Michael Mullen News

The 2019 Stage Raw Theater Awards celebrate excellence on the Los Angeles stages in venues of 99-seats or under. This fifth annual celebration included productions that opened between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019. Stage Raw is a community funded professional journalism website that was created in response to the decline of arts coverage in local mainstream and alternative media.The Awards ceremony was held Monday night, September 9, at Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, and was co-hosted by IAMA Theatre Company and Ammunition Theatre Company (a?oeAmmoa??).

Digital arts journal Stage Raw announces the nominees for its fifth annual Stage Raw Theater Awards, to be held Monday night September 9, 2019, at Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday August 7, 2019. The Stage Raw Theater Awards honor the finest work performed on Los Angeles area stages of 99-seats or fewer, and are selected by a jury of Stage Raw critics. This year's awards celebrate work performed between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019.

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble kicks off its 'Circa '69' season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the Odyssey's 1969 inception with Joe Orton's darkly comic masterpiece LOOT, which asks us to wipe the fluff from our eyes and see society the way he sees it. And as a gay man during a time when British society forced artists into the closet, his farce comically examines a sort of rigged system that benefits bullies and oppressors and controls anyone stupid enough to go along with the lies. As directed by Bart DeLorenzo, this tale of corrosive wit, dizzying intrigue and classic farce suggests that the only acceptable alternative is to become a criminal, with Orton supplying laughs at everyone's expense along the way.

Fresh off showcasing at the prestigious ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, acclaimed composer Michael Gordon Shapiro's captivating, award-winning musical THE BULLY PROBLEM is thrilling Fringe audiences with its sweet, poignant, and action-packed musical about bullying, standing up for yourself…and robots. Performed by an ensemble of actors who know how to truly support each other and work together from moment-to-moment, there is no doubt in my mind the production will be one of the biggest Fringe hits this month.

An exciting new creative collaboration between independent film and independent theater begins this June at Fringe Festival with an adaptation of the indie cult classic comedy horror film Hell's Kitty! The Los Angeles theatre company New Musicals Inc. (NMI) and the entertainment production company Smart Media have teamed up to present HELL'S KITTY: The Musical, a comedy, horror musical based on the original award-winning Hell's Kitty web-series, comic book, and movie. There's even a musical exorcism of a cat sung mostly in Latin, with "Exorcismus Feline," and the theme song from the film sung in ensemble titled "My Pussy's Possessed."

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble kicks off its "Circa '69" season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the Odyssey's 1969 inception with Joe Orton's darkly comic masterpiece Loot. Bart DeLorenzodirects this tour de force of corrosive wit, dizzying intrigue and classic farce for aJune 8 opening, with performances continuing through Aug. 10.

The Fountain Theatre's Southern California premiere of DANIEL'S HUSBAND has brought together a not-oft-enough, ideal convergence of uniformly talent of talents - with witty, realistic, heart-rendering dialogue by playwright Michael McKeever; sturdy, even-paced directing by Simon Levy; first-rate technical elements; and a pitch, pitch-perfect cast of five actors, each at the top of their individual games.

Theatre of NOTE continues its 2019 season with ROOTS: An Evening of World Premiere Shorts,by Lisa Sanaye Dring, Phinneas Kiyomura, Erik Patterson, and Bill Robens, directed by Lee Hannah Conrads.

Theatre of NOTE continues its 2019 season with ROOTS: An Evening of World Premiere Shorts,by Lisa Sanaye Dring, Phinneas Kiyomura, Erik Patterson, and Bill Robens, directed by Lee Hannah Conrads. ROOTS: An Evening of World Premiere Shorts is an evening of four wonderfully strange world premiere short plays, written by four accomplished Theatre of NOTE-grown playwrights, which together usher audiences through the complexity of the human condition. 

Light Up the Night, a fundraising event to benefit the Anaheim Performing Arts Center Foundation, will take place on Sunday, April 28, at the City National Grove of Anaheim. The curtain will rise at 8pm with a special VIP reception and dinner starting at 5:30pm. The event is being produced for APACF by Ronn Goswick Entertainment and Chris Isaacson Presents.

