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NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ THURSDAY 3/30 PERFORMANCE OF OPEN CIRCLE THEATRE COMPANY’S “WAITING FOR GODOT” WILL BENEFIT MY FRIEND’S PLACE

OPEN CIRCLE THEATRE COMPANY

ANNOUNCES SPECIAL PERFORMANCE OF

WAITING FOR GODOT

TO BENEFIT

MY FRIEND’S PLACE

HOMELESS YOUTH RESOURCE CENTER IN HOLLYWOOD

ON THURSDAY, MARCH 30 AT 8PM

 

 POST-PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION

WITH OPEN CIRCLE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

DANIEL J. WILNER

AND MY FRIEND’S PLACE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

HEATHER CARMICHAEL

The Open Circle Theatre Company has announced a special performance of its currently running production of Waiting for Godot on Thursday, March 30 at 8pm. A post-play discussion will follow and the evening will benefit My Friend’s Place, a non-profit homeless youth resource center in Hollywood.

The My Friend’s Place mission: to assist and inspire homeless youth to build self-sufficient lives. It is a professionally staffed drop-in resource center serving over 1,400 homeless youths ages 12 to 25 (and their children) each year. The primary goal is to lower traditional barriers to service and provide homeless youth with the opportunity to improve their psychological, intellectual, and physical capacity to reach their potential. The post-play discussion about home, empathy, and action will be led by Open Circle Theatre Company Founder and Artistic Director Daniel J. Wilner and My Friend’s Place Executive Director Heather Carmichael. 

Named “the most significant play of the 20th century” in a poll of theatre professionals, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is a hilarious, moving, disquieting exploration of human existence. The play follows two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, as they pass the time waiting for a mysterious figure who could save them from their troubles. This distinctive production will be staged in the round in a small black–box theatre, creating an intimacy between audience and performers that will offer a unique experience of the play’s empathy and humanity.

Directed by Daniel J. Wilner, the Open Circle Theatre Company production features (in alphabetical order) Tommy Day Carey, Joseph Culliton, Perry Powell, and Douglas Scott Sorenson.

Waiting for Godot is currently running through April 16 only on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. General seating admission is $45. Lower–priced tickets ($30) are available for online purchases made in advance for performances through April 2 (discount will not be valid at the door). Use code ‘earlybird’ when ordering. Tickets for the benefit evening (discount not available) and all other performances are available online at http://godotla.bpt.me or by calling (888) 693-8507.

For more information about the services offered by My Friend’s Place: http://myfriendsplace.org/.

The Other Space @ The Actors Company is located at 916A N. Formosa Avenue in West Hollywood, 90046.

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 03-29-17

NEWS RELEASE — WORLD PREMIERE PLAY “GOONIE” WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY TERRY MARATOS ▪︎ DIRECTED BY JIM ANZIDE ▪︎ OPENS FRIDAY 4/7 at 8pm

GOONIE

A WORLD PREMIERE PLAY

WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY

TERRY MARATOS

 DIRECTED BY JIM ANZIDE

FIVE WEEKS ONLY

OPENS FRIDAY, APRIL 7 AT 8PM

Goonie, a world premiere play written and performed by Terry Maratos, will run for a limited engagement of five weeks at the Atwater Village Theatre with opening set for Friday, April 7 at 8pm, it was announced today. There will be one Pay-What-You-Can preview performance on Thursday, April 6 at 8pm. Directed by Jim Anzide, the run will continue through May 5 only.

Today is Goonie’s sixth birthday — her favorite number. Her father, Terry, is planning a day to remember: bouncy house, extinct animals, and a skywriting plane. With everything in place, what could possibly go wrong? Oh, that’s right — THE DREAM TEAM — Terry’s insane, needy, and borderline psychotic family could all show up, uninvited, and not only ruin Goonie’s party but put Terry in an asylum before he even gets to the piñata.

The scenic design for Goonie is by Amanda Knehans, lighting design is by Dan Weingarten, and sound design is by Tim Labor. The stage manager is Hiram Sanchez, who also serves as assistant director.

Terry Maratos began his theatre career in New York. He performed in great off-off Broadway venues like Todo Con Nada in Miss Universal Happiness by Richard Foreman, and at The Piano Store inSamurai before making his way uptown to the Ensemble Studio Theatre. In Los Angeles, he has performed at Circle X, the Odyssey Theatre, and in Mike O’Malley’s Diverting Devotion at The Hudson Theatre, among many others. His television credits include Low Life, Homeland, The Bridge, CSI: Miami, House, Dexter, ER, Sex and the City, and more. Recent indie film credit includes Interpreters,directed by Michael Ryan. Maratos is also an accomplished voice actor and has done more than 50 commercials. With his close friend and collaborator Erik Van Wyck, he has co-written two screenplays,Life Untitled and Marco Polo, and one pilot, Drived. He is currently working on a new play entitled I’ll Do Whatever I Want.

