Thousand Oaks Interviews

When Gregory Butler walked into 8th Avenue Studios on February 10, 1997 for rehearsal, he had no idea that the next three decades of his life would be defined by the sharp jazz lines and sly sensuality of the long running revival of Chicago the Musical....

In 2013, we saw a performance of West Side Story at Calabasas High School and took note of the young actor Landen Starkman, who was playing the part of A-Rab. Three months later, we saw him again in a summer theater production of Seussical and this time, he delivered a remarkably nuanced performance...

Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations hit Broadway in 2019, earning 11 Tony nominations and one win for Sergio Trujillo’s choreography. Though it was cut short by COVID in March 2020, the show returned in May 2021 and ran until January 2022. It now lives on through its national tour...

Little Shop of Horrors, the musical version of the 1960 cult film classic, has been as indestructible as Audrey II, its ravenous man-eating, soul music-loving plant. The 1986 remake, starring Rick Moranis, was the basis for the Broadway musical, which actually got its start before the Moranis remake...

An interview with acclaimed director Richard Israel about the forthcoming 5-Star Theatricals production of 'The Sound of Music'...

We had the opportunity to talk with actor Justin Mark, who plays the oldest of Finch's children, Jem....

Kimberly Demmary is a talented playwright and actress who has had a number of plays make their debuts on Ventura County stages. Her latest is SHE, an anthology of four stories that all take place in a Victorian house in San Francisco. The story deals with four women who live there in the 1960's, 199...

Million Dollar Quartet, the show inspired by a legendary Sun Records jam session in 1956, was an unlikely hit when it made its Broadway debut in 2010. Although it was based on an actual event, the musical takes liberties with what actually went on during that memorable day in order to create a more ...

On July 30, Ingram premiered his play, Sage, a deeply personal slice of life about an old man on a park bench and the various characters that he encounters, either in passing or who come to sit beside him on the bench....

The classic 1964 musical Fiddler On the Roof arrives in Thousand Oaks on Thursday, March 9 and prior to opening we had a chat with Mary Beth Webber, who plays the part of Yente in the show. Mary Beth is jubilant and honored to join this amazing cast and crew as she makes her national tour debut. Her...

Cary Ginell's insightful new book, 'Carefully Taught' looks at 40 musicals, both on Broadway and off, that deal with events and personages in American history. A fun read, educational and highly entertaining. Shows include '1776,' 'Hamilton,' 'Shenandoah,' 'Parade,' 'Hair,' 'Assassins,' and many mor...

Willem Butler, winner of BroadwayWorld's first ever season of Next on Stage, is currently shining bright on stages across the country as Dmitry in the National Tour of Anastasia. A recent graduate from Elon University, Anastasia is Butler's touring debut! Read BroadwayWorld's interview with Willem B...

Jonalyn Saxer grew up in Oak Park dreaming of becoming a star on Broadway. After making her debut in 'Bullets Over Broadway,' Saxer has continued from one show to the next, shining with her superb dancing abilities and versatile singing and acting. This July, she returns to her home town to play the...

Guy Noland is currently in a second career as an actor and having the time of his life. During his early years, Guy found himself looking like 'a million other' young stage actors, but the 9/11 tragedy sent his career in a new direction as he became an award-winning documentary director for the Salv...

Anna Kotula reprises her one-woman show as poet Emily Dickinson in 'The Belle of Amherst,' playing from March 3 - 13 at the Elite Theatre Company in Oxnard...

Matt Faucher has a knack for playing Nicks. After performing on Broadway and on the national tour of 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,' Matt is now doing the same thing with a different Nick - the Four Seasons' Nick Massi. Cary Ginell does an exclusive interview with Matt about this unique and im...

Read a behind-the-scenes look at Broadway's master parodist, Gerard Alessandrini, who dismembers 'Hamilton' with his 2016 spoof 'Spamilton.' The show plays at the Scherr Forum in Thousand Oaks from March 1 - 6. 'I laughed my brains out!' said Lin-Manuel Miranda when he saw this show. You will too....

It's always nice when we see a show that has never been performed in Ventura County so we were looking forward to seeing 5-Star Theatricals' Something Rotten!, the 2015 sendup of Shakespeare that answers the question: 'What if Shakespeare had a rival?' As you will read in our upcoming review in The ...

Tune in right here as he chats with one of Broadway's most beloved actors, Christopher Sieber, who will perform a very special concert tonight, November 5 (7pm), as a part of the Radio Free Birdland series....

