NEWS RELEASE — “VARLA JEAN MERMAN’S BIG BLACK HOLE” — THREE NITES ONLY AT LALGBT’s RENBERG THEATRE APRIL 1, 2, & 3

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s
Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
Presents
Varla Jean Merman’s
Big Black Hole
Written by Jeffery Roberson and Jacques Lamarre
With Gerald Goode on piano
Directed by Michael Schiralli

Friday & Saturday, April 1 & 2 and Sunday, April 3

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center has announced the return of the extraordinary Varla Jean Merman to the Renberg Theatre. Long a favorite with Renberg audiences, Varla (the drag persona of New Orleans native Jeffery Roberson) will take the stage again after a 10-year absence during which the acclaimed performer did extensive research in outer space. Her new solo show, the science fiction-themed Varla Jean Merman’s Big Black Hole, is the culmination of this long and grueling research. It will play for three nights only at the Renberg Theatre on April 1, 2 and 3.

Described as “a warp-speed, warped tour of outer space” (Provincetown Magazine), Big Black Hole combines story, song, and video in “an inventive night of theatre, full of high-class production, vaudevillesque low-brow humor, and the vocal prowess of a grand dame of the stage.” (ibid.) The show also features the piano stylings of accompanist and Varla-foil Gerald Goode.

As Varla Jean Merman, Jeffery Roberson has filled cabarets and concert halls across the world including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the New York Public Theater, London’s Soho Theatre, and the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre. He wrote and starred in the short Improve Your History with Varla Jean: Stonewall for the launch of the MTV television network logo, and was also seen in their One Night Standup: Dragtastic special. Varla starred in the new musical Lucky Guy opposite Leslie Jordan in New York at the Little Shubert in the spring of 2011, receiving rave reviews. Roberson has also guest-starred on Ugly Betty, Project Runway Season 5, appeared as Mary Sunshine in the revival of Chicago on Broadway, and recurred as lady-of-the-evening Rosemary Chicken on the classic ABC soap opera All My Children. For his role in the cult camp hit Girls Will Be Girls, Roberson won both Best Actor and Best Actress awards (Outfest, Aspen HBO Film Festivals). For more information about Varla Jean Merman, visit varlaonline.com.

General admission tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre or by phone at (323) 860-7300. The performances on Friday 4/1 and Saturday 4/2 are at 8pm, and on Sunday 4/3 the curtain will rise at 7pm. Net proceeds from all ticket sales will support the full range of free and low-cost programs and services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038. Free onsite parking is available.

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03-07-16

NEWS RELEASE — THE BLANK THEATRE NOW ACCEPTING SCRIPTS FOR 2016—2017 LIVING ROOM SERIES

THE BLANK THEATRE NOW ACCEPTING SCRIPTS FOR 2016—2017 LIVING ROOM SERIES

The Blank Theatre in Hollywood is now accepting scripts for its 2016—2017 Living Room Series. Submissions will be accepted between March 1 and May 31, 2016.

Now in its 25th year, the Living Room Series is a New Play Development program which embodies The Blank’s commitment to developing new work by both established and emerging writers. The Living Room Series takes place on Monday evenings between Labor Day and Memorial Day at The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre. This program offers a week-long rehearsal process for the playwright, director, and actors to explore and refine the play before presenting it to an audience. The performances are minimally staged with actors carrying scripts and are a wonderful opportunity for the playwright to get a sense of the play’s full potential.

The Living Room Series develops and produces approximately 30 new plays each year. Many of these plays have later received productions at venues including Manhattan Theatre Club, Transport Group, Laguna Playhouse, Malibu Playhouse, The Colony Theatre, Primary Stages, Vineyard Theatre, LaMaMa ETC, and Brideswell Theatre in London. In 2014 The Explorer’s Club by Nell Benjamin (twice developed in the LRS) was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club where it won the NY Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off Broadway Play.

Fifteen plays from the Living Room Series have received mainstage productions at The Blank, including Heads by EM Lewis which won the 2008 Francesca Primus Prize and has had subsequent productions at Theater For A New City and other regional venues. In addition, two of the three 2015 Ebell Prize winners, Aliza Goldstein (1st place) and Val Stulman, (3rd place) are LRS alums.

For submission guidelines and further instructions, visit www.theblank.com and click on the Living Room Series.

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03-01-16

Kristin Hits the OC! (LAArtsOnline.com)

^{Photo 1: Kristin Chenoweth hits Segerstrom Center for Performing Arts March 12, Photo 2: Kristin Chenoweth, Photo 3: Kristin Chenoweth, Photo 4: Segerstrom Center for the Arts – campus – Segerstrom Hall and Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall – RMA Photography}

Kristin Hits The OC!

By Ken Werther

On the night of June 6, 1999, Kristin Chenoweth was beamed into homes all across America and around the world on the annual Tony Awards telecast. She treated us to “My New Philosophy,” a song she had been performing eight times a week on Broadway in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Approximately two minutes after finishing the number, Chenoweth won that year’s Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. I remember sitting in front of the television that night and being truly thrilled and excited. A star had been born.

In the years since, Chenoweth has conquered every performance discipline — theatre, feature films, television, radio, recordings, and concerts. Born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth on July 24, 1968 and adopted when she was five days old, she grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (a suburb of Tulsa). As a child, she performed gospel songs at local churches, and initially decided to train for a career in opera. She received a bachelor’s degree in musical theatre and then a master’s degree in opera performance at Oklahoma City University. While working toward her masters, Chenoweth performed at the Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City, among other regional theatres, in productions of Gypsy, The Sound of Music, Promises, Promises, and The King and I, to name only a few.

After completing her masters degree, she participated in a number of vocal competitions and was named “most promising up-and-coming singer” in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which came with a full scholarship to Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts. Two weeks before school started she went to New York City to help a friend move. While there, she auditioned for the 1993 Paper Mill Playhouse production of the musical Animal Crackers and was cast in the show. She turned down the scholarship and moved to New York to appear in the production and pursue a career in musical theatre. The rest, as they say, is history.

Chenoweth’s list of credits is truly astounding. She has appeared in seven Broadway shows. Her first, Kander & Ebb’s Steel Pier, was in 1997, and then came Charlie Brown. In 2003 she received wide critical and popular acclaim for originating the role of Glinda in Wicked, a now legendary musical that 13 years later is still playing to packed houses on Broadway. Her list of television and film credits is also extraordinary … literally too long (and ever-growing) to start enumerating here! It is definitely worth noting, however, that she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Pushing Daisies.

And then … there’s that voice. She is a classically trained coloratura soprano able to sing the note “F6” (also known as “F above high C”). Her upcoming concert at Segerstrom Hall will include selections from her CDs, a few American standards, other Broadway fare, and fan favorites (“Popular” and “For Good” from Wicked). Chenoweth is always traveling and performing — she has dates booked through mid-2018! She has been quoted as saying that no two shows are exactly alike. Several years back I had the good fortune to see (and hear!) Ms. Chenoweth in concert. Her performance was delicious and unforgettable and there was also something unexpected … this woman has a ‘wicked’ sense of humor that she loves to share. Even when she’s not singing, Kristin Chenoweth is all personality. Oh, and one more thing. Her memoir, “A Little Bit Wicked,” was released in 2009.

Other events at Segerstrom this month include David Crosby in concert (March 5), a conversation with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen (March 11), an afternoon with Mel Brooks (March 13), Yanni in concert (March 20), and a return engagement of the runaway hit The Book of Mormon (beginning March 22). The Segerstrom Center for the Arts is clearly the place to be!

Kristin Chenoweth performs March 12th. To purchase tickets and more details on shows at Segerstrom, click here.