Announcing: TUTA Theatre West Presents “Stones in His Pockets” at Zephyr Theatre for 5 Weeks Only

TUTA THEATRE WEST PRESENTS
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
WRITTEN BY MARIE JONES
DIRECTED BY ZELJKO DJUKIC

OPENS AUGUST 19, 2011 AT THE ZEPHYR THEATRE

Tuta Theatre West has announced their production of Stones in His Pockets, by Marie Jones, featuring two actors, Andrew Friedman and Jerry Richardson, playing 15 roles. Directed by Zeljko Djukic, Stones in His Pockets will play one preview performance on August 18 and is set to open on Friday, August 19 at 8pm. The engagement will run for five weeks only, through Saturday, September 17, 2011.

Stones in His Pockets chronicles what happens when a big budget Hollywood film descends upon a small village in County Kerry, Ireland, and two down-on-their-luck locals (Jake and Charlie) get the chance of a lifetime, playing extras. Can they go from milking cows to living high on the hog? Hilarious, poignant, dark, and invigorating, this Olivier Award-winning play features two actors playing 15 roles, pulling back the veil on the complicated relationship between Tinseltown and its subjects. Witty banter blends with self-doubt and frustration as Jake and Charlie try to find a sense of reality in a world where glitz and glamour and easy money are only temporary.

Andrew Friedman has been a main company member at The Groundlings Theatre, where he has performed for the last six years. His television credits include The Big C, Men of a Certain Age, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, and Six Feet Under, among many others. Film work includes Live Free or Die Hard, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and others. Jerry Richardson has worked at many theatres around the country, including The Atlantic Theatre, 2nd Stage (Last Call, The Jude’s Law), Indiana Repertory Theatre (This Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol), Ensemble Studio Theatre (Anniversary, Last Exit to Hollywood) and many others. TV credits include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Guiding Light, and Homicide: Life on the Street). Director Zeljko Djukic studied stage directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, completed his graduate work in the United States, and received his Master’s Degree in 1994. He has taught acting and theory of theatre at several American universities. In 2002, he founded TUTA (The Utopian Theatre Asylum) in Chicago, where he currently lives and works. Djukic’s directing credits at TUTA include Baal, The Wedding, Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Vanya, Tracks, Still Life, The Little Prince, and Mozart and Salieri, among many others.

The design team for Stones in His Pockets includes set by Zeljko and Natasha Djukic, lighting by Keith Parham, and costumes by Natasha Djukic. The stage manager is Shaunessy Quinn, and Liza Fernandez produces.

There will be one preview performance of Stones in His Pockets on Thursday, August 18 at 8pm. Opening night is set for Friday, August 19 at 8:00. The strictly limited five-week engagement will run through Saturday, September 17, with performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm. There will be no performance on Saturday, August 27. Admission for the preview on August 18 is $12, and all other performances are $18. To purchase tickets, visit www.plays411/stones, or call (323) 960-7822. The Zephyr Theatre is located at 7456 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, 90046.

# # #

07-20-11

Announcing: “The Interlopers” 7/21 Performance Canceled, Monday 7/18 Performance Added

THE INTERLOPERS AT BOOTLEG THEATER
WRITTEN BY GARY LENNON, DIRECTED BY JIM FALL
THURSDAY, JULY 21 PERFORMANCE CANCELED
MONDAY, JULY 18 PERFORMANCE ADDED

The Bootleg Theater, Alicia Adams, Artistic Director, has announced a schedule change for The Interlopers, a world premiere play by Gary Lennon, directed by Jim Fall.  The performance scheduled for Thursday, July 21 has been canceled.  An additional performance has been scheduled for Monday, July 18.  The Interlopers runs through Saturday, July 23.

The Interlopers is a Romeo and Juliet story set in the transgender world of Los Angeles. Through the theme of identity, the play explores a group of unique misfits who call themselves family, and who are brave enough to challenge the obstacle course called life. Examining these singular and special people, the play follows them on their journeys to being their whole and authentic selves.

The cast of The Interlopers features (in alphabetical order) RD Call, Leandro Cano, Ralph Cole, Jr., Paul Elia, Tara Karsian, Diarra Kilpatrick, Clifford Morts, Trevor Peterson, and Darryl Stephens. Set design is by Jason Adams, lighting design is by Sohail Najafi, costume design is by Ann Closs-Farley, video and sound design is by Corwin Evans, and original musical composition is by Mervyn Warren. Sara Gosschalk is the stage manager, and the world premiere of The Interlopers is being produced by Jessica Hanna and Alicia Adams for Bootleg Theater.

Gary Lennon’s other plays include the critically acclaimed Blackout, Dates and Nuts, and .45, which opened in the winter of 2010 at London’s Hampstead Theater, directed by Wilson Milam. Lennon adapted both Blackout and .45 into feature films; Blackout became Drunks, starring Faye Dunaway, Diane Wiest, Amanda Plummer, and Parker Posey. .45 starred Milla Jovovich and Stephen Dorf. Lennon has also written and produced extensively for television, including on shows such as The Unusuals, The Shield, The Black Donnellys, and Justified, which was a 2010 WGA Award nominee and recently won the 2011 Peabody Award.

Jim Fall is perhaps best known as the director of the feature film Trick, starring Tori Spelling, Christian Campbell, and J.P. Pitoc. He also directed The Lizzie McGuire Movie for Walt Disney Pictures, among others. On television, Jim directed several episodes of So NoTORIous for VH1, Grosse Pointe (produced by Darren Star), and the A&E feature Wedding Wars, starring John Stamos and James Brolin. Fall just finished Holiday Engagement, an independent feature he co-wrote and directed, starring Shelley Long, Bonnie Somerville, and Jordan Bridges. He is currently in development on a feature he has written entitled Dorothy on the Rocks, which is based on the novel by Barbara Suter.

