Announcing: Mandy Gonzalez Joins Cast of “Rockwell” Readings in NYC, January 10 & 11

MANDY GONZALEZ JOINS
JOHN DAVIDSON, ANDRÉ DE SHIELDS, KEVIN EARLEY, SEAN
HANKINSON, NANCY OPEL, AND RYANN REDMOND
IN THE CAST OF

ROCKWELL: LIFE ON A PALETTE

A NEW MUSICAL WITH BOOK & LYRICS BY
ELEANOR ALBANO & ANTHONY BARNAO
AND MUSIC BY RON ABEL
DIRECTED BY GLENN CASALE

STAGED READINGS IN NEW YORK CITY
JANUARY 10 & 11, 2013

Mandy Gonzalez has joined the cast of Rockwell: Life on a Palette, a new musical based on Norman Rockwell’s covers for the Saturday Evening Post, which will receive staged readings in New York City on January 10 and 11, 2013. With book and lyrics by Eleanor Albano and Anthony Barnao, and music by Ron Abel, this reading of Rockwell will be directed by Glenn Casale.

On Broadway, Gonzalez has appeared in Wicked, In the Heights, Lennon, Dance of the Vampires, and Aida. She also won an Obie Award for her performance in Eli’s Coming. Gonzalez joins the previously announced John Davidson, André De Shields, Kevin Earley, Sean Hankinson, Nancy Opel, and Ryann Redmond.

Norman Rockwell’s stories transcend color and time. His work is undeniably successful by any measure … popularity, longevity, commerciality, and mass appeal. Rockwell: Life on a Palette will bring Rockwell’s stories into a brand new arena, musical theatre. From ragtime innocence through the roaring 20s, to the tap dancing 30s, World War II big band and swing, Broadway show tunes, a rousing gospel chorus, and contemporary country, Rockwell has a score that reflects the sounds of the entire 20th century.

Eleanor Albano (book & lyrics) has been a theatre marketing and advertising design consultant for regional and commercial houses in Los Angeles since 1983. Other writing credits include the stage musical It’s A Jungle Out There and the TV series The Music Shoppe, and with Dale Gonyea, the animated musical holiday fable Christmas Is For Everyone. Anthony Barnao (book & lyrics) is the founding artistic director of the highly acclaimed Blue Sphere Alliance, a Los Angeles theatre company known for presenting new work. He has directed numerous original plays, including award-winning productions of The Big Voice (moved off-Broadway), Home Sweet Hell, a hip-hop version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and In the Bargain starring Catherine Keener. Ron Abel (music) is a multi-award-winning composer, producer and musical director who has composed the scores for Bricktop, Re-Introducing Laurette Bishop, the award-winning Twist of Fate, and the upcoming Hazel. Abel has worked with Jessye Norman, Taylor Dayne, Lucie Arnaz, Michele Lee, and Valarie Pettiford, among many others.

On Broadway, Glenn Casale directed Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby (Tony Award nomination). Off-Broadway, his work includes The Property Known as Garland, and Dragapella at Studio 54 (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Best Production). He recently directed Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Russia. Casale is the Artistic Director of California Musical Theater in Sacramento. The January staged reading of Rockwell will also have, as part of the creative team, choreographer Patti Columbo, who has Broadway, national tour, and regional credits including Peter Pan (with Casale), Dr. Doolittle, Seussical, the Musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, On the Town, Can-Can, and White Christmas.

These staged readings are presented by Pisces Productions with the permission of Curtis Publishing, Inc., and Norman Rockwell Licensing Company. The stage manager is Bonnie Panson, and general management is by Bespoke Theatricals.

The staged readings of Rockwell: Life on a Palette will be on Thursday, January 10 at 4pm, and Friday, January 11 at 11am and 4pm, in New York City. For more information and reservations, email info@bespoketheatricals.com, or call (212) 221-1122, ext. 110.

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01-02-13

Announcing: LOFT Ensemble Presents “LoveSick” for 12 Perfs Only, Jan 19 – Feb 24 [NOW EXTENDED THRU SUNDAY 3/10]

LOFT ENSEMBLE PRESENTS
LOVESICK BY LARISSA WISE

OPENS SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2013
FOR 12 PERFORMANCES ONLY

NOW EXTENDED THRU SUNDAY 3/10

LOFT Ensemble (Adam Chambers, Artistic Director) has announced a limited engagement of LoveSick, written and directed by Larissa Wise, at the LOFT’s home space in downtown Los Angeles. Opening night is set for Saturday, January 19 at 8:00, and LoveSick will play a strictly limited engagement through February 24 only.

LoveSick is a darkly comic exploration of love, its twisted conceptions and its infinite wonders. Through verse, prose, movement, and song, the audience is taken on the wonderland-like journey of two conflicted lovers as they are brought together by a shared dream. Of an earlier production at the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival, NYTheatre.com said, “It is a beautiful, breathtaking production … that reminds you why theatre is done at all.” The Artswire called it, “… fascinating, beautiful, and epic …,” and Theatre Is Easy said, “Mostly humorous and dreamy, this play also touches on the darker realities of love and sexuality.”

The cast of LoveSick will feature (in alphabetical order) Deborah Baker Jr., Noah Benjamin, Jessica Botello, Adam Chambers, Sean Durrie, Marissa Galloway, Jason Ryan Lovett, John Sperry Sisk, Vanessa Vaughn, and Larissa Wise. Production design is by Marissa Galloway, Jason Ryan Lovett, and Larissa Wise, and the stage manager is Ashley Snyder.

Opening night is set for Saturday, January 19 at 8:00. Admission is $20 for all performances. The regular running schedule is Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm, through February 24 only. Tickets are on sale now, and may be purchased online at www.LOFTensemble.com, or by calling (213) 680-0392.

LOFT Ensemble is located at 929 East Second Street, #105 (on the corner of Second Street and Vignes), in downtown LA’s Arts District. Theatre entrance is on Vignes between 1st and 2nd. For more information on the company and its mission, go to www.LOFTensemble.com.

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01-02-13