Announcing: See What I Wanna See

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE BLANK THEATRE COMPANY’S
PRODUCTION OF MICHAEL JOHN LaCHIUSA’S
SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE
DOUG CARPENTER, JASON GRAAE, LESLI MARGHERITA,
PERRY OJEDA and SUZAN SOLOMON WILL STAR IN WEST COAST PREMIERE

PREVIEWS BEGIN APRIL 10, 2010
AT THE BLANK’S 2nd STAGE THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD

Casting is complete and rehearsals have begun for The Blank Theatre Company’s third and final production of its 19th season, Michael John LaChiusa’s See What I Wanna See. Directed by The Blank’s Artistic Director Daniel Henning, See What I Wanna See will begin preview performances on Saturday, April 10, 2010 and is set to open on Saturday, April 17 at 8pm.  The engagement will run through Sunday, May 23.

The cast, in alphabetical order, is Doug Carpenter (Life Could Be A Dream at the Hudson Mainstage and Camelot at the Pasadena Playhouse), Jason Graae (original casts of Forever Plaid and Forbidden Hollywood), Lesli Margherita (winner of the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in Zorro at London’s Garrick Theatre), Perry Ojeda (On the Town, Imaginary Friends and Blood Brothers on Broadway), and Suzan Solomon (Bubbling Brown Sugar, Let My People Come at New York’s Village Gate).

See What I Wanna See is about lust, greed, murder, faith, and redemption.  It is based on three short stories that unfold like a Japanese screen painting.  In “Kesa and Morito,” set in medieval Japan, two lovers sing of the ecstasy and torment of their affair.  “R Shomon,” set in 1951 New York City, follows the investigation of a crime of passion and the witnesses’ contradicting versions of the event.  “Gloryday,” set in present day New York, presents a priest during a crisis of faith after a terrible tragedy strikes the city.  This fascinating musical asks the question, “What Is Truth?” You’ll be amazed by the kaleidoscope of answers.  “This smoky, sexy saga, enhanced by LaChiusa’s muscular, jazzy score flecked with Japanese influences and tough, punchy lyrics, make See What I Wanna See a highly original, innovative journey,” said the Associated Press of the original 2005 off-Broadway production at New York’s Public Theater.

The set design for See What I Wanna See is by Ginnie Ann Held, costume design is by Dana Peterson, and the lighting design is by Jeremy Pivnick.  The production stage manager is Ramon Valdez, and the producers are Stacy Reed, Noah Wyle and Jon Van Middlesworth.

Preview performances of See What I Wanna See are Saturday, April 10 at 8pm, Sunday, April 11 at 2pm, and Tuesday, April  13 – Friday, April 16 at 8pm.  Opening night is set for Saturday, April 17 at 8:00. THE MEDIA IS ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THE SPECIAL PRESS PREVIEW ON FRIDAY 4/16, BUT IS ALSO WELCOME AT ANY OTHER PERFORMANCE AFTER THAT DATE. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through May 23.  All preview seats are $30; regular performance prices are $30 on Thursday and Sunday, $34.99 on Friday and Saturday.  Tickets may be purchased by calling (323) 661-9827 or online at www.TheBlank.com.

The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox), in Hollywood. Secured valet parking is available.

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03-05-10

Announcing: A Tiny Piece of Land

A TINY PIECE OF LAND  SET TO OPEN IN LOS ANGELES
WORLD PREMIERE PLAY BEGINS APRIL 8
AT PICO PLAYHOUSE FOR 13 PERFORMANCES ONLY

Atpol Productions has announced the world premiere of A Tiny Piece of Land in Los Angeles.  This new drama by Joni Browne-Walders and Mel Weiser will play one preview performance on Thursday, April 8 and is set to open at the Pico Playhouse on Friday, April 9 at 8pm.  The engagement will run through Saturday, April 24 only.

A Tiny Piece of Land brings a long-missing Israeli perspective to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  Through the personal losses and triumphs of an ordinary Jewish family, forced with thousands of other settlers from their Gaza settlement homes in 2005, the play presents a powerful and hopeful view of Israeli hardship and courage in the face of worldwide misunderstanding and condemnation.

Directed by Weiser, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Robert G. Bledsoe, Andrea Dovner, Anat Gerber and Cliff Smith.  Scenic advisor is Paul W. Estes and the lighting design is by Gil Tordjman.

Mel Weiser is the author of Cry, Tiger! and numerous other plays.  He also wrote The Trespasser (Avon Books), Within the Web (Dell) and Nick Nolte: Caught in the Act (Momentum Books), which won the Irwin Award as Best Celebrity Book of 1999.  Weiser has directed over 40 plays, including on Broadway and in regional theatres around the country.  Joni Browne-Walders is a theatre arts graduate of UCLA and has also written numerous plays, including My Name is Evie Goldstein, Waiting for the Coast Guard and Home Furnishings.  Several of her plays have been produced at Playwright’s Theatre and Theatre Artists Studio.

A Tiny Piece of Land will play one preview performance on Thursday, April 8 at 8pm and opening is set for Friday, April 9 at 8pm.  THE MEDIA IS INVITED TO ATTEND OPENING NIGHT ON 4/8, BUT IS ALSO WELCOME AT ANY OTHER PERFORMANCE AFTER THAT DATE. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm.  The engagement ends on Saturday, April 24. The general admission price is $32.50 with a student and senior discount price of $27.50.  To purchase tickets, visit www.tix.com or call (800) 595-4849.  Group rates are available.

The Pico Playhouse is located at 10508 West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles.

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03-05-10

Assistant Directing: The Women of Brewster Place – The Musical

CELEBRATION THEATRE PRESENTS
THE WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE – THE MUSICAL
WITH MUSIC, BOOK AND LYRICS BY TIM ACITO (ZANNA, DON’T)
CHOREOGRAPHY BY AMEENAH KAPLAN (ALTAR BOYZ, FROSTY THE SNOW MANILOW), MUSICAL DIRECTION BY GREG NABOURS (A NEW BRAIN)
DIRECTION BY MICHAEL MATTHEWS (HARAM IRAN, BEAUTIFUL THING)
AND PRODUCED FOR CELEBRATION THEATRE BY DAVID TARLOW.

THE NEW MUSICAL WILL OPEN ON FRIDAY, APRIL 23.

Based on Gloria Naylor’s beloved award-winning collection of stories The Women of Brewster Place—The Musical premiered in 2007 as a co-production between the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and Arena Stage in Washington D.C.

Using an original score of R&B, pop, disco and old school funk, the musical tells the individual stories of eight very different African American women in a 1970’s housing project who are struggling with issues of identity, poverty, hope, love and loss. Simultaneously comic and heartbreaking, wise and shortsighted, noble and flawed, each of the women must ultimately face the largest question of all − where does one’s individual story end, and the story of one’s community begin?

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3-4-10