The Bootleg Theater is a 1930s warehouse and a home for Los Angeles artists who work in theater, music, dance, and film. Bootleg provides artistic support and production resources to help these artists create original and daring interdisciplinary work. Combining art forms creates work that is surprising, unexpected, exciting, and reflective of life in Los Angeles, a city where the boundaries are elastic, and not bound by tradition. Bootleg offers Los Angeles a celebration of itself.

Tickets for all performances of The Interlopers may be purchased online by visiting www.bootlegtheater.org or by calling (213) 389-3856.

The Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Boulevard, in Los Angeles, 90057.

# # #

07-12-11

In photo: Darryl Stephens and Trevor Peterson. PHOTO BY ASHLEY WEST LEONARD.

Announcing: Ana Gasteyer’s “Elegant Songs From a Handsome Woman” West Coast Premiere August 11, 12, 13

ANA GASTEYER SET TO MAKE WEST COAST CLUB DEBUT

THE BROADWAY DIVA AND “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE” ALUM
BRINGS ELEGANT SONGS FROM A HANDSOME WOMAN
TO CATALINA JAZZ CLUB FOR THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY
THURSDAY – SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 12, 13

Chris Isaacson and Upright Cabaret proudly present the West Coast debut of Broadway diva and “Saturday Night Live” alum Ana Gasteyer in Elegant Songs from a Handsome Woman in a limited engagement of three shows only, August 11-13, at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. Showtime is 8:30pm, with dinner and drink service beginning at 7pm. Gasteyer brings her unique comic wit and style to the stage in her new classy, brassy and sassy club act, featuring Broadway ditties, beloved (if forgotten) standards, and movie melodies.

Ana Gasteyer is best known for her incomparable work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. During her six year stint on the show, she created some of the most famous SNL characters, including middle school music teacher Bobbie Moughan-Culp, NPR radio host Margaret Jo, Lilith Fair poetess Cinder Calhoun, as well as doing spot-on impressions of Martha Stewart, Celine Dion, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Gasteyer recently returned to SNL as Margaret Jo in “NPR’S Delicious Dish,” and the now infamous “Muffin Top” sketch with Betty White, which Gasteyer conceived and wrote. On stage, she made her triumphant Broadway debut as Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show. Since then, Gasteyer has earned raves as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, and also originated the role for the Chicago production, earning her a Jefferson Award nomination.

Gasteyer’s other New York theatre credits include the Tony-nominated Broadway productions of The Royal Family directed by Doug Hughes, The Threepenny Opera with Alan Cumming and Jim Dale; Eve Ensler’s acclaimed off-Broadway hit The Vagina Monologues, and Manhattan Theatre Club’s hit production of Kimberly Akimbo by celebrated playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. She played Fanny Brice in Funny Girl at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and also starred to rave reviews as Fosca in Gary Griffin’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion at The Chicago Shakespeare Theater, earning a Jefferson Award nomination for her performance. Gasteyer also co-starred in the one-night-only star-studded Actors Fund benefit concerts of Funny Girl, Hair, and A Centennial Celebration of Frank Loesser. She can be heard on the Actors Fund recording of Hair and on the Reefer Madness soundtrack.

Chris Isaacson has created, produced and promoted over 450 events since forming his company in 2004. From small clubs to major theatres, Isaacson has produced some of the most influential stars of his generation, including Adam Lambert (American Idol), Lea Michele (Spring Awakening, Glee), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Grammy Award nominee Natasha Bedingfield, three-time Grammy nominee Taylor Dayne, Grammy Award-winner Paula Cole, and more. Isaacson’s concerts have been featured on Access Hollywood, Extra, KABC’s On The Red Carpet, KTLA Morning News, the Los Angeles Times, and New York Post.

Isaacson is also the creator/founder of LA’s renowned Upright Cabaret, which has been redefining the cabaret milieu for a new generation of audiences in Los Angeles since 2005. Upright Cabaret seeks to celebrate old style cabaret while simultaneously modernizing it, bringing young Broadway and young Hollywood together in a live setting. Isaacson produces concerts and events under the Upright Cabaret banner including his annual summer concert series at the Ford Amphitheatre, the successful “American Icon Series” which plays at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and Palm Springs, as well as, his critically acclaimed concerts Shoshana Sings Streisand starring Shoshana Bean, Stephen Schwartz: Making Good, featuring Wicked creator/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, and Eden Espinosa: Me, starring Eden Espinosa. This summer, Isaacson will present New York’s Finest (The Leading Men of Broadway) at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, featuring an all-star cast including Tony Award nominee Sam Harris, who will also direct. For the second year, Isaacson will produce the Summer Concert Series at The Grove in Los Angeles, featuring concerts by singer and guitar phenomenon Orianthi, American Idol alums Frenchie Davis and Blake Lewis, music legend Richard Marx and country sensation Lonestar. For more information, visit www.ChrisIsaacsonPresents.com.

Ana Gasteyer’s Elegant Songs from a Handsome Woman will play three performances only, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, August 11, 12, and 13, at the Catalina Jazz Club, 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard, in Hollywood. Showtime is 8:30pm, with dinner and drink service beginning at 7pm. Admission is $35, and tickets are available now, online at www.UprightCabaret.com/events or by phone at (323) 466-2210. Tickets purchased online receive first priority in seating; dinner and drink minimums apply.

For more information about this and other Upright Cabaret presentations, including scheduled performers, showtimes, and tickets, visit www.UprightCabaret.com.

# # #

07-06-11

ABOVE PHOTO OF ANA GASTEYER BY J. ROSS