Announcing: “Tennessee & Anna” Set to Open April 9 at Odyssey Theatre

WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
TENNESSEE & ANNA
BY FRANCO D’ALESSANDRO
FEATURING MORLAN HIGGINS AND KAREN KONDAZIAN
DIRECTED BY ANTHONY CALDARELLA

PERFORMANCES BEGIN APRIL 5 AT THE ODYSSEY THEATRE
OPENS SATURDAY, APRIL 9 AT 8PM

Phoenix Rising Productions has announced the West Coast premiere of Tennessee & Anna, a play by Franco D’Alessandro, directed by Anthony Caldarella. A guest production at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles featuring multi-award-winners Morlan Higgins and Karen Kondazian, Tennessee & Anna begins previews on April 5, and opening is set for Saturday, April 9 at 8pm. Performances will continue through May 29.

Tennessee & Anna chronicles the 25-year friendship between Tennessee Williams and the great Academy Award-winning Italian actress Anna Magnani. Set in Rome during the La Dolce Vita era, it is a memory play told through the eyes of Tennessee. The play is an examination of friendship and art which deals with their mutual passion for theatre, film and for love itself. The two explore truths about the nature of inspiration, collaboration, and the need for artistic expression, all the while battling their demons, both real and imagined. Tennessee & Anna open their hearts to each other with honesty and frustration, as they search to express the often conflicting need to love and the struggle to accept love.

Morlan Higgins (Tennessee Williams) most recently appeared in the U.S. premiere of Athol Fugard’s Train Driver at the Fountain Theatre. In the past 18 months, he was also seen in Forgiveness at the Black Dahlia Theatre and in King Lear with the Antaeus Company. Other work at the Fountain includes After the Fall, Victory, The Boys in the Band, Borderlines, Shining City, and the world premiere of Fugard’s Exits and Entrances. Karen Kondazian’s career has included starring opposite Ed Harris, Richard Chamberlain, Stacy Keach, and Ray Stricklyn in various productions through the years. She won a LADCC Award for Best Actress in a production of The Rose Tattoo, and her work as both actor and producer so impressed the playwright that they became friends. Williams gave Kondazian carte blanche to produce any of his work in his lifetime. Other productions in which Kondazian delivered memorable and award-winning performances include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Orpheus Descending, Night of the Iguana, Freedomland, The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore and Master Class. Director Anthony Caldarella is a writer/producer/director whose feature film credits include My Brother Jack, What’s Up, Scarlet?, and Mafioso. Stage directing includes productions of A View From the Bridge, Detective Story, A Taste of Honey, The Price, the West Coast premiere of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and The Collection at the Hudson Theatre, which won him the LA Weekly Award for Best Director in 2002.

The set design for Tennessee & Anna is by Tom Buderwitz, lighting design is by Steven Young, costume design is by Swinda Reichelt, sound design is by Cricket Myers, and video design is by Fritz Davis. The production manager is Roberta Ballarini, and stage manager is Molly McGraw.

Tennessee & Anna will play four lower-priced preview performances Tuesday, April 5 through Friday, April 8 at 8pm, and opening night is set for Saturday, April 9 at 8:00. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through May 29. Preview tickets are $10; regular prices, beginning April 9, are $25 on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, and $30 on Saturday. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.tennesseeandanna.com or by calling the Odyssey Theatre box office at (310) 477-2055, extension 2.

The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Boulevard, in West Los Angeles, 90025.

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03-11-11

Announcing: Jason Alexander and Gina Hecht in the Neil Simon Comedy, “The Prisoner of Second Avenue”

JASON ALEXANDER AND GINA HECHT SET TO STAR IN THE COMEDY
THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE
BY NEIL SIMON
DIRECTED BY GLENN CASALE

PERFORMANCES BEGIN APRIL 21 AT THE EL PORTAL THEATRE
OPENS SATURDAY, APRIL 23 FOR THREE WEEKS ONLY

Producer Tom Brocato’s Butterfield Road Productions has announced a special three-week engagement of the comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue by Neil Simon, starring Jason Alexander and Gina Hecht. Directed by Glenn Casale, the production will begin performances at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood on April 21 for three weeks only. Opening is set for Saturday, April 23 at 8pm. Performances will continue through May 15.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue revolves around the escalating problems of a middle-aged couple living on Second Avenue on the Upper East Side of New York City. Mel Edison (portrayed by Alexander), has just lost his job after many years and now has to cope with being unemployed at middle age. The action occurs during an intense summer heat wave and a prolonged garbage strike, which just exacerbates Edison’s plight to no end as he and his wife Edna (Hecht) deal with noisy neighbors, loud sounds emanating from Manhattan streets, and even a robbery of their apartment in broad daylight. Mel eventually suffers a nervous breakdown from the whole affair, and it is up to the loving care of his brother Harry, his sisters and his wife Edna to bring Mel back to a firm reality. Neil Simon’s 1971 play walks a tightrope between comedy and drama in this bittersweet tale. The play is perhaps more relevant today than it was when it first debuted on Broadway 40 years ago.

