Spotlight! (LAArtsOnline.com)

^{Photos (L-R): Once cast members at Opening Night top, Perez Hilton at Casa Valentina Opening bottom, Patty Onagan and Ken Werther at LGBT Spotlight Mixer, pasta donated by Il Fornaio Beverly Hills, Pantages’ Martin Wiviott, Lorraine O’Brien, and Jeff Loeb, scene outside Pantages theatre, Fabiolus Cucina’s sandwiches at Pantages, cast members of Once, The Pasadena Playhouse’s Sheldon Epps and friend on Opening Night, Press Team for Casa Valentina, Alanna Ubach on red carpet at CV Opening Night, Entire cast of CV, Promo’s Donuts, Ken Werther, Tiffany Fuller, Patty Onagan at LGBT, scene in courtyard at The Pasadena Playhouse, and delicious sandwiches by Fabiolus Cucina.}

Sponsored Events!

Story / Photos By Paige Petrone

This month LAArtsOnline was proud to sponsor three amazing events. First up on March 15th we hosted the Opening Night for Once inside the legendary Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Cast members mingled and enjoyed scrumptious cuisine from Chef Sergio Corbia of Fabiolus Cucina and cocktails sponsored by Diabolo, Evian, Leese – Fitch, and John & Pete’s Fine Wine & Spirits.

Second up we sponsored the Opening Night for Casa Valentina at The Pasadena Playhouse on March 20th in the courtyard. This was a super lively and an excited group. The entire cast and all the guests were treated to a feast graciously provided by our partners, Essential Chocolate Desserts, Fabiolous Cucina and Primo Donuts. We also would like to thank Diabolo, Evian, John & Pete’s Fine Wine & Spirits, Leese-Fitch, and Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin for the abundance of support.

Finally, we were so proud to sponsor the “LGBT Spotlight Mixer” for Casa Valentina at The Pasadena Playhouse on Saturday, March 26th. This was a special partnership between LAArtsOnline, Gay Men’s Chorus of L.A and the playhouse. Our guests mingled prior to the show in the elegant “Library” space (upstairs inside the theatre) while nibbling on bites from Fabiolus Cucina, Il Fornaio Beverly Hills, and The Counter in Pasadena.

To check out all the photos from our events, click here.

Creepy Fun! (LAArtsOnline.com)

^{http://www.laartsonline.com/television/}

^{The cast of The Family airing on ABC}

CREEPY FUN!

By Ken Werther
Photo Courtesy of ABC

A young boy disappears. Presumed dead, he returns 10 years later. His steely and ambitious mother is the Mayor of their town and is now running for Governor. His pious sister is a closet lesbian and mom’s political adviser. The boy’s older brother has grown up to be an unfocused and aimless alcoholic. The police inspector that originally put the wrong man away is having an affair with the dad, and there’s a newspaper reporter determined to get to the bottom of the whole mess. These are the elements of The Family, ABC’s new suspense thriller series.

Everyone in this tale has a dark secret. I think I’ve figured out some, but I’m not so sure about others. The central question is whether or not this returned boy is actually the one that was taken 10 years ago. Everyone believes it is … except for the older brother that no one listens to because he’s … well … drunk all the time. Here’s the thing — I don’t believe it’s the same boy either!

When I was a kid, my father loved to read murder mysteries and somehow always knew who the killer was within the first 10 pages. Me, not so much. I’m loving all this mystery and deception. Oh, and did I mention that it’s all really creepy? I can’t wait to see what happens next!

“The Family” airs on Sunday nights on ABC.

Sister Act! (LAArtsOnline.com)

^{http://www.laartsonline.com/theatre/}

^{Musical Theatre West’s Sister Act starring Constance Jewell Lopez runs April 8-24th}

Sister Act!

By Ken Werther
Photo By Neil Reinhold

The Broadway musical Sister Act began its life in Southern California at The Pasadena Playhouse in 2006, breaking box office records to become the highest grossing show ever at the venue. After a production at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in 2007 and a newly refined and revised version produced in London in 2009, Sister Act finally arrived on Broadway in 2011. The much lauded, much loved musical will be presented this month by Musical Theatre West in Long Beach for 13 performances only.

The show is based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg which was one of the most financially successful movie comedies of the early 1990s. It’s a wacky story about Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno lounge singer who is put under protective custody in a convent (and must therefore pretend to be a nun) when a mob boss puts her on his hit list.

In the upcoming MTW production in Long Beach, Deloris will be played by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award-winner Constance Jewell Lopez (who has wowed local audiences in Celebration Theatre’s production of The Color Purple and DOMA Theatre’s Dreamgirls). The director is Ovation Award-winner Michael Matthews … and here’s the thing — any show with Lopez and Matthews attached is guaranteed to be stupendous. That’s right, I said guaranteed!

To purchase tickets and more information on Musical Theatre West, click here.