Announcing: The Pasadena Playhouse Leads 2012 NAACP Theatre Awards Nominations

THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE
LEADS 2012 NAACP THEATRE AWARDS NOMINATIONS
WITH SEVEN NOMINATIONS FOR
TWIST – AN AMERICAN MUSICAL
AND FIVE NOMINATIONS FOR
BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY

CEREMONY SET FOR NOVEMBER 5

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran, Executive Director) announced today that its productions of TWIST – AN AMERICAN MUSICAL (seven nominations) and BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY (five nominations, tied with CTG’s Fela!) are lead contenders for the 2012 NAACP Theatre Awards. The 2012 NAACP Theatre Awards ceremony will be held on November 5, 2012, at the Director’s Guild of America in Hollywood.

“It is quite an honor, and certainly most well deserved that the NAACP Theatre Awards committee is celebrating these two fine productions,” said Sheldon Epps, Playhouse Artistic Director and director of BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY. “This recognition reemphasizes The Playhouse’s on-going mission to bring diverse, compelling and entertaining theatre to our patrons and to our community.”

The Pasadena Playhouse’s 2012 NAACP Theatre Award nominations include:

TWIST – AN AMERICAN MUSICAL

• Best Director of a Musical – Equity, Debbie Allen
• Best Choreography – Equity, Debbie Allen
• Best Costumes – Equity, E Sosa
• Best Lead Female – Equity, Tamyra Gray
• Best Lead Male – Equity, Alaman Diadhiou
• Best Producer – Equity, TAM Producing Partners, Michelle Seward, Dror Soref, Willette
• Klausner, Gary Goddard and Forbes Candish
• Best Supporting Male – Equity, Cleavant Derricks

BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY

• Best Director – Equity, Sheldon Epps
• Best Ensemble Cast – Equity
• Best Costumes – Equity, Karen Perry
• Best Playwright – Equity, Pearl Cleage
• Best Set Design – Equity, John Iacovelli

TWIST – AN AMERICAN MUSICAL is a timely adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic with a contemporary score, set in New Orleans on the eve of the Great Depression. TWIST tells the story of a young orphan boy born of a courageous white mother and an incredibly talented black father, who navigates the colorful and sometimes rough waters of street life and racial indifference in his quest to find his family and to find love. The score for TWIST features the musical pulse of New Orleans in the 1920’s and is highlighted by a tapestry of soaring ballads, hot jazz, blues, gospel and tap-infused dance numbers that will take audiences along this magical journey. TWIST – AN AMERICAN MUSICAL performed at The Pasadena Playhouse June 14 – July 17, 2011.

BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY unfolds in the summer of 1930 in Harlem, NY, just as the harsh realities of the Great Depression have devastated an ebullient decade of the Harlem renaissance. Disease and poverty have overshadowed the creative euphoria that permeated and fueled a surge of African American artists, writers and luminaries.
BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY introduces a rich cast of characters, scrambling to survive and make some sense of their overlapping personalities, politics and love lives: Angel is a struggling blues singer and nightclub performer who cannot find a job. Her friend Guy, a costume designer, is also out of work but dreams of being hired to design dresses for the famous African-American singer and dancer Josephine Baker. Their neighbor Delia, a social worker, is trying to organize a family planning clinic in Harlem. Their friend Sam, a doctor, works long hours delivering babies at the Harlem Hospital. And Leland, having recently moved to New York from Tuskegee sees in Angel a memory of lost love and a reminder of those “Alabama skies where the stars are so thick it’s bright as day.” BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY performed at The Pasadena Playhouse November 1 – 27, 2011.

The Pasadena Playhouse was established in 1917 and was designated the State Theatre of California for bringing national and international renown to the state as a center for dramatic art in 1937. Built on a tradition of innovation and excellence, The Pasadena Playhouse is committed to continue to be the premiere theatrical experience in Southern California showcasing the most exciting theatrical entertainment in the state and being an amazing forum for launching new work onto the national stage. Broadway productions that originated at The Pasadena Playhouse include: Sister Act, Baby It’s You!, Looped and Mail. Unchain My Heart, The Ray Charles Musical, which premiered at The Playhouse, is scheduled to open on Broadway in the 2012-13 Season. Looped has also recently announced a US Tour, starring Valerie Harper, beginning January 2013. The Pasadena Playhouse is the recipient of the 2012 Los Angeles Times Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Dramatic Theatre” and the Pasadena Star-News’ “San Gabriel Valley’s Best Live Theatre” 2012 Reader’s Choice Award. For more information on The Pasadena Playhouse visit www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org.

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09-24-2012

Announcing: Dates Revealed for 2010 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award Nominee Announcement and Awards Ceremony

2010 OVATION AWARD NOMINEES
TO BE ANNOUNCED MONDAY, OCTOBER 18
AT THE AUTRY MUSEUM IN GRIFFITH PARK
AWARDS CEREMONY SET FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2011
AT THOUSAND OAKS CIVIC ARTS PLAZA

The announcement of the 2010 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award nominees has been set for Monday, October 18 at 7:00 pm. The event will be hosted by Native Voices at the Autry, the resident theatre company at the Autry National Center, located in Griffith Park at 4700 Western Heritage Way in Los Angeles.

The Ovation Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, January 17, 2011 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) at 7:30 p.m. L.A. theatre’s big night will be hosted by Cabrillo Music Theatre and the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, which is located at 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

On October 18, recipients of 2009 Ovation Awards for acting will announce the names of this year’s nominees. Presenters will include Jake Broder and Vanessa Claire Smith (Lead Actor and Actress/Musical, Louis & Keely, Live at the Sahara), Glynn Turman (Lead Actor/Play, Two Trains Running), Michael Paternostro and Sarah Cornell (Featured Actor and Actress/Musical, The Producers), Tasha Ames (Featured Actress/Play, Rabbit Hole) and Hugo Armstrong (Featured Actor/Play, Land of the Tigers).

The nominee announcement event is free and open to the public. A light reception will be included, and RSVP is required. To RSVP, email events@lastagealliance.com and leave your name and contact phone number.

The L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are L.A. theatre professionals who are chosen each year, through an application process, by the Ovation Awards Review Committee. The list of nominees is determined by a tabulation of scores conducted by Green Hasson & Janks LLP.

Native Voices at the Autry is the country’s only Equity theatre company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American playwrights. Native Voices, which provides a supportive, collaborative setting for Native theatre artists from across North America, was established as a resident company at the Autry National Center of the American West in
1999. It is widely respected in both the Native American and theatre communities for its breakthrough plays and diverse programming showcasing unique points of view within the more than 500 Native American nations in North America.

Cabrillo Music Theatre is the resident musical production company at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, the largest theatre between L.A. and San Francisco. Cabrillo is a volunteer based non-profit theatre company presenting award-winning musicals with full, live orchestras, lavish sets and costumes, and
premiere talent. Cabrillo also introduces the musical theatre experience to socially, culturally, economically diverse and underserved populations of Southern California. Through main stage and special productions along with their award-winning OUTREACH programs, it is estimated that over 100,000 people were able to enjoy Cabrillo’s work during the 2009-2010 season.

The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza opened the theatre doors for its inaugural season in October, 1994. The complex, including the Bank of America Performing Arts Center and the parking structure, is owned by the City of Thousand Oaks and is operated by the City’s Community and Cultural Services Department. Thousand Oaks City Hall and the three-acre
Mary and Richard Carpenter Plaza Park are also located there.

Tickets and additional information about the Ovation Awards Ceremony on January 17, 2011 will be available at www.LAStageAlliance.com beginning October 18.

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09-21-10