Fred Willard News

The guys are gambling, the dolls are dancing, and the audience will come up a winner when Cabrillo Music Theatre launches its 2009-2010 season with Guys and Dolls. Returning is Director Nick DeGruccio, whose previous Cabrillo production of Jekyll & Hyde led to three Ovation Awards, including Best Director. Returning with DeGruccio is Choreographer Roger Castellano, Ovation-nominated for Jekyll. Musical Direction is by Darryl Archibald, and the production will be overseen by Artistic Director Lewis Wilkenfeld. Cabrillo?s production of Guys and Dolls, created exclusively for the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, will open on Friday, October 16th, 2009 and run through Sunday, October 25th, for Cabrillo Music Theatre in the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

The Toronto International Film Festival is pleased to announce the addition of 7 Gala Presentations and 12 Special Presentations to the programming lineup, which runs September 10 to 19, 2009.

The Toronto International Film Festival is pleased to announce the addition of 7 Gala Presentations and 12 Special Presentations to the programming lineup, which runs September 10 to 19, 2009.

The Second City - the timeless producer of improvisational based comedy - celebrates its milestone 50th Anniversary this fall with a series of events and happenings that will bring together alumni, recreate renowned sketches and characters, and bring the history of the theatre to life. During the weekend of December 11-13, the theatre's home on Wells Street in Chicago will serve as an historic backdrop for celebratory alumni reunion performances, panels and screenings.

The Second City - the timeless producer of improvisational based comedy - celebrates its milestone 50th Anniversary this fall with a series of events and happenings that will bring together alumni, recreate renowned sketches and characters, and bring the history of the theatre to life.

'Monty Python's Spamalot,' the popular musical lovingly ripped-off from the internationally famous comedy team's most popular motion picture, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' opened Center Theatre Group's 2009-2010 at the Ahmanson Theatre of the Los Angeles Music Center on July 7th. 'Monty Python's Spamalot' plays through September 6, 2009.

Jay Leno once coined the phrase Plaidheads, referring to fans (such as himself) of the hit stage production, Forever Plaid. Well on July 9th, Plaidheads nation wide gathered to celebrate the screening of one of Off-Broadway's most popular and critically acclaimed musicals, as it made its first appearance on the big screen in the Forever Plaid 20th Anniversary Special event on Thursday, July 9th. Select members from the original ?Forever Plaid?cast with narration provied by David Hyde Pierce for the pre-taped anniversary performance, as they introduce the event live from the red carpet at Los Angeles' Club Nokia to fans in 500 movie theaters across the country and Canada, followed by a specially-taped 20th Anniversary performance of ?Forever Plaid.? Audiences across the country experienced a memorable evening, combining the 20th Anniversary event classic production with new and interactive twists, including a first-ever live, coast-to-coast in-theater sing-a-long with ?The Plaids.?

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words, the hit show that just won the coveted 2009 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, returns to Los Angeles for a one-night-only show Monday, June 15 at 8pm at Largo at the Coronet, 366 North La Cienega Boulevard. The evening benefits Loma Linda University Children's Hospital with a cast that includes Craig Bierko, Jennifer Coolidge, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Matthew Perry, Tracee Ellis Ross, Dayle Reyfel, Ryan Reynolds, Bruce Vilanch, Lesley Ann Warren, and Fred Willard. The show also continues its sit-down, open-ended run at New York?s Triad Theater, 158 West 72 Street, Monday, June 22, at 7:30pm with a cast that includes Rachel Dratch, Jackie Hoffman, Kristen Johnston, Bobby Moynihan, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Steve Schirripa, Sherri Shepherd, and Alan Zweibel.

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words, the hit show that just won the coveted 2009 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, returns to Los Angeles for a one-night-only show Monday, June 15 at 8pm at Largo at the Coronet, 366 North La Cienega Boulevard. The evening benefits Loma Linda University Children's Hospital with a cast that includes Craig Bierko, Jennifer Coolidge, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Matthew Perry, Tracee Ellis Ross, Dayle Reyfel, Ryan Reynolds, Bruce Vilanch, Lesley Ann Warren, and Fred Willard. The show also continues its sit-down, open-ended run at New York?s Triad Theater, 158 West 72 Street, Monday, June 22, at 7:30pm with a cast that includes Rachel Dratch, Jackie Hoffman, Kristen Johnston, Bobby Moynihan, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Steve Schirripa, Sherri Shepherd, and Alan Zweibel.

Reprise Theatre Company presents Brian Stokes Mitchell Sings Broadway, a program especially created for Reprise. It will have one performance only on Monday, May 11 at 8 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.

Eric McCormack, Emmy Award winner for 'Will & Grace,' will play El Gallo, Lucas Grabeel from 'High School Musical' will play Matt, and Broadway star and Tony nominee Harry Groener will play Bellomy in 'The Fantasticks,' which concludes the 2008-2009 Reprise Theatre Company at the Freud Playhouse May 5-May 17 (press opening May 6).

Eric McCormack, Emmy Award winner for 'Will & Grace,' will play El Gallo, Lucas Grabeel from 'High School Musical' will play Matt, and Broadway star and Tony nominee Harry Groener will play Bellomy in 'The Fantasticks,' which concludes the 2008-2009 Reprise Theatre Company at the Freud Playhouse May 5-May 17 (press opening May 6).

Eric McCormack, Emmy Award winner for 'Will & Grace,' will play El Gallo, Lucas Grabeel from 'High School Musical' will play Matt, and Broadway star and Tony nominee Harry Groener will play Bellomy in 'The Fantasticks,' which concludes the 2008-2009 Reprise Theatre Company at the Freud Playhouse May 5-May 17 (press opening May 6).

Reprise Theatre Company presents Brian Stokes Mitchell Sings Broadway, a program especially created for Reprise. It will have one performance only on Monday, May 11 at 8 pm, at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.

The 2008-2009 Reprise Theatre Company season continues with the classic international hit 'Man of La Mancha,' starring Brent Spiner, written by Dale Wasserman with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. The production will be directed by Michael Michetti, co-artistic director of The Theatre at Boston Cout.

The 2008-2009 Reprise Theatre Company season continues with the classic international hit 'Man of La Mancha,' starring Brent Spiner as Cervantes/Quixote. Julia Migenes, the renowned opera and theatre performer, will play Aldonza/Dulcinea; Valerie Perri will play the role of Aldonza/Dulcinea at matinee performances; and Tony nominee Lee Wilkof will play Sancho Panza.

The 2008-2009 Reprise Theatre Company season continues with the classic international hit 'Man of La Mancha,' starring Brent Spiner as Cervantes/Quixote. Julia Migenes, the renowned opera and theatre performer, will play Aldonza/Dulcinea; Valerie Perri will play the role of Aldonza/Dulcinea at matinee performances; and Tony nominee Lee Wilkof will play Sancho Panza.

News from Broadway and theater in the Baltimore/Washington area

The Kennedy Center presents the world premiere of The Trumpet of the Swan: A Novel Symphony based on the book by E.B. White, adapted for the stage by Marsha Norman, with music by Jason Robert Brown, and direction by Gary Griffin. The production features a 35-piece orchestra conducted by Jason Robert Brown. Trumpet of the Swan: A Novel Symphony is part of a season-long initiative Broadway: The Third Generation, celebrating the current generation of Broadway musical composers, and will appear for five performances in the Eisenhower Theater December 4-6, 2008. The theatrical adaptation is recommended for audiences aged seven and up.