Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Actors Co-op Opens Season with The 1940's Radio Hour
Meet the stars of the "Mutual Manhattan Variety Calvalcade" as they take you on a delightful and nostalgic journey to the Big Band era and the days of live radio broadcasting. Tunes such as "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Kalamazoo" weave through the adventures and misadventures of the radio show's cast and crew.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM. An additional Saturday matinee is scheduled for October 8 at 2:30 PM. The 1940's Radio Hour will play the Crossley theatre September 23 – November 13, 2011. Click Here to purchase tickets online, or call 323-462-8460 x 300.
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Labels: actors co-op
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Actors Co-op's THE 1940'S RADIO HOUR
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| Nathan Bell, Kimi Walker, Michael Downing, and Jeffrey Scott Parsons. Photos by Lindsay Schnebly |
Actors Co-op has opened its 20th season with a tried and true musical that previously had the distinction of being its longest-running show ever, The 1940’s Radio Hour. It’s not hard to see why either, for it contains some of the best songs written during the Big Band era, and its message of hope, patriotism and sacrifice is one that still rings true today. Filled with standards like “Our Love is Here to Stay,” “I’ll Never Smile Again,” “Blues in the Night,” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” it easily takes you back to the time when radio was king, rationing was the norm, and people rallied together to help each other get by.
It’s December 21, 1942 and radio station WOV and the Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade are getting ready for their holiday broadcast live from the Hotel Astor’s Algonquin Room. Everything is a flurry of activity as the station personnel begin to arrive welcomed by Pops (Gary Ballard), the old timer who works the door and serves up laughs as a bookie on the side. General Manager Clifton Feddington (Steve Gustafson), with his perennial ulcer, is crazed as usual, and stage manager Lou Cohn (Gus Corrado) is whipping everyone into place.
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| Gary Ballard, Gus Corrado and Ben Ryan |
The “everyone” includes Cavalcade family members like Ann Collier (Catherine Gray), the show’s hometown heart & soul, a down to earth gal with a velvety smooth voice, and Johnny Cantone (Jeff Guilfoyle at this performance), her handsome leading man who tends to drink too much to cover his frustrations. There’s also ditzy Ginger Brooks (Gina D’Acciaro), boy-next-door B.J. Gibson (Michael Dye at this performance) and his very peppy sweetheart Connie Miller (Tawny Mertes), comedian Neal Tilden (Brian Habicht), gutsy torch singer Geneva Lee Browne (Kimi Walker), Stanley the sound booth operator (Thomas Chavira), trumpet player Biff Baker (Nathan Bell) who is about to go into the Armed Forces, and young delivery boy Wally Ferguson (Ben Ryan), who would love to get his very first break in the biz.
There is great affection among the bunch and the details we learn about the characters, both from the action onstage as well as in the Variety Cavalcade “program,” make it an even more personal experience. It starts from the moment you walk into the theatre with Mark Svastics’ terrific set design, Paula Higgins’ costumes, and Krys Fehervari’s hair and make-up, all a visual delight. Pops is already in place and the action slowly winds its way from background atmosphere to show time as you watch. The effect is friendly and inviting, and director Nan McNamara keeps the energetic pace up throughout the show without making it chaotic or overwhelming.
Gray and Walker score big in the vocal department; Gray with “Old Black Magic” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and Walker in “Rose of the Rio Grande” and “I Got It Bad,” and the company also captures the distinct sound of the 40’s with its choral blend on numbers like “Kalamazoo” and “Ain’t She Sweet.” Veteran actors Ballard, Gustafson and Corrado give self-assured performances that provide humor (Corrado is also the foley artist) and heart as only good character men can, and Ballard has one of the most poignant moments at the end of the show that gets me every time.
Linda Kerns (Zootie) musical directs and also leads the onstage big band orchestra. The fun choreography, complete with tap dancing, sparklers and the American flag, is by Julie Hall.
The 1940’s Radio Hour runs through November 13, 2011 in the Actors Co-op’s Crossley Theatre in Hollywood. Click Here for tickets and information.
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Labels: actors co-op
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities 2010 Season
Tickets are on sale now for Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities 2010 season. Shows will include Bark! The Musical (Feb 10 – 28, 2010), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (April 21 – May 9, 2010), Beehive, The 1960’s Girl Group Musical (Sept 15 – Oct 3, 2010) and 1940’s Radio Hour (Dec 1 – 19, 2010).
Still to come this season are Oklahoma, which runs September 16 – October 4, and Seussical The Musical, December 2 – 20. All performances are presented at the 1425-seat Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd. in Redondo Beach.
For more information visit their website at http://www.civiclightopera.com/.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Actors Co-op Announces 20th Anniversary Season
Actor’s Co-op announces its 20th anniversary season, which will begin with the The 1940’s Radio Hour by Walton Jones September 23 - November 13, 2011. The season will also feature two new musicals and a Christmas special that are part of its Co-op Too! Productions. These are free to 2011-2012 subscribers and are second stage productions with the purpose of developing new works.
