Archived entries for Premiere

Announcing: “Tennessee & Anna” Set to Open April 9 at Odyssey Theatre

WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
TENNESSEE & ANNA
BY FRANCO D’ALESSANDRO
FEATURING MORLAN HIGGINS AND KAREN KONDAZIAN
DIRECTED BY ANTHONY CALDARELLA

PERFORMANCES BEGIN APRIL 5 AT THE ODYSSEY THEATRE
OPENS SATURDAY, APRIL 9 AT 8PM

Phoenix Rising Productions has announced the West Coast premiere of Tennessee & Anna, a play by Franco D’Alessandro, directed by Anthony Caldarella. A guest production at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles featuring multi-award-winners Morlan Higgins and Karen Kondazian, Tennessee & Anna begins previews on April 5, and opening is set for Saturday, April 9 at 8pm. Performances will continue through May 29.

Tennessee & Anna chronicles the 25-year friendship between Tennessee Williams and the great Academy Award-winning Italian actress Anna Magnani. Set in Rome during the La Dolce Vita era, it is a memory play told through the eyes of Tennessee. The play is an examination of friendship and art which deals with their mutual passion for theatre, film and for love itself. The two explore truths about the nature of inspiration, collaboration, and the need for artistic expression, all the while battling their demons, both real and imagined. Tennessee & Anna open their hearts to each other with honesty and frustration, as they search to express the often conflicting need to love and the struggle to accept love.

Morlan Higgins (Tennessee Williams) most recently appeared in the U.S. premiere of Athol Fugard’s Train Driver at the Fountain Theatre. In the past 18 months, he was also seen in Forgiveness at the Black Dahlia Theatre and in King Lear with the Antaeus Company. Other work at the Fountain includes After the Fall, Victory, The Boys in the Band, Borderlines, Shining City, and the world premiere of Fugard’s Exits and Entrances. Karen Kondazian’s career has included starring opposite Ed Harris, Richard Chamberlain, Stacy Keach, and Ray Stricklyn in various productions through the years. She won a LADCC Award for Best Actress in a production of The Rose Tattoo, and her work as both actor and producer so impressed the playwright that they became friends. Williams gave Kondazian carte blanche to produce any of his work in his lifetime. Other productions in which Kondazian delivered memorable and award-winning performances include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Orpheus Descending, Night of the Iguana, Freedomland, The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore and Master Class. Director Anthony Caldarella is a writer/producer/director whose feature film credits include My Brother Jack, What’s Up, Scarlet?, and Mafioso. Stage directing includes productions of A View From the Bridge, Detective Story, A Taste of Honey, The Price, the West Coast premiere of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and The Collection at the Hudson Theatre, which won him the LA Weekly Award for Best Director in 2002.

The set design for Tennessee & Anna is by Tom Buderwitz, lighting design is by Steven Young, costume design is by Swinda Reichelt, sound design is by Cricket Myers, and video design is by Fritz Davis. The production manager is Roberta Ballarini, and stage manager is Molly McGraw.

Tennessee & Anna will play four lower-priced preview performances Tuesday, April 5 through Friday, April 8 at 8pm, and opening night is set for Saturday, April 9 at 8:00. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through May 29. Preview tickets are $10; regular prices, beginning April 9, are $25 on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, and $30 on Saturday. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.tennesseeandanna.com or by calling the Odyssey Theatre box office at (310) 477-2055, extension 2.

The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Boulevard, in West Los Angeles, 90025.

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03-11-11

Announcing: “Glory Days” Opens Saturday 3/19 at Lillian Theatre for Limited Run

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF
GLORY DAYS
A MUSICAL BY NICK BLAEMIRE & JAMES GARDINER
DIRECTED BY CALVIN REMSBERG

PERFORMANCES BEGIN MARCH 17 AT THE LILLIAN THEATRE
OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 19 FOR LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

Producers Anthony Gruppuso, Calvin Remsberg, Tricia Small Stabile, and Bella Vita Entertainment have announced the Los Angeles premiere of Glory Days, a musical by Nick Blaemire & James Gardiner, directed by Calvin Remsberg, at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood for a limited engagement. There will be two preview performances on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, March 19 at 8pm. Performances will continue through April 24 only.

