Veteran Broadway actor Stu James (Benny in RENT, national tour of The Color Purple) will reprise the role of black entrepreneur and music mogul John Dolphin when last season's smash hit musical RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD gets an all-new production at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Previews began July 8, with the press opening was held on July 16. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!
The name of the game in show biz is never to settle for greatness, but rather to go that extra mile and make it better. Such is the case with Recorded in Hollywood. In its transferal from a smaller Hollywood space to the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the show provides a book by Matt Donnelly and Jamelle Dolphin that opens up even more than before to tell the true story of record producer John Dolphin. The story takes place from 1948 to 1958 in South Central, Los Angeles, when blacks were arrested for the slightest infractions of the law. Since I did not see the initial production, I am basing my opinions on this newer version. It is slick, a very slick show with a dynamic, triple threat ensemble headed by Stu James, directed superbly by Denise Dowse and choreographed to the max by Cassie Crump. The bad feature is that it only runs through August 7.
Veteran Broadway actor Stu James (Benny in RENT, national tour of The Color Purple) will reprise the role of black entrepreneur and music mogul John Dolphin when last season's smash hit musical Recorded in Hollywood gets an all-new production at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Previews begin July 8, with the press opening set for July 16.