Co-op Too! will include:
Miss Vulcan
Book by Marian Partee, Lyrics by Noelle Donfeld, Music by Jan Powell
June 23 -July 3, 2011
The Devil and Daisy Jane
Music and Lyrics by Lisa Marinacci, Book by Lisa Marinacci and Jeremy Lewit
August 4 - August 14, 2011
Part of the Los Angeles Festival of New American Musicals
The Freddy Wyatt Christmas Spectacular
from an original idea by Stephen Van Dorn
Also on the 2011-2012 season are the following plays:
To Kill A Mockingbird
Adapted by Christopher Sergel from the novel by Harper Lee
October 14 - November 20, 2011
Yours, Isabel
An American Premiere by Christy Hall
February 3 - March 11, 2012
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
by Eugene O’Neill
March 16 - April 29, 2012
The Learned Ladies
By Molière, Translation by Richard Wilbur
May 11 - June 17, 2012
And completing the Co-op Too! Series is:
Days of Wine & Roses
Adapted for the stage by J.P. Miller
July 14 - July 24, 2011
Season tickets are available at http://www.actorsco-op.org/ or by calling 323-462-8460 x 300.
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Labels: actors co-op
Friday, July 13, 2012
More Musical Happenings Around Town
State of the Arts Moves to Thursdays
The weekly, critically acclaimed radio series State of the Arts, co-hosted by Michael Sterling and Paul Stroili, will move to a new day and time beginning Thursday, July 19 at 1:00 pm with guests Christopher Sieber (currently co-starring with George Hamilton in La Cage Aux Folles at the Pantages Theatre) and Film and Television star Esai Morales (La Bamba, NYPD Blue). Presented by Breakdown Services and sponsored (in part) by Performing Arts Live.com, State of the Arts is broadcast live each week by the LA Talk Radio.com Network. For more information visit www.latalkradio.com or www.msapr.net.The Coco & Ruby Variety Hour
Courtney Freed and Rebecca Johnson will star in The Coco & Ruby Variety Hour, a dazzling trip down memory lane and a peek into the hilarious and wacky lives of two ginger dames who mysteriously fell out of their humdrum lives in 1940’s Newark, New Jersey and into modern day Hollywood to live the dream! These two characters from the hit web series, “Coco & Ruby,” written by Rachel Roderman and directed by Steve Brian, will shuffle-ball-change right out of your computer screen on July 27-28 to bring you a LIVE show full of old-school comedy and musicianship reminiscent of Lucille Ball and Betty Hutton. The Coco & Ruby Variety Hour will include many of your favorite WWII era standards, as well as vintage takes on contemporary pop songs.
Featuring the piano styling of Matt Schwartz and special guests - actor/comedian Tony Rodriguez, crooners Adam Tunney and Mark Arthur Miller, and Tony Award Winner Daisy Eagan. Click Here for tickets ($20), plus a $10 food minimum. . Dinner reservations recommended, call 323-856-0036. Discount ticket codes are available through the Coco & Ruby Facebook Page. M Bar Hollywood, 1253 Vine St., next door to El Floridita on the southwest corner of Fountain and Vine. www.cocoandruby.com
Miscast: Right Singer, Wrong Song
Whether these iconic songs are performed by someone with the wrong skill set, gender, race, or age, they will all be hilariously... MISCAST! Proceeds go to "Project Angel Food" whose mission is to bring nourishment to those living with AIDS, cancer or other life threatening diseases. MISCAST will feature Mandy Kaplan, Todd Sherry, Julianne Grossman, John Paul Karliak, Will Collyer, Scotty Pierce, Erin Torpey, Patrick Gomez, Netta Most and Brent Crayon on piano. New location at The Mint. Doors open at 7pm. Show starts at 7:30pm on the dot! Drinks and food after. http://themintla.com/index.cfm Click Here for more information.LOLPERA Gives One Final West Coast Performance
After selling out all of its performances in Long Beach and Los Angeles, LOLPERA, by Ellen Warkentine and Andrew Pedroza, is presenting one last show on July 26 at The Art Theatre as an epic fundraising event before going to New York City. the show premiered to sell-out crowds at The Garage Theatre in Long Beach, California in October of 2011, and to more sell-out crowds at The Hollywood Fringe Festival in June of 2012.
Set in dystopian Catcotopia, it is the story of our epik quest for meaning in our modern world…told entirely through stupid cat pictures. LOLPERA is an epik clash between low-brow humor and high art; a “gesamtkunstwerk” that asks the important questions about this our modern world: Can we find meaning in the meaningless? Will what we create ultimately destroy us? Can we really haz Cheezburger? The year is 2084. Our only means of communication: cat pictures. Welcome to our Brave Mew World. LOLPERA, 8pm at The Art Theatre, 2025 E. 4th Street, Long Beach, 90814. Click Here for tickets
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