili Fuller.

OKLAHOMA! opens on Friday, July 17th , 2015, playing until Sunday, July 26th , and features an added mid-week matinee on July 22nd , at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. 

Michael Sterling (Creator/Executive Producer) and Barbara Van Orden (Sponsor/Co-Executive Producer) proudly presented the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated LA's Next Great Stage Star competitions. The 2015 season began in January, in North Hollywood, CA. at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal.

On Sunday, February 8 LA's Next Great Stage Star 2015 came to an exciting conclusion at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. After an amazing 90-minute program in which the 20 contestants gave 150% to their uptempo songs from Broadway shows, fourteen contestants were eliminated and the top six* finalists selected. After a brief intermission, the announcement was made and each of the six then proceeded to perform a second number after which the distinguished panel of 15 judges made the final decision. Musical director par excellence James Lent accompanied at the piano throughout the three hour show.