Sunday, October 27, 2019
Photo Flash: La Mirada Theatre's MATILDA, THE MUSICAL
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| The Company of Matilda the Musical. All photos by Jason Niedle |
From the genius of Roald Dahl comes the Tony Award-winning Matilda, the Musical by Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly, the story of an extraordinary girl who - armed with a vivid imagination, a sharp mind and a love for books - dares to take a stand against the tyranny of adults who seek to crush her imagination. Packed with high-energy dance numbers, catchy songs and featuring a gifted young actress, Matilda is a joyous girl-power romp! Get your tickets now at www.lamiradatheatre.com.
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| Constance Jewell Lopez and Audrey Cymone and the company |
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| The company of Matilda, the Musical |
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| Erica Hanrahan (center) and the company |
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| Michael A. Shepperd and Nicole Santiago |
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| Audrey Cymone (center) and the company |
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| Nicole Santiago (left) and Michael A. Shepperd (right) with the company |
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| Danil Chernyy, Nicole Santiago and Erica Hanrahan |
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| The company of Matilda, the Musical |
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| Erik Hall, Josh Adamson, Erica Hanrahan and Audrey Cymone |
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Labels: la mirada theatre
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Photo Flash: GRUMPY OLD MEN: THE MUSICAL at La Mirada Theatre
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| L-R: Gregory North (Max), Ken Page (Chuck), Hal Linden (Grandpa Gustafson), and Mark Jacoby (John). All photos by Jason Niedle |
Grumpy Old Men: The Musical starring Hal Linden, Cathy Rigby, Ken Page, and Mark Jacoby is now playing at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts! Get your tickets now for performances through October 13th at LaMiradatheatre.com!
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| Leslie Stevens (Ariel) and the cast |
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| Cathy Rigby as Punky Barrels |
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| Hal Linden and Mark Jacoby |
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| L-R: Fatima El-Bashir, Leslie Stevens, Cathy Rigby, Ken Page, and Heather Jane Rolff |
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| Peter Allen Vogt (with sign) and the cast |
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| Neil Starkenberg, April Nixon (Sandra) and John Battagliesen |
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| Hal Linden |
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| Leslie Stevens and Ken Page |
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Labels: la mirada theatre
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
More Musical News to Make Your Week Better!
Check out the latest in Musical News and mark your calendars now!
Hold on to your hats, folks, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment are opening a brand-new musical this weekend based on the beloved 1993 film by Mark Steven Johnson and it looks like it’s going to be terrific. Matt Lenz directs Hal Linden who plays Grandpa Gustafson, Cathy Rigby as Punky Barrels, and Ken Page as Chuck Barrels in this west coast premiere by Dan Remmes (book), Neil Berg (music), Nick Meglin (lyrics), with additional orchestrations by Phil Reno, choreography by Michele Lynch, and musical direction by Benet Braun. Max (Gregory North) and John (Mark Jacoby) have been feuding for more than 50 years over the silliest things but when the beautiful Ariel (Leslie Stevens) moves in across the street their rivalry reaches epic proportions. This story of family, friendship, love, and romance is sure to win your heart. Audience Talk-Backs with the cast will take place on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9. Show runs Sept. 20 – Oct. 13. LaMiradaTheatre.com
The Colony Theatre’s It’s Showtime! series will feature The Lion King’s Tonoccus McClain and special guests Jonathan Byram, Katherine Eames, and Destiny Lofton in a self-reflecting musical journey through the influences of musical theatre, jazz, pop, gospel, and other surprises this month. The piece is written by McClain and Alex Dueben and will run for four performances Sept. 26 – 29. The series also includes Talking To Myself with James Arnold Taylor, Oct. 10 – 13 and Chico’s Angels: Chicas in Space, Nov. 21 – 24. For more information visit www.colonytheatre.org.
