As we move toward the end of August, I hope you are planning to see one or more of the live performance and theatre productions that are currently running at one of the several entertainment venues that make their homes here on the amazing California Central Coast!
PCPA Theaterfest will present the American Premiere of My Fairytale, a musical about Hans Christian Andersen directed by Scott Schwartz. My Fairytale began previews in Santa Maria August 12 and will run through August 20 before openning in Solvang's Festival Theater running from August 26 through September 25, 2011. Look below for pictures from the production.
PCPA Theaterfest will present the American Premiere of My Fairytale, a musical about Hans Christian Andersen directed by Scott Schwartz. My Fairytale began previews in Santa Maria August 12 and will run through August 20 before openning in Solvang's Festival Theater running from August 26 through September 25, 2011.
PCPA Theaterfest is proud to present the American Premiere of My Fairytale, a musical about Hans Christian Andersen directed by Scott Schwartz. My Fairytale previews in Santa Maria August 12 - 20, then opens in Solvang's Festival Theater running from August 26 through September 25, 2011.
PCPA Theaterfest is proud to present the American Premiere of My Fairytale, a musical about Hans Christian Andersen directed by Scott Schwartz. My Fairytale previews in Santa Maria August 12 - 20, then opens in Solvang's Festival Theater running from August 26 through September 25, 2011.
Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate is a delightful musical romp that can be seen again and again. It's timeless and an overblown, yet joyous account of two egotistical actors, once married to each other, who adore one another but just cannot be around each other very long without catastrophic, calamitous results. It's also a play within a play, as Lilli Vanessi (Lesli Margherita) and Fred Graham (Tom Hewitt) are on tour essaying Katharine and Petruchio in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Above all, the silly contrived story is overshadowed by Cole Porter's divine score with some of the most glorious tunes ever composed. Kiss Me Kate is a showcase to Porter's genius. Reprise Theatre's current revival is devastatingly hilarious with top-notch direction from Michael Michetti and a magnificent cast.
Antaeus' quest for the ultimate in classic plays has led to a rare production of John Marston's satire The Malcontent, which, despite an intense, almost insurmountable language barrier, offers a timeless and humorous glimpse at the hypocrisy of mankind, especially as it applies to the manipulation of the political machine. It is 1603 but it might as well be 2011 as adultery and greed for money and power remain man's top priorities. This is a production that is first and foremost stunning to look at but it does have its drawbacks. The flow of Act I is slowed by a barrage of unfamiliar dialectal terms, but if you're willing to hang in there, Act II pays off big time with an elegant sense of fun.
The Antaeus Company strives to keep classical theater vibrantly alive by presenting professional productions with a top-flight ensemble company of actors. Taking their company name from the Titan who gained strength by touching the Earth, Antaeus members - many of whom are familiar to movie and television audiences - regain creative strength by returning to the wellspring of their craft: live theater performances of great classical plays.
The Antaeus Company strives to keep classical theater vibrantly alive by presenting professional productions with a top-flight ensemble company of actors. Taking their company name from the Titan who gained strength by touching the Earth, Antaeus members - many of whom are familiar to movie and television audiences - regain creative strength by returning to the wellspring of their craft: live theater performances of great classical plays.
Roger Kumble, David Elzer and Molly O'Keefe are thrilled to announce that Eileen Galindo has joined the cast of the world premiere play, GIRLS TALK, written and directed by Roger Kumble (turnaround, d girl) and also starring Andréa Bendewald ('Suddenly Susan'), Leslie Bibb ('Talledega Nights'), Brooke Shields ('Lipstick Jungle'), and Constance Zimmer ('Entourage'). GIRLS TALK will close Sunday, April 24 at the Lee Strasberg Theatre, 7936 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood.
Roger Kumble, David Elzer and Molly O'Keefe are thrilled to announce that their critically-acclaimed (LA Times CRITICS' CHOICE, LA Weekly GO!), smash-hit world premiere play, GIRLS TALK, written and directed by Roger Kumble (turnaround, d girl) is EXTENDING with two new "girls" at the Lee Strasberg Theatre, 7936 Santa Monica Blvd.
