Michael Lamont News

Check out pics of Colony Theatre Company's production of 'WORDS BY IRA GERSHWIN,' by Joseph Vass, directed by David Ellenstein and now playing at the COLONY THEATRE in Burbank!

What does it take to become a charismatic spiritual leader, one who has people questioning and empowering their own faith? Is it possible in our media soaked society to grab the attention of millions of people simply by speaking your mind and sharing your faith, ultimately proving the power of positive thinking? THE POWER OF DUFF is ultimately about a person who is fundamentally ambivalent about religion, even about spirituality - who undergoes an emotional transformation, which in turn leads him to a position of being a suddenly looked-to spiritual leader even as his ambivalence continues.

Joanna Murray-Smith's Switzerland -- already extended one week -- will extend yet another eight performances by popular demand with a final closing date of April 26, 2015. A world premiere with the Sydney Theatre Company, Switzerland is a Los Angeles Times Arts Editors' "Essential Arts and Culture" Pick and features Laura Linney (Broadway World said she is "pure gold") and Seth Numrich (called "outstanding" by the Los Angeles Times).

STOP ME IF I TOLD YOU THIS is the touching, funny, off-beat multimedia musical memoir of prolific voice-over actor Cam Clarke who began his career in short pants and knee socks in 1965 as one of the youngest members of TV's "The King Family Show" - all 39 members in an environment where Mormonism and Burlesque collided! The show business progeny of glamorous Alyce King of The King Sisters and science fiction B-movie icon Robert Clarke, his childhood played out on TV screens across America, but his true nature was something he chose to hide from his Mormon family and school friends.

The Colony Theatre presents the fourth production of its historic 40th Anniversary season, the West Coast Premiere of THE ROAD TO APPOMATTOX by Catherine Bush, directed by Brian Shnipper. THE ROAD TO APPOMATTOX will preview on Wednesday, February 11; Thursday, February 12; and Friday, February 13 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, February 14 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, March 15.

The musical that launched the careers of composer Andrew Lloyd Webberand lyricist Tim Rice and ushered in a new era in musical theater will open DOMA Theatre Company's 2015 season. Helmed by director Marco Gomez and musical director Chris Raymond, the duo behind DOMA productions of Dreamgirls(Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and LA Weekly Awards, L.A. Times "Critic's Choice") and Young Frankenstein (L.A. Times "Critic's Choice," BroadwayWorld "Best of 2014"), Jesus Christ Superstar opens Feb. 13 for a 6-week run at the MET Theatre in Hollywood.

The ensemble effort of La Mirada Theatre/McCoy Rigby's cast of BILLY ELLIOT is an extraordinary accomplishment and especially resonant in a musical that is all about solidarity and overcoming the odds. It also has the kind of opening night story that wins hearts and shows how a company will rally like a family to manage an unexpected, even disastrous, event.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & MC COY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT present pure 'electricity' with the third show of their 2014-2015 season, the Southern California Regional Premiere of the ten-time Tony Award-winning musical, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL, music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, musical direction byJohn Glaudini, choreography by Dana Solimando and directed by Brian Kite. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!

The Geffen Playhouse production of The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord, is extending for a third time, now through December 21, 2014. The production, in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, is written by Scott Carter, executive producer and writer for Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect and Real Time.

The Geffen Playhouse production of The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord, is extending again, now through December 7. The production, in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, is written by Scott Carter, executive producer and writer for Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect and Real Time.

DISCORD brings three great thinkers together in a room which appears to be a holding cell for heaven. They enter according to the time period in which they lived: first Thomas Jefferson, then Charles Dickens, and finally Count Leo Tolstoy. When each enters through the only door, it closes and locks, blocking the only way out. Thus begins their examination of why they have been brought together, what they could possibly have in common, and how can they possibly escape? It's a blistering battle of wits for the ages.

The Geffen Playhouse production of The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord, is now performing at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse. Written by Scott Carter, executive producer and writer for Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect and Real Time, this whip-smart philosophical comedy features Larry Cedar (Deadwood, PBS's Square One TV), David Melville (Travel Channel Lawrence of America, film Ironclad) and Armin Shimerman (Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Associate Artistic Director at The Antaeus Company) and will be again helmed by director, Matt August (Broadway How the Grinch Stole Christmas). Due to popular demand, the production has extended now through November 23.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's thoughtful, riveting character study GOOD PEOPLE continues at the La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts through October 12. Buoyed by impressive performances, this excellent regional production of the Tony Award-winning play shines the spotlight on the class divide and examines the lengths some go to for self-preservation.

It's alive! DOMA Theatre Company is back with yet another Broadway smash hit musical. Young Frankenstein, adapted for the stage by the Tony award-winning team of Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan (The Producers) from the 1974 cult comedy film by Brooks and Gene Wilder, opens Sept. 26 at the MET Theatre in Hollywood. BroadwayWorld brings a first look below!

It is a chilling conclusion when Kimberly Scott repeats the text of the prologue again at the end of ROMEO AND JULIET while standing over the dead bodies of the lovers. You can hear the bitter warning in her voice as she slowly looks from one end of the stage to the other at two fathers who have paid the price of their feud in blood. As her weighty words hang in the air, the lights dim and Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles's magnificent production fades out.

Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA), under the artistic direction of Ben Donenberg, returns to the Japanese Garden at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare Campus for the third consecutive summer, with a Los Angeles-centric summer production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet- directed by Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre alum Kenn Sabberton - for seventeen performances only, tonight, July 8 to July 26 (press opening July 13). Scroll down for a first look at the star-crossed lovers in action!

First to take on this brave task of bringing a regional production of the hit musical LES MISERABLES to the L.A./O.C. area is McCoy-Rigby Entertainment, that regional theater powerhouse that has consistently and successfully put on some magnificent, Broadway-caliber productions at their home base at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. In this theatrical company's very capable hands---particularly the pair attached to the production's Ovation Award-winning director Brian Kite---this impressive, locally-gestated LES MIS is confident, gutsy, and even quite rousing.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the fifth and final production in its 2013-1014 season of shows with the Los Angeles regional theatre premiere of one of the most beloved musicals of all time, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the Tony award-winning, LES MISERABLES, music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics byHerbert Kretzmer, with musical direction byJohn Glaudini, choreography by Dana Solimando and directed by Brian Kite. Check out a first look at the production below!

Back in the 50s, the era that was innocence personified, Broadway musicals were written to entertain first. Of course, Stephen Sondheim and other more serious composers were beginning to change the face of the American musical with the goal to enlighten, but shows like Li'l Abner, with book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, lyrics by Johnny Mercer & music by Gene De Paul and based on Al Capp's 1934 comic strip, showed us the wild hillbilly lifestyle to make us laugh rather than think. Underneath the surface, to be sure, there is political satire and an uplifting message about appreciating the worth of that lesser known patch of American culture, kind of like what 60sTV audiences found in The Beverly Hillbillies.

Everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves artistically. Theatre, music, dance, poetry - all forms of art stimulate growth and nurture our intuitive connection to the world around us. CRE Outreach (which stands for Create, Reflect, Empower) uses theatre as a means of artistic exploration for the visually impaired, military veterans, and at-risk youth. It also educates the public about the value of their contributions within the greater artistic community. Both are worthy endeavors.