Director Jim Anzide is one of the seven founding members of Circle X Theatre Company, and he served as Artistic Director until 2003. He has appeared in many Ovation Award–winning shows and has directed many as well, including The Eight, Great Men of Science Nos. 21 & 22, In Flagrante Gothicto, Mother of Modern Censorship, Louis Slotin Sonata, Grendel, American Book of the Dead –The Game Show, Laura Comstock’s Bag-Punching Dog, and Love Loves a Pornographer. Anzide is now the proud owner of Out & About Tours, Hollywood’s first and only Gay Bus and Walking Tours.

There will be a Pay-What-You-Can preview of Goonie on Thursday, April 6 at 8pm and opening is set for Friday, April 7 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule will be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm through May 5 only. Admission is $20 with tickets available to seniors and students (with I.D.) for $15. To purchase online go to www.gonnietheplay.com or call (323) 839-5086. The Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Avenue in Los Angeles, 90039.

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 03-27-17

 

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ DONNA McKECHNIE: SAME PLACE, ANOTHER TIME — SUNDAY 5/28 in HOLLYWOOD and THURSDAY 6/1 in SAN DIEGO

“A mix of high-sheen professionalism and raw vulnerability make an evening with Donna McKechnie quite a singular sensation.”
— The New York Times

CHRIS ISAACSON PRESENTS

LEGENDARY TONY AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY STAR

 DONNA McKECHNIE

Same Place, Another Time

TWO SHOWS ONLY

SUNDAY, MAY 28 at 7:30pm

CATALINA BAR & GRILL IN HOLLYWOOD

 THURSDAY, JUNE 1 at 8pm

MARTINIS ABOVE FOURTH IN SAN DIEGO

Donna McKechnieChris Isaacson Presents has announced that legendary Tony Award-winning Broadway star Donna McKechnie will bring her show Same Place, Another Time to Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood on Sunday, May 28 at 7:30pm and Martinis Above Fourth in San Diego on Thursday, June 1 at 8pm.

Tony Award-winning star of A Chorus Line Donna McKechnie is regarded internationally as one of Broadway’s foremost dancing and singing leading ladies. Her Broadway shows include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Sondheim—A Musical Tribute (which she also choreographed), On the Town, Promises, Promises, Company, and State Fair (1996 Fred Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer). McKechnie has starred in numerous productions in London’s West End including Promises, Promises, Company, No Way to Treat a Lady, Can-Can, and Follies. She starred in Bob Fosse’s last production, the 1987 National Tour of Sweet Charity (Helen Hayes Award nomination). Regional credits include Irma La Douce, Cabaret, The Threepenny Opera, The Goodbye Girl, Mack andMabel, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, I Do! I Do!, and her own one-woman musical Inside the Music. Most recently she created the musical staging for Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks starring Leslie Caron at the Laguna Playhouse. McKechnie’s memoir, Time Steps—My Musical Comedy Life, was published by Simon and Schuster.

Special guests will include Greg Safel making his LA cabaret debut in celebration of his new CD Visible (LML Music), and local favorite Jeffrey Scott Parsons, a musical theatre star working on the boards across the United States and internationally. Some of his many credits include West Side Story, White Christmas, Cabaret, Dames at Sea, 42nd Street, Glory Days, and Forever Plaid. (Safel will not appear in San Diego.)

Chris Isaacson Presents (CIP) has created, produced, and promoted over 700 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. CIP’s summer event in 2016 — Broadway Under the Stars: Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of “Dreamgirls” — was a complete sellout at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. The evening starred original Dreamgirls Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, and Jennifer Holliday. Most recently, CIP coordinated and produced an elaborate kick-off event at the Pacific Design Center celebrating the premiere of Ryan Murphy’s FEUD: Bette and Joan (FX Networks). The Drag-Tacular Live Concert Event featured Tony Award-winner Sam Harris as host. Niki Harris and Bianca Del Rio were only two of the many stars in the show, which played to a standing room only crowd. For information about upcoming CIP events, including Heart & Soul: The Music of Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, and Diana Ross! starring Sharon Catherine Brown (Martinis Above Fourth in San Diego on April 9 and Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood on April 15), Shoshana Bean & Friends (Catalina on April 14), and Broadway Under the Stars (Ford Amphitheatre on October 7), visit www.ChrislsaacsonPresents.com.

Donna McKechnie: Same Place, Another Time at Catalina Bar & Grill on Sunday, May 28 is at 7:30pm (doors open at 6pm for cocktail and dinner service). Minimums apply. Admission is $30—$40, and VIP seating ($55) is available. Purchases made before May 22 receive a $5 discount, and online purchases will receive priority seating. The Martinis Above Fourth performance on Thursday, June 1 is at 8pm (doors open at 6pm for cocktail and dinner service). Minimums apply. Admission is $45. Tickets for both shows may be obtained online at www.ChrisIsaacsonPresents.com, or by calling (866) 468-3399. Catalina Bar & Grill is located at 6725 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, 90028. Martinis Above Fourth is located at 3940 Fourth Avenue (2nd floor), in San Diego, 92103.

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03-24-17

 

 

PHOTO OF DONNA McKECHNIE BY CAROL ROSEGG.