Monday, May 23, 2016
MUSICAL NEWS for Monday, May 23, 2016
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| Alison Woods as Ariel in The LIttle Mermaid. Photo credit: Bruce Bennett courtesy of Theatre Under The Stars. |
MUSICAL NEWS:
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts presents The Little Mermaid, featuring music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, book by Doug Wright, June 3 – 26. Musical direction is by Colin R. Freeman, choreography by John MacInnis and the show is directed by Glenn Casale. The cast includes Alison Woods as Ariel, Melvin Abston (Sebastian), Adam Garst (Flounder), Fred Inkley (King Triton), Eric Kunze (Prince Eric), Tracy Lore (Ursula), Jeff Skowron (Chef Louis), Jamie Torcellini (Scuttle), Scott T. Leiendecker (Flotsam), Jeffrey Christopher Todd (Jetsam), and Time Winters (Grimsby) along with Ashley Anderson, Kim Arnett, Kristine Bennett, Marjorie Failoni, Melissa Glasgow, Devon Hadsell, Michael McGurk, Amanda Minano, Dennis O’Bannon, Marco Ramos, Aaron Ronelle, James Shackelford, Brian Steven Shaw and Tro Shaw. www.lamiradatheatre.com
Musical Theatre Guild has announced its 2016-2017 season. For the last twenty years, MTG has presented a wide variety of rarely seen musicals including west coast and Los Angeles premieres from such composers as Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Maury Yeston, and Aherns and Flaherty. MTG also partners with the Los Angeles Music Center’s Education Division to expand their mission of preserving the genre of Musical Theatre by presenting in-school programming to teach a new generation about this original American art form. Season includes:
Sept 25, 2016: Promises, Promises
Nov 13, 2016: The Spitfire Grill
February 2, 2017: Hallelujah, Baby!
May 7, 2017: State Fair
Season tickets go on sale in late June and single tickets will be available in July. All performances take place at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. www.musicaltheatreguild.com
NEWS FROM THE FRINGE:
Book, lyrics, and music were conceived through improvisations and refined during writing sessions with the Robot Teammate ensemble, led by director Molly Dworsky. Musical accompaniment is by Sam Johnides and Branson NeJame plus live band members Matt Campbell, Dan Macken, and Christopher Sousa. For more about Robot Teammate, go to www.robotteammate.com.
Sugimation Productions announces the world premiere of Broadway Noir, created by Dan Sugimoto, the musical director who brought you the CAC Studios shows ChicabaRENT, Project Mayhem and the 2015 Fringe Best in Cabaret & Variety, Thenadier’s Inn #NotLesMis, Broadway Noir is an original musical comedy that reveals the black heart of show biz. Start with your detective tale. Add a few dames. A dash of comedy. A few coppers. Some good, old-fashioned drama. A little song and dance. And finally toss back a few murders for your chaser. That’s the Broadway Noir cocktail, a combination you’re going to want to taste for yourself. Performances take place at Three Clubs, June 2 – 19 (with 2 previews in Santa Monica May 26 & 31). Come dressed in your ‘40s finest! http://hff16.org/3595
A new sci-fi musical comedy The Cure to Mortality by Katy Erin will debut at the Fringe June 11 – 25 at the Asylum @ The McCadden Theater. The futuristic musical farce explores what happens to society when science takes the possibility of eternal life seriously. Erin will also star in the show, along with Molly Gilman (who directs), Sandra Diana Cantu, Mary Ann Pianka, and Brookelyn Rose. Music by Katy Erin and Christoffer Schunk. The show opens with a pay-what-you-can preview on June 5 prior to its run. Tickets: http://hff16.org/3522
Also at the Asylum @ McCadden Theatre, internationally-recognized classical pianist David Wheatley will appear in a genre-defying concert experience, A Useful Life in C Major. Wheatley’s repertoire ranges from classical favorites and original compositions to jazz, country, R&B and everything in between. The performance showcases his versatility at the keyboard as well as the range of the instrument itself. Visits from friends, surprising storytelling, and stand-up comedy make the show elevated enough for adults but friendly for the whole family. June 5 – 26. Tickets: http://hff16.org/3849
In The Charmed Life (Co-written with Mark Harvey Levine), Margie has experienced unnaturally good luck her entire life. One afternoon she discovers the source of her good luck: a secret admirer, who for years has been covertly making her life better.
