Michelle Holmes News

German film-maker F. W. Murnau created the 1922 eclectic silent film Nosferatu based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. It is highly regarded worldwide as an artistic masterpiece, utilizing Expressionistic art. Now in a unique Los Angeles production - unlike any you have seen or are likely to - William A. Reilly has adapted the film to the stage at Crown City Theatre in NoHo. Nosferatu: A Symphony in Terror is a silent film onstage with classical music, ballet and a splendid cast of nine actors, directed with remarkable precision by Reilly.

Crown City Theatre Company presents 'NOSFERATU: A Symphony in Terror,' based on the film by F.W. Murnau, returning September 3rd.

Crown City Theatre Company presents 'NOSFERATU: A Symphony in Terror,' based on the film by F.W. Murnau, returning September 3rd.

VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM, a play by Charles Busch, will be directed by Ernie Gonzalez Jr. at Rock 'N Roll Gay Bar this spring.

VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM, a play by Charles Busch, will be directed by Ernie Gonzalez Jr. at Rock 'N Roll Gay Bar this spring.

Resourceful Dan Goggin designed a line of greeting cards to honor the nun, then turned the project into a cabaret which finally became a full-fledged musical comedy in 1985. Now Nunsense plays in several languages all over the world. Everyone has a peculiar fascination with nuns. Why? Well, number one, they dress oddly and apart from that, they live out their daily lives praying and doing things uncommon to the average person. Say you are or grew up a Catholic, you still have difficulty figuring them out. Are they really that stern and block-headed? Well, Dan Goggin takes you behind the scenes, so-to-speak, in this tongue -in-cheek look at the Little Sisters of Hoboken at Mt. Saint Helen's School - you will see them do things, irreverent things, you never imagined in your wildest dreams - who are about to put on a benefit show to raise funds to...Oh, Saints preserve us... to bury four nuns who died from botulism. Currently onstage at Crown City Theatre in NoHo, Nunsense is receiving a nifty revival directed by the terrific Kristin

Nominees for the 2015 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on Thursday, September 24 on @ This Stage Magazine [ThisStage.la]. This year's Ovation Awards ceremony will take place Monday, November 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center. The curtain will rise at7:30pm.

Members of the 'Pro99' movement of Actors' Equity Association have issued an open letter to AEA's newly elected president, Kate Shindle, in response to her victory and to her inaugural address as president of the national union for actors and stage managers. The open letter is signed by over 400 Equity members (listed below), including such notable names as Ed Asner, Francis Fisher, Sally Kirkland and Alfred Molina. The 'Pro99' movement formed in late 2014 in opposition to AEA's rollout of a new plan that will effectively force 'intimate theaters' in Los Angeles to pay Equity actors minimum wage, go 'non-union' or even close - despite an overwhelming vote against the plan by 66% of the Los Angeles membership on an advisory referendum. 'Pro99' members around the nation, who take their name from the current AEA '99 Seat Plan' that allows members to volunteer in smaller venues, oppose AEA's new promulgated plan. They are requesting that Equity leadership put a moratorium on the plan until local members' voices can be heard, and that the union work with its members to develop an alternative plan that will more realistically address the needs of the Los Angeles theater community.

The creation of Arthur Miller's now classic The Crucible about the Salem witch trials of 1692 was influenced by the McCarthy era of the 50s. It provided an intensely ferocious perspective on the unjust distortion and destruction of human life. In Salem, Massachusetts it was a religious issue - did you believe in God or the Devil Incarnate? McCarthyism was about Americans and their supposed involvement with the Communist Party. Religion and politics should be private issues, but in a community riddled with guilt about morality, there is no such thing as personal. Your way of life is an open book for all to judge and condemn. Roberto Aguirre-Acasa has penned an imagined sequel to The Crucible entitled Abigail/1702 about protagonist/witch namer Abigail Williams (Jennifer Cannon), who escapes Salem and tries to find salvation after her crimes. The action picks up ten years later in 1702, and as a thought-provoking piece now onstage at ICT, Long Beach, it works quite well under the expert guidance of director Caryn Dasai and with the help of five outstanding performances.

What ever happened to Abigail Williams? Combining a provocative parable of sin and redemption with a good, old-fashioned ghost story, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Carrie, Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, Fox's Glee) explores what might have come next for the real-life Puritan villainess at the center of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. ICT artistic director caryn desai [sic] directs the West Coast premiere of Abigail/1702, opening tonight, May 1 at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews are set for April 29 and 30.

What ever happened to Abigail Williams? Combining a provocative parable of sin and redemption with a good, old-fashioned ghost story, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Carrie, Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, Fox's Glee) explores what might have come next for the real-life Puritan villainess at the center of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. ICT artistic director caryn desai [sic] directs the West Coast premiere of Abigail/1702, opening May 1 at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews are set for April 29 and 30.

STAGE RAW is pleased to announce the FIRST ANNUAL STAGE RAW LOS ANGELES THEATER AWARDS, championing the best work of 2014 in L.A.'s now embattled theaters of up to 99-seats. (STAGE RAW is using the same jury that was assembled through 2014 for the now dearly departed LA WEEKLY Theater Awards.) Check out the full list of nominees below!

Back in the early 70s I was enthralled by the majestic overture of Jesus Christ Superstar and by the gripping power of the lyrics.This is operetta at its best, where the entire story must come to fruition through the singing. When done well, these Bibilical characters come off the pages as real human beings with raw emotions; because of this musical endeavor, we more clearly understand the motivations of Christ, the adoration of his disciples and Mary Magdalene, the bewilderment of Pontius Pilate and Herod and try to see how one friend may betray another. I was so moved that as a Catechism teacher, I played the Webber/Rice score for my classes to stimulate their critical thinking. Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Yvonne Elliman provided sterling vocal interpretations that made the whole process so richly rewarding. But, religious or not, audiences across the board are deeply moved by the elegant score, and DOMA's re-envisioned production now onstage at the MET is splendiferous with a terrific cast that can all really sing and move.

The musical that launched the careers of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and 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 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 musical that launched the careers of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and 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.

I revert to childhood when I see a Mel Brooks movie or show. The sillier the better: the sight gags, the double entendres, the more the merrier. The New Mel Brooks Musical, Young Frankenstein is a real rip-roaring hoot of a show from start to finish as produced by DOMA with a great cast and zippy fast-paced direction and fine staging from Marco Gomez.

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'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 tonight, Sept. 26 at the MET Theatre in Hollywood.