Shari Barrett News

Kentwood Players proudly presents BLITHE SPIRIT, the smash hit comedy by Noel Coward, from Friday, July 19 through Saturday, August 24 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. There will be a champagne and dessert reception between 7:00-7:30pm for subscribers and members attending the Saturday, July 20 performance.

FAMOUS re-opened in April after a successful run in 2018. I decided to speak with the show's Creator/Director Michael Leoni (ML) and producers Michelle Kaufer (MK) and Cassidy Pepper (CP), about how the new production uses stylized movements by the characters, enhanced lighting and sound designs, to bring the play flow so much more fluid than last year's version. The result grabs the audience's attention to the point of being able to hear a pin drop, making the entire experience even more stunning and breathtaking than before. And, of course, its relevance to the #MeToo movement is immediately recognizable as power players move in and out of Jason's life during the party.

Colorado born, independent artist Android Jones has become worldwide famous due to his impressive art installations at the Burning Man festival, the Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Tour, as well as his interactive projections on the Sydney Opera House and Empire State Building in New York City. Best described as a 'digital painter,' his immense body of work has become well known for his many layered, psychedelic works and live performances using a custom-built digital set up which allows for his mystical art to spellbindingly move across two and three-dimensional platforms. Android has traveled the world exhibiting his work and has contributed to events on 6 continents. If you have never experienced his mind-blowing creations, now is your chance right here in Downtown Los Angeles during SAMSKARA at Wisdome.LA Immersive Art, a fully immersive four dome exhibition experience in the downtown LA Arts District.

Trump in Space, winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival Encore! Producer's Award, has announced the final extension of its run of Friday nights at The Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre. The engagement must end August 16.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature Jenn Colella in PETER PAN, Patti LuPone, DEAR EVAN HANSEN London, and More!

This month, Pacific Opera Project (POP) is presenting its most ambitious production to date: the first ever true-to-story bilingual Madama Butterfly with a new libretto written by POP Artistic Director Josh Shaw, interviewed for this story, and Opera in the Heights Artistic Director Eiki Isomura. The production presents Puccini's story as if it actually happened and attempts to answer the question of how would Butterfly and Pinkerton have really communicated if neither spoke the other's native language?

History comes alive at Woodlawn Cemetery, Mausoleum & Mortuary in Santa Monica during their Living History Tour in which costumed actors portraying noted personalities interred there share their stories and contributions to history and society. And although I had heard about the tours in previous years, last weekend was the first time I actually spent two hours on a wonderfully brilliant Saturday afternoon walking among the many souls who chose this peaceful spot as their final resting place. This year's tour featured 14 notable characters more than willing to share their life stories, often adding in many details not widely known about them.

Kentwood Players proudly presents the musical SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine. Performances take place at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045 from March 15th through April 20th on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. The production is directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, music direction by Mike Walker and produced by Margie Bates and Gail Bernardi.

The National Tour of Falsettos celebrated its official opening in Dallas this week! Let's see what the critics have to say!

Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize winning classic play OUR TOWN comes to the Kentwood Players stage with a dramatic restaging, directed by Stanley Brown and produced by Kathy Dershimer, opening Friday, January 11 through Saturday, February 16, 2019 on Fri/Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Avenue, LA 90045. Featured in the cast, in alphabetical order, are Dan Adams, Stephen Anthony Bailey, Shari Barrett, Jenny Boone, Allison Cunningham, Harold Dershimer, Aly Etienne, Sadie Fisher, Eddie Ed O'Brien, Shawn Plunkett, Judy Rosenfeld, Michele Selin, Gabrielle Sigrist and Ethan Trejo.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature MISS SAIGON, A CHRISTMAS CAROL and More!

Trump in Space, winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival Encore! Producer's Award, has announced the extension of its run into 2019 on Friday nights at The Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre. The engagement will now continue through April 26. The book and lyrics are by Gillian Bellinger and Landon Kirksey with music by Tony Gonzalez and Sam Johnides. Frank Caeti is the director.

Directed by Howard Teichman for the West Coast Jewish Theatre at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica on a beautifully detailed split-level set designed by Kurtis Bedford and lit by Ellen Monocroussos, Neil Simon's classic took on a more emotional dedication from the cast with Simon's passing on August 26, 2018 during the show's rehearsal process. But even though Teichman keeps the pace moving along at a steady pace, running at almost 3 hours with very little laughter, the play, though extremely well written and performed, does seem a bit long and drawn-out as there certainly were moments when it could have ended much sooner and still been as effective.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature GYPSY, HUNCHBACK, FUN HOME, and More!

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature NEWSIES, FUN HOME, CHICAGO and More!

Trump in Space, winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival Encore! Producer's Award, has announced the third extension of its run on Friday nights at The Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre. The engagement will now continue through December 14. The book and lyrics are by Gillian Bellinger and Landon Kirksey with music by Tony Gonzalez and Sam Johnides. Frank Caeti is the director.

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: Bobby Lopez, John Tartaglia, and more original cast members of Avenue Q will reunite tonight for the show's 15th Anniversary Concert, and more!

Ryan McCartan (recent Fox remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Disney Channel's Liv and Maddie, Off-Broadway's Heathers: The Musical) will head the cast of a fun and furry musical tale for animal lovers of all ages. The world premiereof Mutt House will play at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City from July 15 through Aug. 5. Previews begin July 10.

CRE Outreach presents the World Premiere of MARCHING ON, an original play written by and starring eight military veterans from Veterans Empowerment Theatre (VET), a group dedicated to presenting a first-hand view of the soldiers' experiences in their rawest form, unfiltered by press, political, or military censorship. This artistic journey brings veterans' personal stories to life from boot camp to returning home, highlighting the difficulty of transitioning back into society, exposing the inner turmoil of the lasting scars, both external and internal, endured from combat. For one veteran, her transition unlocks memories that have been hidden away for years, another feels rejected because of the color of his skin, while others realize that, above all, family matters most. Though alone in their stories, these heroes come together as a unit as they search for the strength to keep marching on.

Trump in Space, winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival Encore! Producer's Award, has announced the second extension of its run of Friday nights at The Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre. The engagement will now run through August 17. The book and lyrics are by Gillian Bellinger and Landon Kirksey with music by Tony Gonzalez and Sam Johnides. Frank Caeti is the director.