In Climb the Smallest Mountain, miniature golf legend Darius “Duke” McGovern seems poised to win his seventh world championship until a competitor finds a loophole in the rules that allows him to disrupt Duke's game.
In HMS Headwind, the merry crewmembers of an 18th century British frigate have one problem: their failure to capture a single enemy vessel.
And in a brand new piece, The Escape Artist, making its world premiere, the overly confident Scotty shows us the ropes of getting out of jury duty…until he meets a stubborn judge and a potential rival. http://hff16.org/3796
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Labels: hollywood fringe festival
Monday, May 25, 2015
Fringe Spotlight Part II
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Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Fringe Spotlight: GIRAFFENSTEIN, a New Musical
From the award-winning team who brought you last year’s hit The Pokémusical, comes a new musical GIRAFFENSTEIN based on the tale of Shelley’s Frankenstein, as you’ve never seen it before. Song, dance, and danger. And they’re all giraffes.
With book & music by Alex Syiek, direction & musical staging by Joanna Syiek, and musical direction by Jennifer Lin, the story follows Dr. Richard Giraffenstein on his journey across the African savannah where he creates a Monster, who, confused and angry, attempts to find a true home for himself.
I asked Alex about the inspiration for the musical and he said, “I chose this topic because I’ve always loved giraffes and thought they were funny. I think the piece is: fantastic, because it’s extremely hilarious; timely, because we need to stop the reanimation of giraffe corpses in Africa; and fringey, because it’s fast, fun, and full of people jamming their hearts out. If you’ve ever wondered where a giraffe monster would be able to find a home, then I guess I wrote a show for you...weirdo.”
Joanna agreed adding, “I have always found the Frankenstein story to be a fascinating one, particularly with its themes of taking responsibility for what one creates. That’s something all artists must contend with every time they begin a new project. The monster in this version is a creature who is 1/2 giraffe, 1/4 rhino, and 1/4 lion. And while the premise is lighthearted at the start, the character serves as an example of the possibility inherent in creation, illustrating that without proper guidance a ‘work of genius’ can take control of its creator. It reminds us of the responsibility we have to that which we create – be it children, art, relationships – and offers stark warnings of the result of neglect.”
Did they have any challenges adapting the material? “The source text adapts frighteningly well to its new savannah setting,” according to Joanna. “The doctor’s (Giraffenstein’s) experiments with life take on a new context in our age of technological and biomedical advancements. With today’s instances of cloning and stem cell research, this tale subtly highlights the discussions surrounding how we can manifest life through scientific achievement, and asks us again to be accountable for our choices. The difference between re-imagining and meddling with life is in the hands of those creating. To be flippant with these achievements may spell out a precarious future.”
Sounds like a hilarious and thought-provoking addition to the Fringe.
The cast for Giraffenstein will include James Penca as the Doctor and Edred Utomi as the Monster, with Josh Hillinger (Ivan), Katie McDonough (Elizabeth), Seth Salsbury (Moopaseh), Caleb Mills Stewart (Walton), Katie De Shan (Adhra), Kelley Dorney (Bimbaya), Ian Klingenberg (Chiumbo), and Kelsey Schulte (Nthabi). The Female Swing is Rachel Hirshee and Male Cover is Tyler Ledon.
GIRAFFENSTEIN
June 8 - 29, 2014
Lillian Theatre, 1076 Lillian Way
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Tickets are $10 at www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1888
www.colorandlighttheatre.org
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Labels: color and light, hollywood fringe festival
Friday, December 6, 2013
Musical News Around Town for Friday, December 6, 2013
Cabrillo’s terrific cast will include Roger Befeler, Scott Dreier, Jeffrey Scott Parsons, and Kurtis Simmons. All are experienced in the world of Plaid, and their combined talents make Cabrillo’s production one for the ages. In addition, original “Plaid,” Larry Raben, returns to Cabrillo to direct and Alby Potts returns as musical director. Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com. For more info go to www.cabrillomusictheatre.com.