Morgan-Wixson Theatre opens its season with The Drowsy Chaperone on Sept. 21. Kristie Mattsson directs and the show features music direction by Daniel Koh and choreography by Niko Montelibano. This sparkling musical comedy charmed audiences when it debuted on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards including Best Book (Bob Martin and Don McKellar) and Best Original Score (Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison). Morgan-Wixson’s cast features Deonté Allen, Jake Asaro, Mirai Booth-Ong, Chris Clonts, Devin Dimitri Dominguez, AnnaLisa Erickson, Michael Heimos, Estaban Hurtado, Daniel Koh, Janet Krajeski, Aric Martin, Audrey Pennington, Serenity Robb, Krystyna Rodriguez, Richard R. Rosales, Jenáe Denise Thompson, Christopher Tiernan, Holly Weber, and Steve Weber. Audience talk-backs will follow the performances on Sept. 27 and Oct. 6. Show runs through Oct. 13. www.morgan-wixson.org [Pictured: Holly Weber as Janet. Photo by Niko Montelibano]
Also on Sept. 21st, the new musical comedy Life in Boobs debuts at Second City Hollywood. The show is conceived by Jennifer Goodman and highlights the true trials and tribulations of boobs everywhere, with original songs, comedic vignettes and dramatic monologues, books & lyrics by Casey Christensen, and music by celebrity vocal coach Rachael Lawrence. Cast members include Sherry Cola, Brooke Eyler, Naomi Murden, Sara Montgomery, Leslie Rubino, and Kyla Page Williams along with Christensen and Goodman. A portion of the show’s ticket sales will go to Susan G. Komen Los Angeles. Performances are at 10pm, Sept. 21 – Dec. 14. SecondCity.com/LifeinBoobs
Storybook Theatre’s version of Beatrix Potter’s classic tale hops into Theatre West beginning Oct. 5. With book and lyrics by Anthony Grupposo, who also directs, music by Matt Dahan, and choreography by Mark Michello, it’s a musical adventure for the whole family. Cast includes Alex Mashikian, Ashley Fox Linton, Kathy Garrick, Saratoga Ballantine, Will Collyer, and David P. Johnson. Come do “The Bunny Hop” and sing along with Peter and the rest of the audience in this adaptation created specifically to appeal to children. Special accommodations can be made for birthday parties and school field trips by calling (818) 761-2203. This is Storybook Theatre’s 35th consecutive season providing wholesome family entertainment and many children’s first experience with theatre. We think that’s a very good thing. TheatreWest.org
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Labels: colony theatre, la mirada theatre, morgan-wixson, second city hollywood, theatre west
Monday, April 30, 2018
Review: Romance and Racism are Testy Bedfellows in SOUTH PACIFIC
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| Stephanie Renee Wall and John Cudia. Photo by Michael Lamont |
Glenn Casale directs this Rodgers & Hammerstein gem dealing with romance and racism in the South Pacific during World War II. The score is classic R&H, a musician’s dream list of gorgeous melodies and keen lyrics performed with tremendous sensitivity by its intelligent cast and a sterling14-piece orchestra led by musical director Brent Crayon.
As the tropical breezes blow, two sets of lovers wrestle with what it means to follow your heart despite a lifetime of learning to hate anyone who is different. It is an issue that makes South Pacific as relevant today as when it was first written. In fact, Rodgers and Hammerstein specifically adapted James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Tales of the South Pacific to highlight racial injustice so that audiences would be forced to confront their own behavior. At the time, it was a pretty bold limb to go out on, and it is still as necessary to tell this story now as it was then. I guarantee it will shock you at least once in the course of its nearly three hour tale.
Stephanie Renee Wall is Navy nurse Nellie Forbush, who falls in love with a Frenchman escaping his past (John Cudia as Emile de Becque) but bolts when she learns he has children by a native woman. Matt Rosell is Lt. Joe Cable, a blue blood Ivy leaguer who gives his heart to a Tonkinese girl (Hajin Cho as Liat) until he realizes he can never take her home to meet his family.
