Lonny Chapman News

After a 23 year stint as the General Manager of the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, David Ralphe retired at the end of December, 2018. The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center opened its doors on Los Angeles Avenue in November of 1995 with David Ralphe as the founding General Manager. Under Ralphe's leadership, the Center has been host to over 8, 500 events and seen more than 75,000 patrons pass through the doors.

The Group Rep is holding their 6th Annual Poker Tournament Fundraiser, Sunday, October 21st, 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  Doors open 2:00 pm with food and open bar available, professional dealers The Poker People tutorial 2:30 pm, and games begin 3:00 pm.

Playwright Jennifer Haley will speak about her play BREADCRUMBS this Today, September 29, following the 2:00 pm matinee performance, Upstairs at the Group Rep - Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, California. 

Playwright Jennifer Haley will speak about her play BREADCRUMBS this Saturday, September 29, following the 2:00 pm matinee performance, Upstairs at the Group Rep - Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, California. 

The Group Rep presents BREADCRUMBS written by Jennifer Haley, directed by Bert Emmett, produced by Helen O'Brien for the Group Rep.  The play is about a reclusive fiction writer diagnosed with dementia who must depend upon a troubled young caretaker to complete her autobiography. In a symbiotic battle of wills, they delve into the dark woods of the past, unearthing a tragedy that shatters their notions of language, loneliness, and essential self.

The Group Rep presents the world premiere of AROUND THE WORLD WITH SUZY LONDON written by Suzy London and Calvin Remsberg, directed by Calvin Remsberg, produced by Doug Haverty, choreographed by Michele Bernath, backed by the Robert Brandzel Quartet, an evening of songs and stories from Suzy's travels around the world from the streets of Paris to the cabarets of Germany…the rain forests of Brazil to the steppes of Eurasia…from the temples of Sri Lanka to the pagodas of Japan…all in their original languages!

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet has been in our repertoire of must reads and must sees since high school. We know the storyline of the star- crossed lovers, which formed the basis for the musical West Side Story. The play treats of hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. Because of the senseless family feuding, lives are lost and somehow love has gone astray. I enjoy seeing Shakespeare done in the traditional mode with 16th century sets and costumes, but am totally open to reimagined productions, as long as the poetry is in tact and the time period to which the story is assigned makes sense and shows the theme and message with clarity and intelligence..Group rep's current production directed quite nicely by Shira Dubrovner takes the audience to Berlin in the 1930s when Hitler took control and slaughtered or banished Jews from Germany.

Director Shira Dubrovner serves as the Artistic Director of the Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre and the Festival Director of the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival. As a past member of the Group Repertory Theatre she is excited to be back and thankful to Larry Eisenberg and Chris Winfield for giving her the opportunity to direct R&J. Some of her favorite past directing projects include Broken Glass starring Robert Picardo, GRT productions; Sylvia, Nuts, Veronica's Room and And Then There Were None. What was the genesis of the change-up of ROMEO AND JULIET?

The Group Rep presents ROMEO AND JULIET, directed by Shira Dubrovner, produced by Patrick Burke and Janet Wood, choreographed by Stan Mazin. A fresh twist on Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed lovers, set in pre-World War II, Berlin where Romeo is a German boy and Juliet is a Jewish girl. A relationship between these two would be highly forbidden, and the consequences too severe to imagine. The love story is as fresh and relevant today as it was more than 450 years ago.

Travel the Globe AROUND THE WORLD WITH SUZY LONDON A Fundraiser for GRT   Sept. 4, 5, & 6

The Group Rep presents ROMEO AND JULIET, directed by Shira Dubrovner, produced by Patrick Burke and Janet Wood, choreographed by Stan Mazin. A fresh twist on Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed lovers, set in pre-World War II, Berlin where Romeo is a German boy and Juliet is a Jewish girl. A relationship between these two would be highly forbidden, and the consequences too severe to imagine. The love story is as fresh and relevant today as it was more than 450 years ago.

Scott Thompson, Kathleen Delaney, and Tracy Powell in association with the Group Rep present an all-star staged reading of THE WOMEN, a comedy of manners written by Clare Boothe Luce, directed by Scott Thompson, as a fundraiser for D'Amor Center for Cancer Care and the Group Rep Theatre Company.

Scott Thompson, Kathleen Delaney, and Tracy Powell in association with the Group Rep present a staged reading of THE WOMEN, a comedy of manners written by Clare Boothe Luce, directed by Scott Thompson, featuring Caroline Hennesy, as a fundraiser for D'Amor Center for Cancer Care and the Group Rep, Sunday, August 12th at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm.

The Group Rep's well received production of Neil Simon's classic farce RUMORS, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York, has been extended due to critical acclaim and sold out houses. The play about five neurotic couples who gather for a dinner party celebrating one couple's 10th anniversary, goes wildly awry when guests arrive early only to discover their host has shot himself, the hostess and servants are missing, and dinner not ready. Confusions and miscommunications mount, as the evening spins off into farcical hilarity. The play, which opened June 15, will run through August 11th at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, at the edge of the NoHo Arts District.

What sounded like a gramophone played Christmas Island as the audience shuffled inside the second-story stage of the Lonny Chapman Theatre. Wind-blown debris and leaves adorned the entire stage and a tree snapped in half sat upstage. Patio furniture, newspapers and pipes helped set the scene of the Keller Family's backyard in August 1947. This was Arthur Miller's ALL MY SONS.

The Group Rep presents Arthur Miller's 1947 award-winning American drama ALL MY SONS, directed by Linda Alznauer, produced by Diane Frank and Linda Alznauer for the Group Rep. How far would a man go to protect his family, his interests, and his legacy?  Re-visit this exquisitely written, post-war play depicting the tragic downfall of an American family caught in a web of lies, greed, love, and loss, and asking its audience examine their own social responsibilities to all the sons of American wars. ALL MY SONS runs June 30 - August 5 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre, in North Hollywood, CA 91601 (at the edge of the NoHo Arts District).

The Group Rep's production of Neil Simon's classic farce RUMORS, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York for the Group Rep, was well received opening weekend. RUMORS centers around five neurotic couples who gather for a dinner party celebrating one couple's 10th anniversary. The best laid plans go wildly awry when guests arrive early only to discover their host has shot himself, the hostess and servants are missing, and dinner not ready. As confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into farcical hilarity. The play opened June 15 and runs through July 29 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, at the edge of the NoHo Theatre and Arts District.

North Hollywood's Lonny Chapman Theatre was packed Friday night for the opening of Neil Simon's RUMORS. This classic farce followed five couples that had all been invited to a dinner party to celebrate a sixth couple's 10th anniversary. However, everything changed when the couples discover the host (Charlie) had shot himself, his servants and hostess were missing, and dinner hadn't been prepared. What divulged was utter nonsense and hilarity.

The Group Rep presents Neil Simon's classic farce RUMORS, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York for the Group Rep. Five neurotic couples gather for a dinner party celebrating one couple's 10th anniversary. The best laid plans go wildly awry when guests arrive early only to discover their host has shot himself, the hostess and servants are missing, and dinner not ready. As confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into farcical hilarity. The play runs June 15 through July 29 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, at the edge of the NoHo Arts District.

The Group Rep presents Neil Simon's classic farce RUMORS, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York for the Group Rep. Five neurotic couples gather for a dinner party celebrating one couple's 10th anniversary. The best laid plans go wildly awry when guests arrive early only to discover their host has shot himself, the hostess and servants are missing, and dinner not ready. As confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into farcical hilarity. The play runs June 15 through July 29 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, at the edge of the NoHo Arts District.