Tracy Lore News

What a remarkable age this is! The five-time Tony Award-winning 'TitanicThe Musical' sets sail for the Moonlight Amphitheatre from Aug. 17, 2016 to Sept. 3, 2016 at 8 p.m. The production made port on the Broadway stage in March 1997 and won five Tony Awards that same year, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Scenic Design and Best Orchestrations. The musical 'Titanic' is a factual story, a far cry from James Cameron's film, that examines the causes, conditions and characters involved in this ever-fascinating drama, and honors the lives lost on the fateful journey. Tickets are $10 to $55 and general lawn admission is $8 to $20 and includes a lawn chair provided at entry. To purchase tickets or for more information, call 760-724-2110 or visit moonlightstage.com.

Besides the Hollywood Bowl's all-star concert event, THE LITTLE MERMAID also made a splash at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. This visually-gorgeous, fully-staged new production of the film's Broadway stage adaptation---produced locally by McCoy Rigby Entertainment with new staging and direction by Glenn Casale---continues in the city of La Mirada through June 26.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT presents the fifth and final show of its 2015-2016 season, THE LITTLE MERMAID, music by Alan Menkcn, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, book by Doug Wright, musical direction by Colin R. Freeman, choreography by John MacInnis and directed by Glenn Casale.  THE LITTLE MERMAID will run through Sunday, June 26, 2016 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.   BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the opening night curtain call and press celebration below!

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT invite you to journey "Under The Sea" as it presents the fifth and final show of its 2015-2016 season, THE LITTLE MERMAID, music by Alan Menkcn, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, book by Doug Wright, musical direction by Colin R. Freeman, choreography by John MacInnis and directed by Glenn Casale. 

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will conclude their 20th Anniversary Season with the classic Broadway musical THE PAJAMA GAME.  The one-night-only concert will take place at Glendale's historic Alex Theatre on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 7:00 PM.

Dive on in with the dazzling cast of Dallas Summer Musicals' production of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID! The fun-filled, timeless tale will play at the Music Hall at Fair Park March 11-27, 2016, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals. This colorful production will make its Fort Worth debut at Bass Performance Hall March 29 - April 3, 2016, presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth.

Although I don't remember seeing the film of THE LITTLE MERMAID in theatres, I do recall being five years old when the VHS tape was released. Watching on the 12-inch screen in my grandmother's guest room, I'd sing as I played, rewound and replayed the tape for hours on end. The fact that I'd have to wait for years to play my dream role onstage was then unimaginable. Later, when the Broadway production opened in 2007, not only had I not grown into a mezzo-soprano mermaid, but I'd also begun a different job with Disney Theatricals as a manager in their New Amsterdam Theatre. Despite sitting in on several meetings about Disney's plans to renovate the Lunt-Fontane Theatre for Ariel and her friends, I somehow never found myself "under the sea" during the show's brief run. This weekend's performance by Dallas Summer Musicals definitely showed me what I'd missed!

Dive on in with the dazzling cast of Dallas Summer Musicals' production of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID! The fun-filled, timeless tale will play at the Music Hall at Fair Park March 11-27, 2016, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals. This colorful production will make its Fort Worth debut at Bass Performance Hall March 29 - April 3, 2016, presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth.

'Tale as old as time' nails the complex simplicity of Beauty and the Beast the quintessential story of true love, the most difficult to obtain and sustain.  Disney's adaptation of the fairy tale with its sweepingly imaginative spectacle won over even the hardest of hearts. The animated film was such a tremendous hit in 1991 that it was adapted for the stage in 1994 with new songs by Tim Rice added to the Academy Award-winning movie score by deceased Howard Ashman. It ran worldwide until 2007 and proves undoubtedly that fairy tales retain a popularity that never dies... and that the story  translates beautifully to the stage with vibrant actors recreating all the animated figures.. This new production by 3-D Theatricals of Beauty and the Beast, which closed Sunday at the Redondo Performing Arts Center, was every bit as joyful and elegant as the original. I cannot say enough about T. J. Dawson's fabulous direction and casting and Mela Hoyt-Heydon's spectacular costumes that were built completely from scratch by 3-D Theatricals.

Tale as old as time, true as it can be. Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the smash hit Broadway musical, opened at the Los Angeles Ovation Award- winning 3-D Theatricals Co. of Orange County, CA. Performances will be presented at both Fullerton's historic Plummer Auditorium, Feb 5 - 21; and the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center February 26 - 28, 2016. Official "press" openings in Fullerton and Redondo Beach will be Saturday, February 6 and Saturday, February 27 respectively. The production is directed by 3DT Executive Producer and Artistic Director T.J. Dawson, with Choreography by Billy Sprague, Jr. Julie Lamoureux serves as Musical Director and Conductor.  Check out the photos from opening night below!