TELEVISION: Six By Sondheim, the final film in HBO’s Fall Documentary Series will debut on Monday, December 9th (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT). Directed by Tony Award-winner and frequent Steven Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, Six By Sondheim is a highly personal profile of a great American artist as revealed through the creation and performance of six of his iconic songs. Told primarily in Sondheim’s own words, this feature documentary weaves together dozens of interviews with the composer, rarely seen archival material spanning more than half a century (including newly discovered footage of Ethel Merman performing Gypsy) and re-stagings of three songs produced especially for the film.
Showcase performances by Broadway and Hollywood stars such as Audra McDonald (Porgy and Bess), Darren Criss (Glee), Jeremy Jordan (Newsies) and America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) are interspersed with archival performances of Sondheim standards by stars like Bernadette Peters, Mandy Patinkin, Dean Jones, Yvonne de Carlo and Larry Kert. Additional HBO playdates: Dec. 9 (5:25 am), 12 (9:30 am & 6:30 pm), 15 (11:45 am), 17 (12:30 am), 20 (10:45 am) and 28 (2:00 pm).
FRINGE NEWS: Registration for the 5th annual Hollywood Fringe Festival begins February 1, 2014. Other important dates include:
April 1: Registration deadline for guide inclusion
June 5 – 10: Fringe Previews
June 11: Fringe Opening Night Gala
June 12 – 29: 5th Annual Hollywood Fringe Festival
June 29: Fringe Award Ceremony & Closing Night Party
The organization needs volunteers and interns throughout the year and you can learn more HERE. A venue meeting will also be held on Saturday, December 7 at 5pm in the Asylum Lab (at Theatre Asylum), 1078 Lillian Way.
Performers include Joan Almedilla, Michael Arden, Sharon Catherine Blanks and Billy Blanks, Jr., Yvette Cason, LaVance Colley, Loretta Devine, Danny Gurwin, Cliffton Hall and Deedee Magno Hall, Sam Harris, Dawnn Lewis, Andy Mientus, Nicole Parker, Jennifer Paz and Anthony Federov, Valerie Perri, Kelli Provart, Joan Ryan, Gwen Stewart, Lea Thompson, and Nita Whitaker. The benefit will be directed by Jeffrey Polk with Abdul HamidRoyal, Todd Schroeder, Gerald Sternbach, and John Gentry Tennyson serving as musical directors. Tickets: www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org or (626) 356-7529.
A Little New Music presents its final event of 2013 at Rockwell: Table & Stage on Tuesday, December 10. The fast-paced one hour program will showcase some of the best new or unheard musical theater songs by Doug Katsaros & Amanda Yesnowitz (Somewhere in Time) Joe Iconis (Smash, The Black Suits), Adam Gwon, Zoe Sarnak, Thomson & Mann, Gregory Nabours, Blaskie & Weston, Sam Wilmott, Milburn & Vigoda, Mark Allen, Rachel J. Peters, B.T. Ryback & Brian Pugach, Drew Fornarola, and Michael Finke.
Performers include Walter O’Neil, Nicci Claspell, Michael A. Shepperd, Coby Getzug, William Martinez, Anne Schroeder, James Lynch, Charissa Hogeland, Ryan McCartan, Jessica Reiner-Harris, Adam Silver, Kelsey Hainlen, Matt Merchant, Kelly Lester, Jason Peter Kennedy, and Segun Oluwadele. Jordan Kai Burnett hosts, with musical director Bryan Blaskie on keys. Doors open at 6:30pm and showtime is at 8:00pm. Tickets and info: www.alittlenewmusic.org
Ryan Black’s 88’s extends Hollywood Holidays at Don’t Tell Mama L.A. on December 11. Seats may be reserved with a dinner reservation by calling (323) 380-7209, or you can reserve online HERE. Open mic after the show. For more information go to www.facebook.com/RyanBlacks88s.
The Grove Theatre presents Great Joy – A Christmas Celebration on Sunday, December 22 at 6 pm. The staged concert will feature heart-warming traditional and unique Christmas Songs complemented by inspiring readings and dramatic moments that will brighten your holiday. Under the leadership of Brian and Jeni Stivale, the cast will transport you on a musical journey in a family-friendly celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and the great joy that this season brings to all. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors and $15 for children and students. For more information call (909) 920-4343.
