Announcing: World Premiere of “Alabama Baggage” Opens March 9 at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood

WORLD PREMIERE DRAMA
ALABAMA BAGGAGE BY BUDDY FARMER
DIRECTED BY PAUL MESSINGER
SET FOR SIX-WEEK RUN AT THEATRE ASYLUM
OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 9

LuluBelle Productions is set to present the world premiere of Alabama Baggage, a new drama written by Buddy Farmer, and directed by Paul Messinger, at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood. There will be one preview on Friday, March 8, and opening is Saturday, March 9 at 8pm, and Alabama Baggage will play a six-week engagement through April 14 only.

In a small town, in the wee hours of the night, a chance encounter between two strangers in a graveyard will forever change their lives. When buried secrets are unearthed, shattering revelations have them questioning what they each thought they knew to be true. Alabama Baggage draws a fine line between life and death, as it examines mercy, forgiveness, revenge and redemption.

Playwright Buddy Farmer made his living as an actor in theatre, film, and television for over 20 years, and began writing and directing plays in 2003. His first play, Coaches: Off the Bench with Knute, Vince, and The Bear received critical acclaim in Los Angeles and on its subsequent tour. Farmer later adapted the Knute section of that play into a TV mini-series; that adaptation became the basis for the book he wrote for the new musical Knute Rockne, All American, which opened last year just outside of Chicago, garnering rave reviews and several Jeff Award nominations. His next project is a musical adaptation of his one-act play The Viagra Monologues.

Paul Messinger has worked as a director in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and various places in between. He has worked on children’s shows (The Christmas Princess), high dramas (Gentle Passage), and comedies (Ledge), among others. He also has an active career as an actor in episodics and commercials. Messinger serves as the director’s unit head for Fierce Backbone.

The cast of Alabama Baggage will feature (in alphabetical order) Will Blagrove, John Combs, Jody Fasanella, William Jones, and Ashley McGee. The set design is by Bill Cole, lighting design is by Leigh Allen, and costume design is by Shannon Kennedy. The stage manager is Ashley Koenig. Alabama Baggage is presented by LuluBelle Productions, and produced by Theatre Planners.

There will be one preview performance on Friday, March 8 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, March 9 at 8pm. Admission is $15 for the preview, and $25 for all regular performances. The running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm through April 14 only. Tickets are on sale now, and may be purchased online at www.plays411.com/baggage, or by calling (323) 960-7711.

Theatre Asylum is located at 6320 Santa Monica Boulevard, in Hollywood. Street parking is available.

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02-20-13

Announcing: World Premiere of “Therapy” by Jeff Bernhardt at Secret Rose Theatre, Opens March 2

WORLD PREMIERE OF
THERAPY
A NEW DRAMA BY JEFF BERNHARDT
SET FOR LIMITED RUN AT SECRET ROSE THEATRE
OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 2
FOR THREE WEEKS ONLY

Eleventh Street Productions in association with the Secret Rose Theatre has announced a limited engagement of Therapy, a new drama written and directed by Jeff Bernhardt, at the Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood. Opening is set for Saturday, March 2 at 8pm, and Therapy will play a strictly limited engagement through March 17 only.

Therapy tells the story of three therapists and the patient who changes them. Moira, Sandra, and Steven are the therapists, each with his/her own therapeutic style. When a new client, Lance, comes to Steven for all the wrong reasons, the emotional roller coaster ride begins, revealing unexpected connections and relationships. Therapy is a play about what happens when the professional world and the personal world collide, especially for the very people whose job it is to keep them separate.

Jeff Bernhardt is a writer, educator, and licensed clinical social worker. Bernhardt’s play Mixed Blessings had its world premiere in Los Angeles in January 2010, playing to sold-out houses. His book, On Sacred Ground, was published in 2012. Other writings have been published in the short story anthology Mentsh, as well as in the Los Angeles Times and the Journal of Jewish Communal Service. In addition, a number of his articles have appeared in The Jewish Journal, as well as other national publications. His dramatic readings Who Shall Live…?, Standing at Sinai, and Those Who Walked Beside Us have been performed throughout the United States.

The cast of Therapy will feature (in alphabetical order) Lynn Ann Leveridge, Marcie Lynn Ross, Luis Selgas, and Jed Sura. The set design is by Eloise Ayala, lighting design is by Brandon Hawkinson, and sound design is by Jeff Gardner. The stage manager is Jason Paul Evans.

Opening is set for Saturday, March 2 at 8pm. Admission is $25 for all performances. The regular running schedule is Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm, through March 17 only. Tickets are on sale now, and may be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/322663, or by calling (800) 838-3006. For information on group sales (15 or more), email jmbedsw@aol.com.

The Secret Rose Theatre is located in the NoHo Arts District at 11246 Magnolia Boulevard, in North Hollywood. Street parking is available, and there are several lots in the area.

