Rich Cook News

Call it “Sunday in the Park with A Cabbello” – clearly apropos for a special encore engagement of ““We’re Still Here” celebrating the music and legacy of Stephen Sondheim. Following the success of their first with-audience performance in two years May 14 & 15, the “BelloGents” of A Cabbello are back.

Cameron Lutz joins Range Media Partners Music division as the SVP of Strategic Marketing and Content Innovation after spending the last 5 years as a strategic partner and manager at Facebook and Instagram.

MenAlive will postpone its Harmony Gala due to Covid-19:

Under the direction of Artistic Director Bob Gunn, MenAlive -- now celebrating 15 seasons as Orange County's first and only Gay Men's Chorus -- will present a spectacular song-and-dance extravaganza showcasing some of Broadway's best musicals of the past 15 years... the very same time frame (from 2001 to 2016) of MenAlive's very existence.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Bob Gunn, MenAlive -- now celebrating 15 seasons as Orange County's first and only Gay Men's Chorus -- will present a spectacular song-and-dance extravaganza showcasing some of Broadway's best musicals of the past 15 years... the very same time frame (from 2001 to 2016) of MenAlive's very existence.

One of the hottest tickets in Los Angeles every year is the inspiring 15-minute musicals developed at New Musicals Inc. There are seven musicals this year, having their world premiere on June 29, 30, and July 1 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood. These musicals are a decades-long tradition at the NMI's Academy for New Musical Theatre.

XYZ Films and Lionsgate Films have announced today that Lionsgate has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to the new thriller OPERATION AVALANCHE from acclaimed filmmaker Matt Johnson. Johnson's first film THE DIRTIES, which he directed, co-wrote, and co-starred in, won the Grand Prize at Slamdance in 2013. The multi-hyphenate is reteaming with his DIRTIES co-writer Josh Boles, co-star Owen Williams, producer Matthew Miller, and has brought on Toronto-based producer Lee Kim (THE CONSPIRACY, I'LL FOLLOW YOU DOWN). Nick Spicer will executive produce for XYZ Films, with Michael Paseornek, John Sacchi, and Jessica Switch overseeing for Lionsgate. Production is set to begin June 30th in Toronto, Houston, and Washington D.C.

MenAlive, the Gay Men's Chorus of Orange County announced the selection of their next artistic director beginning with the 2014-2015 season. Current Assistant Artistic Director, Bob Gunn has been named Artistic Director of MenAlive to lead the group into its next phase of development. A search committee chose Gunn, after a thorough vetting, from amongst a group [Image: Bob Gunn] of other highly qualified applicants.

The State Theatre's Brown-Daub Gallery presents the 2012 FREDDY Awards Photo Retrospective and Welcome to the Dance: Sculptures by Rich Cook, both running April 5 - June 28.

To kick off its twelfth season, Men Alive - The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus welcomed a very special guest star: the legendary Liza Minnelli. This concert marked her first appearance in Orange County, CA in almost twenty years. This inimitable showbiz icon performed with the chorus at the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall on the campus of The Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa for 'Liza Minnelli with MenAlive in A WINTER SPECTACULAR'-an evening of Broadway hits, Pop Standards, and, of course, Holiday Music.

Men Alive - The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus concludes its successful 11th Season with VON TRAPPED!, a uniquely entertaining, wholly original tribute to the Tony® and Oscar®-winning musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC... the way only Men Alive can do it! The concert event opens tonight, July 20 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre with two additional shows on Saturday, July 21. The chorus will transform this beloved musical into a one-of-a-kind stage extravaganza featuring moving orchestrations, genre-crossing remixes, fabulous costumes, buoyant choreography, and even a few rowdy, yodel-loving goats! And nuns. Lots and lots of nuns.

Men Alive - The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus concludes its successful 11th Season with VON TRAPPED!, a uniquely entertaining, wholly original tribute to the Tony® and Oscar®-winning musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC... the way only Men Alive can do it! The concert event opens Friday, July 20 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre with two additional shows on Saturday, July 21. The chorus will transform this beloved musical into a one-of-a-kind stage extravaganza featuring moving orchestrations, genre-crossing remixes, fabulous costumes, buoyant choreography, and even a few rowdy, yodel-loving goats! And nuns. Lots and lots of nuns.

Men Alive - The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus continues its successful 11th Season with POP GOES THE OPERA, a high-concept concert experience that blends two musical styles--Classic Opera and Contemporary Pop music--on the same stage. The concert event opens Friday, March 30 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre with two additional shows on Saturday, March 31. The genre mash-up includes selections from Lady Gaga, Verdi, Madonna, Puccini, Annie Lennox, plus a full, live-action re-enactment of the Warner Bros. cartoon classic 'What's Opera, Doc?'

Singer/actress Nikki Blonsky truly embodies that notion of overnight success. Plucked from obscurity at age 17, then-newcomer Blonsky beat out hundreds of young girls from a nationwide open casting call to land the coveted lead role in the big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical HAIRSPRAY. On July 15-16, she will be slipping back into familiar territory as she joins MEN ALIVE: The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus for their 10th Anniversary Concert 'GREASY HAIRSPRAY' at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Joined by Emmy®-Award winning Guest Star Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace), Men Alive-The Orange County Gay Men's Chorus will wrap up its ninth successful season of song with a very special summer concert that brings its loyal audience what we all need right now: COMEDY TONIGHT. Under the baton of Artistic Director Rich Cook, Men Alive presents three performances of COMEDY TONIGHT on Friday, July 16, at 8:00pm and again on Saturday, July 17, at both 3:00 and 8:00pm. The beautiful Irvine Barclay Theatre in Irvine will serve as the venue for all three performances of this show.