Tune in right here today, October 29 (3pm ET), as he chats with one of Broadway favorite Beth Malone. Beth will soon join Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, November 1 (8pm) and Monday, November 2 (3pm)....

Tune in right here today, October 28 (12pm ET), as he chats with Rafael Casal and Adrienne Warren, who star in one-night-only virtual Halloween benefit concert presentation of The Nightmare Before Christmas, benefitting the Actors Fund and the Lymphoma Research Foundation. ...

Tune in right here today, October 21 (12pm ET), as he chats with one of Broadway's favorite leading ladies, LaChanze. LaChanze will soon join Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, October 25 (8pm) and Monday, October 26 (3pm). ...

Tune in right here as he chats with composer John McDaniel, Javier Muñoz, George Salazar, and Joshua Colley from Stick and Stones, which premieres today, October 16, 2020, as part of National Bullying Prevention Month....

Tune in right here today, October 16 (12pm ET), as he chats with Broadway's original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday, who celebrates her 60th birthday in concert on Monday, October 19 (8pm)!...

Tune in right here today, October 15 (4:30pm ET), as he chats with Broadway beltress Keala Settle. Keala will soon Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, October 18 (8pm) and Monday, October 19 (3pm)....

Tune in right here today, October 14 (5pm ET), as he chats with Broadway couple Jenn Colella and Chilina Kennedy about Divas For Democracy: United We Slay, which streams this Sunday, October 18 (8pm). ...

Tune in right here today, October 14 (3:30pm ET), as Richard chats with Heidi Schreck and Oliver Butler, whose What the Constitution Means to Me premieres Friday on Prime Video!...

Tune in right here today, October 14 (12pm ET), as Richard chats with the wonderful Kate Rockwell. Kate who headlines a concert with Radio Free Birdland on Thursday, October 15 at 7PM ET....

Tune in right here today, October 13 (3:30pm ET), as Richard chats with New York City Ballet Principal Dancer, Tiler Peck, curates and stars in A New Stage. Available to stream starting October 16, A New Stage gives you a front-row seat to experience world-class artistry from the comfort of your hom...

Tune in right here today, October 8 (12pm ET), as he chats with Tony winner Beth Leavel who will headline concerts with Seth Rudetsky on October 11 (8pm) and 12 (3pm)....

Tune in right here today, October 7 (12pm ET), as Richard Ridge chats with Noam Ash, Mike Heslin and Jay Armstrong Johnson from the new web series, BoyFriends....

Tune in right here today, October 1 (12pm ET), as he chats with Broadway's favorite couple, Orfeh and Andy Karl, who will headline concerts with Seth Rudetsky on October 4 (8pm) and 5 (3pm)....

Director David Krassner brings a deep theatrical resume to his new role as drama director at Agoura High School, which is currently staging 'Rent,' which made its debut nearly a quarter century ago....

Theater veteran Gilles Chiasson, who performed in the original New York Theatre Workshop, Off-Broadway, and Broadway productions of 'Rent' now is in charge of the Performing Arts Education Centers at Agoura and Calabasas High Schools. We talked to him about his experiencing performing in New York wi...

An exclusive interview with Kennedy Caughell, a stunning multi-talented redhead who is currently starring as Carole King in the national touring musical, 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' in Thousand Oaks at the Fred Kavli Theatre....

'Bandstand' is a show that fell through the cracks, never sustaining the kind of buzz it deserved on Broadway. But a national tour is different from the Great White Way, and the producers of 'Bandstand,' which won a Tony Award two years ago for Best Choreography, is playing to ecstatic audiences in ...

An interview with Josey Montana McCoy (Huck Finn) and David Aron Damane (Jim), stars of Rubicon Theatre Company's current production of 'Big River.' The immersive, atmospheric production has been critically acclaimed by press and audiences alike and has been extended for an additional week, until No...

In Part 2 of our interview, Kirby & Beverly Ward talk about how they decided to stage 'Big River' in the round at the Rubicon Theatre Company. The result is a production of intimacy and atmospheric beauty....

An interview with Beverly and Kirby Ward, producers and directors of the new production of 'Big River' at the Rubicon Theatre Company....

Trent Mills is one of those versatile young actors who can do it all - a 'five-tool' player who can act, sing, dance, do drama, and comedy and do it all well. Mills is starring as Marcellus Washburn in 5-Star Theatricals' production of 'The Music Man,' which plays through Oct. 27 at the Thousand Oak...