Shari Barrett News

Check out the top stories from Los Angeles you might have missed this week and more!

Kentwood Players proudly presents the new Broadway musical "BIG FISH" with Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa and Book by John August, based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the Columbia motion picture written by John August, opening Friday, March 17 through Saturday, April 22, 2017 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. Pre-show sweets and champagne receptions will take place from 7:00-7:30pm on opening night March 17 for members and their guests, and on Saturday, March 18 for subscribers and their guests.

Kentwood Players proudly presents THE IMAGINARY INVALID by Moliere, an outrageous satire of medicine and its practitioners, opening Friday, January 13 through Saturday, February 18, 2017 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 season subscribers and members attending the Saturday, January 14 performance. The production is directed by Susan Stangl, who just happens to be a medical doctor adding her unique spin to the production, and produced by Sheridan Cole for Kentwood Players. Featured in the cast in alphabetical order are Harold Dershimer, Mitch Feinstein, Drew Fitzsimmons, Sydney Holliday, Daniel Kruger, Zachary Leonard, Aaron Merken, Lezlie Moore, Michele Selin, Beau Smith, and Jenna Tovey.

If there is one Christmas party that you shouldn't miss this year, it's "Bob's Holiday Office Party!"

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.

Kentwood Players presents WAIT UNTIL DARK, a suspenseful thriller by Frederick Knott, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, opening Friday, September 9 through Saturday, October 15 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. The production is directed by Kathy Dershimer and produced by Jenny Boone by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Featured in the cast in alphabetical order are Samantha Barrios, Stanley Brown, Ty Budde, Harold Dershimer, Brian Roach, and Ixchel Valiente.

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.

Here is your first look at photos for Kentwood Players production of 'Olive and the Bitter Herbs' by Charles Busch opening Friday, July 8 through Saturday, August 13, 2016 at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Kirk Larson and produced by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete by special arrangement with Samuel French. Featured in the cast are Gail Bernardi, Martin Feldman, Daniel Kruger, Ken MacFarlane and Alison Mattiza. Photos by Shari Barrett.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Boston, Columbus, South Africa and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include the World Premiere of BLOOD ON THE SNOW in Boston, a reimagined CATS in Columbus, and I SEE YOU in South Africa, just to name a few.

Kentwood Players presents "Clybourne Park" by Bruce Norris from May 13 through June 18, 2016 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. The production directed by George L. Rametta and produced by Lauren A. Jarvis by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service. Inc. The cast features (in alphabetical order) Pauline Bugembe, Harold Dershimer, Jeremy Patrick Hamilton, Jen Kerner, Matt Landig, Damon Rutledge, and Andrea Stradling.

Theatre Palisades opened George Bernard Shaw's social commentary 'MRS WARREN'S PROFESSION' on Friday, April 1 at Pierson Playhouse with performances continuing through Sunday, May 8, 2016. The production is directed by Sabrina Lloyd and produced by Martha Hunter and Sherman Wayne by special permission with Samuel French. The cast features (in alphabetical order) Brooks Darnell, Susan Hardie, Craig Jessen, Frank Krueger, Ken MacFarlane and Jenna Tovey.

RAIN performs the full range of The Beatles' discography live onstage, a total of 36 songs on the night I attended. It's quite a treat going from The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show through 'Let it Be' and 'Hey Jude,' two of the last songs the group recorded together, with each album time shift accompanied by costume and physical appearance changes by the group as well as many historical films/videos reflecting what was going on in the world at the time, from Vietnam to protests at home, their meditation trip to India, and the overall madness of screaming fans at Shea Stadium on 8-15-65.

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.

In Shaw's controversial attack on society's hypocrisy, Young Vivie Warren is intelligent and self-sufficient, but astounded to learn how her mother rose from poverty to riches through the world's oldest profession. Mrs. Warren ably justifies her past, attacking a hypocritical society that rewards vice and oppresses virtue, stating that poverty and the society that fosters poverty are the real villains. Certainly her profession is preferable to life in a 19th century factory!

On Friday, February 26, City Players enjoyed a spectacular opening night of the World Premiere drama UTOPIA written by and starring David Douglas and Martin Head, directed by Katherine Whitney. Opening night festivities were attended by Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey and members of the Royal Palms Recovery Center who provided rehearsal space for the production.The SOLD OUT audience awarded the production with a well-deserved standing ovation.

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.

Noel Coward's plays epitomize the sophisticated wit of the era between the two world wars, and his comedy of manners "HAY FEVER" about a family whose theatrical excesses torment a group of unsuspecting visitors, epitomizes what makes Coward plays so well-loved by audiences worldwide. Considered by many to be cleverly constructed, wittily written, slightly cynical, and undeniably entertaining, the work contains all the elements that helped establish Coward's reputation as a award-winning playwright.

Kentwood Players proudly welcomed Mamie Hansberry, the sister of "A RAISIN IN THE SUN" playwright Lorraine Hansberry, to their production of the classic family drama on Sunday, January 10, 2016. Ms. Hansberry attended the play with several family members and shared how proud her entire family is of "everyone who has ever been a part of it." She has seen hundreds of productions in the past six decades and remarked that each member of the Kentwood Players cast "brought their own unique understanding and insights into her sister's remarkable characters."

Theatre Palisades presents Noel Coward's hilarious comedy "HAY FEVER" opening Friday, January 15 through Sunday, February 21, 2016 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. at the Pierson Playhouse, located at 941 Temescal Canyon Road in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Here's your first look at cast photos!

Kentwood Players proudly presents Lorraine Hansberry's classic family drama "A RAISIN IN THE SUN" from Friday, January 8 through Saturday, February 13, 2016, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Harold Dershimer. Here's your first look at the cast! The production directed by Harold Dershimer and produced by Kathy Dershimer by special arrangement with Samuel French. Featured in the cast in alphabetical order are Rashod Davenport, Ruth Featherstone, Lawrence Hatcher, Daniel Kruger, Jean Michels, Patricia Newman, Shannon O'Connor, Damon Rutledge, Isaiah Suber, and Charlotte Williams.