AUDITIONS: Kentwood Players will hold open auditions for Fiddler on the Roof featuring book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jerry Bock, and music by Sheldon Harnick on Saturday, January 11, 2014 from 11am-5pm (please arrive no later than 3pm) and on Sunday, January 12, 2014 from 6-10pm (please arrive no later than 8pm). Callbacks will be held on Monday, January 13 from 7-10pm. Auditions and performances take place at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. For complete details and a breakdown of characters go to www.kentwoodplayers.org.
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Labels: a little new music, cabrillo music theatre, HBO, hollywood fringe festival, kentwood players, pasadena playhouse, ryan black, the grove theatre, upright cabaret
Monday, May 13, 2013
Hollywood Fringe Spotlight - Part I: Exorcistic and The Road To High Street
Participation in the Hollywood Fringe is entirely open and uncensored. This free-for-all approach underlines the festival’s mission to be a platform for artists without the barrier of a curative body. By opening the gates to anyone with a vision, the festival is able to exhibit the most diverse and cutting-edge points-of-view the world has to offer. First up are Michael Shaw Fisher and Exorcistic: The Rock Musical Parody Experiment, and Andrew Potter with The Road to High Street.
EXORCISTIC: THE ROCK MUSICAL PARODY EXPERIMENT
June 6 (PREVIEW), 8, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 27, 29
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| Michael Shaw Fisher |
Michael Shaw Fisher, the creator of last year’s Fringe hit Doomsday Cabaret, returns this year with a new 80-minute musical parody called Exorcistic: The Rock Musical Parody Experiment, and even the story of how the musical came to be is a riot. Check out what Fisher says about it and what you’ll see when you come to the Fringe.
“I envisioned this exorcist rock musical back in 2011 beginning with the image of a possessed profane lounge singer/possessed girl. I wrote a bunch of music and wanted to mount the show in 2012 but there was another Exorcistic themed show happening at the Geffen which was a serious play based on William Peter Blatty’s book. Even though I’m small fry compared to the Geffen they still wanted me to wait to do the musical parody. The writer of the original book and film, William Peter Blatty contacted the fringe personally about it and explained that if I was to do it next year then that would be probably be okay, so instead I wrote Doomsday Cabaret very quickly and put Exorcistic on hold.” [And we all know how successful Best of the Fringe Doomsday turned out to be.]
Flash forward to 2013. Fisher emails Blatty to let him know that he is intending to do the parody musical and a surprising thing happens. Fisher says, “In the email I gave him links to reviews of Doomsday and he responded with the exciting idea that we might possibly collaborate on a musical together based on one of his other novels “Demons Five Exorcists Nothing”. To be clear, Exorcistic is NOT a collaboration with Blatty, but it has given me this great opportunity to develop some new musical ideas for a possible future project with him, and that is great! As far as Exorcistic goes, he eventually read the script, advised me to change the character names, and gave it his blessing for the Fringe.”
The creative team is a familiar one; Ken Sawyer takes on the producer/horror expert role and Pat Towne, who directed the musical play Joe’s Garage based on Frank Zappa’s rock opera, will direct. Michael Teoli, who did arrangements and musical direction for Doomsday Cabaret, is back in the same capacity on Exorcistic. Fisher also has a great cast lined up that includes Jesse Merlin (Re-Animator the Musical, Silence! the Musical), Curt Bonnem and Jimmy Swan (both from Lovelace) and Laura Sperrazza, lead singer of the band the Glombies.
Does it have anything in common with parody musicals like Re-Animator or Silence!? According to Fisher, “This show is very different from a straight parody like Silence! and it also isn’t a direct adaptation like Re-Animator. Exorcistic is a bit like Noises Off where we meet a highbrow, pretentious theatre company going broke that hopes to capitalize on the 40th anniversary of The Exorcist in order to survive. They decide to do a rock musical experiment where they can do both parody and deconstruct the political and social relevance of its thematic layers. We watch the show go from being a staged reading to the Hollywood fringe, to becoming a huge hit – all while the company is summoning dark forces they don’t understand.
