Robert Yacko News

On Sunday, December 1 Kritzerland Records presented its 40th show and annual Christmas presentation entitled A Kritzerland Christmas III at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal with special guest star Terri White. It was a beautiful evening of mostly familiar Christmas music with a few lesser known but still great tunes. This is the whole point of Kritzerland to spotlight those songs that somehow got away without becoming hits. On hand as well as dynamic Terri White were songsters Dan Callaway, Robert Yacko, Ashley Fox Linton, Lisa Livesay, Jenna Lea Rosen, Sarah Staitman, Kelsey Scott and nine year-old Hadley Belle Miller, under the super musical direction of Richard Allan.

Kritzerland at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal presents A KRITZERLAND CHRISTMAS III tonight, December 1, 2013 at 7:00 PM.

Kritzerland at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal presents A KRITZERLAND CHRISTMAS III on Sunday, December 1, 2013 at 7:00 PM.

LA Stage Alliance has announced celebrity presenters set to join host Michael McKean for the 24th Annual Ovation Awards Ceremony tonight, November 3 at the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. A pre-show reception begins at 5:30, and the curtain will rise at 7pm.

La Miranda Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment present the second production in its 2013-1014 season of shows, the Tony & Pulitzer Prize Award-winning play, RABBIT HOLE, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by Michael Matthews. RABBIT HOLE had a press opening on Saturday, October 26 and runs through Sunday, November 17, 2013 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada. Check out the opening night photos below!

LA STAGE Alliance has announced celebrity presenters set to join host Michael McKean for the 24th Annual Ovation Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 3 at the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. A pre-show reception begins at 5:30, and the curtain will rise at 7pm.

On Sunday August 4 Kritzerland presented its monthly tribute this time in honor of composers Meredith Willson (right) and Gene de Paul. On hand were regulars host Bruce Kimmel, musical director par excellence Tom Griep and terrific singers Jane Noseworthy, Chelsea Emma Franko, Robert Yacko, and newcomers to Kritzerland: Charlotte Mary Wen, this year's winner of LA's Next Great Stage Star 2013, Allen Everman, Justin Jones, Bruce Merkle and David Zack. Special guest star was the beautiful Sue Raney who had a record contract at Capitol Records at the age of 17.

Our 36th Kritzerland show is devoted to the brilliant songs of Meredith Willson and Gene de Paul. Producer Bruce Kimmel has recorded many songs by each and is thrilled to do an entire evening of their wonderful material. Meredith Willson, of course, gave Broadway one of its most enduring hits, THE MUSIC MAN, a musical filled with one amazing song after another, several of which we'll be doing. He also wrote the Broadway and film hit, THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, HERE'S LOVE (based on MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET), and a musical about Christopher Columbus called 1491 that never made it to Broadway.

Our 36th Kritzerland show is devoted to the brilliant songs of Meredith Willson and Gene de Paul. Producer Bruce Kimmel has recorded many songs by each and is thrilled to do an entire evening of their wonderful material. Meredith Willson, of course, gave Broadway one of its most enduring hits, THE MUSIC MAN, a musical filled with one amazing song after another, several of which we'll be doing. He also wrote the Broadway and film hit, THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, HERE'S LOVE (based on MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET), and a musical about Christopher Columbus called 1491 that never made it to Broadway.

On Sunday July 7, Kritzerland presented its 35th show The British Invasion, music from UK musicals of the 60s and 70s, at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. I can only say to Bruce Kimmel, 'good show, ole' boy'!

The Sunday, June 2nd Kritzerland Show at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal in North Hollywood proved another highly enjoyable evening from Bruce Kimmel and Adryan Russ. The composer celebrated in this show, Noel Coward, is perhaps more renowned for his lyrics than his melodies, but what lyrics they are! Clever, witty, or cynical, they come fast and they delight the intellect.

One of the most stunning, brilliantly-staged productions I've seen in the past few years, Orange County's 3D Theatricals has, once again, outdone itself with its moving, epic-sized revival of Jason Robert Brown's Tony Award-winning musical PARADE. Now playing a limited engagement through May 26 at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, this triumphant, emotionally-resonant, Broadway-caliber presentation directed by 3DT's co-founder and artistic director TJ Dawson ranks as, arguably, the best musical this relatively young regional theater company has produced thus far.

In 1998 when Jason Robert Brown won a Tony Award for the score of this unusually provocative musical Parade, the opulent Broadway production closed to critical acclaim, but due to excessive costs, the show remained inaccessible until the Donmar Warehouse resurrected it and produced a tight - minus the frills - mounting at the Mark Taper Forum in 2009. 3-D Theatricals, who are becoming increasingly known for their superlative skill with producing big musicals, have decided to put back many of the frills of the original and double the cast to its original size - 36, in order to enhance and give the musical the big, full-voiced chorus sound it deserves. And, in my mind, this bigger hybrid version surpasses the Taper's for its grande musical elegance and the presence of a perfectly cast lead actor in the role of Leo Frank, Jeff Skowron.

3-D Theatricals presents PARADE now through May 26, 2013 at Plummer Auditorium, 201 East Chapman Ave, Fullerton, Calif., directed by T.J. Dawson, choreographed by Dana Solimando and musically directed by David Lamoureux. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and brings you photos from the celebrations below!

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of May 6!

3-D Theatricals presents PARADE, tonight, May 10 - 26, 2013 at Plummer Auditorium, 201 East Chapman Ave, Fullerton, Calif., directed by T.J. Dawson, choreographed by Dana Solimando and musically directed by David Lamoureux.

Opening this week in Fullerton at Plummer Auditorium is 3-D Theatricals' (3DT) production of Jason Robert Brown's Tony winning musical Parade, a show that is rarely if ever revived due to its dark and controversial subject matter. Recently one of its stars, actor/singer Robert Yacko, who did the show at the Mark Taper Forum in 2009, contributed thoughts about the challenges he's facing in Parade.

3-D Theatricals presents PARADE, May 10 - 26, 2013 at Plummer Auditorium, 201 East Chapman Ave, Fullerton, Calif., directed by T.J. Dawson, choreographed by Dana Solimando and musically directed by David Lamoureux.

On Sunday April 7 Kritzerland presented its monthly tribute to great composers, this time around in honor ofthe incomparable lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green, entitled Just in Time: The Songs of Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

Many people do not realize, with the exception of us theatre junkies, that Billy Barnes, who regretfully passed from us in September of last year, was without a doubt the keenest composer of the theatre revue. He also created special material for TV's Laugh-In and The Carol Burnett Show, among others. His ingenious theatre revues date back to the 50s with The Billy Barnes Revue of 1959 all the way up to 1983's Movie Star, which had a long run at the Westwood Playhouse, now known as the Geffen. Bruce Kimmel remembers, as he knew the man well and recorded Billy Barnes L.A. Thanks to Kimmel a whole generation of musical theatre fans got a chance to hear up close and personal some of Barnes' greatest, saucy, yet little known achievements at a special Kritzerland show Billy! on Saturday March 2 at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal.