Announcing: J.P. Karliak’s “Donna/Madonna” For One Night Only, Tuesday 6/21 at The Marsh San Francisco

DONNA/MADONNA
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY JOHN PAUL KARLIAK
DIRECTED BY TIGER REEL AND MATTHEW CRAIG
SET FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY
TUESDAY, JUNE 21 AT THE MARSH SAN FRANCISCO

Rizzo 39 Productions has announced a one night only presentation of Donna/Madonna at the Marsh San Francisco. This new solo show, written and performed by John Paul Karliak, is directed by Tiger Reel and Matthew Craig. Donna/Madonna is set for Tuesday, June 21 at 7:30pm.

In this autobiographical one-act, writer/performer John Paul Karliak wants desperately to be the perfect son for his adopted mother, a doting Catholic housewife from Scranton, PA. But realizing he will never be the ideal local boy, he seeks answers from a very different source: his fashion-writing, married-to-a-British-pop-star birth mother. Donna/Madonna is a tale of motherly love and finding acceptance, told through stories, songs and characters like Darth Vader, Carol Channing and John Paul’s unforgettable mothers. Hilarious and poignant, this cross-country journey from Scranton to Los Angeles shows that sometimes you have to meet a “Material Girl” to truly appreciate “America’s Sweetheart.” Donna/Madonna was the winner of the Best One Man Show Award at the 2010 United Solo Theatre Festival in New York.

John Paul Karliak’s recent film projects include Dante’s Inferno, Little Black Dress for AFI, L.T.D. (web series), and Delusions of Grandeur (TV pilot). LA theatre credits include The Mistakes Madeline Made, The Girl, the Grouch & the Goat, Into the Woods, Inherit the Wind, Women and Wallace, Whatever, and Sexual Perversity in Chicago. A graduate of the USC School of Theatre, iO West and Second City Training Center, John Paul has written numerous short films and plays produced in locales around the country, including Donna/Madonna, which is his first full-length solo production.

Between them, co-directors Tiger Reel and Matthew Craig boast impressive credits in both theatre and television. Reel is the Founding Artistic Director of the Action! Theatre Company, where his directing credits include Slaughterhouse-Five (West Coast premiere), The Tempest, and Inherit the Wind, among others. He has also directed regionally and internationally. Craig has performed nationwide with The Second City Touring Company, and most recently has appeared on episodes of According to Jim, Mobbed, and The Office. He is currently a writer for Saturday Night Live.

Proceeds from Donna/Madonna will benefit Kinship Center©, a California non-profit agency dedicated to the creation, preservation and support of foster, adoptive and relative families for children who need them. Since 1984, Kinship Center© has helped create and support families for thousands of children of all ages. Kinship Center© is headquartered in Salinas, California, with facilities and services in eleven Southern California, Central Coast and Northern California counties.

The doors will open on Tuesday, June 21 at 7pm, and curtain is at 7:30pm. General admission seating is $15-$20 (pay-what-you-will, does not change seating location), and tickets can be purchased by visiting www.themarsh.org/rising.html or by calling (415) 282-3055. The Marsh is located at 1062 Valencia Street (near 22nd Street), in San Francisco’s Mission District. For more info, visit www.donnamadonnashow.com.

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06-17-11

PHOTO OF JOHN PAUL KARLIAK BY AARON BENDELE.

Announcing: David Crosby & Graham Nash in Concert to Benefit The Blank Theatre

DAVID CROSBY AND GRAHAM NASH
SET TO PERFORM BENEFIT CONCERT SUNDAY, JULY 17
FOR THE BLANK THEATRE
NOAH WYLE HOSTS AT THE MUSIC BOX HOLLYWOOD

Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees David Crosby and Graham Nash will play an intimate acoustic concert at the beautifully restored Music Box Hollywood, benefitting The Blank Theatre’s 20th Anniversary Season, on Sunday, July 17, 2011 at 7:30pm. The event will be hosted by The Blank’s Artistic Producer Noah Wyle, and tickets go on sale Friday June 10 at 10am.

About The Blank Theatre

Started in 1990 by Founding Artistic Director Daniel Henning, The Blank Theatre is Hollywood’s regional theatre, consistently offering some of the most high quality and entertaining productions in the area. In its 20-year history, The Blank has won hundreds of awards including every major award in Los Angeles for Outstanding Production, such as the LA Drama Critics Circle, Ovation, LA Weekly, NAACP, and Back Stage Garland awards. The Blank has been at the forefront of providing high quality productions with a risk-taking sensibility and entertaining experiences. With programs such as its Living Room Series and its annual nationwide Young Playwrights Festival, The Blank Theatre is committed to developing excellence in artistic talent and providing the opportunity for artists to take bold risks. For more information, please visit: www.TheBlank.com.

BENEFIT CONCERT INFORMATION

DATE/TIME: Sunday July 17 at 7:30pm

ADMISSION: $75 Reserved, $50 General. (A limited number of Gold Circle tickets, which include post-show reception with David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Noah Wyle; and Silver Circle preferred seating, are also available.)

TICKETS: Online at www.TheBlank.com or by calling (323) 661-9827.

LOCATION: The Music Box Hollywood, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 90028.

For more information on David Crosby and Graham Nash, visit www.crosbynash.com.

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06-08-11

Announcing: Caught Extends One Final Time, Until June 26, 2011

CAUGHT EXTENDS ONE FINAL TIME
SMASH HIT WORLD PREMIERE PLAY BY DAVID L. RAY
AND DIRECTED BY NICK DEGRUCCIO
ENDS SOLD OUT EIGHT-MONTH RUN AT ZEPHYR THEATRE
ON JUNE 26, 2011

TICKET PURCHASES NOW BENEFITTING
THE NOH8 CAMPAIGN & AID FOR AIDS

David L. Ray’s world premiere play, Caught, presented by Buttermilk Productions in association with Drumfish Productions, and directed by three-time Ovation Award-winner Nick DeGruccio, has extended its run one final time through Sunday, June 26.

For the remainder of the run, patrons may use special codes (either NOH8 or AID4AIDS) when ordering tickets at www.CaughtThePlay.com and the production will donate 25% of the ticket price to either the NOH8 Campaign or Aid for AIDS.

The story of Caught centers around the upcoming wedding of Kenneth and Troy, a committed gay couple living in Los Angeles. Kenneth’s estranged, culturally-conservative sister, Darlene, and her daughter Krystal unexpectedly visit the couple’s home from south Georgia only days before the event. Through this set of circumstances, Caught explores the meaning of ‘marriage,’ and how the family can find a way to meet in the middle while navigating long-standing religious values and staying true to each’s core beliefs.

The cast features (in alphabetical order) Mackenzie Astin, Will Beinbrink, Richard Jenik, Amanda Kaschak, Micah McCain, and Deborah Puette. The design team includes set by Adam Flemming, lighting by Lisa D. Katz, sound by Elizabeth Rhodes, and costumes by Katherine Hampton Noland. Casting is by Raul Staggs, and the production stage manager is Darlene Miyakawa.

The Ovation Recommended production of Caught will end its run on Sunday, June 26. Regular performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 7:00pm. Tickets are $40 and may be purchased by visiting www.CaughtThePlay.com or by calling (800) 595-4849. The Zephyr Theatre is located at 7456 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, 90046.

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05-03-11