It’s a really fun ride and gives fans of the movie lots of things to refer to within a satirical theater world of bickering actors, bitter stage managers and snooty directors. It is my hope that audiences will appreciate the wacky levels of reality mirroring art in this meta-theater-piece, rock out to the 4-piece rock band and astounding vocal talent, and enjoy the creative incorporation of the pop-cultural iconography of ‘the scariest movie of all time’ into this hilarious rock parody. Above all, our show is a tribute and a celebration. Personally I think a show like this was meant to start at a Fringe Festival just like Silence! began at the New York fringe. It gives us the opportunity to attempt some really far out things and test our own boundaries and goals.”
Performances take place at the Fringe Mainstage, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. Tickets are $12. Click Here for tickets and more information about the show.
THE ROAD TO HIGH STREET
June 7, 14, 23, 28, 30
When Andrew Potter brought The Road To High Street to last year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival he was doing more than just putting on a show about busking. He was sharing his own life’s story in a very unique way. Well, the busker’s digital rock and roll story told through music and multi-media was a hit, and he’s back again this year with more so if you missed it in 2012, you’ll get a second chance this summer.
I asked him to tell us about the show and what makes it so special, and here’s what he had to say. “The show covers a very exciting period of my life, when I was a street performer and juggler based in San Francisco, in a two person act called The High Street Circus. Not many people realize this about street performing, but we did thousands of shows over a ten year period, in front of crowds of hundreds and hundreds of people. We made a lot of money in our hat, won some big International competitions, and made enough contacts to perform all over the country, including Italy, Canada, and Japan.”
During that time, Potter says he accumulated a lot of archival material – videos, photographs, articles, and of course, the stories. After receiving an MA from Emerson College, he edited all of the material into tightly choreographed videos and images sequences that would augment his storytelling, then added music on his guitar to accompany the story and digital elements. Audiences will see the imagery projected on a large screen, next to Potter during the show.
Why will it appeal to Fringe-goers? “It’s all true, and it’s unique,” he laughs. “I have a story called ‘Living in a beer tank’, about our first very odd home, right after we moved to San Francisco. The story is bizarre enough, but the imagery is almost unbelievable, yet...there it is. Other stories about performing in Japan and Italy are equally wild, plus I have stories about many of the other wild and crazy performers we worked with over the years. Against this backdrop, I add the notion of what it is like to have such an unconventional career.”
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Labels: hollywood fringe festival
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Doomsday Cabaret and the End of the World at the Fringe
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| Photo credit: Elle Garcia Photography |
Michael Shaw Fisher's show uses a cabaret/emcee format, as the title suggests, with the singers backed by a terrific Doomsday Band (Jonathan Hurley on guitar, Gene Ketcherside on bass guitar, Jose Perez on percussion, and at this performance, Richard Levinson on keyboards). They are easily the show's highlight and the main reason I recommend checking out Doomsday. The way they rock out on Fisher's songs (with additional music, arrangements, and musical direction by Michael Teoli) is particularly satisfying.
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| Sarah Chaney and David Haverty |
Vocally it’s an uneven effort with standout performances by NoHo Arsonist Kurt Billic (David Haverty), who rocks a lyric like John Fogarty from Creedence Clearwater Revival on “If You Love Me Light Your Car On Fire,” and uptight, religious Lorraine Dugan (Sarah Chaney), who belts out a strong Aretha Franklin vocal with plenty of attitude on the 60’s Gospel flavored, “Don’t Do Me Wrong.” J. Todd Howell, who plays her husband Nathan, also does nice work singing lead on their 50’s doo-wop duet, “Bible Code Gospel Hour.”
Acting choices generally play out at surface level though a stronger story line would give the ensemble greater purpose. As it stands, the book can best be described in the form of a jeopardy answer, 'what is, the surreal ideas people cling to when the world's about to end?'
The Lounge Theatre's intimate space makes it conducive to a fair amount of audience participation. The singers are already speaking to the audience from their individual soapboxes as if they were part of the San Bernardino Community Center crowd and I’d like to see them take it even further. When they go out into the house they have the opportunity to really connect with individual audience members rather than simply using the time to provide variety in director Chris Raymond’s staging.
