Archived entries for Braxton Molinaro

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

The Devil You KnowDevilish 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 — “THE UNDERSTUDY” BY THERESA REBECK — OPENS FRIDAY 3/11 at 8pm

“The storm is upon us.”

THE UNDERSTUDY
BY THERESA REBECK
DIRECTED BY LAURA HENRY

FEATURING
MAX BUNZEL, BRAXTON MOLINARO,
AND MAGDALENE VICK

OPENING FRIDAY, MARCH 11
AT WORKING STAGE THEATER
FOR NINE PERFORMANCES ONLY

The UnderstudyA new production of The Understudy by Theresa Rebeck will open on Friday, March 11 at 8pm for a limited run of nine performances at Working Stage Theater in Los Angeles. The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Max Bunzel (NCIS: Los Angeles), Braxton Molinaro (Sons of the Prophet at The Blank Theatre), and Magdalene Vick (Average Joe). Directed by Laura Henry, the engagement will run through March 27 only.

A journeyman actor in over his head, a B-list movie star yearning for legitimacy, and an overwhelmed stage manager set the stage for Rebeck’s hilarious and poignant satire of passion about behind-the-scenes life in today’s entertainment industry. [Run time is 90 minutes.] Scenic design is by Ryan Wineinger and Sam Ogden, costume design is by Whitney Oppenheimer, projection design is by Brad Peterson, and the stage manager is Ashley Clark.

Theresa Rebeck is a widely produced playwright throughout the United States and abroad whose work also includes The Scene, The Water’s Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann, Spike Heels, Bad Dates, Poor Behavior, View of the Dome, Omnium Gatherum (co-written with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2004) and Our House. She has written two novels, Three Girls and Their Brother and Twelve Rooms with a View. She is also an award-winning writer and producer for television, including the shows Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Brooklyn Bridge, Dream On, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue, and she is the creator of NBC’s Smash, among others.

Laura Henry is a critically acclaimed director and acting coach. She was a full time director and professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts from 2004 through 2011. She is now based in Santa Monica where she teaches full time at her studio. Henry’s LA theatre credits include Shift (LA Theatre Festival); House of Blue Leaves and The Crucible (Matrix Theatre); Raft of the Medusa and The Sonworshipper (Zephyr Theatre); and The Hypochondriac and The Promise (HBO Workspace).

The world premiere of The Understudy was produced by the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Nicholas Martin, Artistic Director, on July 23, 2008. It was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons with funds provided by The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Opening of The Understudy is set for Friday, March 11 at 8pm. General seating admission is $15 and the running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through March 27 only THREE PERFORMANCES ADDED: Friday 4/1 at 8pm, Saturday 4/2 at 8pm, and Sunday 4/3 at 3pm. Tickets may be purchased online at theunderstudy.brownpapertickets.com, by emailing understudytix@gmail.com, or by calling (800) 838-3006. Working Stage Theater is located at 1516 N. Gardner Street in Los Angeles. Street parking is available.

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02-29-16

NEWS RELEASE — MORE THAN 50 ACTORS SET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLANK THEATRE’S 23rd ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

DEBORAH S. CRAIG, JULIE GONZALO,
ECHO KELLUM, MISSI PYLE,
SARA RUE, LINDSEY SHAW,
VIRGINIA WILLIAMS, AND MORE
SET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLANK THEATRE’S
23RD ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
JUNE 4—28

Young Playwrights Festival 2015More than 50 actors are set to participate in The Blank Theatre’s 23rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival, including Deborah S. Craig (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Julie Gonzalo (Dallas), Echo Kellum (Sean Saves the World, Ben & Kate), Missi Pyle (Gone Girl), Sara Rue (Rules of Engagement, Impastor), Lindsey Shaw (Pretty Little Liars), and Virginia Williams (Fairly Legal). Twelve winning plays by young playwrights aged 12—19 from seven different states will be presented during this year’s festival at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, running from June 4—28.

Other notable performers appearing in the Festival are (in alphabetical order) Juliette Angelo, Makenna Ballard, Brielle Barbusca, Sarah Allyn Bauer, L.J. Benet, Jayson Blair, Zach Callison, Chloe Carabasi, Blaire Chandler, Joe DiGiovanni, Nik Dodani, Gabrielle Elyse, Cole Ewing, Nathan Frizzell, Ashlee Füss, Michael Grant, Anna Jacoby-Heron, Kaitlyn Jenkins, Elizabeth Knowelden, Layne Kula, Amir Levi, Max Lloyd-Jones, Jeff Marlow, Sydney Meyer, Nina Millin, Stephen Moffatt, Braxton Molinaro, Sara Montez, JT Neal, Eric Nenninger, Angel Parker, Larry Poindexter, Lurie Poston, Deborah Puette, Jaz Sinclair, Ptolemy Slocum, Ellery Sprayberry, Ben Stillwell, Jennifer Stone, Michael Grant Terry, Jeff Torres, Devon Werkheiser, and Micaela Wittman.

The Blank Theatre’s 23rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, beginning June 4 and running through June 28 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard (at Highland), in Hollywood. Each week’s program includes three plays. Tickets are $20 for adults and $14 for students. Festival Passes, which include one ticket for each week, are $68 for adults and $48 for students. Tickets may be purchased online at www.theblank.com or by calling (323) 661-9827.

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06-01-15