Samuel Goldman News

Kentwood Players proudly presents the wickedly inspired musical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN with book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, opening Friday, November 11 through Saturday, December 17, 2016 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Los Angeles, CA 90045. The production is directed and choreographed by Alison Mattiza, assisted by Musical Director Catherine Rahm and Assistant Director Valerie Ruel, produced by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete by special arrangement with Musical Theatre International.

Climbing the corporate ladder has always been easy for some and difficult for others. In 1961, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING explained the secrets of success included luck, charm, connections and a willingness to use those things to personal advantage. Fans of the TV show Mad Men will certainly feel right at home in the early 60's world of the advertising business complete with pastel dresses and flip style hairdos for the hard-working office girls designed by Donna Fritsche using styles straight out of a 1961 fashion magazine, as well as the brightly colored desks and set pieces designed by Sean Gray and Naomi Kasahara. Watch in amazement as J. Pierrepont Finch's meteoric rise from lowly window washer to high-powered executive happens just by following the steps presented in a business self-help book. If only it were really that easy…

Kentwood Players, the community theater group based at the Westchester Playhouse, was founded in December 1949 by Jan and Arky Marcom, for whom the group's annual Marcom Masque Awards are named. The first Marcom Masque Awards were presented for the 1957-1958 season with 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' winning the award for Best Play.

On Friday, March 11, Kentwood Players welcomed the multiple Tony Award winning musical "MAN OF LA MANCHA" with Book by Dale Wasserman, Music by Mitch Leigh and Lyrics by Joe Darion to the Westchester Playhouse where performances will continue through April 16. The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth with Musical Director Mike Walker and Choreographer Drew Fitzsimmons, produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi by special arrangement with Tams Witmark Music Library. Here's your first look at onstage photos by Shari Barrett.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the multiple Tony Award winning musical "MAN OF LA MANCHA" with Book by Dale Wasserman, Music by Mitch Leigh and Lyrics by Joe Darion opening Friday, March 11 through Saturday, April 16, 2016 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm, with three Thursday night performances on March 31, April 7 and 14 at 8:00pm, at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Los Angeles, CA 90045. The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth with Musical Director Mike Walker and Choreographer Drew Fitzsimmons, produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi by special arrangement with Tams Witmark Music Library.

Here's your first look at the musical murder mystery 'SOMETHING'S AFOOT' that spoofs detective stories, most particularly Agatha Christie's, And Then There Were None (a.k.a. Ten Little Indians). The play involves a group of standard British mystery characters (the Cockney servants, the brash retired military man, the imperious dowager, the snoopy spinster, the ne'er-do-well nephew, the ingenue couple) who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour. When the wealthy lord is found dead, it's a comical race against the clock and some outrageous booby traps to find out whodunit.

Here's your first look at the musical murder mystery "SOMETHING'S AFOOT" that spoofs detective stories, most particularly Agatha Christie's, And Then There Were None (a.k.a. Ten Little Indians). The play involves a group of standard British mystery characters (the Cockney servants, the brash retired military man, the imperious dowager, the snoopy spinster, the ne'er-do-well nephew, the ingenue couple) who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour. When the wealthy lord is found dead, it's a comical race against the clock and some outrageous booby traps to find out whodunit.

Sister community theater groups Kentwood Players and Theatre Palisades are working in tandem this summer to present all three plays in Neil Simon's Eugene Trilogy, beginning with "Brighton Beach Memoirs" by Kentwood Players from July 10 through August 15, the just added staged readings of "Biloxi Blues" at Theatre Palisades on Saturday, August 29 at 8pm and by Kentwood Players on Sunday, August 30 at 7pm, and ending with "Broadway Bound" at Theatre Palisades from September 4 through October 11, 2015.

A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for over 40 years, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is a timeless work set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally-known series of events but seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Performed on the intimate thrust stage with no scenery other than a long, thin center platform at the Long Beach Playhouse, the actors enter and exit in many places throughout the audience, often creating a surround sound experience not available on a proscenium stage. This makes it very easy to feel you are a part of the production and biblical history itself. No doubt the effect is thanks to sound designer Larry Mura working with the new system put in place for this production.

MAME, the 1966 multiple Tony Award winning musical, based on the biographical novel Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade by Patrick Dennis and subsequent play and film Auntie Mame by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, is a wonderful, warm, and witty narrative enhanced with Jerry Herman's evocative, lively, and sentimental music and lyrics. Bohemian Mame Dennis is a larger-than-life personality living in New York City during the Great Depression. Mame has a collection of eccentric, wealthy society friends and her life is one endless party; that is until her young nephew Patrick "walks into her life."

Audiences and critics are raving about the Kentwood Players production of the Tony Award winning FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, presented at the Westchester Playhouse during the musical's 50th anniversary celebration of its 1964 Broadway debut. With packed houses during its opening weekend, be sure to call (310) 645-5156 to get your tickets in advance for performances through April 19.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the Tony Award winning musical "Fiddler on the Roof" with book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jerry Bock, and music by Sheldon Harnick from March 14 to April 19 with 20 performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, and Thursdays on April 3, 10, and 17 at 8pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the Tony Award winning musical "Fiddler on the Roof" with book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jerry Bock, and music by Sheldon Harnick from March 14 to April 19 with 20 performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, and Thursdays on April 3, 10, and 17 at 8pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045.

Kentwood Players presents RAGTIME - the quintessential American musical - through Saturday, April 20 on Fri/Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045.The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, with Musical Director Bill Wolfe, Choreographer Victoria Miller, and produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi.

Kentwood Players presents the 1998 Tony Award-winning musical 'RAGTIME' with book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty now playing through April 20 at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, Calif. The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, with Musical Director Bill Wolfe, Choreographer Victoria Miller, and produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi by special arrangement with Music Theatre International. BroadwayWorld brings you video highlights from the show below!

Kentwood Players presents the 1998 Tony Award-winning musical 'RAGTIME' with book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty now playing through April 20 at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, with Musical Director Bill Wolfe, Choreographer Victoria Miller, and produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi by special arrangement with Music Theatre International. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at photos from the production below!

Kentwood Players presents the 1998 Tony Award-winning musical 'RAGTIME' with book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty from Friday, March 15 to Saturday, April 20 at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, with Musical Director Bill Wolfe, Choreographer Victoria Miller, and produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi by special arrangement with Music Theatre International. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at photos from the production below!