There is the rule of law, and there are the laws of the heart. Which do we follow and when? The Fountain Theatre presents the funny, passionate and poignantSouthern California premiere of Daniel's Husband, the 2018 off-Broadway hit play byMichael McKeever that was hailed as "compelling" by The New York Times, "emotionally charged" by the Huffington Post and "beautiful and powerful" by the Daily Beast. Opening night is set for May 4, with performances continuing through June 23. Pay-what-you-want previews begin May 1.

The Anaheim Performing Arts Center Foundation has set the date for its 2019 fundraising event, it was announced today by APACF board chair Dr. Howard Knohl. Light Up the Night will take place on Sunday, April 28, at the City National Grove of Anaheim. The curtain will rise at 8pm with a special VIP reception and dinner starting at 5:30pm. The event is being produced for APACF by Ronn Goswick Entertainment and Chris Isaacson Presents.

Fountain Hills Theater will welcome back Judy and Liza, Together Again!!!, starring Patrick Russo as Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli. With special guest Michael Mullen, Judy and Liza, Together Again!!! is a special fundraising performance to support The Fountain Hills Theater. Judy and Liza, Together Again!!! is underwritten by Lisa Malecha.

Tuesdays with Morrie/by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom/directed by L. Flint Esquerra/Sierra Madre Playhouse/through March 31 Was there a mentor apart from family who gave you the inspiration to change the way you lived your life? Based on Mitch Alboms book entitled Tuesdays with Morrie in which he details his relationship with Professor Morrie Schwartz at Brandeis U in Massachusetts in the late 70s, the two character play is currently receiving an insightful and enjoyable production at Sierra Madre Playhouse through March 31. With meticulous direction from L. Flint Esquerra and splendid performances from Larry Eisenberg as Morrie and Jackson Kendall as Mitch, the play should be a popular hit with audiences young and old.

What amazes me about Oscar Wilde''s classic The Importance of Being Earnest is how well it holds up. First performed in 1895 it is a wildly funny satire on Victorian manners and customs. Lady Bracknell (Michael Mullen, pictured above) abhors the very thought of any engagement of marriage of her niece to someone beneath her class, but as the play progresses, Wilde's take on the whole idea of marriage becomes far less serious. Changing one's identity to meet and date a woman is practiced with the utmost glee, akin to contemporary deceit and infidelity. Currently onstage at Crown City Theatre in NoHo, Earnest receives a terrific production, directed with flair by Michaerl J. Marchak and boasting a deliciously comedic cast.

Crown City Theatre Company in North Hollywood has announced its production of the Oscar Wilde classic The Importance of Being Earnest, set to open today, February 1, at 8pm. Under the direction of Michael J. Marchak, the engagement will run through March 31.

"People surprise you all the time. Just when you think you have them all figured out." Bart DeLorenzo directs the West Coast premiere of the acclaimed off-Broadway hit Too Much Sun by Nicky Silver (Broadway's The Lyons), presented by Indie Chi Productions in a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre. Previews take place on Feb. 28 and March 1, with opening night set for March 2 and performances continuing through April 21. 

Crown City Theatre Company in North Hollywood has announced its production of the Oscar Wilde classic The Importance of Being Earnest, set to open on Friday, February 1, at 8pm. Under the direction of Michael J. Marchak, the engagement will run through March 31.

Everyone has a secret or two stashed away. We hide them for fear of being shamed or in some cases, worse. Shame is solely the product of 'agreed upon' societal 'norms'; if we don't fit into any given box then we have an Achilles heel, something others can use to hurt or destroy us. Mean girls, churches, and government have always been exceptionally good at shaming.

Parson's Nose Theater (PNT), Pasadena's critically acclaimed professional, classical comedy theater company, continues their 2018-19 season with Carlo Goldoni's farce, The Servant of Two Masters. This 75-minute version was adapted by and features PNT Artistic Director, Lance Davis.