Doomsday Cabaret is at its finest when the band is rocking hard and the erroneous beliefs of its odd characters are exposed in the unforgiving glare of the spotlight. When the final countdown begins it will surprise you to see who, or what, has the last laugh.
Click Here for tickets, showtimes and more info. Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA.
Doomsday Cabaret
Book, music & lyrics: Michael Shaw Fisher
Additional music, arrangement, music direction: Michael Teoli
Directed by: Chris Raymond
Cast: Chairman Barnes (Jerry Cox), Michael Shaw Fisher (Eddy Suddick), Mark Bemesderfer (The Messenger), Jake Regal (Gale Reed), J. Todd Howell (Nathan Dugan), Sarah Chaney (Lorraine Dugan), David Haverty (Kurt Billic), Lauren Andrea Nelsen (Lady Vavoom), Sarah Kay (Deedra Witwit "Bee Girl").
Light design: Matthew Richter
Choreography: David Haverty
Assistant musical director: Tim Butterworth
Board operator/house manager: Ben Birmingham
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Labels: hollywood fringe festival
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Musical Focus on the Fringe - Part Three
June 15, 2012
On June 15th, audiences will get a look at Genetic Eddy in its first staged reading at the Fringe. The contemporary rock musical is about a small town, an American family, and the fall and rebirth of the automobile industry. In it, a teenaged rocker confronts his feelings of rebellion and loyalty in the face of parental opposition while following his dream. Throw in some quirky science and other comical elements and you have a quirky tale in the vein of Little Shop of Horrors, Grease and Urinetown.
John and Mary Amorosia came up with the story and the original script outline with John also writing music and lyrics. He is an accomplished pianist, studio musician, vocal director and composer who has played and recorded in a wide variety of venues, from Carnegie Recital Hall to CBGB's. John is Past Faculty with the California Conservatory of the Arts and currently at OCHSA. Mary Amorosia is Divisional Head Emeritus of Individual Voice at AMDA in Los Angeles and on the Faculty of OCHSA, Guest Faculty at UCLA, Past Faculty at the California Conservatory of the Arts, and a Private Vocal Instructor and Coach.
Joining them for additional work on the book is James Bontempo. James made his Broadway debut in the Goodspeed Opera House production of Going Up before moving onto productions such as West Side Story with Patrick Swayze and eventually a two year run in A Chorus Line for Michael Bennett. Tickets are $5. Complex Theatres, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA. Click Here for tickets.
June 15, 22 & 23, 2012
For Janey, every relationship seems to end before it begins. Was it her first kiss, or was it the book her Mom made her read explaining how her body works? Or maybe there is no time for a relationship with the impending zombie apocalypse. She may never know. Katie Molinaro and Shawn Northrip team up with an all Grrl rock band that will properly melt your face.
Here’s how the show came about. Katie had been working professionally in Washington DC for the past six years and was getting cast as the ingénue in a lot of plays (mostly Shakespeare). Even though she was working, she felt that she wasn’t getting to show everything she could do.
She says, “One day, my boyfriend at the time said something that really sparked a fire in me, which was ‘I'm surprised there are so many great female actors in DC. I've always thought generally men are better actors than women.’ Aww,so cute. He was being a jerk without even realizing that I would retaliate and write a show about it.”
So she wrote a kickass script showcasing what she says she does best… be weird. Then she asked her good friend, Shawn Northrip, to write the music and lyrics. “I fell in love with Shawn's work when I performed in his show, Lunch: The Musical back in 2006. I wanted some grrrl punk Broadway rock mixed with Tenacious D flair and boy, did Shawn deliver! We were in the same room writing together for a week and I was like, ‘let's do this show next year’ and Shawn was like, ‘no, let's do it in July!’”
“That's what fringe is all about! Working with people you love and coming up with some stellar work with a minimal budget in a short amount of time. It's fringe-y! It's fun! It seems impossible! On the Rag to Riches is 55 minutes of power driven grrrl rock with an all-girl band and a hilarious story about a girl named Janey fabricated from my life. Well, mostly fabricated...the zombie stuff is real. We were awarded best solo performance at the 2011 Capital Fringe Festival, so that counts for something, right? LA is totally ready for this full throttle fringe show!”