In each case, their worlds begin far apart but, like any cathartic experience, they increasingly intrude upon each other until opinions change and growth happens. Their stories are bittersweet and show the best and the worst of humanity.
The company does six performances a week and at the matinee I attended performances were technically spot-on but didn’t connect emotionally as they could have. My sense was that the cast was tired since it was the last performance of the week. South Pacific has an effervescence to it that moves in partnership with its heavier undertones and that was missing on Sunday.
Cudia and Rosell’s voices are bright, rich, and beautifully resonant but their acting is stiff. The former sounds like he is continually making a speech to someone across the room and the latter could use a shot of personality. Wall is a likable awkward young woman who brightens the stage whenever she arrives, making it all the more shattering when her bigoted behavior is revealed.
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| Stephanie Renee Wall and Jeff Skowron, Photo by Michael Lamont |
Jodi Kimura’s experience with the role of Bloody Mary (she’s played it many times before) makes her a standout in this production. Her ballsy demeanor covers a mother’s desperate desire to provide a better life for her daughter and you can see it in her watery eyes. Jeff Skowron’s Luther Billis is less comic relief and more wry wheeler-dealer but his “Honey Bun” with Wall is an all-out winner. A rousing bunch of male chorus members add immediate energy with Peggy Hickey’s boisterous choreography when they arrive for “There is Nothing Like a Dame.”
SOUTH PACIFIC
April 20 – May 13, 2018
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
14900 La Mirada Blvd. La Mirada, CA 90638
Tickets: (562) 944-9801 or www.lamiradatheatre.com
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| Matt Rosell and Jodi Kimura. Photo by Michael Lamont |
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| John Cudia, Araceli Prasarttongosoth, Lucas Jaye and Stephanie Wall Photo by Austin Bauman |
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Labels: la mirada theatre
Sunday, March 18, 2018
MUSICAL NEWS - Mark Your Calendars Now
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| Hamburg Company of Love Never Dies. Photo courtesy of Brinkhoff/Moegenburg |
Love Never Dies – Hollywood Pantages Theatre
April 3 – 22, 2018
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera begins its North American Tour at the Hollywood Pantages next month. This new production reflects changes made since the Australian premiere in 2011 and is directed by Simon Phillips (Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical). The year is 1907, ten years after the Phantom escaped from the Paris Opera House and made a new life for himself among the screaming joy rides and freak shows of Coney Island. With Christine’s marriage to Raoul on the rocks, the Phantom seizes one last opportunity to win back her love with an invitation to perform at a New York Opera House. www.hollywoodpantages.com
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| L-R: Playwright David Henry Hwang, Conrad Ricamora, Billy Bustamante, Jon Hoche, Kendyl Ito, and Francis Jue |
Soft Power – Ahmanson Theatre
May 3 – June 10, 2018
Center Theatre Group has announced the cast for its upcoming world premiere of Soft Power by David Henry Hwang (play and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music and additional lyrics) produced in association with East West Players. Leigh Silverman directs, choreography is by Sam Pinkleton and musical direction is by David O. The title comes from China’s current quest for international cultural influence, known as “Soft Power” and tells the story of a visiting Chinese executive who falls in love with a good-hearted U.S. leader following the 2016 election. The cast includes Billy Bustamante, Jon Hoche, Kendyl Ito, Francis Jue, Austin Ku, Raymond J. Lee, Alyse Alan Louis, Jaygee Macapugay, Daniel May, Paul HeeSang Miller, Kristen Faith Oei, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Geena Quintos, Conrad Ricamora, Trevor Salter and Emily Stillings. www.centertheatregroup.org
April 27 – May 20, 2018
Yvette Cason stars in Blues in the Night, conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps, a production he originally staged in a small Off-Broadway theater in the early 1980s and at Donmar Warehouse in London. Now Epps returns to bring the soul of the blues back to life in The Wallis’ Lovelace Theatre. Joining Cason are Bryce Charles, Paulette Ivory, and Chester Gregory in 26 hot and torchy numbers by the likes of musical icons Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and Harold Arlen that fuel the story of three women and the men who have done them wrong. You know it’s the blues so the night is sure to sizzle. www.thewallis.org
