Clayton Farris News

Clayton Farris and Laura Schein host the MUSI-CAL concert featuring selections from four cutting-edge musicals. This event showcases the development of new musicals and supports Southern California music creators. Join us for a night of creativity and innovation!

The Foundation for New American Musicals (FNAM) has announced the presentation of MUSI-CAL at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood on Monday, June 5th.

The Foundation for New American Musicals will present MUSI-CAL at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood on Monday March 13th.

The Foundation for New American Musicals (FNAM) has announced the presentation of MUSI-CAL at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood on Monday November 7th, 2022.

Producer Christine Russell (Head Over Heels, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) will present a private staged industry reading of the new musical TINSELTOWN TIPTOE on Friday, May 20th in Los Angeles.

'Broadway at the Bourbon Room' is a celebratory monthly musical cabaret with show-stopping performances by Broadway and LA's best. Broadway at The Bourbon Room preserves the caliber of a Broadway cabaret and injects it into the glamourous LA theatre scene, while providing a performance platform for opportunity and community.

After a two year intermission due to the COVID-19 pandemic, A Little New Music is back at Hollywood's historic Catalina Jazz Club with a fresh look at new musical theatre material. Audiences of A Little New Music's concert series will once again discover a distinguished variety of artists and a diverse assortment of songs intent on becoming future classics of the American musical theatre.

Skylight Theatre presents a stream of the play WEST ADAMS. Written by Penelope Lowder & Directed by Michael A. Shepperd, 3:00pm Thursday, July 30, 2020.

KPFK'S Arts In Review welcomes playwright Penelope Lowder and actress Allison Blaize, discussing Skylight Theatre Company's presentation of the archival video of West Adams by Penelope Lowder, directed by Michael A. Shepperd, a play about the absurdity of racism, the first of a three play season of Skylight's SkyLab developed plays that were planned for 2020. It will run for free on FB and YouTube on Thursday, July 30th at 3pm, Skylight Live: https://skylighttheatre.org/event/skylight-live/.

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 YEAR will world premiere July 17th via Zoom.

Casting is set for Sacred Fools Theater Company's production of a?oeThe Art Couple,a?? which will be performed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of Center Theatre Group's fourth annual Block Party: Celebrating Los Angeles Theatre. Written by Brendan Hunt and directed by Lauren Van Kurin,

Penelope Lowder's WEST ADAMS is a keenly observed look at race, class, and privilege seen through a magnifying glass that elevates it to an over-the-top state, for both better and worse. The timely show focuses on two interracial married couples: pregnant Caucasian Sarah (Allison Blaize) and Latin Edward (Andrés M. Bagg), and Asian Julie (Jenny Soo) and Caucasian Michael (Clayton Farris). They live in the burgeoning West Adams district of Los Angeles, thrilled to be part of the community's gentrification. But when a very wealthy black family moves in across the street, they struggle to even pretend they can keep up with the Jones', and the pressure devolves them into a spiral of resentment, racism, and, ultimately, revenge.

A creative staple of the Los Angeles Theatre community, director/actor Michael A. Shepperd will next be exhibiting his directorial talents in the world premiere of playwright Penelope Lowder's WEST ADAMS, opening February 1, 2020 at the Skylight Theatre. This dark comedy on race, class, and a bouncy house in the West Adams neighborhood features Andrés M. Bagg, Allison Blaize, Clayton Farris and Jenny Soo. Michael managed to find a spare moment between his multi-tasking to answer a few of my inquisitive queries.

A new, dark, comedy about race and class. With a hostile takeover of a neighborhood block party and bouncy houses, Penelope Lowder's newest play set in historic West Adams takes an uncomfortable look at altruistic gentrification gone wrong. Perhaps reshaping a newly adopted neighborhood in your image isn't as lofty as one might think. Opening February 1, 2020.

Skylight Theatre Company, recognized for their unwavering commitment to developing new works, has confirmed a 2020 lineup of three plays, and a fourth TBA. All plays are new to Los Angeles.

Moving On: The 2019 One Acts features a mix of established playwrights and exciting, emerging younger talent. Here's the program:

The Sacred Fools Theater Company is delighted to present the World Premiere of The Art Couple by Brendan Hunt (Absolutely Filthy), directed by Lauren Van Kurin. The comic mayhem begins Friday, February 16 and runs through Sunday, March 17 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm (with the exception of Sunday, March 4 - no performance that date). The show will be performed in the Black Box Theater of the Broadwater Theater Complex.

Long before Felix met Oscar, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were ill-fitting roommates in the south of France, which turned out to be a fateful co-habitation that changed the face of art - as well as Van Gogh's face! Playwright Brendan Hunt cleverly re-imagines these two art masters as the subjects of Neil Simon's original draft of The Odd Couple, which Hunt presents as being co-written with yet another of the oddest couples possible - Sam Shepard, here introduced as Steve, an oddball busboy looking for his first big break.

What made the Hot List? THE ART COUPLE from Sacred Fools Theatre Company at The Broadwater, SELL/BUY/DATE at Geffen Playhouse, and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL at Independent Shakespeare Co.'s new studio theater. Check out the latest recommendations below and go see a show! Reviews by BWW Sr. Editor Ellen Dostal (LADCC).

A Little New Music returned to the Catalina Jazz Club in the heart of Hollywood on Tuesday, March 6 with a stellar lineup of singers and new musical theatre songs. Scroll down for photos from this exciting evening!