Tickets are $10. i.O. West, 6366 Hollywood Blvd., Click Here for tickets.
June 10, 15 & 20, 2012
Cabaret Versatile’s Carpe Noctem (“Seize the Night”) is set to premiere at the Underground Theatre as part of the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival. In an intimate evening of authentic French Cabaret, the personalities of five Parisian Cabaret dancers unfold to the sensual music of Max Raabe, Juliette Greco, Enoch Light and more. Starring Mademoiselles Blasé, Clumsy, Klepto, Blue Eyes and Nympho (aka Alyssa Furhman, Annie Gaia, Charlotte Henry, Julianne Kusmierczyk and Lola OhLaLa) and Mr Beto Ruiz.
Dancer/Choreographer Lola OhLaLa trained in classical and modern dance at St Vincent School, Orleans and in dramatic arts at the Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique d’Orleans. Over the last ten years she has danced and choreographed shows in France for Cabaret Parad’isiaque, Cabaret Stefano Forever and Cabaret Le Royal Music Hall Palace in Bourges, Paris, Saran and St Tropez. Carpe Noctem is the first show she has written for the Los Angeles public.
Tickets $10. Underground Theatre 1314 North Wilton Place, Hollywood, CA 90028. Click Here for tickets.
June 8, 15 & 22, 2012
Robert and the Magic Mirror will introduce Angeleno audiences to the “Adventure-Comedy” theater genre with the live show Robert and the Magic Mirror: Deep Space, NEIN!, which mixes the playful antics of Pee-wee’s Playhouse with the adventure elements of Indiana Jones. The 50-minute, fun-filled journey to outer space will answer, “What happens when an all-powerful Magic Mirror falls into the hands of a total idiot?”
In this first episode of the theatrical adventure series, you’ll meet the charming-but-clueless Robert and his all-knowing, self-absorbed Magic Mirror as the duo blasts off on a free space voyage, courtesy of Virgin CEO and billionaire Sir Richard Branson. While Robert “bros out” on Branson’s souped-up spaceship, the Magic Mirror befriends a like-minded super computer. Both believe they’ve found an intergalactic paradise until the reality of being stuck with an eccentric billionaire and an arrogant super computer becomes painfully clear.
From the forests of Alaska to save a pan-flute-playing Sasquatch to the Trans-Siberian Railway to solve an international whodunit, writer/performers Matt Moore and Robert Boesel fill Robert and the Magic Mirror with lively expeditions into the unknown. Each live episode follows the titular heroes as they meet a myriad of colorful, magical, and flat-out weird characters, predominately portrayed by the quick-changing Moore and Boesel.
The show also features original music and lyrics written and performed by the comedy duo with genres ranging anywhere from gospel to dubstep to disco. Deep Space, NEIN! will feature original music arranged and produced by Jeffrey Kirchner of Tip Top Studios with live accompaniment from Benji Vander Broek and members of bands CityCity and Nicky Davey.
Matt Moore and Robert Boesel’s credits include HBO’s Funny or Die Presents, Wizards of Waverly Place, iCarly, Funny or Die – Exclusives, ManCamp improv, iO West’s TopStory! Weekly, and DipDive. Live performances include UCB Theatre, iO West theatre, The Comedy Store, and Laugh Factory.
Tickets are $10. ArtWorks Theatre - Annex Stage, 6567 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038. Click Here for tickets or call (323) 455-4585.
Showgirls & Jurassic Park
June 14 & 21, 2012
These two fast and furious romps, feature original songs and choreography, singing, dancing dinosaurs and showgirls. Plus, you get two shows for the price of one; who could ask for anything more?!
Creator/director Brooke Seguin and producer Tom DeTrinis have joined forces to bring 30 Minute Musicals to the Fringe. Seguin writes the original score for the shows with music director Rich Ramberg, who is also executive director of Lost Moon Radio, voted 2011's "Best of comedy" at Fringe. Their first piece, Showgirls, debuted in July 2011, and Jurassic Park will debut this year at the Fringe.
