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NEWS RELEASE — ‘BROADWAY UNDER THE STARS’ SPECIAL EVENT — ORIGINAL BROADWAY “DREAMGIRLS” REUNITE at JOHN ANSON FORD AMPHITHEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD FOR CONVERSATION AND SONG — SUNDAY, JULY 10 AT 8PM

CHRIS ISAACSON PRESENTS
BROADWAY UNDER THE STARS
SPECIAL EVENT
CELEBRATING THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE LEGENDARY TONY AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL DREAMGIRLS
ORIGINAL STARS
SHERYL LEE RALPH, LORETTA DEVINE,
AND JENNIFER HOLLIDAY
REUNITE FOR CONVERSATION AND SONG
ONE NIGHT ONLY
SUNDAY, JULY 10 AT 8pm
JOHN ANSON FORD AMPHITHEATRE

Dreamgirls - Broadway Under the StarsChris Isaacson Presents in association with Ronn Goswick has announced a Broadway Under the Stars special event, a one-night-only concert starring the original Dreamgirls — Independent Spirit Award-winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, Emmy Award-winner Loretta Devine, and Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award-winner Jennifer Holliday in conversation and song. The curtain will rise at 8pm on Sunday, July 10 at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. Additional performers will be announced soon.

Sheryl Lee Ralph is an acclaimed author, producer, and actor. She originated the role of Deena Jones in Dreamgirls on Broadway, garnering a Tony Award nomination for her performance. Television credits include Instant Mom, Moesha, Ray Donovan, Criminal Minds, To Sleep With Anger (Independent Spirit Award), and more. Ralph is the founding director of the D.I.V.A. (Divinely Inspired Victoriously Anointed) Foundation, which she created in memory of many friends lost to AIDS. She holds the distinction of being the youngest female graduate of Rutgers University at the age of 19.

Loretta Devine, equally at home on stage and on screen, originated the role of Lorrell Robinson in Dreamgirls on Broadway. Other stage credits include Hair, The Colored Museum, Mahalia, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Spunk, Rabbit’s Foot, and Bob Fosse’s Big Deal, to name only a few. She has received many nominations for and won Primetime Emmy Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Satellite and Black Image Awards, the Gracie Allen Award, and the Critics’ Choice Award. Devine’s many and acclaimed television credits include Grey’s Anatomy, A Different World, Boston Public, Being Mary Jane, The Carmichael Show, Eli Stone, The Client List, and many more. Devine’s film credits are numerous and varied, including Madea’s Big Happy Family, In the Hive, You’re Not You, The Sound and the Fury, Welcome to Me, Jumping the Broom, Death at a Funeral, and the Oscar-winning Crash, among others.

Jennifer Holliday has been proclaimed a Broadway legend by critics and fans alike. She originated the role of Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls for which she won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Through the years, she has recorded five CDs, appeared on television, in many other stage productions, and as a soloist with Symphony Orchestras all over the country. Holliday has worked with major artists including Barbra Streisand, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, David Foster, and many others. She has performed for four U.S. Presidents and continues to tour all over the world.

Chris Isaacson Presents (CIP) has created, produced, and promoted over 600 events since the company’s founding in 2004. From small clubs to major theatres CIP has presented some of the most influential stars of this generation including Adam Lambert, Lea Michele, Neil Patrick Harris, Grammy Award-winners Paula Cole, Richard Marx, Sergio Mendes, and more. Recently, CIP produced the “Food & Friends—Vibiana” charitable event honoring Grammy Award-winning rock icons Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. The event at Los Angeles’s downtown hot-spot Vibiana, was hosted by Emmy-Award-winner Lisa Kudrow and included performances by UCLA’s Scattertones, Nickelodeon’s Ashley Argota and High School Musical star Corbin Bleu. “Food & Friends” raised over $400,000 for the Nexus Scholarship Award that supports elite clinician/research neuroscientists in UCLA’s M.D. and Ph.D. Psychiatry Residency research training programs.

