On Monday, May 21, 2018, the Foundation for New American Musicals returns to Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal to present the 4th edition of 3RD MONDAYS, an up close and personal experience with exciting musical theatre artists performing songs from Broadway's past, present, and future!
Actors Co-op Theatre Company (Ovation Award-Winner 2017 Best Play, Intimate Theatre for 33 Variations) is proud to present the Tony nominated musical VIOLET, with music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Brian Crawley, based on the short story 'The Ugliest Pilgrim' by Doris Betts, directed by Richard Israel, produced by Thomas Chavira. Violet opens Today, May 11 at 8:00 pm, and will run through Sunday, June 17 at the Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower Street, 90028 (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.
Director Richard Israel is returning to Actors Co-op to helm the musical Violet. At the Co-op he has previously directed Our Town, The Baker's Wife and 110 In The Shade (LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award Winner for Outstanding Musical in an Intimate Venue), among others. Most recently, Richard was the Theatrical Coordinator for the multiple Emmy-award winning HBO series Big Little Lies, directing all of the Avenue Q sequences in the series. Regional theatre credits include West Side Story, Rent and Floyd Collins (LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards for Direction and Outstanding Musical in a Large Venue) for McCoy-Rigby Ent.; Kiss Me Kate and Once Upon A Mattress for Cabrillo Music Theatre; the multiple Ovation award-nominated Having It All for the Laguna Playhouse; and Meet Me In St. Louis for MTW. Intimate theatre productions include Bronies The Musical, The Burnt Part Boys, The Full Monty, Avenue Q, Gypsy, Assassins, Big The Musical and the world premiere of Anita Bryant Died For Your Sins. As a resident director for the Musical Theatre Guild, he has directed Women On The Verge, Do I Hear A Waltz, Road Show, High Fidelity and many others. He is recipient of the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Career Achievement in Directing. Tell our readers about the musical Violet.
Single tickets are now on sale for the inaugural REPRISE 2.0 production of Sweet Charity. Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, the classic Broadway hit plays from June 20 to July 1 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. REPRISE 2.0 is led by producing artistic director Marcia Seligson.
Casting is announced for two REPRISE 2.0 productions with two Tony Award leading actress nominees: Laura Bell Bundy (Legally Blonde - Tony Nomination, Hairspray, Anger Management) is to play Charity in Sweet Charity, directed and choreographed by three time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall from June 20 to July 1, and Carmen Cusack (Bright Star - Tony Nomination, Wicked) is to play Victoria Grant in Victor/Victoria directed by Richard Israel and choreographed by John Todd from September 5 to 16 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.
LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT present the fourth show of its 2017-2018 season (and the 40th anniversary of the iconic theatre) with SOUTH PACIFIC, book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan (adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "Tales of the South Pacific" by James A. Michener), music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, with musical direction by Brent Crayon, choreography by Peggy Hickey and directed by Glenn Casale. SOUTH PACIFIC will preview on Friday, April 20, 2018 (with a press opening on Saturday, April 21 at 8pm) and run through Sunday, May 13, 2018 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.
Actors Co-op Theatre Company (Ovation Award-Winner 2017 Best Play, Intimate Theatre for 33 Variations) is proud to present the Tony nominated musical VIOLET, with music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Brian Crawley, based on the short story 'The Ugliest Pilgrim' by Doris Betts, directed by Richard Israel, produced by Thomas Chavira. Violet opens Friday, May 11 at 8:00 pm, and will run through Sunday, June 17 at the Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower Street, 90028 (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.
On Monday, March 19, 2018, the Foundation for New American Musicals returned to Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal to present the 3rd edition of 3RD MONDAYS, an exciting new cabaret series where Broadway legends and emerging artists perform musical theatre songs of yesterday, today, and tomorrow! Scroll down for photos of performances from that night!
REPRISE 2.0 is now announced, presenting a season of three classic American musicals at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, by Marcia Seligson, Producing Artistic Director of the new performing arts organization. REPRISE 2.0 is partnering with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Department of Theater (UCLA TFT), chaired by Brian Kite.
Frantic, broad comedy and an attractive Spanish-flavored score highlight Musical Theatre Guild's recent staged reading of Jeffrey Lane's 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.'
The famed Musical Theatre Guild performed a staged reading on November 12 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale of the musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Based on the 1988 film of the same name by Pedro Almodovar, the book for the musical is by Jeffrey Lane and the music by David Yazbek. When the show played in New York about 5 years ago, it was problematic. Mounted first at Lincoln Center it gradually moved to the Belasco and closed within a couple of months, due to critics and audience who claimed they found the plot difficult to follow.
Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will continue their 22nd Anniversary season with the West Coast professional premiere of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, the stage musical version of the Academy Award nominated film of the same name. The one-night-only concert will take place at Glendale's historic Alex Theatre on Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM.
Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will continue their 22nd Anniversary season with the West Coast professional premiere of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, the stage musical version of the Academy Award nominated film of the same name. The one-night-only concert will take place at Glendale's historic Alex Theatre on Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM. Full casting has just been announced!
Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will continue their 22nd Anniversary season with the West Coast professional premiere of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, the stage musical version of the Academy Award nominated film of the same name. Musical Theatre Guild's production will feature Los Angeles native and original Broadway cast member Nikka Graff Lanzarone in the role of Candela.
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a hip musical comedy which follows six young people in the throes of puberty, who are overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, as they learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. The musical, featuring emotionally revealing musical selections filled with side-splitting lyrics written by William Finn, chronicles the overachievers' angst of six precocious adolescents who turn out to be the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom the Bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.
Scott Dreier's award-winning solo show Doris and Me will play five performances only at Downstairs Cabaret Theatre in Rochester, New York from Today, July 20 through Sunday, July 23.
Scott Dreier's award-winning solo show Doris and Me will play five performances only at Downstairs Cabaret Theatre in Rochester, New York from Thursday, July 20 through Sunday, July 23.
Doris and Me is a joyful celebration of the music, life and career of Doris Day - and one man's quirky obsession with America's sweetheart. In his Eddon Award-winning (Best Solo Show) and BroadwayWorld Critic's Pick performance, Scott Dreier takes audiences through a nostalgic sentimental journey of Doris Day's music.
Powerful, poignant and timely as ever, LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the fourth show of its 2016-2017 season, the most acclaimed musical of all time, WEST SIDE STORY, book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein with musical direction by Brent Crayon, choreography by John Todd and directed by Ovation award-winner Richard Israel. WEST SIDE STORY will preview on Friday, April 21, 2017 (with a press opening on Saturday, April 22) and run through Sunday, May 14, 2017 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.
Because it is arguably one the most beloved and critically-acclaimed musicals of all time, WEST SIDE STORY is revisited often by regional theaters across the country (and, frankly, the world). So it is no surprise that yet another large regional theater in Southern California is reviving this nostalgia-baiting, reliably-entertaining, and thematically-resonant show, this time by the talented folks over at McCoy Rigby Entertainment at their home base at the La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts, where performances continue through May 14, 2017. The resulting show---while mostly and genuinely enjoyable---presented a few jarringly curious presentation choices that didn't quite sit well. Unfortunately, in its admirable quest to inject some 'new-ness' into the well-known retro musical, some of the slight staging reinventions did enough to really lessen the impact of certain scenes that have previously been significant highlights.
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