NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ 2016 0VATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED DIGITALLY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2

2016 OVATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS
TO BE ANNOUNCED DIGITALLY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2
ON @ THIS STAGE MAGAZINE

The 2016 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards nominations will be announced digitally on Wednesday, November 2 on @ This Stage Magazine (ThisStage.LA).

Said Steven Leigh Morris, LA STAGE Alliance Executive Director, “This is the first time I’ve been involved with the Ovation Awards in this capacity. I’ve been extremely impressed by the commitment of both the staff and the Ovations Rules Committee in their efforts to ensure the ongoing integrity of the program. Los Angeles has a bounty of excellent theatre at all levels of production and it’s thrilling to see this talent recognized through the Ovation Awards.”

The Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are LA theatre professionals chosen each year by the Ovations Rules Committee, through a rigorous application process.

During the 2015-16 voting season, 280 productions were registered for awards consideration by 116 producing organizations, and 3,923 individual artists were evaluated. Voters cast a total of 8,049 ballots.

The date of this year’s Awards ceremony will be announced shortly. For more information about the Ovation Awards program, including sponsorship and advertising opportunities, visit OvationAwards.com.

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09-28-16

NEWS RELEASE — WORLD PREMIERE OF A NEW MUSICAL — “THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: A RHYTHM & BLUES STORY” — OPENS SUNDAY 10/2 at 4pm

DEVILISH THEATRICAL
PRESENTS
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF A NEW MUSICAL
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
A Rhythm & Blues Story
BOOK BY DAVID CAREY FOSTER & LARRY POINDEXTER
MUSIC & LYRICS BY LARRY POINDEXTER
DIRECTED BY DARIN ANTHONY

SEPTEMBER 29 — OCTOBER 23
AT THEATRE OF ARTS
ARENA STAGE THEATRE

OPENS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 4PM

Devilish Theatrical in association with Theatre of Arts has announced the world premiere of The Devil You Know—A Rhythm & Blues Story, a new musical with book by David Carey Foster & Larry Poindexter, and music & lyrics by Poindexter. Directed by Darin Anthony with musical direction by Brad Ellis, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Trevon Davis, Julia Harriman, Gildart Jackson, Harrison Killian-White, Alexis Krause, Braxton Molinaro, Larry Poindexter, Niles Rivers, Sasha Sloan, James Patrick Stuart, and Bill Watterson. Opening is set for Sunday, October 2 at 4pm and the strictly limited engagement will run through October 23 only.

Due to the sudden heat generated by an unreleased song’s play in a commercial, the disbanded R&B group Devereaux has been approached by their former record label to complete the band’s unfinished debut album. Whether the band’s leader Bobby Alderman and the former lead singer (and Bobby’s ex-wife) Rochelle Deveraux can overcome their differences to reunite the band and rekindle personal and professional dreams, is an open question. The scenic design is by David Offner, lighting design is by Brandon Baruch, costume design is by Angela Trivino, choreography is by Angela Lopez, the assistant director is Andrea Fiorentini, and casting is by Carol Kritzer at Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer Casting. The stage managers are Juli Figueroa and Mercedes Aponte.The Devil You Know—A Rhythm & Blues Story is produced in association with Theatre of Arts and sponsored by Kinecta Federal Credit Union. The producers for Devilish Theatrical are Cate Cundiff and Max Oken.

David Carey Foster (Book Co-Writer) has worked as an actor in Zhivago, the Musical (La Jolla Playhouse), Inventing Van Gogh (PCPA) and Orson’s Shadow (ART Portland), among others. Television credits include Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, The Mentalist, Dexter, and True Nightmares. Films include Get a Job, The Catcher, and Brix and the Bitch. For the stage, Foster has directed Sylvia, Good People (San Luis Obispo Little Theatre) and Unbeatable (Tower Theatre); he has produced My Children! My Africa!, Alfred Stieglitz Loves O’Keeffe, Voices of America, A Night at the Tonys (Central Coast Repertory Theatre), Einstein & the Polar Bear, and The Cocktail Hour (Colony Theatre). He is a vocalist with the R&B/Country trio Pepper Street.

Larry Poindexter (Book Co-Writer; Music & Lyrics) is an actor, producer, writer, and composer. His songs have been featured in numerous TV shows and films. In the film industry, he has served as a producer, second unit director, first assistant director, production coordinator, and casting director. His first job in the entertainment business was with Catalina Production Group where he was the production coordinator for the musical adaptation of The Wrong Box. Poindexter also produced the semi-improvised Thin Ice with Hank Azaria and a season at Theatre 40. Along with partner Flody Suarez and Jeffrey Sellers, he will be producing the authorized Cher bio-musical on Broadway in 2017.