The original Broadway production, which starred Peter Falk and Lee Grant, opened in 1971 and ran for and ran for two years, closing in 1973. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. The stage play was adapted into a successful film in 1975, starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft. Last year, there was a stage revival presented in London’s West End.

The set design for The Prisoner of Second Avenue is by Stephen Gifford, lighting design is by Jared Sayeg, and costume design is by Kate Bergh. The production stage manager is John Lovick. Further casting will be announced later, and The Prisoner of Second Avenue is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

Jason Alexander is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing on the sitcom from 1989 to 1998. He began his acting career on the New York stage, appearing in several Broadway plays and musicals, including Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, Kander and Ebb’s The Rink, Rupert Holmes’ Accomplice, Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound, and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, for which he won the 1989 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Alexander appeared in the Los Angeles production of The Producers with Martin Short at the Pantages Theatre, and is currently the artistic director of the Reprise Theatre Company.

Gina Hecht has enjoyed a wide and varied career on stage, in film, and on television. In prior collaborations with director Glenn Casale, Gina appeared in productions of Wrestlers, Circle of Will, as well as in a production of Night Owls, winning Drama-Logue and LA Weekly Awards along the way. She has been in over a dozen films, including Night Shift (with Henry Winkler) and more recently Seven Pounds (with Will Smith). Television work includes recurring roles on Mork and Mindy, Heartbeat, Everything’s Relative, Life Goes On, The District, Any Day Now, Seinfeld, and Hung.

Glenn Casale directed Peter Pan (starring Cathy Rigby) on Broadway, a production that was Tony Award-nominated for Best Revival, and it was later filmed by A&E, garnering two Emmy Awards. Casale has directed internationally numerous times, including productions of The Wiz (Netherlands), and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Netherlands, Berlin, Antwerp, Madrid). Tours and regional credits include Ballroom (starring Tyne Daly and Charles Durning), Wrestlers, Bingo! The Musical, From the Top (starring Carol Burnett), and the Ovation Award-winning Reprise production of Anything Goes. Casale is the artistic director of the California Musical Theatre in Sacramento.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue will play two lower-priced preview performances on Thursday, April 21 and Friday, April 22 at 8pm, and opening night is set for Saturday, April 23 at 8:00. The regular performance schedule is Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 6pm, with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. The three-week-only engagement will continue through Sunday, May 15. All preview seats are $40, and regular ticket prices range from $45 – $55, with a limited number of VIP seats available at $75 and $80, which include a post-performance meet-and-greet with Jason Alexander, an autographed photo, and a voucher for two drinks at intermission. To purchase tickets, visit www.elportaltheatre.com, or call (866) 811-4111 or (818) 508-4200. Visit The Prisoner of Second Avenue on Facebook and follow us on twitter @prisoner2ndave.

The El Portal Theatre is located at 5269 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. Ample parking is available around the theatre.

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03-10-11

Announcing: “Glory Days” Opens Saturday 3/19 at Lillian Theatre for Limited Run

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF
GLORY DAYS
A MUSICAL BY NICK BLAEMIRE & JAMES GARDINER
DIRECTED BY CALVIN REMSBERG

PERFORMANCES BEGIN MARCH 17 AT THE LILLIAN THEATRE
OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 19 FOR LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

Producers Anthony Gruppuso, Calvin Remsberg, Tricia Small Stabile, and Bella Vita Entertainment have announced the Los Angeles premiere of Glory Days, a musical by Nick Blaemire & James Gardiner, directed by Calvin Remsberg, at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood for a limited engagement. There will be two preview performances on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, March 19 at 8pm. Performances will continue through April 24 only.

Glory Days is a new musical with music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire and book by James Gardiner that premiered at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, on January 15, 2008. The production opened to enthusiastic reviews, including a rave in The Washington Post. The show then moved to the Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway, where after seventeen previews, it opened … and closed … on May 6, 2008.

Glory Days is the story of four high school friends who, after a year away at college, reunite on the bleachers of their high school football field. We soon learn the purpose of the midnight meeting: the boys are planning a prank seeking revenge on their high school football team, who tormented the four during their school years. Things do not go smoothly, as the boys find they have grown apart … and their friendship is not what it was. Said Peter Marks in The Washington Post, “Glory Days is a fresh and vivacious one-act musical … real, and surprisingly moving.”

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Alex Robert Holmes, Derek Klena, Matthew Koehler, Ian Littleworth, Jeffrey Scott Parsons, and Alex Martinez Wallace. The set design is by Andrew Hammer, lighting design is by Jeremy Pivnick, costume design is by Mara Bear, and sound design is by Joseph Slawinski. James May serves as musical director, and the production stage manager is Ronn Goswick.

Glory Days will play two preview performances on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18 at 8pm, and opening night is set for Saturday, March 19 at 8:00. The limited engagement will continue through Sunday, April 24. Preview tickets are $20; all seats beginning March 19 are $32. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.plays411.com/glorydays or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/159876 or by calling (323) 960-7792.

The Lillian Theatre is located at 1076 Lillian Way (one block west of Vine, just off Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood. Street parking is available.

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03-07-11