Announcing: Extension of “Deathtrap” Canceled Due to Revocation of Performance Rights

L.A. GAY & LESBIAN CENTER’S ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION
OF IRA LEVIN’S “DEATHTRAP”
WILL NOT RETURN IN SEPTEMBER
DUE TO PERFORMANCE RIGHTS BEING REVOKED

Due to a last-minute revocation of performance rights, the much acclaimed, ‘Ovation Recommended’ production of Ira Levin’s classic comedy-thriller Deathtrap will be unable to return to the Davidson/Valentini Theatre at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center in September as previously announced. Net proceeds would have benefitted the entire array of the Center’s free and low-cost programs and services.

Directed by eight-time Ovation Award-winner Ken Sawyer, the Center’s production of Deathtrap enjoyed a ten week sold-out run in the spring of this year. Due to the original engagement’s runaway success, the Center planned to remount the production, but the Estate of Ira Levin that controls the performance rights abruptly revoked them, citing a brief moment of onstage nudity.

Following an impassioned appeal by the Center, rights were once again granted, but this time with very strict guidelines prohibiting any onstage behavior that portrayed the two lead male characters having a physical relationship—this despite the fact that in the play the characters are involved in a full-blown affair.

Deathtrap’s famously complex script provides genuine, edge-of-your-seat thrills, and is known for the jolts and surprises that occur along the way. The Center has decided that re-mounting the show with the imposed restrictions would force the play’s central relationship back into the closet, thus compelling the Center to compromise both its mission and its integrity. It would also result in a very different and less effective production than the one audiences had been lining up to see. Therefore the Center has been forced to cancel.

The entire original cast was set to return. They are (in alphabetical order) Brian Foyster, Cynthia Gravinese, Burt Grinstead, Elizabeth Herron, Carl J. Johnson, and Stephen Mendillo. The design team included Joel Daavid (set), Luke Moyer (lighting), Paula Higgins (costumes), and Ken Sawyer (sound). Deathtrap was produced by Jon Imparato, artistic director of the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center.

Patrons who had already purchased tickets for the extension will receive full refunds. The Center’s box office personnel is in the process of contacting all ticket buyers. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center is located at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood.

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08-23-12

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