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BWW Review: Rubicon Theatre's RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET is Scintillating Sci-Fi Fun

Rubicon Theatre Company lands a winner with its latest musical comedy RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET by Bob Carlton. The silly sci-fi confection is two hours of deliciously kitschy fun accompanied by a rock and roll score that blasts out more than twenty hits from the '50s and '60s and a dynamite cast that spews planetary puns and classical text faster than the speed of light.

Rubicon Theatre of Ventura Announces the Company's 2016 -2017 Mainstage Season STORIES THAT MATTER

Rubicon Theatre Company's 2016-2017 Season was publicly announced today at a special event hosted by Joe Spano(Emmy Award and L.A. Drama Critics' Circle Award-winning veteran of stage and screen) and Peter Van Norden (whose numerous credits include five Broadway shows, regional theatre, film and television). The two actors star as Marley and Scrooge, respectively, in the company's adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which was a Critic's Choice in the L.A. Times and will be reprised this December under the direction of Brian McDonald. The season also features the third play in Arlene Hutton's celebrated Nibroc Trilogy, Gulf View Drive, helmed by London-based director Katharine Farmer; Miche Braden reprising her Off-Broadway performance in The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith written by Angelo Parra and directed by Joe Brancato of Penguin Rep; the return of the most popular comedy in Rubicon history, A.R. Gurney's Sylvia, directed by Stephanie A. Coltrin; direct from Off-Broadway, The Other Mozart written by and starring Silvia Milo and directed by Isaac Byrne, about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's equally remarkable sister Nannerl; Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Frank McGuinness' riveting tale based on a true story about three hostages held in Beirut in1986, directed by Katharine Farmer; and King Lear by William Shakespeare, directed by James O'Neil.

Rubicon Theatre Presents the Hilarious Comedy MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS

Rubicon Theatre Company presents Moonlight and Magnolias, the hilarious fly on the wall comedy by Ron Hutchinson about how the most iconic film in Hollywood history almost didn't get made. Directed by Stephanie A. Coltrin, this production features the same principal cast members from her critically acclaimed staging of Moonlight and Magnolias at Hermosa Beach Playhouse in 2010. Just in time for the 80th anniversary of Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, 'Gone With the Wind,' Rubicon brings this wildly funny, behind-the-scenes farce to Ventura on Saturday, September 3 at 7:00 p.m. with an after party to follow atThe Greek Mediterranean Steak & Seafood. Previews are August 31, Sept. 1 and 2. The show runs through September 18.

BWW Review: CLARENCE DARROW at Rubicon Theatre Company

It's funny how many shows we've seen recently that bring to mind concepts evident in the current election season. In In the Heights, it was the plight of immigrants trying to make lives for themselves in America, in Amadeus, it was a lead character with an obsessive personality, and in Ragtime, it was a character who seeks justice for a racially-based assault. In David W. Rintels' one-man play, Clarence Darrow, which made its debut last weekend at the Rubicon Theatre Company, reexamines the life of a man whose philosophy of democratic socialism reflects the political philosophy of Democratic challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders.

Photo Flash: First Look at Rubicon Theatre Company's CLARENCE DARROW, Now Open

Rubicon Theatre Co-Founder James O'Neil, who became Artistic Director Emeritus last year to develop new works for commercial production as President of Off-Broadway Across America, returns to the Rubicon stage later this month as an actor. Beginning May 25, O'Neil plays one of the most intriguing and controversial characters of 19th- and 20th-century America in David Rintels' compelling one-man play Clarence Darrow. Clarence Darrow began performances on Wednesday, May 25, opened on Saturday, May 28 at 7pm and will continue through Sunday, June 12 at the Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura. Check out photos from the production below!

James O'Neil to Star in CLARENCE DARROW at Rubicon Theatre

Rubicon Theatre Co-Founder James O'Neil, who became Artistic Director Emeritus last year to develop new works for commercial production as President of Off-Broadway Across America, returns to the Rubicon stage later this month as an actor.

Photo Flash: Celebrities Attend Rubicon's American Premiere of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE

Celebrities dressed in Western attire walked the red carpet last Saturday as Rubicon Theatre Company of Ventura presented the American Premiere of the stage play THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by Jethro Compton. Attendees included musician Jim Messina of Loggins & Messina, Poco and Buffalo Springfield and his beautiful wife Michaela; Golden Globe nominated actor Ted Neeley with his wife Leeyan and daughter Tessa; and Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Spano with his daughters Liana and Meili. Scroll down for photos from the opening night festivities!

Noel Paul Stookey Coming to Rubicon Theatre, 5/15

 Returning after last year's sold-out concert, singer/songwriter Noel Paul Stookey (Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary), brings his intimate musicality to the Rubicon Theatre Company stage once again for a one-night-only, two-hour event of story and melody spanning 50 years. The concert, entitled "At Home: Ventura," takes place on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at Rubicon's home in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. For tickets, call (805) 667-2900 or go to www.rubicontheatre.org.

Rubicon Theatre Company to Stage World Premiere Adaptation of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Rubicon Theatre celebrates the holidays with the company's first presentation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a World Premiere adaptation written by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed by Brian McDonald. Rubicon's A Christmas Carol features a 24-member cast (the largest ensemble since the company's production of Fiddler on the Roof and the largest ever for a play).

Rubicon Theatre Company Sets 2016 Season

Rubicon Theatre Founders Karyl Lynn Burns and James O'Neil announce the  company's 2016 Season of mainstage productions, entitled "Fair Ladies, Fine Gentlemen (and Others)." The season features two American Premieres, a beloved classic, a one-person drama about an American icon, and a campy musical send-up of '50s sci-fi films loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. The season opens with See Rock City (January 27-February 14, 2016), the second play in the Nibroc Trilogy by Arlene Hutton. May and Raleigh's Appalachian love story continues as the couple plans a honeymoon in Rock City, Tennessee in 1943. When victory overseas brings unexpected consequences at home, May and Raleigh are forced to face hidden truths and find common solutions to the challenges of a new, post-war America.  See Rock City stands alone as a funny, touching and universal portrayal of a young couple very much in love.

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