lee Melville News

Portland Center Stage at The Armory debuts its new Northwest Stories series with Jeanne Sakata's Hold These Truths, a play inspired by the life of civil rights hero Gordon Hirabayashi, a Seattle native who was posthumously awarded the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hold These Truths opens in the Ellyn Bye Studio on October 7, with previews beginning October 1 and performances running through November 13. Hold These Truths will be directed by Jessica Kubzansky, who directed the world premiere at East West Players in Los Angeles. Actor Ryun Yu, who originated the role of Hirabayashi at East West Players, will once again play the role in Portland.

Fresh off a successful international tour, actress Lisa Wolpe - hailed for her dynamic, gender-bending turns as some of Shakespeare's most popular characters - has announced she will bring her groundbreaking, one-woman show Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender to HERE for 16 performances, July 16th through August 14th. The show will play in repertory with Macbeth3, Wolpe's celebrated three-actor adaptation of the Scottish play, in which she plays the title role, Nick Salamone plays Lady Macbeth and Satan, and Mary Hodges plays Duncan, the Porter, Banquo, and MacDuff.

LA STAGE Alliance will relaunch its arts journalism program on June 1, 2015, it was announced today. Funding for the program has been provided by Bill Bordy, founder of the former Los Angeles theatrical publication Drama-Logue, in honor of three late members of the LA theatre community -- Lee Melville, Polly Warfield, and Lars Hansen.

Playwrights' Arena with Artistic Director Jon Lawrence Rivera, the only theatre dedicated to discovering, nurturing and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is celebrating its 22st Anniversary with their annual fund-raiser presenting HOT NIGHT IN THE CITY : an evening of songs by local composers and lyricists tonight, April 8, 2014, at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre atop Batnsdall Art Park in Hollywood. The special performance, which benefits the programs of Playwrights' Arena, celebrates the works of Los Angeles' most adventurous resident composers and lyricists writing for the theater today and honors Andrea Cockrum (community leader), Henry Ong (playwright)) and Lisa Wolpe (actor/director and artist director of LA Women's Shakespeare Company) with the *Lee Melville Award for their outstanding contribution to the Los Angeles theatre community.

Playwrights' Arena with Artistic Director Jon Lawrence Rivera, the only theatre dedicated to discovering, nurturing and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is celebrating its 22st Anniversary with their annual fund-raiser presenting HOT NIGHT IN THE CITY : an evening of songs by local composers and lyricists on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre atop Batnsdall Art Park in Hollywood. The special performance, which benefits the programs of Playwrights' Arena, celebrates the works of Los Angeles' most adventurous resident composers and lyricists writing for the theater today and honors Andrea Cockrum (community leader), Henry Ong (playwright)) and Lisa Wolpe (actor/director and artist director of LA Women's Shakespeare Company) with the *Lee Melville Award for their outstanding contribution to the Los Angeles theatre community.

The 2012 Season continues at the Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend with the arrival ofThe Melville Boys, Norm Foster's poignant comedy about two brothers and the events that occur during their weekend getaway to the cottage. This highly relatable play entertains audiences now through August 11th.

Join Huron Country Playhouse for a weekend of laughs with a light-hearted comedy by Canada's preeminent comic playwright. Norm Foster's The Melville Boys plays eight shows a week for two weeks only from tonight, August 1st though August 11th in Grand Bend.

Join Huron Country Playhouse for a weekend of laughs with a light-hearted comedy by Canada's preeminent comic playwright. Norm Foster's The Melville Boys plays eight shows a week for two weeks only from August 1st though August 11th in Grand Bend.

The songbook of Grammy Award winners David Hidalgo sand Louie Perez of Los Lobos drives Evangeline, the Queen of Make-Believe, a multimedia play with music by Theresa Chavez, Louie Perez and Rose Portillo that takes its title from the group's 1985 rocker "Evangeline." Chavez and Portillo co-direct the world premiere production for About Productions, opening at the Bootleg Theater tonight, May 12 for a limited, three-week engagement through May 27. Low-priced previews take place May 3-11.

Playwrights' Arena with Artistic Director Jon Lawrence Rivera, the only theatre dedicated to discovering, nurturing and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is celebrating its 20th Anniversary with their annual fund-raiser presenting HOT NIGHT IN THE CITY: an evening of songs by local composers and lyricists tonight, May 8, 2012, at the Los Angeles Theatre Center -- our home in historic downtown Los Angeles. The special performance, which benefits the programs of Playwrights' Arena, celebrates the works of Los Angeles' most adventurous resident composers and lyricists writing for the theater today and honors Theresa Chavez & Rose Portillo (Artistic Director and Associate Director of About Productions) and Velina Hasu Houston (Playwright) with the *Lee Melville Award for their outstanding contribution to the Los Angeles theater community.

Playwrights' Arena with Artistic Director Jon Lawrence Rivera, the only theatre dedicated to discovering, nurturing and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is celebrating its 20th Anniversary with their annual fund-raiser presenting HOT NIGHT IN THE CITY: an evening of songs by local composers and lyricists on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, at the Los Angeles Theatre Center -- our home in historic downtown Los Angeles. The special performance, which benefits the programs of Playwrights' Arena, celebrates the works of Los Angeles' most adventurous resident composers and lyricists writing for the theater today and honors Theresa Chavez & Rose Portillo (Artistic Director and Associate Director of About Productions) and Velina Hasu Houston (Playwright) with the *Lee Melville Award for their outstanding contribution to the Los Angeles theater community.

The songbook of Grammy Award winners David Hidalgo sand Louie Perez of Los Lobos drives Evangeline, the Queen of Make-Believe, a multimedia play with music by Theresa Chavez, Louie Perez and Rose Portillo that takes its title from the group's 1985 rocker "Evangeline." Chavez and Portillo co-direct the world premiere production for About Productions, opening at the Bootleg Theater on May 12 for a limited, three-week engagement through May 27. Low-priced previews take place May 3-11.

Musical Theatre West presents the professional regional premiere of THE WEDDING SINGER at the beautiful 1,070-seat Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. THE WEDDING SINGER runs through July 24, 2011.

The LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center on January 17, 2011 in Thousand Oaks, California.

LA Stage Alliance has announced the launch of LA STAGE Times, LASA's new website for Southern California performing arts coverage, featuring an exclusive interview with Gordon Davidson by Steve Julian, new columns by veteran LA Times and Variety critics Don Shirley and Julio Martinez, new managing editor Deborah Behrens, plus an exciting new interactive design that incorporates social marketing elements, weekly e-mail blasts, expanded production listings and the O! 'Ovation recommended' show promotion.

Editors Dany Margolies (Backstage Magazine) and Lee Melville (L.A. Stage Blog), join West Coast Ensemble Artistic Director Les Hanson for a discussion/wrap-up of the live theater scene during the year 2009, on KPFK's Arts in Review.

Editors Dany Margolies (Backstage Magazine) and Lee Melville (L.A. Stage Blog), join West Coast Ensemble Artistic Director Les Hanson for a discussion/wrap-up of the live theater scene during the year 2009, on KPFK's Arts in Review.

The national tour of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot, starring Michael York as King Arthur, Rachel York as Guenevere and James Barbour as Lancelot, recently began at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, CA, where it runs from January 12th through 28th