Paul Crewes News

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents the U.S. Premiere of Plush Theatricals in Association with Wise Children Production of ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS, a new musical experience, from Tuesday, March 17 through Sunday, March 29, 2020, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater.

The 2020 ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Workshop is now accepting applications through March 2, 2020 for its Los Angeles and New York programs. The acclaimed workshops give participating composers and lyricists the rare chance to present selections from original, musical works-in-progress for professional critique. The Los Angeles workshop, presented in partnership with Universal Theatrical Group (UTG) and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis), returns to The Wallis's Beverly Hills campus on April 6 & 7, marking the fifth consecutive year of the creative collaboration.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents The Wallis debut of award-winning pianist Angela Hewitt, celebrated worldwide for her performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, on Sunday, February 23, 2020, 7 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The Bach Odyssey program features Hewitt on Bach's Recital XI; Four Duets, BWV 802-805; Eighteen Little Preludes, BWV 924-928, 930, 933-938, 939-943, 999; Fantasia and Fugue in A minor, BWV 944; Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971; and French Overture in B minor, BWV 831. A pre-concert Preludes @ The Wallis conversation with Hewitt, moderated by Classical KUSC's Brian Lauritzen will take place at 6 pm.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents The Wallis debut of award-winning pianist Angela Hewitt, celebrated worldwide for her performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, on Sunday, February 23, 2020, 7 pm,in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The Bach Odyssey program features Hewitt on Bach's Recital XI; Four Duets, BWV 802-805; Eighteen Little Preludes, BWV 924-928, 930, 933-938, 939-943, 999; Fantasia and Fugue in A minor, BWV 944; Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971; and French Overture in B minor, BWV 831. A pre-concert Preludes @ The Wallis conversation with Hewitt, moderated by Classical KUSC's Brian Lauritzen will take place at 6 pm.

A staged reading of CHOICE written and directed by Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award-winner Winnie Holzman (Wicked, 'My So-Called Life'), starring Allison Janney (I,Tonya, 'Mom'), Lisa Kudrow ('Friends,' 'The Comeback'), Tony Shalhoub ('The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,' 'Monk'), Paul Dooley (Sixteen Candles, 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'), Madeline Wise (HBO's 'Crashing') and Raviv Ullman ('Phil of the Future,' 'Rita Rocks') will be performed at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, February 29, 2020, at 7:30 pm in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater, in collaboration with Hayloft Productions.

The Wallis Presents Los Angeles artists VIJAY GUPTA and REENA ESMAIL as well as PETER MYERS  and SUZANA BARTAL in INDIA & THE WEST: COMPOSITIONS & CONVERSATIONS, an evening of chamber music and cross-culture dialogue centered on the great musical traditions of India and the West on Saturday, February 15, 2020, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The concert features original works by Indian-American composer Reena Esmail performed by violinist Vijay Gupta, cellist Peter Myers and pianist Suzana Bartal, including DARSHAN for solo violin, movement 3; JHULA JHULE for violin and piano; SAANS for piano trio; VARSHA for solo cello and PIANO TRIO.

The Wallis and Mark Cortale present An Evening With Christine Ebersole on Friday, February 28, 2020, 7 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The two-time Tony Award-winning star of 42nd Street and Grey Gardens returns to The Wallis to perform music from the American Songbook, Broadway and more. With music direction by Lawrence Yurman and special guest Scott Frankel, composer of War Paint and Grey Gardens, the evening is directed by Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Smash, Patti LuPone on Broadway).

Blue13 Dance Company, noted for rhythmic and charged performances that blend hip-hop, ballet, modern and traditional Indian dance, will showcase its exuberant genre-bending artistry on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22, 2020, at 7:30 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' Bram Goldsmith Theater.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Four Larks present their World Premiere production of FRANKENSTEIN, created by Four Larks after Mary Shelley's classic novel, from Wednesday, February 12 through Sunday, March 1, 2020, in The Wallis' Lovelace Studio Theater. This unusual Frankenstein, commissioned by The Wallis, is an exuberant amalgamation of dynamic physical theatre, live music and experiential design that brings the tale to life in a modern take that spotlights the dangers of unregulated technology. Sourced predominantly from Shelley's novel in conjunction with its 200th anniversary, the production awakens new questions about moral responsibility for each generation. Featuring a cast of twelve, all doubling as musicians, the show is directed, created, staged and composed by Four Larks' Mat Sweeney with design and choreography by Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, the show's creative producer, both of whom created the adaptation with Jesse Rasmussen.

The venerated Los Angeles-based Lula Washington Dance Theatre returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate its milestone 40th anniversary with a dynamic and powerful program exploring social and humanitarian issues.

The Wallis and Mark Cortale present AN EVENING WITH CHRISTINE EBERSOLE on Friday, February 28, 2020, 7:30 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The two-time Tony Award-winning star of 42nd Street and Grey Gardens returns to The Wallis to perform music from the American Songbook, Broadway and more. With music direction by Larry Yurman and special guest Scott Frankel, both of whom worked with Ebersole on Broadway's War Paint and Grey Gardens, the evening is directed by Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Patti LuPone on Broadway, Nathan Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rufus Wainwright).

Global pop icon Art Garfunkel appears at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts as part of his intimate and deeply personal world tour, In Close Up, that features the famed folk singer performing Simon & Garfunkel songs, solo hits and covers as well as reading excerpts from his book, What Is It All But Luminous, on Sunday, January 12, 2020, 7:00 pm, in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis.