Darin Anthony (Director) is the Artistic Director of Moving Arts, a company dedicated to adventurous new work by Los Angeles artists. He directed the West Coast premieres of The Kill-or-Dies, Viral, The Gun Show, Gidion’s Knot, US Drag, Smudge, A Hole in the Dark, The Book of Liz, Bach at Leipzig, and the premiere of Nureyev’s Eyes at American Stages. World premieres include The Good Boy, The Incident Report, S.O.E., The Antiquarian’s Family, Street Angel Diaries, Before We Go Home, The Closeness of the Horizon, London’s Scars, Sidhe, and HEADS. Anthony’s film directing debut, Hitting the Cycle, was awarded Best Feature Film by the Manhattan Film Festival. He also directed and developed the web series Before We Go to Sleep.

Brad Ellis (Musical Director) is best known as Brad the Pianist on Fox TV’s Glee. Other television credits include The Rocky Horror Picture Show (2016), Bunheads, The Gilmore Girls, The Girls Next Door, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, The Middle, The 2009 Academy Awards, and The Glee Project. Film: Chicago, De-Lovely, and Beauty and the Beast. Ellis has conducted and performed in over 6,000 performances of more than 400 different musicals in NY, LA, and internationally, and orchestrates for the LA Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the New York Pops (Carnegie Hall), and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has written for the off-Broadway shows Plaid Tidings and Tin Pan Alley Rag, and has been the leader on 35 albums for RCA, DRG, and Varese Sarabande. He has been profiled by CNN, NPR, The New York Times, and People Magazine.

There will be three preview performances ofThe Devil You Know—A Rhythm & Blues Story on Thursday, September 29, Friday, September 30, and Saturday, October 1 at 8pm, and the opening is set for Sunday, October 2 at 4pm. General seating admission is $30 and the running schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 6pm through October 23 only. Tickets may be purchased online at www.thedevilyouknow.rocks or by calling (323) 546-4297.

Theatre of Arts/Arena Stage Theatre is located at 1625 Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, 90028.

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09-09-16

NEWS RELEASE – LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER PRESENTS “THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE: REVISITED — OPENS SATURDAY 10/8 at 8pm

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s
Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
Presents
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe: Revisited

By Jane Wagner
Directed by Ken Sawyer

PREVIEWS BEGIN OCTOBER 4
OPENS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8 AT 8PM

For the first time in the 35-year history of Jane Wagner’s iconic play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, the author and her creative and life partner Lily Tomlin have given their approval for it to be reinvented as a fully staged production performed by a company of 12 actors as opposed to its original solo format. This first-ever fully cast production will be directed by Ovation Award-winner Ken Sawyer with previews beginning October 4. Opening is set for Saturday, October 8 at 8pm at the Davidson/Valentini Theatre at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Over the last four years, the Center’s Cultural Arts Program’s creative collaboration of Artistic Director Jon Imparato and director Ken Sawyer has presented the critically-acclaimed hits Deathtrap; The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later; The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?; and Hit the Wall (which won Sawyer LADCC and Stage Raw Awards for Best Director and a Best Production of the Year Award for the Center). The new staging of Wagner’s play is titled The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe: Revisited. Said Imparato, “It was important to give our production a new name so that audiences are aware this is not a solo performance but a reimagined version of the play with different actors playing the many roles.”

In The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe: Revisited audiences will embark on a hilarious, tender, and profound journey through the streets, across the world, and far beyond. The cast will include (in alphabetical order) Julia Aks, Charlotte Gulezian, Joe Hart, Julanne Chidi Hill, Kristina Johnson, Kimberly Jürgen, Bellini Logan, Jeremy Luke, Ann Noble, Sasha Pasternak, Anny Rosario, and Rachel Sorsa.

The design team: Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (set), Matt Richter and Adam Earle (lighting), Paula Higgins (costumes), Matt Richter (sound), Nick Santiago (projection design), Anna Waronker and Charlotte Caffey (original music and underscore), Yusif Nasir (choreography), and Mo Gaffney (mime instruction). The producer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center is Jon Imparato, and Rebecca Schoenberg serves as stage manager.

Preview performances begin on October 4 at 8pm and continue on October 5, 6, and 7 at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, October 8 at 8pm. The engagement will run through December 11 with no performances over Thanksgiving weekend. General admission tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre or by phone at (323) 860-7300. 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 Davidson/Valentini 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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09-06-16

About the Los Angeles LGBT Center
Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s more than 500 employees and 3,000 volunteers provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, and Leadership and Advocacy. The Center is an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world — a world in which LGBT people can be healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at http://lalgbtcenter.org