John LaLonde News

Tim Rice's & Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita has had a thirty-seven year international love affair with the public since it premiered in 1978 in London and in 1979 on Broadway. The latest local reincarnation currently at Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Claremont until June 28 is lovingly directed by Chuck Ketter and excellently choreographed by Roger Castellano.

EVITA opens May 16, 2015 at the Candlelight Pavilion in Claremont, blending a fine dining and musical theatre experience during their 30th season. With more than 20 major awards to it's credit, and the Oscar winning film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas, Evita has become iconic.

Satire on religion can be fun to watch. Take The Book of Mormon, for example, with its ferocious attack on innocence and man-made intervention. On a much smaller scale, Smoke on the Mountain is an intimate up close theatrical experience that comes to life via its bluegrass-style gospel musical numbers. Some of the stories as told by the Sanders family, a group of traveling singers/musicians, who perform a one-night gig circa 1938 at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, North Carolina are wrenchingly funny. In a well-directed and very well-cast revival at Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Smoke on the Mountain becomes a real audience pleasing entertainment.

An incredibly intimate look at the father of the modern musical, Sondheim on Sondheim features Grammy nominated, re-imagined arrangements of Mr. Sondheim's most beloved work performed by an all-star local cast led by John LaLonde and Debbie Prutsman and featuring Michael Betts, Ben Gibson, Amy Gillette, Kristin Lamoureux, Dino Nicandros and Christanna Rowander. Join us for this one-night only performance, tonight, February 7, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.

One of the first - if not the first jukebox musicals, The Buddy Holly Story is short on plot and high on the unique rock and roll music of Buddy Holly. This is my second time seeing the show - I first saw it on its American tour in 1999. The music I grew up with in the 50s is so appealing, that I sing along to every tune and move and groove in my seat from start to finish. If you are of that nature - and it seemed that many in the audience on opening weekend fit the bill - then you will have a really good time at Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre through February 22. Remember, it's enjoyable fare with no need to think, just set your mind to the relax mode!

An incredibly intimate look at the father of the modern musical, Sondheim on Sondheim features Grammy nominated, re-imagined arrangements of Mr. Sondheim's most beloved work performed by an all-star local cast led by John LaLonde and Debbie Prutsman and featuring Michael Betts, Ben Gibson, Amy Gillette, Kristin Lamoureux, Dino Nicandros and Christanna Rowander. Join us for this one-night only performance, Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.

Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre's annual Christmas show is an original with concept and script by artistic director John LaLonde incorporating well-known and lesser known holiday tunes and carols. It's Christmas Every Day is a feel-good, forget.your.troubles kind of show. Think the whimsy of White Christmas, the silliness of The Wizard of Oz, the sass of Sister Act, the daring.do of Singin' in the Rain and other MGM movies and even the class of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Ballet, which are all thrown in for good measure.

Actor John LaLonde, artistic director of Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre in Claremont is preparing to mount his Christmas show It's Christmas Everyday at Candlelight, opening the weekend after Thanksgiving. In our chat, he talks in detail about the show, the upcoming season and some of his favorite musical roles.

For some inexplicable reason, composer Frank Wildhorn frequently gets a bad rap, accused of copying from other composers or just being a giant step below the quality of say, Stephen Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, or Jerry Herman, among others. Many forget Wildhorn is responsible for the beautiful music of The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dracula the Musical and more recently, Bonnie and Clyde, as well as Jekyll & Hyde. Wildhorn's popular tunes, especially the ballads are glorious, verging on opera and stand on their own as hits, such as 'This Is the Moment', 'Once Upon a Dream', 'In His Eyes' and 'A New Life' all from his Jekyll & Hyde score. Combining talent with great lyricist / book writer Leslie Bricusse is a little miracle, so Wildhorn comes up, in fact, a real winner. And in Candlelight's current stellar revival, the show is a darkly rich feast for the eyes and ears, just in time for Halloween. Jekyll & Hyde will play out its intriguing game of good versus evil at Candlelight through November 23.

Bye Bye Birdie/book by Michael Stewart/music by Charles Strouse; lyrics by Lee Adams/directed by John LaLonde/choreographed by Hector Guerrero/Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Claremont/through July 13

Called by many the perfect musical, My Fair Lady based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion has perhaps the wittiest and showiest debate between the sexes. Shaw despised marriage and loved to magnify human frailty, both female and male. And with Lerner and Loewe to create the book, music and lyrics, the result is a creation with music and story that flow together in ideal harmony. Even when its at its abrasive best, it's funny; even when Professor Henry Higgins is obnoxious, selfish and self-centered to the hilt, we cannot help but to laugh with him...and love him. Despite what a man says about a woman, he cannot live without her, and vice versa. We were born to live in a love/hate relationship, to be at each other's throats and in the next second, rolling around in the hay. It's all a part of life and Shaw, Lerner and Loewe displayed the ups and downs of romantic living better than anyone else...period. Now in a loverly production at Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, patrons are in for a real treat through March 16.

Voting is now underway for Los Angeles! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

The Best in LA Theatre for 2013

Voting is now underway for Los Angeles! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Voting is now underway for Los Angeles! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Voting is now underway for Los Angeles! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Voting is now underway for Los Angeles! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Sweeney Todd/book by Hugh Wheeler/music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim/directed by Chuck Ketter/Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Claremont/through October 13

There's no need to stretch one's imagination when people jump to their feet and dance in the aisles, shaking and grooving the night away. They've already formed their own images and feel the magic. Motown's a fun show with 12 pretty great singers and a full orchestra center stage under the nifty musical direction of Andrew Reyes.

The King and I/music by Richard Rodgers;/book & lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II/based on Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon/directed by Neil Dale/Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre/through August 4