April 20 – May 13, 2018
Glenn Casale will direct Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts this April. John Cudia stars as French plantation owner Emile De Becque and Stephanie Wall as Navy nurse Nellie Forbush in this classic musical theatre masterpiece dealing with romance and racism in the South Pacific during wartime. Musical direction is by Brent Crayon and choreography by Peggy Hickey. The cast also includes Jeff Skowron (Luther), Jodi Kimura (Bloody Mary), Matt Rosell (Lt. Cable), and Hajin Cho (Liat). Prior to its run in La Mirada, it will play four performances at The Soraya in Northridge, April 13 - 15. Tickets: www.lamiradatheatre.com and valleyperformingartscenter.org/SP
April 20 – 27, 2018
5-Star Theatricals in Thousand Oaks presents The Hunchback of Notre Dame (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Peter Parnell), starring managing director Will North in the title role, at the Kavli Theatre. This gorgeous musical is based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel and the Disney film of the same name, and contains some of Menken’s most beautiful music The cast also includes Cassandra Murphy as Esmeralda, Justin Michael Wilcox as Clopin, Gregory North as Frollo, and Adam Hollick as Phoebus. Musical direction is by Dan Redfeld, choreography by Michelle Elkin, and Misti B. Wills directs. A signed performance for the deaf and hard-of-hearing will take place on Saturday, April 21 at 2pm, followed by a post-show discussion with the cast and staff. 5startheatricals.com
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Labels: 5-star theatricals, ahmanson, center theatre group, la mirada theatre, pantages, the wallis
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Review: A Volatile and Dangerous CABARET Invades La Mirada
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| Jeff Skowron as the Emcee (center) and the company of Cabaret. All photos by Jason Niedle |
Even if all they do is take the expected route, most productions of Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret are effective. Emphasize the sex and decadence rampant in Berlin during the end of the Weimar era as Hitler was coming into power and the show predictably succeeds in driving home its point – that distractions like the Kit Kat Klub helped people ignore what was happening politically until it was too late.
But that isn’t this Cabaret.
Everything about director Larry Carpenter’s blistering production of Cabaret is volatile in a way you’ve not seen before. An androgynous Emcee in face paint and a dress is familiar, but a tough guy Emcee in combat boots and a dress literally stalking the audience with every pounding step? That’s original. In this world, a knee through a chair isn’t just a choreographic move but a simulated sex act; a kick line isn’t beautiful but vicious; and a children’s song sung by a puppet isn’t innocent it’s horrific, rousing infantile listeners to almost demonic proportions.
No, a smiling musical theatre song and dance show, it isn’t. And because of that, this Cabaret is a bombshell – rough, harsh, enticing, and never more than one beat away from abject terror. It’s a musical for today’s populace who, like the Germans refusing to acknowledge their world was changing in the worst way possible, are seeing a political climate that looks eerily familiar to the 1930s. It’s a musical for people who don’t like musicals because it has something powerful to say and it says it loudly by awakening the rebellious streak in all of us. Yes, art can imitate life and, in doing so, call attention to issues we cannot and must not forget. There is no way you’ll miss the point of Cabaret.
Based on Charles Isherwood’s semi-autobiographical novel, Goodbye to Berlin, and its later stage adaptation by John Van Druten, I Am a Camera, it recounts Isherwood’s own experiences living in Berlin in the 1930s and the characters he meets there. Bert Convy played the writer in the original 1966 Broadway production, and the 1972 film version of the story starred a 30-year-old Michael York. The film also made Liza Minelli a star for her portrayal of nightclub singer Sally Bowles, and Joel Gray appeared as the Emcee both in the film and on Broadway, (in the original 1966 production and the 1987 revival).