Glory Days is a new musical with music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire and book by James Gardiner that premiered at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, on January 15, 2008. The production opened to enthusiastic reviews, including a rave in The Washington Post. The show then moved to the Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway, where after seventeen previews, it opened … and closed … on May 6, 2008.

Glory Days is the story of four high school friends who, after a year away at college, reunite on the bleachers of their high school football field. We soon learn the purpose of the midnight meeting: the boys are planning a prank seeking revenge on their high school football team, who tormented the four during their school years. Things do not go smoothly, as the boys find they have grown apart … and their friendship is not what it was. Said Peter Marks in The Washington Post, “Glory Days is a fresh and vivacious one-act musical … real, and surprisingly moving.”

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Alex Robert Holmes, Derek Klena, Matthew Koehler, Ian Littleworth, Jeffrey Scott Parsons, and Alex Martinez Wallace. The set design is by Andrew Hammer, lighting design is by Jeremy Pivnick, costume design is by Mara Bear, and sound design is by Joseph Slawinski. James May serves as musical director, and the production stage manager is Ronn Goswick.

Glory Days will play two preview performances on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18 at 8pm, and opening night is set for Saturday, March 19 at 8:00. The limited engagement will continue through Sunday, April 24. Preview tickets are $20; all seats beginning March 19 are $32. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.plays411.com/glorydays or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/159876 or by calling (323) 960-7792.

The Lillian Theatre is located at 1076 Lillian Way (one block west of Vine, just off Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood. Street parking is available.

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03-07-11

Announcing: “Lust ‘N Rust” Opens April 1 at the Lyric Theatre

THE LYRIC THEATRE ON LA BREA
PRESENTS THE WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
LUST ‘N RUST, THE TRAILER PARK MUSICAL
BY FRANK HANEY, CAROL KIMBALL & DAVE STRATTON

PERFORMANCES BEGIN MARCH 25; OPENING SET FOR APRIL 1
SIX WEEKS ONLY

The Lyric Theatre on N. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles continues its 2011 season of musicals with the West Coast premiere of Lust ‘n Rust, The Trailer Park Musical, written by Frank Haney, Carol Kimball & Dave Stratton, and directed by Thomas Colby, performances begin on Friday, March 25 Opening night is set for Friday, April 1 at 8:00, and the limited run will continue through April 30.

Across the heartland of America, small towns face the profound hardship of multinational corporations closing factories and moving work out of the country. Often these factories are the driving force of the local economies. While there’s a tendency to view these occurrences as simply the workings of faceless corporations, they are in fact choices made and acted upon by people: executives pouring over spreadsheets and middle-managers charged with the dirty work of firing hardworking loyal employees.

Lust ‘n Rust, The Trailer Park Musical starts as the story of Steve, a corporate manager from New Jersey who is transferred by his company to a small Southern Illinois town to run the local Agribig food processing plant. He moves into the Redbud Mobile Estates and meets the quirky characters that live in the trailer park. We soon find that the story is also about Connie, Steve’s neighbor in the park, who is in the process of splitting up with her husband. Connie’s relationship with Steve complicates matters, and their lives are further complicated when Steve gets a difficult assignment … one that could have a disastrous impact on the local economy. The show includes 14 memorable original alternative-country songs arranged for multi-part vocal harmonies and a country band.

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Becky Birdsong, Sal Cecere, Joyanna Crouse, Scott Dean, Ward Edmondson, Josh Evans, Terra Taylor Knudson, Leann Lamb, and Derek Long. The set design is by Allan Jensen, the lighting design is by Irina Khodorkovsky, costume design is by Gennifer Anderson, and sound design is by Marika Tjelios. Lauren Buck serves as music director, the choreographer is Josh Brodis, and the production stage manager is Stephaine Boltjes. Dorrie Braun produces.

Lust ‘n Rust, The Trailer Park Musical will play two preview performances on Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26, at 8pm. Opening night is set for Friday, April 1 at 8:00, and the run will continue through April 30 only. The running schedule is Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00, with added Sunday performances on April 17 and 24 at 7pm. Tickets for Lust ‘n Rust are on sale now, and may be purchased by visiting www.brownpapertickets.com/event/144372, www.Goldstar.com or by calling (626) 695-8283.

The Lyric Theatre is located at 520 N. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, 90036. Street parking is available. For more information on Lust ‘n Rust, the Lyric Theatre, and the season of musicals, visit www.LyricTheatreLA.com.

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03-04-11

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