Seguin says the idea for 30 Minute Musicals came from a desire to take a movie and make it better through song and dance. “It both celebrates and pokes fun at film with those musical theatre conventions we all know and love. As intense fans of musicals, comedy, and film, we felt there was nothing better than mashing them all together in one 30 minute thrill ride. Showgirls, in particular, is just one of those movies that makes you say ‘they really made that movie?!’ It definitely deserves a little ribbing! And, what better way to address the ridiculousness of Showgirls than with even more ridiculous singing and dancing!? It's pure guilty pleasure."
"Of course, there are great films out there, like Jurassic Park, that we've chosen to ‘musicalize’ as well. That type of movie is a lot harder to condense into 30 minutes; there are so many iconic moments and lines of dialogue. It's a challenge, but it's so rewarding to celebrate a film like that with some singing and dancing dinosaurs. It's complete and total fun. With that show, we wanted to take the story we all know and love and give the audience a little glimpse at what motivates those dinosaurs. In a way, our version is their side of the story too!”
"I think Fringe-goers will really dig the shows because they’re quite bold," she adds. "Showgirls is definitely in-your-face, ‘can't believe they did that’ action. And, Jurassic Park is non-stop adventure. Fringe-goers will appreciate the edgy comedy and original score (with a couple of already famous melodies). And musical theatre fans, in particular, will get a kick out of those recognizable musical theatre references! For instance, a ballet HAS to make an appearance at some point, right!? And, hey, it's only 30 Minutes, what's not to love?! Plus, we have an amazing cast that includes Tom Lenk, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, and several other veterans of TV and musical theatre!”
Tickets are $15. Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA. Click Here for tickets.
June 15 – 24, 2012
From DC in ’90 back to Salt Lake City in ’83 to Honolulu in ’87 to Right Here and Right Now, this journey back-and-forth through the mind and times of a Mormon-raised Hawaiian agnostic explores regions of the universe and soul that might make you question your sanity. In this one-man show from and starring writer-director Chad Kukahiko, Chad uses song, story, comedy, music and a whole lot of truth to present his “Being & Nothingness” – twenty years in the making.
Back in January 1994 Kukahiko and Laurelann Porter were students at the Theatre Conservatory within BU’s School of Fine Arts (now known as the College of Fine Arts), but now in 2012, they are Creative Directors of superfreako productions. What’s interesting about this reunion is that the same two people went through a nearly identical series of events in Boston, Massachusetts nearly twenty years ago.
Though the goals, ambitions and team of the show haven’t changed in twenty years, Kukahiko and Porter themselves have grown, experienced and accomplished so much that it’s become a different piece entirely. In the years since Chad has performed in over fifty different plays including two years on the road as one of the original American tour members of STOMP. However embarking on a career as a writer/director seven years ago, marked by the founding of superfreako productions with his brother and longtime girlfriend, Chad has performed only about half a dozen times.
So why did he return to performing now? “I just couldn’t get this show out of my head,” is his response. “When we did it back in school, it was way too ambitious. I mean, it’s still a bit too ambitious, but now we have the tools to at least take a stab at it.” The show, which Kukahiko calls his ‘Being and Nothingness’ culminates in an event during the summer for ’89 which Kukahiko says “changed everything,” but he uses far more than just story-telling to deliver Leprechauns & Lies. There’s music, dancing, multi-media, audience participation and even hints of stand-up comedy.
Porter is now a writer, director, performer, producer and doctoral candidate of Theatre wrapping up her dissertation at Arizona State University. Of this collaborative reunion with Kukahiko, she’s perhaps more contemplative. “Working on Trash in ’94 was such a joyful experience,” she says. “We had no fears and just did what we thought felt right. Coming back to the next incarnation has been like revisiting an old friend. It’s great to see the story grow up and grapple with issues that hit at a deeper core level, but perhaps the story hasn’t grown up and gotten deeper. Perhaps we have.”
Tickets are $6.00. Theatre Asylum Lab, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. The show runs 70 minutes and has no intermission. Click Here for tickets.
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Labels: hollywood fringe festival