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| Jeff Skowron and company |
For McCoy Rigby, it is Jeff Skowron who anchors Cabaret as the Emcee. Well-known to Southern California audiences as an actor who digs deep for his roles, he is virtually unrecognizable, turning in a career-high performance that is unlike anyone you’ve seen do the role before, both in look and in attack. Dressed in an array of dual gender costume pieces (by David Kay Mickelsen) that fly in the face of anything close to convention, he represents more than simply the embodiment of all things sexual. There is a tangible sense of danger whenever he is on stage.
Carpenter uses that danger to the show’s advantage. Cabaret has two kinds of scenes – those that take place inside the illusory world of the Kit Kat Klub and those that happen outside in the real world (like the train station, Cliff’s apartment, Fräulein Schneider’s boarding house, and Herr Schultz’s fruit shop). For Carpenter’s staging, even the real life scenes occur within the metaphorical reaches of the club.
Scenic designer John Iacovelli creates a stunning optical illusion with a series of geometric frames set askew. Carpenter stages his club personnel to watch the real life scenes silently from the periphery, as if to say, in Germany, someone is always watching. This active observation has a chilling effect as we see them encroach more and more on the characters until everything reaches the tipping point. Josh Bessom’s sound design further emphasizes the change as air raid sirens and other loud intrusions become more frequent.
Skowron moves in and out of both worlds, playing several additional small but critical roles at turning points in the story. In the club he is bold and unfettered; in the real world contained and almost deadly still. The driving intensity in his performance reaches an emotional pinnacle in Act II’s “I Don’t Care Much,” which becomes not just a torch song but something more, a bitter acknowledgement of the reality beneath the illusion. There is a storm brewing in his tortured voice and, alone on stage under a single spotlight, the moment is electric (lighting by Steven Young).
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| Zarah Mahler as Sally Bowles |
Zarah Mahler also attacks the role of Sally Bowles. Rather than the default ‘little girl lost in search of the next party’ you often see, she plays a more interesting side of her personality – that of a survivor, aware of the danger around her but sidestepping it as best she can. She’s still damaged but what is so unique about her performance is the way she expresses Sally’s pent-up rage in the only place she can – on stage when she’s performing. The progression of her frustration gives her an arc the character doesn’t usually have and a dynamic presence that leaves a lasting impression.
Even Fräulein Schneider (Kelly Lester) and Fräulein Kost (Erica Hanrahan-Ball), roles that can be throwaways in lesser hands, are infused with depth and insight. They are also women who have found a way to survive in a man’s world (a growing Nazi world) like Sally, but the cost is great. For Schneider, it means giving up her last chance at love with a kindly Jewish grocer (Jack Laufer) and for Kost, selling herself and selling out in order to scrape by.
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| Jack Laufer and Kelly Lester |
Lester, a trained soprano, surprises by using her lower register to evoke a powerful range of emotions. Hanrahan-Ball is calculated, brittle, and the bullet the rest of the characters don’t see coming. Christian Pedersen (Cliff Bradshaw) learns that lesson the hard way.
Musically, it’s a hot show, thanks in part to the way musical director & conductor David O propels it forward with his band. They’re set upstage behind a curtain that flies up when they play and every time they appear, they come out guns blazing.
The score is a feisty mix of jazz and blues, warped vaudeville, and more traditional sounding musical theatre songs presented within the frame of German cabaret. Its sound was rougher than its French predecessor, smoky and low with a strong satirical bent in the material. This cast has the style down pat.
There is moment in the score when the instrumental unravels into a kind of cacophony that can best be described as a musical scream. When a musical director can make an image like that come to life as a reflection of what the characters are going through, you know you’re watching someone who understands how to use music as a powerful tool. It’s an art, people, and not everyone can do it. Few realize how important a musical director is to a production. This is an example of one of the finest.