CONTRA-TEMPO, the critically-acclaimed Los Angeles-based urban Latin dance company, presents joyUS justUS, an evening-length work that celebrates the power of joy to overcome inequalities, on Friday, January 17, and Saturday, January 18, 2020, 7:30 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' Bram Goldsmith Theater. Set to the music by the band Las Cafeteras, the powerful work fuses Salsa, Afro-Cuban and contemporary dance styles with theater, offering stories of hope, faith, family and joy collected from communities of color in South Los Angeles.

CONTRA-TEMPO, the critically-acclaimed Los Angeles-based urban Latin dance company, presents joyUS justUS, an evening-length work that celebrates the power of joy to overcome inequalities, on Friday, January 17, and Saturday, January 18, 2020, 7:30 pm, in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' Bram Goldsmith Theater.

As the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth approaches, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents Dinnerstein/Haimovitz:  Beethoven/Glass.  Esteemed pianist Simone Dinnerstein and acclaimed cellist Matt Haimovitz perform a musical celebration pairing the legendary composer's works with one of contemporary music's most influential composers a?" Philip Glass a?" on Thursday, January 9, 2020, 7:30 pm, in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis. The virtuosos are presented as both collaborators and soloists in a a?oethen and nowa?? program that includes Beethoven's Cello Sonatas Op.102 No. 1 and No. 2, as well as Philip Glass' Partita No. 2 for Solo Cello and Mad Rush for Solo Piano. Dinnerstein, praised for her 'majestic originality' (The Independent) and 'unpretentious elegance' (The New Yorker), is known for her highly personal recital programs and visionary collaborations. Haimovitz, renowned as a musical pioneer, is hailed as a a?oeferociously talented cellist who brings his megawatt sound and uncommon expressive gifts to a vast variety of stylesa?? (The New York Times).

Casting has been announced for The Wallis and For The Record's production of LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE, the multimedia concert celebration of one of the most beloved holiday films of all time and the biggest, record-breaking hit in The Wallis' history, which is back by popular demand, now as a not-to-be-missed Los Angeles tradition with performances beginning the day before Thanksgiving (November 27) and running through the weekend following Christmas (December 29). Returning from the 2018 production are Rex Smith (RIAA Gold® recording artist), Carrie Manolakos (Broadway's Mamma Mia!, Wicked), Doug Kreeger (Broadway's Les Misérables), Tomasina Abate (For The Record's Scorsese: American Crime Requiem, Tarantino), Carson Higgins (international tour of Green Day's American Idiot) and the multi-dimensional Emily Lopez. New this year to the lineup of outstanding performers are Rogelio Douglas Jr. (In the Heights and The Little Mermaid on Broadway), Declan Bennett (Once, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Taboo in the West End, American Idiot and Rent on Broadway), Jon Robert Hall (Fox's Grease: Live, “Glee”), Chris Mann (NBC's “The Voice,” The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Tour), James Byous (Scorsese: American Crime Requiem, Netflix's 'Westside'), Ruby Lewis (Cirque du Soleil's Paramour, Lights Out: Nat 'King' Cole), singer/songwriter/actress Aubrie Sellers (one of Rolling Stone's best country albums of the year), Gabriela Francesca Carrillo (American Mariachi, Netflix's Homecoming), Levi Smith (A Bronx Tale: The Musical, It's a Wonderful Life, Mary Poppins and The Music Man on Broadway), young singer/actress Nayah Damasen, John Battagliese and accomplished violinist Molly Rogers. 

The Wallis and For The Record present LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE, the multimedia concert celebration of one of the most beloved holiday films of all time and the biggest, record-breaking hit in The Wallis' history, which is back by popular demand, now as a not-to-be-missed Los Angeles tradition with performances beginning the day before Thanksgiving (November 27) and running through the weekend following Christmas (December 29).

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents Broadway and TV stars MEGAN HILTY (Wicked, 'Smash') and CHEYENNE JACKSON (Xanadu, 'American Horror Story') as they join forces for a thrilling and personal evening highlighted by powerhouse Broadway showstoppers, American songbook classics and rare musical gems on Saturday, January 25, 2020, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. Although the performance is sold out, wait list requests are being accepted.

The venerated Los Angeles-based Lula Washington Dance Theatre returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate its milestone 40th anniversary with a dynamic and powerful program exploring social and humanitarian issues. The company performs for three nights only, from Thursday, January 30 through Saturday February 1, 2020, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The program, which includes three world premieres and a West Coast premiere, celebrates the dance company's past with some repertory gems and is also decidedly forward-looking, with new works from new voices, some of whom are a generation younger than co-founders Lula and Erwin Washington.

Bring your smile and imagination to SUNDAY FUNDAY, delightfully interactive, free, family-friendly dance and theatre experiences presented by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, on Sunday, December 8, 2019 on The Wallis' outdoor Promenade Terrace. From 11 am to noon Story Pirates, “a theatrical treasure” (New York Times), offers a swashbuckling musical sketch comedy show adapted from wildly imaginative stories written by kids (suitable for children ages 5 and older). Dance Sundays with Debbie Allen and friends, features an engaging Bollywood dance class for people of all ages and abilities led by Blue13 Dance Company from noon to 2 pm.