Announcing: Richard M. Sherman, Kerry O’Malley, Bruce Vilanch & More Join ‘One Starry Night’ Benefit 1/13/14

ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER RICHARD M. SHERMAN, BRUCH VILANCH, BROADWAY’S KERRY O’MALLEY
AND MORE JOIN CAST OF

ONE STARRY NIGHT
Hollywood and Broadway Stars Come Together to Fight ALS
at The Pasadena Playhouse

One Night Only Benefit Performance
Monday, January 13, 2014 at 8pm

Co-Producers Juliana Hansen and Jonathan White will present a one night only benefit performance, ONE STARRY NIGHT: Hollywood and Broadway Come Together to Fight ALS, on Monday, January 13, 2014 at 8pm, hosted by The Pasadena Playhouse. The evening will also include a silent auction (beginning at 7pm) and VIP post-show meet-and-greet. Proceeds will provide critical funding for The ALS Association Golden West Chapter’s mission priorities in care services, public policy, and cutting-edge global research toward treatments and cure.

Joining the cast of ONE STARRY NIGHT will be Richard M. Sherman (two-time Academy Award-winner for Best Song and Best Score of Mary Poppins, who is being portrayed by Jason Schwartzman in the just-released Disney film Saving Mr. Banks), Kerry O’Malley, Amy Paffrath, Barry Pearl, Drew Seeley, Daniel Tatar, and Bruce Vilanch. Directed by Grammy Award-nominee Bruce Kimmel, with musical direction and orchestrations by Richard Allen, the evening will also feature performances by the previously announced (in alphabetical order) Obba Babatunde, James Barbour, Kay Cole, Daisy Eagan, Crow Garrett, Ilene Graff, Juliana Hansen, Melora Hardin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Jason and Nolan Livesay, Gary Morgan and The Flying Morgans, James Mulligan, Reagan Pasternak, Jonathan Pendragon, Joan Ryan, Rex Smith, and Terri White. The evening will also feature special appearances by Terri Ivens, Kate Linder, and Charlene Tilton.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. People with ALS eventually lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. For unknown reasons, veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as the general population. There is no cure, and only one drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration modestly extends survival.

The mission of The ALS Association is to lead the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The ALS Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure. The Golden West Chapter serves people with ALS and their families in 31 counties throughout California and in the state of Hawaii. For more information visit www.alsagoldenwest.org.

With generous media sponsorship from the Pasadena Independent, ONE STARRY NIGHT: Hollywood and Broadway Coming Together to Fight ALS will take place on Monday, January 14, 2014 at 8pm at The Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Avenue, in Pasadena, 91101. Tickets prices range from $25—$100, with premium seating available at $250. The VIP post-show meet and greet is available for an additional $75. To purchase online go to www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org/onestarrynight. Tickets are also available via phone at (626) 356-7529 and in person at The Pasadena Playhouse box office (visit website for hours).

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12-19-13

Announcing: Laura Benanti Adds Second Show at Catalina Bar & Grill – Wednesday, January 8 at 8:30pm

SECOND SHOW ADDED BY POPULAR DEMAND!
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8 AT 8:30PM

CHRIS ISAACSON PRESENTS
TONY AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY STAR
LAURA BENANTI
IN HER LOS ANGELES SOLO CONCERT DEBUT
CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF HER FIRST ALBUM
“IN CONSTANT SEARCH
OF THE RIGHT KIND OF ATTENTION”

By overwhelming demand, Chris Isaacson Presents and Upright Cabaret have announced the addition of a second show as Tony Award-winning Broadway star Laura Benanti makes her Los Angeles solo concert debut in January. The show celebrates the West Coast release of her first album “In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention,” which USA Today named “Pick of the Week” and TV Guide called “A must-have.” With musical direction and arrangements by Todd Almond, there will now be two shows — Wednesday, January 8 and Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 8:30pm at the Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood. Cocktail and dinner service begin at 7pm.

Laura Benanti recently wowed audiences and critics alike with her performance as the Baroness in NBC’s live presentation of The Sound of Music. Said People Magazine, “Laura Benanti made a luscious and surprisingly sympathetic minx out of the Baroness,” while Time Magazine praised the “level of complexity” she brought to the character. “Benanti scored big time. Stylish, witty and sneakily funny,” enthused the New York Post, and Hollywood Life summed it up by saying, “We have a feeling that The Sound of Music is going to finally make her a household name.”

