Stage and screen star, Patricia Morison died today at the age of 103 at home in Los Angeles of natural causes. A stage icon and legend best known for her starring roles in Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate and The King & I opposite Yul Brynner, she established an indelible mark in films with a reputation as a the villainous femme fatale with large blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair that made her a favorite of studios and fans alike.
If the currency of a healthy relationship is communication then Abby and Zack, the married couples in Amy Herzog's play BELLEVILLE playing at the Pasadena Playhouse through Sunday, May 13th, will go bankrupt. The play may take place in the heart on Paris, but this show follows as this couple traverse emotions a lot less like love and more like lunacy as they struggle to understand each other.
Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ("Olive Kitteridge") of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child. In the story, Regina and Richard, an affluent mixed-race couple in Los Angeles, have everything except a baby. Wanda and Al, an African-American couple living in an overcrowded trailer in modern-day Louisiana, are too poor to keep their soon-to-be-born child. Through an adoption attorney, the two couples broker a deal. However, circumstances arise that affect their decision and the situation spins out of control. The Wall Street Journal described The Baby Dance as "filled with emotional power and nimble humor." The L.A. Times called it "a stunner…funny as well as perceptive."
What happens to a God with no believers left? Where do they go? What do they do? Find out in LET THERE BE THISTLES written and performed by the Encore Award winning author of the 2014 Fringe hit 'ANGELS AND WHISKEY.
The Wallis production of BLUES IN THE NIGHT, conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps, starts performances next week in the intimate Lovelace Theater! Artistic Director Paul Crewes snuck into rehearsal to chat with cast members Yvette Cason, Bryce Charles, Chester Gregory, and Paulette Ivory about this exciting new production.
Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theater of California, presents a new family-friendly production of Jungle Book. Adapted from the works of Rudyard Kipling, this version is written and directed by Craig Francis and Rick Miller and is performed Tuesday, July 17 through Sunday, July 29 (press opening July 18).
LA's own Impro Theatre continues their residency at The Edye at The Broad Stage, presenting a different style of their signature improvisation for one weekend, each month. For the penultimate show in their residency, Impro Theatre will pay homage to the genius of the American satirist Dorothy Parker with Dorothy Parker UnScripted (May 18 - 20). Starting with audience suggestions, Impro Theatre picks up Dorothy's comedic scalpel and recreates an impressionistic night of Dorothy-style scenes and observation, reminiscent of the Roaring 20's.
The Huntington Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of Fall, which tells the true story of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller's secret son Daniel, his child with third wife, Inge Morath. Born with Down syndrome, Daniel was institutionalized, and his existence was never acknowledged by his parents. Written by playwright and renowned journalist Bernard Weinraub (The Accomplices, Above the Fold), and directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois, Fall runs May 18 - June 16, 2018 at the Huntington's Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.
Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ('Olive Kitteridge') of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child.
Thomas Sadoski will be starring in BELLEVILLE with Anna Camp at The Pasadena Playhouse starting April 18, 2018. Theatre aficionados will know Thomas for his acclaimed roles in reasons to be pretty, SANTALAND DIARIES, THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, Sam Mendes' THE TEMPEST and AS YOU LIKE IT, and OTHER DESERT CITIES for which he won an Obie Award.
Pasadena Playhouse - State Theatre of California - is celebrating its Centennial in partnership with the Playhouse District Association on Saturday, June 9 with an all day Playhouse Block Party from 12-noon to 10 p.m. on El Molino Avenue at Colorado Blvd., free to the public.
Award-winning artists' collective Rogue Artists Ensemble brings a new-and-improved version of its acclaimed, Ovation award-winning Wood Boy Dog Fish to Burbank this summer. A mature and delightfully macabre reimagining of Carlo Collodi's "The Adventures of Pinocchio," the colorfully twisted world of Wood Boy Dog Fish takes over the Garry Marshall Theatre as part of its 2017-18 inaugural season, opening May 18 and running through June 24.
Theatre of NOTE continues its 2018 season with its production of For The Love Of (or, the roller derby play) by Gina Femia, directed by Rhonda Kohl. For The Love Of will preview Tuesday and Wednesday, April 24 and 25 at 8pm, and will open on Thursday, April 26 at 8pm and run through Saturday, May 26 at Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd (just north of Sunset) in Hollywood.
LA's own Impro Theatre continues their residency at The Edye at The Broad Stage, presenting a different style of their signature improvisation for one weekend, each month. Paying homage to the genius of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare UnScripted (April 20 - 22) spontaneously creates a brand new play, for every performance, in The Bard's unmistakable style. Using language that sizzles with poetry, colorful imagery and bawdy innuendo, Impro Theatre brings to life the monarchs, spirits, lovers and fools that make up Shakespeare's world.
Before his guest starring role on Young Sheldon, last season's off-Broadway production of The Portuguese Kid and of course nearly a decade as George Costanza on Seinfeld, Jason Alexander was a song and dance man on Broadway. He made his Broadway debut in Merrily We Roll Along in 1981, followed by a continual decade of shows: The Rink, Broadway Bound, Jerome Robbins' Broadway (in which he won a Tony Award for his performance) and Accomplice.
Highlights of how his Broadway career began will be hilariously re-told next week, as his tour heads back to his home state of New Jersey to perform with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra at NJPAC in Newark and the State Theater in New Brunswick. Newark is actually where Alexander was born before growing up in Maplewood and Livingston.
Kicking off its upcoming ninth season, Coeurage Theatre Company, LA's only Pay What You Want theatre company, has announced Gathering Coeurage, a special fundraising event that will offer a rare glimpse into the company's development process.
Award-winning actor/director Frank Ferrante re-creates his acclaimed New York and London stage portrayal celebrating America's greatest comedian - Groucho Marx. You will feel as though Groucho is back, as Ferrante sings, dances and performs classic routines on the North Coast Rep stage, April 23 & 24 at 7:30pm.
The Sacred Fools Theater Company is excited to present the World Premiere of the monster drama Akuma-shin by Kenley Smith, directed by Scott Leggett. The final Mainstage show of the company's 21st season opens Friday, March 30 and runs through Saturday, April 28 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm. The show will be performed in the Main Stage Theater of the Broadwater Theater Complex.
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announces the cast for its upcoming production of Blues in the Night. Conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps, the production will feature Yvette Cason (Shout Sister Shout, Broadway and film versions of Dreamgirls), Bryce Charles (The Book of Mormon, ABC's "Black-ish"), Paulette Ivory (Disney's Aida and the West End premieres of The Lion King and Blues in the Night) and Chester Gregory (Broadway's Motown: The Musical, Hairspray and Sister Act). Blues in the Night will begin performances April 27 through May 20 in the Lovelace Studio Theater.
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.