Over and over again, Cabaret continues its grinding assault on your senses. Choreographer Dana Solimando fills her dance numbers with brash, overtly sensual, and sneakily comic moves. Her instincts are whip-smart, grounded, and her dancers execute every single one with unwavering precision.
CABARET
January 19 – February 11, 2018
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
14900 La Mirada Blvd.
La Mirada, CA 90638
LaMiradatheatre.com
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| Jeff Skowron, Zarah Miller and company |
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| Jeff Skowron and Kit Kat Klub dancers |
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| Zarah Mahler (center) and dancers |
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| The company of Cabaret |
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Labels: la mirada theatre
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
MUSICAL NEWS: Get Your Year Started Right with these Marvelous Musicals!
2018 is going to be a great year for musicals in Southern California so mark your calendars now and I’ll see you at the theater!
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| Isabelle McCalla and Adam Jacobs in Aladdin. Photo by Deen van Meer |
Aladdin – Hollywood Pantages
Jan 10 – March 31, 2018
The Hollywood Pantages Theatre begins 2018 with Disney’s Aladdin, a big, bright musical for the whole family starring original Broadway cast members Adam Jacobs as Aladdin and Michael James Scott as the Genie. Get ready to take a magical carpet ride into an exotic world of daring adventure, classic comedy and timeless romance in this new production featuring a full score, including the five cherished songs from the Academy Award-winning soundtrack and more, written especially for the stage. Hollywoodpantages.com/aladdin
Cabaret – La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
Jan 19 – Feb 11, 2018
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts opens its 40th anniversary season with Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret, directed by Larry Carpenter. Starring Jeff Skowron as The Emcee, Zarah Mahler as Sally Bowles, and Christian Pedersen as Clifford Bradshaw, and featuring musical direction by David O and choreography by Dana Solimando, its story is more relevant today than ever before. The seedy glamour of the Kit Kat Club with its bawdy Emcee provide an unsettling but fitting backdrop to the tale of the hard-living entertainer Sally Bowles in the decadent nightlife of Germany in the early thirties. LaMiradaTheatre.com/cabaret
Candide – LA Opera
Jan 27 – Feb 18, 2018
Kelsey Grammer and Christine Ebersole star in Leonard Bernstein’s funny, satirical whirlwind tour of human folly and foolishness. Brimming with youthful innocence, Candide is certain he lives in the best of all possible worlds. But an unrelenting series of ridiculously unfortunate events makes him question everything he has been taught. Kelsey Grammer takes on the delightful double role of satirical author Voltaire and optimistic philosopher Pangloss, with two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole in the riotous role of the Old Lady. Bernstein’s brilliant score features some of musical theater’s greatest hits, from its exuberant overture, to the show-stopping “Glitter and Be Gay.” More info: www.laopera.org
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| The Hypocrites’ Pirates Of Penzance at Arizona Repertory Theatre courtesy of The Hypocrites |
Pirates of Penzance – Pasadena Playhouse
Jan 23 – Feb 18, 2018
Pasadena Playhouse turns its theater into a wacky beach party for Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, as reimagined by the Chicago theatre hooligans, The Hypocrites. For the first time in its history, the Playhouse will be completely transformed into a new configuration. All of the orchestra seats will be removed, and in their place there will be a deck, making the entire orchestra level of the theatre a playing area with actors and audience sharing the space promenade style. Expect flying beach balls, rubber duckies, ukuleles, banjos, plastic swimming pools, and even a tiki bar, for a night you won’t forget as Frederic, an orphan mistakenly apprenticed to an ineffectual but raucous band of pirates, disavows the pirates’ way of life and falls for the beautiful Mabel. Adapted and directed by Sean Graney, co-adapted by Kevin O’Donnell, and featuring music direction by Andra Velis Simon. www.pasadenaplayhouse.org
Million Dollar Quartet – 3-D Theatricals
Feb 9 –18 (Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center)
