NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ MISS COCO PERU RETURNS WITH “THE TAMING OF THE TENSION” ▪︎ FOUR PERFORMANCES ONLY!

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s
Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
Presents
MISS COCO PERU:
THE TAMING OF THE TENSION
Written and Performed by Clinton Leupp
Directed by Michael Schiralli

FOUR PERFORMANCES ONLY!
September 9–10 & September 16–17
at the Renberg Theatre

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center has announced the return of the legendary Miss Coco Peru in her latest solo show, The Taming of the Tension. Directed by longtime collaborator Michael Schiralli, Coco will play four performances only at the Renberg Theatre on Saturdays, September 9 & 16 at 8pm and Sundays, September 10 & 17 at 7pm.

According to the latest “scientific” surveys, everyone’s been feeling more tension lately, and Miss Coco Peru knows what we all need. Through her hilarious and heartfelt stories and one-of-a-kind song stylings, Coco will share her hard-won secrets and tame your tensions, making us happier people and the world a little better, too.

Storyteller/monologist Miss Coco Peru, aka Clinton Leupp, got his/her start as a downtown favorite in the New York cabaret world after he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his first show, Miss Coco Peru in My Goddamn Cabaret, 25 years ago. A veteran of numerous feature films (trick and the cult classic Girls Will Be Girls, among numerous others), and television shows (How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development, Will & Grace, and more). Leupp has received worldwide acclaim for his award-winning solo shows and his remarkable series of tributes to great performers, Conversations with Coco, in which she conducts live career-retrospective interviews with such luminaries as Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Liza Minnelli, and the late Bea Arthur.

Leupp has been honored by many organizations, including the Los Angeles LGBT Center, for his long history of dedicated activism and unflagging support of the LGBT community. The Center is proud to present The Taming of the Tension, the seventh original stage show to be performed at the Renberg by one of our most beloved artists.

General admission tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre or by phone at (323) 860-7300. Net proceeds from all ticket sales will support the full range of free and low-cost programs and services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038. Due to construction, parking is no longer available onsite. Limited free parking is available at the Center’s Highland facility, one block north of The Village at Ed Gould Plaza. Please allow extra time to find street parking or choose public transportation or a ride–sharing service.

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08-11-17

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ TRANS CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES RETURNS TO LGBT CENTER’S RENBERG THEATRE ▪︎ AUGUST 26 & 27 ONLY

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts

Presents

The Triumphant Return of The

TRANS CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES
Lindsey Deaton, Artistic Director
Encore Performances of
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Saturday, August 26 at 8pm & Sunday, August 27 at 2pm

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center has announced the return of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles (TCLA) to its Renberg Theatre on Saturday, August 26 at 8pm and Sunday, August 27 at 2pm. TCLA will once again perform planet Earth’s first staged concert production of the full The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie. As Bowie intended, additional hit songs will complete the entire musical saga.

TCLA is the largest group of trans and gender non-conforming people anywhere in the world who gather together regularly to raise their voices in song. Its performances are intended not only to empower its members, but also to change the way others see the transgender community. Since their founding in late 2015, TCLA has drawn attention to the trans community and trans issues through live performances, community engagement, and social and traditional media. With a strong belief that TCLA is uniquely positioned to offer the trans narrative in a truly significant and impactful way, its mission is to fiercely empower the transgender, non-binary, and intersex community to discover, love, develop, and use their voices to change the social ecology everywhere.

In its inaugural year, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles performed at the 2015 West Hollywood Transgender Day of Remembrance with Alexandra Billings and Our Lady J from Transparent; the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles’s (GMCLA) Fifth Annual Voice Awards; True Colors debut concert with TCLA, GMCLA, and Vox Femina; LA Pride, Long Beach Pride and TransPride LA; Kol Tikvah Temple; St. John’s Cathedral, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles (the first Trans chorus to perform in a Cathedral anywhere); the opening ceremony of LGBT Heritage Month with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the LA City Council; the Williams Institute UniTy Awards with Laverne Cox; and Interscope Records’ song “Hands,” a musical tribute to benefit Orlando victims and LGBT organizations.
Artistic Director Lindsey Deaton is a conductor, guitarist, singer, speaker, and a fierce transgender and LGBTIQ youth advocate. She is the Founder/Artistic Director of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles. Ms. Deaton served as the conducting apprentice to Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. She has guest conducted the San Francisco Ballet, Louisville Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Youngstown Symphony and Chorus, Schenectady Symphony, and numerous orchestras at the Aspen Music Festival, among others. An active music educator, in 2002 Ms. Deaton received the Dalcroze Certificate and the Dalcroze License from the Juilliard School in New York City. Her principle teachers were famed conducting pedagogue Leon Barzin in Paris, Gunther Schuller, Murry Sidlin, and Celin Romero. She studied with Dalcroze experts Robert Abramson and Marta Sanchez. She received her MFA in Conducting from Carnegie Mellon University.

General admission tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre or by phone at (323) 860-7300. Net proceeds from all ticket sales will support the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles and the full range of free and low-cost programs and services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038. During construction of the Center’s new facility, free parking is limited. Please allow extra time to find parking, or choose public transportation or a ride service.

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07-20-17

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ ALEXANDRA BILLINGS, STAR OF AMAZON PRIME’S HIT SERIES “TRANSPARENT,” BRINGS HER THEATRICAL CABARET “S/HE & ME” TO THE LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER’S RENBERG THEATRE ▪︎ MAY 25–JUNE 11

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Presents

Alexandra Billings

S/HE & ME

A Theatrical Cabaret

Written by Alexandra Billings
Conceived and Directed by Joanne Gordon

May 25 – June 11 at The Renberg Theatre

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center has announced a limited engagement of S/He & Me: A Theatrical Cabaret, written and performed by Alexandra Billings, star of Amazon Prime’s hit show Transparent. Written by Ms. Billings and conceived and directed by Joanne Gordon, the show will open on Thursday, May 25 at 8pm and run through June 11 only.

S/He & Me chronicles the unvarnished, complex, desperate, and often hilariously wacky story of Billings’ life, centering on the transition from the young Scott to the show-stopping Alexandra. She carries the story forward through story and plenty of songs. Said BroadwayWorld.com, “Billings is nothing short of miraculous, a great actress, a great singer … S/He & Me has it all — drama, song and dance, and terrific direction and performances.” The show also stars Joey Ruggiero, Jeff Paul, Valerie Stanford, and Kayla Kearney playing friends and family members who helped shape Billings’ story.

Alexandra Billings has been acting since 1968 and has performed in hundreds of plays and musicals across the U.S. She’s played everyone from Mama Rose in Gypsy to Mrs. Lynde in A Doll’s House, with nearly every role being a first for a transgender actress. She has appeared in numerous television series and will star in the upcoming feature film Valley of Bones. She received her MFA from Cal State Long Beach where she is now an associate professor of theatre.  Billings’ activism stretches across the continent and has been honored with awards by many organizations. Her life story, From Schoolboy to Showgirl: The Alexandra Billings Story, was shown on PBS and nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Documentary.

For a complete biography, visit http://www.alexandrabillings.com/.

S/He & Me is set to open on Thursday, May 25 at 8pm. The regular running schedule will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm through June 11. There will be a special added matinee performance on Sunday, June 11 at 3pm. General admission tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre or by phone at (323) 860-7300. Net proceeds from all ticket sales will support the full range of free and low-cost programs and services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038. During construction of the Center’s new facility, free parking is limited. Please allow extra time to find parking, or choose public transportation or a ride service such as Lyft.

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 04-17-17

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