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Announcing: 25th Anniversary Production of “Jerker” Set for Nine Performances Only

25TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF
JERKER BY ROBERT CHESLEY
SET FOR LIMITED RUN AT SPACE 916 IN HOLLYWOOD

Jerker LogoProducer Jason Moyer has announced the 25th anniversary production of Jerker, or the Helping Hand: A Pornographic Elegy with Redeeming Social Value and a Hymn to the Queer Men of San Francisco in Twenty Phone Calls, Many of them Dirty at Space 916 in Hollywood, opening on Friday, November 4 and running through November 20 only.

Jerker takes place in the early 1980s, and traces the relationship that develops between a disabled Vietnam veteran (J.R.) and a businessman (Bert). Although they “meet” only through a series of telephone calls, they grow from being phone sex buddies to caring friends. The play runs the gamut from erotic to emotionally charged. The term “Jerker” is an amalgam of masturbation and tear jerker. Robert Chesley wrote the play because he believed it was of vital importance to fight the stigma against sex that AIDS had created, and to remove the mark of shame from which gay men suffer.

The original production of Jerker premiered at Celebration Theatre on October 24, 1986, under the direction of Michael Kearns, and featured David Stebbins and Joe Fraser in the two lead roles. Since that time, the play has come to be considered one of the most important pieces of gay theatre ever created.

Directed by Glenn Kessler, the cast of Jerker will feature (in alphabetical order) Corey-Adam Affron, Gregory Allen, Gregory Barnett, Ben Cuevas, Parnell Damone, Sammy Murrian, and Mike Rose. Lighting design is by Michael Jackson, and sound design is by Purple Crush.

Jerker is set to open on Friday, November 4 at 8pm, and performances will continue on Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 7pm, through November 20 only. Admission is $20, and tickets may be purchased by visiting www.jerker25.com or by calling (323) 418-2583. Space 916 is located at 916 Formosa Avenue in Hollywood, 90046.

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10-17-11

Announcing: Broadway Dreams & Take It From The Top Productions Present Broadway Master Class Nov. 5

TAKE IT FROM THE TOP PRODUCTIONS
AND BROADWAY DREAMS SET TO PRESENT
BROADWAY MASTER CLASS WORKSHOP
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5
AT LOS ANGELES THEATRE CENTER

Broadway Master ClassTake it from the Top Productions and Broadway Dreams will present a Broadway Master Class workshop on Saturday, November 5, at Los Angeles Theatre Center. The four-hour workshop, which is set to run from 10am – 2pm, will be taught by Broadway veterans Paul Canaan and Tyler Hanes.

Broadway Master Class is an interactive workshop for performing artists to develop singing, dancing, and acting skills, taught by Broadway professionals. Participants will learn a dance combination focusing on style and storytelling, and they may also perform an ‘audition’ song for feedback from Canaan and Hanes. There will also be a talkback session with cast members from the new musical Bring It On, which opens at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center on November 11.

The instructors for the workshop are Broadway veterans Paul Canaan (Catch Me If You Can, Legally Blonde, Miss Saigon, Thoroughly Modern Millie, La Cage Aux Folles and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and Tyler Hanes (Oklahoma!, Urban Cowboy, The Boy From Oz, The Frogs, Sweet Charity, Hairspray, and A Chorus Line).

Paul Canaan most recently worked on an upcoming Broadway show Kinky Boots (music by Cyndi Lauper), and Catch Me If You Can. His passion for education in the arts inspired his company ‘Take It From The Top’ with partner Laura Bell Bundy. He also directs education elements for ‘Kids Night On Broadway’ through the League of Producers, and proudly serves as the Executive Producer of Broadway Dreams Foundation.

Tyler Hanes is an accomplished dancer/singer/actor who grew up in the Atlanta, Georgia, area and has been a performer for most of his life. As a child and teen, he did many commercials, voiceovers, industrials and television shows, and held numerous dance titles and scholarships from Dance Masters of America and Dance Educators of America. At the age of 14, Tyler became the youngest person to play an adult role in a main stage show at Opryland, USA, where he was featured in I Hear America Singing. Tyler continues to train and teach master classes, hoping to share his love of the arts with others.

Entry to the workshop is $65 per person, and there are a limited number of spaces available. For more information and to reserve a spot, visit www.takeitfromthetop.org. Los Angeles Theatre Center is located at 514 South Spring Street in downtown LA. Parking is available at various structures in the area.

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10-17-11

Announcing: Elephant Theatre Company’s “Baby Doll” By Tennessee Williams Opens 11/11/11

ELEPHANT THEATRE COMPANY
CONCLUDES 15TH SEASON WITH RARELY PRODUCED
BABY DOLL BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
CAST AND CREW SET; REHEARSALS UNDERWAY

OPENS FRIDAY, 11/11/11 AT THE LILLIAN THEATRE
EXTENDED THRU JANUARY 22, 2012

baby dollThe Elephant Theatre Company, David Fofi and Lindsay Allbaugh, Co-Artistic Directors, in association with Double A Productions, has announced its production of Baby Doll by Tennessee Williams, directed and designed by Joel Daavid, at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood. There will be one preview performance on November 10, with opening night set for Friday, November 11 at 8:00. Baby Doll will play a limited engagement through December 18 – extended through January 22, 2012.

Adapted by Williams from his own one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, the film was released in 1956, directed by Elia Kazan. At that time, it was labeled “notorious, salacious, revolting, steamy, lewd, suggestive, provocative, and morally repellent.” It was also nominated for four Academy Awards, including best adapted screenplay. Baby Doll is an effort to decode modern sexual politics; it is also a timely rehashing of the familiar struggle of America’s “everyman.” The story centers around the arranged marriage of a doltish and passionate owner of a Southern cotton gin, and his stunningly beautiful and tenacious virgin bride who stubbornly refuses to consummate their marriage until the day of her 20th birthday. Compounding this fiery battle of wills is the arrival of a crafty and dark Sicilian gin mill magnate who covets both the dolt’s wife and his business.

The cast of Baby Doll is Lulu Brud, Tony Gatto, Ronnie Marmo, and Jacque Lynn Colton, along with (in alphabetical order) Josh Benton, Dave Metz, Chloe Peterson, Bernadette Speakes, Yecenia Torres, Carl Wawrina, and Michael Wilkie. With set and lighting design by Joel Daavid, the costume design is by Noelle Raffy, and sound design is by Matt Richter. Original music is composed by Nick Block and movement choreography is by Adam Haas Hunter. The stage manager is Rebecca Schoenberg, and Baby Doll is produced for the Elephant and Double A Productions by David Fofi, Anita Lee, and Sean Thomas.

There will be one preview performance on Thursday, November 10 at 8pm. Opening night is Friday, 11/11/11 at 8:00. Admission is $15 for the preview, $25 for regular performances, and $30 for opening night, which includes a post-performance reception with the cast. The regular running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 7pm, and the engagement will run through December 18 – extended through January 22, 2012. There is no performance on Friday, November 25. Tickets are on sale now, and may be purchased by calling (323) 960-4420 or by reserving online at www.plays411.com/babydoll or www.elephanttheatrecompany.com.

For more information, go to www.elephanttheatrecompany.com. Visit the Elephant on Facebook, and follow us on twitter @elephanttheatre. The Lillian Theatre is located at 1076 N. Lillian Way (just west of Vine, off Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood. Street parking is available.

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10-12-11
Updated 12-06-11