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02-13-13

Announcing: The Pasadena Playhouse Announces First Four Productions of HOTHOUSE at the Playhouse 2012-2013 Season

THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES
FIRST FOUR PRODUCTIONS OF
HOTHOUSE AT THE PLAYHOUSE
2012 – 2013 SEASON

THE STAGED READING SERIES FEATURES THE
WORLD PREMIERE OF LEE BLESSING’S A VIEW OF THE
MOUNTAINS STARRING JANE KACZMAREK AND BETSY BRANDT,
MARSHA MASON IN A NEW COMEDY,
MATTHEW LILLARD IN A NEW DRAMA
AND A NEW PLAY DIRECTED BY MICHAEL ARABIAN

PASADENA, CA (October 16, 2012) – The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran, Executive Director) announced the first four productions of the 2012 – 2013 season of its HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse new play development, staged reading series. The season will feature the world premiere reading of Lee Blessing’s (A Walk in the Woods) A View of the Mountains starring Jane Kaczmarek and Betsy Brandt, Marsha Mason as the title role in Aunt Stossie’s Coming for Five Days and Michael Arabian (Ovation nominee, Waiting for Godot) directing a new work supported by the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance.

“It is a pleasure and privilege to look forward to this season of HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse and see authors and actors returning to us having had rewarding prior experiences – work that has started at HOTHOUSE, had life on our Mainstage, going on tour after successful Tony-nominated Broadway productions and the brand new authors that are just starting out,” said Courtney Harper, HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse Producer, Outreach & Education Manager / Artistic Associate for The Pasadena Playhouse. “It’s a time for sustainable growth for us at HOTHOUSE and we could not be more thrilled about the four readings we are announcing today and the other additional works we are considering to include in the upcoming season.”

“We also want to thank our supporters for their continued attendance this past season at HOTHOUSE,” Harper added. “We presented a record-breaking nine staged readings since September 2011, and a wide and exciting variety of work – from a world premiere musical, to an adaptation of a New York Times bestselling book, to a play that could have been ripped from the headlines. We are proud of our accomplishments and so thoroughly enjoyed sharing the experience with each and everyone who joined us. Like the Mainstage season at The Playhouse, we are feeling “better than ever!”

The 2012 – 2013 season of HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse will feature:

A View of the Mountains
By Lee Blessing (A Walk in the Woods)
Directed by Brian Shnipper
Starring (in alphabetical order): Betsy Brandt, John Getz, Jane Kaczmarek, Josey
Montana McCoy and Chris McGarry
Tuesday & Wednesday, October 30 & 31 at 8:00 p.m. in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre

As enormous forces close in around them, a prominent family is split down the middle in America’s liberal-conservative dogfight. “For keeps” politics dominates in this unsparing look at what we’re willing to do for our beliefs.

Aunt Stossie’s Coming for Five Days
By Ellen Simon
Directed by Jon Mascone
Starring Marsha Mason as “Aunt Stossie”
Tuesday & Wednesday, January 8 & 9 at 8:00 p.m. in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre

A comedic drama about what happens when the uninvited enters your life. Set in a
Central California beach town, three generations of women and two surfer boys navigate the entanglements of sex, health and family after a tsunami warning sign goes up in their neighborhood.

Title-TBA
An exciting new play supported by the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance
Directed by Ovation Award Nominee, Michael Arabian
Tuesday & Wednesday, February 12 & 13 at 8pm in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre

Dear Galileo
By Claire Willett
Starring Matthew Lillard and Danielle Soibelman (The Playhouse’s Under My Skin)
Directed by Courtney Harper
Tuesday & Wednesday, March 12 & 13 at 8:00 p.m. in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre

Three women wrestle with their identity, the conflict between science and religion, and their fathers’ legacies. As their stories move towards a point of convergence, the destinies of each become inextricably bound with the others, linked through time by love, family, grief, faith, the search for identity and the wonder of the stars.

To RSVP for any of the HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse staged readings, visit http://
www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/outreach-and-education/hothouse.html or call The Pasadena Playhouse box office at 626-356-7529.

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Support HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse

In order to keep bringing our audiences the next great American play or musical, The
Pasadena Playhouse needs your support. This staged reading series is produced and
presented as a complimentary Playhouse program so HOTHOUSE relies on the contributions of patrons who see the importance of supporting art in its youth and
nurturing the artists who are growing their work. Donations made to HOTHOUSE allow
the program to continue to develop new work and revise and reinvigorate classics. With patron support, HOTHOUSE has a vibrant life and will continue to enrich our culture, society and art form at large for many years to come.

To make a donation please visit our website at www.pasadenaplayhouse.org and click
“Donate Now” or contact The Playhouse Development Office at
blewis@pasadenaplayhouse.org or 626-921-1156.

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 (as well as previous HOTHOUSE seasons) 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 Los Angeles Times 2012 Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Dramatic Theatre,” the Pasadena Star-News’ “San Gabriel Valley’s Best Live Theatre” 2012 Reader’s Choice Award and the Pasadena Weekly’s 2012 “Best of Pasadena” Award for Best Live Theatre and Best Historical Landmark.

For more information on The Pasadena Playhouse visit www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org.