Feb 23 – March 4 (Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts)
David Lober directs the 3DT production which goes back to when Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll” who launched the careers of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley, brought the four superstars together at the Sun Records studio for the first and only time, in what became known as one of the greatest jam sessions in rock ‘n’ roll history. Starring Cole as Elvis Presley, John Countryman as Jerry Lee Lewis, David Elkins as Johnny Cash, and Michael Monroe Goodman as Carl Perkins, this one is sure to get the house rockin’. 3dtheatricals.org/milliondollar
Allegiance – East West Players
Feb 21 – April 1, 2018
George Takei will be joined by Broadway cast members Elena Wang (Kei Kimura), Greg Watanabe (Mike Masaoka), Scott Watanabe (Tatsuo Kimura), and Janelle Dote (Hanako) for the LA premiere of Allegiance, produced by East West Players and Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. The production is directed by Snehal Desai with musical direction by Marc Macalintal and choreography by Rumi Oyama and performances will take place at JACCC’s Aratani Theatre. With gorgeous music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and a book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione, Allegiance tells the story of the Kimura family, whose lives are upended when they and 120,000 other Japanese Americans are forced to leave their homes following the events of Pearl Harbor. This is definitely a don’t-miss production. EastWestPlayers.org
Feb 2 – 25, 2018
Chromolume Theatre’s first production of 2018 will be Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flhery’s Dessa Rose. James Esposito directs and the show will feature musical direction by Daniel Yokomizo and choreography by Michael Marchak. Dessa Rose is the story of a young black runaway slave (Shauntee Tabb) and a white abandoned mother (Abby Carlson) and their journey to acceptance in the antebellum South as they tell their story to their grandchildren. www.crtheatre.com
Feb 21 – March 11, 2018
This two-hander by Paul Gordon and John Caird transforms Jean Webster’s novel into a charming and poignant musical that tells the story of Jerusha Abbott, an 18 year old young woman who has grown up at the John Grier Home for orphans. When a trustee of the home reads one of her essays and sees promise in her writing, he offers to send her to college to continue her education. His only requirements are that she must write him monthly letters, even though he will not write her back, and that she will never know his identity. Jerusha’s heartwarming journey to independence, education and romance is a journey every woman can understand. If you’re looking for the secret of happiness, you just may find it in this lovely musical. ICTLongbeach.org
Feb 2 – March 4, 2018
Set in the Deep South during the early days of the civil rights movement, this powerful musical by Jeanine Tesori tells the touching story of a young woman accidentally scarred on the face as a child. Hoping that a TV evangelist can cure her, Violet sets out on a long bus ride from her sleepy North Carolina town through Memphis to Oklahoma. Along the way, she meets two young soldiers who teach her about love, courage and the true meaning of beauty. Use online code “POKER” for 20% off tickets. Discount expires February 1st. Good for any performance before February 19, except opening. ChanceTheater.com
Feb 11, 2018
Up next for Musical Theatre Guild is High Society, the 1956 musical film adaption of Philip Barry’s sparkling stage play The Philadelphia Story, which starred Grace Kelly, Bring Crosby and Frank Sinatra. The plot centers on pretentious socialite, Tracy Samantha Lord, who is planning to wed an equally pretentious executive when her ex-husband arrives to disrupt all her plans. AlexTheatre.org/highsociety
Feb 18 & 20, 2018
An original musical comedy by Manny Hagopian, this 50 minute show is the little known story of Amelia Earhart. For 50 years, Earhart has been known as only an unexplained mystery, but she was, and is, much more than that - especially today. Earhart delivers the story of a proud, kickass girl, who set out to change the world and to prove once and for all that she is more than an f-ing mystery. www.Rockwell-LA.com
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Labels: 3D Theatricals, chance theater, chromolume theatre, east west players, hollywood pantages, international city theatre, la mirada theatre, la opera, musical theatre guild, pasadena playhouse