This Broadway Under the Stars special event will be at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Boulevard East, in Hollywood, for one performance only on Sunday, July 10 at 8pm. Ticket prices start at $65 and VIP packages are available. Tickets may be purchased online at FordTheatres.org and at ChrisIsaacsonPresents.com, or by calling (323) 461-3673; for non-visual media, call 323-GO-1-FORD. To learn about discounts for groups of 10 or more, please visit FordTheatres.org. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will benefit The D.I.V.A. Foundation and The Actors Fund.

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04-27-16

L to R — Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, Jennifer Holliday. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS ISAACSON PRESENTS.

NEWS RELEASE — LA LGBT CENTER/SIXTH AVENUE PRODUCTION OF “HIT THE WALL” WINS 7 STAGE RAW THEATRE AWARDS

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s
Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
and Sixth Avenue production of
HIT THE WALL
By Ike Holter
Directed by Ken Sawyer
WINS SEVEN STAGERAW.COM
THEATRE AWARDS

Hit the WallHit the Wall, a play by Ike Holter, which was presented from September 2015 through January 2016 by the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center and Sixth Avenue, took home seven StageRaw.com Theatre Awards from the second-ever awards ceremony on Monday, April 25 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. It was the most wins for any nominated production.

The winners were Edgar Landa (Fight Choreography), Matthew Hancock (Leading Male Performance), Anna Waronker & Charlotte Caffey (Original Music), Ken Sawyer (Direction), Production Design, Ensemble, and Production of the Year.

The award-winning ensemble included (in alphabetical order) Jason Caceres, Burt Grinstead, Charlotte Gulezian, Matthew Hancock, Kristina Johnson, Kenneth Lopez, Maggie Marx, Dan Middleditch, Roland Ruiz, Shoniqua Shandai, Adam Silver, Donnie Smith, Jess Weaver, and Blake Young-Fountain.

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04-27-16

NEWS RELEASE — Benefit Performances of “THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES” — Atwater Village Theatre — April 30, May 1, 6, and 7

All-Star Cast Will Perform
The Vagina Monologues
to Benefit V-Day and Protect.org
Popular LATalkRadio Host Sheena Metal
Directs the Eve Ensler Play
at the Atwater Village Theatre
Four Performances Only
April 30 / May 1, 6 & 7

Vagina Monologues 2016A who’s who of film and television stars will perform Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues in an intimate theatrical setting for four benefit performances only on April 30, May 1, 6 & 7 at 8pm, at the Atwater Village Theatre in Los Angeles. Produced and directed by Sheena Metal for Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles, all proceeds will benefit V-Day (vday.org), A Global Movement to End Violence Against Women and Girls, and protect.org, a national pro-child, anti-crime association committed to building a powerful, nonpartisan force for the protection of children from abuse, exploitation and neglect.

Each evening will feature a different group of performers. Among the long list of luminous actors are (in alphabetical order) Alison Arngrim, Julie Brown, Gabrielle Carteris, Rae Dawn Chong, Anne DeSalvo, Frances Fisher, Geri Jewell, Carolyn Hennesy, Kate Linder, Lee Meriwether, Susan Olsen, Robin Riker, Beverly Sanders, Tracie Thoms, Kirsten Vangsness, Suzanne Whang, Jill Whelan, and Debra Wilson. All appearances are subject to availability.

Director Sheena Metal is now celebrating the 10th anniversary of her involvement with the annual benefit readings of The Vagina Monologues. “It is thrilling to work with so many great actresses, all of whom are graciously donating their time and talents,” said Metal, whose popular LATalkRadio show, The Sheena Metal Experience (M-F, 5-7pm) is only one of four programs she hosts on LATR each week. “I salute every artist, onstage and off, that is contributing to this special presentation of The Vagina Monologues.”

To date, the V-Day movement, founded by playwright/actress Eve Ensler, has raised over $75 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it. In 2006, the V-Day movement was named one of Marie Claire Magazine’s Top Ten Charities, and in 2010, over 5400 V-Day benefit events took place produced by volunteer activists in the U.S. and around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls. In more than a dozen years, the V-Day movement has reached over 300 million people.

These special benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues are on Saturday, April 30; Sunday, May 1; Friday, May 6; and Saturday, May 7. Curtain time for all performances is 8pm. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at http://vdaylosangeles.com/tickets2016.html or by phone at (818) 437-0886. The Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Avenue, in Los Angeles, 90039.

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04-25-16