Phoenix Rising Productions has announced the West Coast premiere of Tennessee & Anna, a play by Franco D'Alessandro, directed by Anthony Caldarella. A guest production at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles featuring multi-award-winners Morlan Higgins and Karen Kondazian, Tennessee & Anna begins previews on April 5, and opening is set for Saturday, April 9 at 8pm. Performances will continue through May 29.
The Antaeus Company strives to keep classical theater vibrantly alive by presenting professional productions with a top-flight ensemble company of actors. Taking their company name from the Titan who gained strength by touching the Earth, Antaeus members - many of whom are familiar to movie and television audiences - regain creative strength by returning to the wellspring of their craft: live theater performances of great classical plays.
Roger Kumble, David Elzer and Molly O'Keefe are thrilled to announce that their critically-acclaimed (LA Times CRITICS' CHOICE, LA Weekly GO!), smash-hit world premiere play, GIRLS TALK, written and directed by Roger Kumble (turnaround, d girl) is EXTENDING with two new "girls" at the Lee Strasberg Theatre, 7936 Santa Monica Blvd.
Phoenix Rising Productions has announced the West Coast premiere of Tennessee & Anna, a play by Franco D'Alessandro, directed by Anthony Caldarella. A guest production at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles featuring multi-award-winners Morlan Higgins and Karen Kondazian, Tennessee & Anna begins previews on April 5, and opening is set for Saturday, April 9 at 8pm. Performances will continue through May 29.
The new musical DANGEROUS BEAUTY by Jeannine Dominy (book and verse), Michele Brourman (music) and Amanda McBroom (lyrics). Tony Award-nominee Sheryl Kaller directs a cast of twenty that is led by Jenny Powers (Broadway's Grease) as Veronica Franco. The production will close on March 13, 2011 at The Pasadena Playhouse (39 S. El Molino Avenue).
The 2011 Garland Award recipients were announced today, honoring the best of Los Angeles theatre. Under the voting system each Garland winner was named on at least three critics' 'Best of 2010' lists. Each critic listed up to five nominees for each category except performance, up to 10 nominees for performance in musical productions and 10 for straight plays. Here are the critics' lists, minus the winners. The critics who voted are Jeff Favre, Hoyt Hilsman, Travis Holder, Eric Marchese, Dany Margolies, Dink O'Neal, Melinda Schupmann, Madeleine Shaner, Les Spindle, Neal Weaver, and Jennie Webb. Back Stage thanks them, as we hope you will when you see them this year, for their perpetual devotion to Southland theater large and small.
The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Stephen Eich, Executive Director) announced that full casting is complete for the new musical DANGEROUS BEAUTY by Jeannine Dominy (book), Michele Brourman (music) and Amanda McBroom (lyrics). Tony Award-nominee Sheryl Kaller directs a cast of twenty that is led by Jenny Powers (Broadway's Grease) as Veronica Franco. Rehearsals for the world premiere musical begin December 27, 2010. The five-week limited engagement ends March 6, 2011 at The Pasadena Playhouse (39 S. El Molino Avenue).
The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Stephen Eich, Executive Director) by special arrangement with Susan Dietz and Tara Smith, announced a one week extension of the new musical DANGEROUS BEAUTY by Jeannine Dominy (book and verse), Michele Brourman (music) and Amanda McBroom (lyrics).
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It is practically impossible to get the images of Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold out of one's mind when seeing Gigi, as they, in the original film (1958) lifted the musical to a higher, more colorful level of interest. It's not that the musical isn't in some ways delightful, but it is certainly not on a par with Lerner and Loewe's triumph My Fair Lady. The stage musical came along long after the movie (1973), and this version has been scrupulously improved by director David Lee who bases the script on the 1985 West End production. All this considered, the current cast @ Reprise and director Lee are all top pros who do their best to make Gigi a pleasurable experience.
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