Dive on in with the dazzling cast of Dallas Summer Musicals' production of Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID! The fun-filled, timeless tale will play at the Music Hall at Fair Park March 11-27, 2016, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals. This colorful production will make its Fort Worth debut at Bass Performance Hall March 29 - April 3, 2016, presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth.

Leave it to the creative folks over at 3-D Theatricals, Orange County's award-winning Broadway-caliber theatrical company, to be the entity responsible for this splendid new regional production of DISNEY's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST---the 1994 stage adaptation of the studio's gorgeous Academy Award-winning 1991 animated film that features music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. 3DT's rather complex mounting---directed by 3-DT co-founder and artistic director TJ Dawson---is a marvelously-enchanting reboot, even despite the myriad of unfortunate opening night technical gaffes and (almost) forgotten/missed lines of dialogue that occasionally interrupted some of the wonderment. Of course, surely the kinks will be ironed out for the remainder of its scheduled run at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton through February 21 (which will then transfer for a weekend of shows at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center from February 26-28).

There are undoubtedly other productions worthy of merit in 2015 which I did not cover. This list is based only on what I saw and reviewed. (alphabetical listings; Equity, Equity-waiver & Non-Equity productions are mixed) (artists performing outside LA may be included in performance categories) No set, costume, or technical awards. I leave that to the bigger awards and to the expertise of those who really know those fields inside out.

What do the 1950s have in common with 1912? Ages of innocence, both. When Meredith Willson wrote his story with Franklin Lacey about a con artist bamboozling an Iowa town in 1912, which formed the substance of his musical The Music Man (1957), the effect became like that of N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker. People were jubilant, ecstatic and welcomed Professor Harold Hill, as they craved a good old-fashioned love story coated with ironic excitement. He was a charmer, and they saw way past his bad side. Now in a spirited new production at Moonlight Amphitheatre, Vista , the company pulls out all the stops and yet presents a delightfully down.to.earth show that keeps the flavor of Meredith Willson in tact. With fast-paced direction from John Vaughn and a splendid cast led by David Engel as Hill , The Music Man offers an unrealistic yet refreshing look at the way life should be.

Moonlight Stage Productions presents 'The Music Man,' a classic that is as American as apple pie. The show follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boy's band that he will lead. The catch is he doesn't know the difference between a trombone and a treble clef! Before he can skip town, the town librarian steals Hill's heart and transforms him into a respectable citizen. 'The Music Man' is family entertainment at its very best. Scroll down for a first look at the cast onstage!

 Moonlight Stage Productions presents "The Music Man," a classic that is as American as apple pie. The show follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boy's band that he will lead. The catch is he doesn't know the difference between a trombone and a treble clef! Before he can skip town, the town librarian steals Hill's heart and transforms him into a respectable citizen. "The Music Man" is family entertainment at its very best. "The Music Man" runs July 15 through August 1, 2015 under the stars at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, Calif. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single tickets are priced $24 to $52. To purchase tickets or for more information, call (760) 724-2110 or visit http://www.moonlightstage.com.

Moonlight Stage Productions presents 'The Music Man,' a classic that is as American as apple pie. The show follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boy's band that he will lead. The catch is he doesn't know the difference between a trombone and a treble clef! Before he can skip town, the town librarian steals Hill's heart and transforms him into a respectable citizen. 'The Music Man' is family entertainment at its very best. 'The Music Man' runs July 15 through August 1, 2015 under the stars at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, Calif. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single tickets are priced $24 to $52. To purchase tickets or for more information, call(760) 724-2110 or visit http://www.moonlightstage.com.

Moonlight Stage Productions presents the San Diego Professional Premiere of "All Shook Up," a hysterical musical comedy about a guitar-playing, hip-swiveling roustabout who rides into a sleepy town in 1955 determined to help everyone discover the magic and romance of rock and roll. Check out BroadwayWorld's pics from the curtain call below!

Moonlight Stage Productions presents the San Diego Professional Premiere of 'All Shook Up,' a hysterical new musical comedy about a guitar-playing, hip-swiveling roustabout who rides into a sleepy town in 1955 determined to help everyone discover the magic and romance of rock and roll.

3D Theatricals (3DT), recipient of the 2015 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's Joel Hirschhorn Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre during 2014, beckons all patrons of the arts to buckle up and hold on for a rip-roaring journey back into time by way of the acclaimed Broadway musical SIDE SHOW, based on the true life story of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. Side Show has been set for ten performances - exclusively at historic Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, CA, running April 25 - May 10. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night curtain call and festivities below!