Ms. Benanti’s many New York credits include Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play, Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, the 2002 revival of Into the Woods, Swing!, and the 2003 revival of Nine. Along the way, she has been nominated for Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and in 2008 she won the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Featured Actress in Gypsy starring Patti Lupone. On television, Ms. Benanti’s numerous credits include Go On, The Playboy Club, Starved, Royal Pains, The Big C, Law & Order: SVU, Eli Stone, Elementary, and Life On Mars. She will be recurring on the new season of Showtime’s Nurse Jackie in 2014.

Musical director and arranger Todd Almond is a composer, lyricist and playwright. His musicals include We Have Always Lived In The Castle, On The Levee, Girlfriend, People Like Us, Ahraihsak, and Kansas City Choir Boy. Almond served as music director for the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa’s Tres Niñas. In addition to having some of the theatre world’s top singers perform his music (Sherie Rene Scott, Victoria Clark, Cheyenne Jackson, Jayne Houdyshell, Ms.Benanti, and more), Almond regularly performs his own material in NYC’s top venues and he recently released a CD of original songs entitled Mexico City.

Laura Benanti: In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention will play two performances at the Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood on Wednesday, January 8 and Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 8:30pm. Doors open at 7pm for cocktail and dinner service (minimums apply). Admission is $30, and VIP seating ($40) is available. Purchases made before January 4 receive a $5 discount, and online purchases will receive priority seating. Tickets may be obtained by calling (866) 468-3399 or by visiting www.UprightCabaret.com or www.TicketWeb.com.

Catalina Bar & Grill is located at 6725 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, 90028.

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12-16-13

Announcing: Kate Fodor’s ‘Rx’ Set for LA Premiere at Lost Studio on La Brea – Saturday, January 11 at 8pm

BY KATE FODOR
DIRECTED BY JOHN PLESHETTE

SET FOR LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
AT THE LOST STUDIO
JANUARY 10 — MARCH 2, 2014

Rx, a new comedy by Kate Fodor, has been set for its Los Angeles premiere January 10 through March 2 at the Lost Studio on La Brea. Directed by John Pleshette, there will be one preview performance on Friday, January 10 at 8pm and opening is set for Saturday, January 11 at 8pm. Rx will play a limited engagement through March 2 only.

Love and pharmaceuticals make for a strange cocktail in Kate Fodor’s piercing new comedy. Containing equally strong doses of satire and insight, Fodor’s play strikingly portrays our overmedicated society, which has a pill to alleviate every uncomfortable emotion. A winning combination of comedy and romance, Rx pokes gentle fun at our overprescribed culture. Said the New York Post, “If laughter is the best medicine, maybe health plans should cover the ticket price.”

The cast of Rx will feature (in alphabetical order) Mina Badie, K Callan, Michael Dempsey, James Donovan, Kirsten Kollender, and Jonathan Pessin. The set design is by John Pleshette, lighting design is by Nick Davidson, costume design is by Esther Rydell, and sound design is by Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski. The stage manager is David Rubin. Rx is produced by the Lost Studio and Lynn Pleshette.

Playwright Kate Fodor is a 2013 Guggenheim fellow in playwriting. Her other plays, including the much acclaimed and multi-awarded Hannah and Martin and 100 Saints You Should Know have been produced by Playwrights Horizons, Epic Theatre Ensemble, San Jose Repertory Theatre, London’s Courtyard Theatre, and Chicago’s TimeLime Theatre, among others. She has been a resident playwright at New Dramatists since 2008. Fodor’s work has been developed by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Hartford Stage, and Center Theatre Group. She was named one of the “Eight to Watch” by the New York Times.

Director John Pleshette returns to the Lost Studio where he has previously directed The Grand Irrationality, Me, As a Penguin, Confusions, Mammals, No Man’s Land, and The Caretaker, which won an LA Weekly Award for Best Revival. At the Lex Theatre, he directed productions of Little Murders and The Arrangement, and at the Matrix Theatre, A Critic and His Wife. At the Manhattan Theatre Club Pleshette staged premieres of Jonathan Levy’s Marco Polo and The Pornographer’s Daughter. As an actor, he appeared as a regular on Knots Landing and Murder One, and in the title role of the ABC mini-series The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald. Guest appearances include Curb Your Enthusiasm, N.C.I.S., and The Sopranos. His film credits include featured roles in Blake Edwards’ Mickey and Maude and S.O.B.

There will be one preview performance on Friday, January 10 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, January 11 at 8pm. The running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through March 2 only. Tickets for the preview are $15 and for all other performances admission is $25. Tickets are available now, online at www.plays411.com/rx or by calling (323) 960-7780.

The Lost Studio is located at 130 S. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, 90036. Street parking is available.

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12-13-13