Jenny Sullivan News

 Last season's critically acclaimed, World Premiere hit CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL returns to Rubicon Theatre Company this holiday season with Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Copenhagen) and Joe Spano ("NCIS," RTC's Bucky) reprising their roles in this innovative retelling of the classic. Adapted by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed byBrian McDonald, the 25-member cast features many of the same actors from the original production that earned a "Critic's Choice" in the Los Angeles Times and rave reviews from Ventura County Star, CASA Magazine, VIDA Magazine and the Ventura Breeze. Presented as a play with music, this dynamic and compelling stage version is highly theatrical. Actors narrate at various times, play multiple characters, sing and contribute to the soundscape for the production in the style of the Royal Shakespeare Company's landmark production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura on Saturday, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. Low-priced previews are December 7-9. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays through December 24.

The 2015-16 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Musical Concert Series at Rubicon Theatre Company concludes with a concert presentation of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.

The 2015-16 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Musical Concert Series at Rubicon Theatre Company concludes with a concert presentation of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.

Director Jenny Sullivan has made her birthright name her own; acting and directing since her early twenties. The daughter of actor Barry Sullivan, Jenny's latest project finds her directing Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy's comic piece PARALLEL LIVES at the Falcon Theater.

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 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.

Falcon Theatre Founder, Garry Marshall, has announced the Falcon Theatre's 2016-2017 Five-Play Subscription Season. Falcon Theatre's 15th subscription season brings five entertaining productions to Burbank, including a holiday collaboration with the award-winning Troubadour Theater Company, and a world premiere written by and starring Dan Castellaneta. For the 2016-2017 season, the Falcon has also partnered with Malbec restaurant in Toluca Lake to give subscribers a delicious bonus benefit.

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.

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!

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.

Rubicon Theatre Company is thrilled to announce that its critically acclaimed American premiere of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by Jethro Compton, adapted from the short story by Dorothy M. Johnson that also inspired the legendary John Ford 1962 film, will extend through Saturday, March 26 at the Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura. THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is a classic tale of love, honor, ambition and revenge set against the backdrop of the American West.

How often do you see an American western onstage? Especially one that was a famous John Ford film in 1952 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Both the film and the stage play are adapted from a short story by Dorothy Johnson about the American west in 1890-1910. The names of the characters in the film are slightly different from those in the play, but the plot is basically the same. What seem to matter more than plot are the historical, cultural, political themes that the story exudes. Now onstage at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, in its American premiere, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is helmed by uber skilled director Jenny Sullivan and boasts a stellar cast, but you only have one more week to catch it, through March 20.

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!

John Ford's 1962 film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, is one of motion picture's all-time classic westerns. So when I heard that a play version was making its American premiere at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, I got more than just a little excited. Envisioning the tensions seen on the screen in epic portrayals by Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and Lee Marvin promised to be riveting theater. Unfortunately, the play version was taken not from the screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck (it was unavailable) but an adaptation by British playwright Joshua Compton from Dorothy M. Johnson's original short story, and although the Rubicon has created a fabulous setting, marvelous performances from all of the actors, and an atmospheric, on-stage musical tableau by Trevor Wheetman, the result is simply not as compelling as the movie.

Rubicon Theatre Company's 2015-2016 Season continues with the American premiere of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by Jethro Compton. Adapted from the short story by Dorothy M. Johnson that also inspired the legendary John Ford 1962 film, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is a classic tale of love, honor, ambition and revenge set against the backdrop of the American West.  

Rubicon Theatre Company's 2015-2016 season continues with the American premiere of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by Jethro Compton. Adapted from the short story by Dorothy M. Johnson that also inspired the legendary John Ford 1962 film, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is a classic tale of love, honor, ambition and revenge set against the backdrop of the American West.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was originally a short story penned in 1953 by Dorothy M. Johnson (1905 - 1984), who wrote numerous articles and stories with Western themes. In 1962, Valance was adapted for motion pictures in a blockbuster film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, James Stewart, and Lee Marvin, in the title role of the sadistic gunslinger who is taken on by Stewart, who portrayed a tenderfoot attorney new to the dusty town of Shinbone. Jethro Compton's new stage play is based on the short story instead of the movie, getting its start in England in 2014. The Rubicon Theatre Company's new production marks the play's American debut, starring Gregory Harrison in the role of Bert Barricune, the equivalent of John Wayne's Tom Doniphon in the film. Reviews of the play have called it 'gripping drama' and 'consistently absorbing.' We spoke with Jenny Sullivan, who is directing Rubicon's production and she talked about the process of presenting a subject that has become much more famous through the film adaptation than for the original story.

Rubicon Theatre Company's 2015-2016 season continues with the American premiere of THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by Jethro Compton. Adapted from the short story by Dorothy M. Johnson that also inspired the legendary John Ford 1962 film, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is a classic tale of love, honor, ambition and revenge set against the backdrop of the American West.

In Ensemble's presentation of Doug Wright's 'I Am My Own Wife,' actor John Tufts does an impressive job of personifying the history of cultural and political crisis and evolution in Germany and East Berlin by telling the story of eccentric transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who lived publicly as a woman despite the homophobic European regimes that controlled Germany at the time.

Based on the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (born Lothar Berfelde), I Am My Own Wife is the Pulitzer and Tony-winning production of a transvestite of renown in the chaos of wartime and post-war Germany.