Category Archives: Clients

Carol Kassie’s clients.

Evening Star Productions presents MURDERED TO DEATH – April 15 – May 1

21 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in Clients

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Evening Star Productions
presents
Murdered to DeathMurderedtoDeath_logo

                                                  April 15 – May 1


March 22, 2016:
BOCA RATON, FL:  Evening Star Productions will present Peter Gordon’s comedic send-up of classic ‘whodounnits’, Murdered to Death, from April 14th through May 1st at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton. (There will be a preview performance on April 14th)

Gordon’s spoof – which has been described as ‘deliciously wicked’ and ‘hilarious and very clever’ – has created a cast of stereotypical Agatha Christie-like characters: Bunting the butler; an English Colonel with the prerequisite stiff upper lip; a shady French art dealer and his moll; bumbling local inspectors; and a well-meaning local sleuth who seems to attract murder wherever she goes.  They’re all caught up in the side-splitting antics which follow the mysterious death of the owner of a country manor house.

Murdered to Death will be directed by Evening Star’s Artistic Director, Rosalie Grant:

Rosalie Grant

Rosalie Grant

“My love affair with British comedy goes back to watching Benny Hill with my grandparents up through Monty Python and Fawlty Towers,” Grant explains.  “I first read the Peter Gordon “Death” series and fell absolutely in love with Inspector Pratt (inspired by the character Inspector Clouseau).  So I brought a group of local actor friends together one evening to hear Murdered to Death read, and when it took us over 3 hours to get through the read due to our laughter I knew Evening Star had to stage it.  I am thrilled to have an outstanding cast to bring Murdered to Death to life as a regional premiere!”

Cast in Murdered to Death are Lito Becerra (Constable Thompkins), Jim Gibbons (Bunting, the Butler), Murphy Hayes (Colonel Charles Craddock), Fern Katz (Joan Maple), Kitt Marsh (Margaret Craddock), Christopher Mitchell (Pierre Marceau), Amanda Ortega (Dorothy), Phyllis Spear (Mildred), Renee Elizabeth Turner (Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington), and Seth Trucks (Inspector Pratt).

With over 1400 professional and amateur productions world-wide, Peter Gordon is one of the UK’s most popular playwrights. To date, he has written twelve comedies, a psychological thriller and a one act comedy.  Of his modern comedies, it has been said that “Peter Gordon writes about life. Sometimes it is bizarre and funny, sometimes it is sad, but it is always entertaining”.

All performances of Murdered to Death will take place at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.  Tickets are $20 ($10 for students with valid ID) and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the Sol box office at 561-447-8829 or on line at www.eveningstarproductions.org. Group rates are available. Sol Theatre is located at 3333 North Federal Highway in Boca Raton (33431).

For more information about Evening Star Productions please contact Rosalie Grant at 561-447-8829 / info@eveningstarproductions.com or Carol Kassie at 561-445-9244 / ckassie@gmail.com.

~*~

Murdered to Death
April 14 – May 1, 2016
By Peter Gordon
Directed by Rosalie Grant
Performances:
Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Sunday at 2 pm
Tickets:  $20 / $10 for students
For Tickets:  561-447-8829 /www.eveningstarproductions.org
Sol Theatre
3333 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33431
www.eveningstarproductions.org
Like us on Facebook

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

 

Evening Star Productions & Sol Children Theatre Announce Their 2016-2017 SEASON

10 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by in Clients, Sol Children Theatre

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

EVENING STAR PRODUCTIONS &
SOL CHILDREN THEATRE
ANNOUNCE THEIR
2016-2017 SEASON
Sol_Evening-Star-Combined-LFrom Samuel Beckett to Lewis Carroll:
Two popular Boca Raton theatre companies will offer audiences and actors of all ages an exciting mix of theatre

 

March 10, 2016:
BOCA RATON, FL:  Although Evening Star Productions and Sol Children Theatre are just a bit more than midway through their third and fourteenth seasons, both companies – under the direction of founder and Artistic Director Rosalie Grant are deep into preparation for next years’ productions.

Evening Star Productions 2016-2017 season will begin with Gutenberg! The Musical! (September 15 – October 2, 2016), continue with See Rock City and Other Destinations (January 12 – 29, 2017), and conclude with Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (April 20 – May 7, 2017).

Sol Children Theatre will present Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol (adapted from the classic by Brian Way) (December 2 – 18, 2016), Once on this Island (June 9 – 25, 2017), and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, adapted by Seth Trucks (August 11 – 27).

Rosalie Grant

Rosalie Grant

“With Evening Star entering its fourth season and Sol Children it’s fifteenth, I found myself reevaluating who we are as a theatre company,” Grant explains. “Who do we serve on stage and in our seats, and what sort of theatre should we continue and/or begin to dish out? I started by re-reading every critical review we’ve received to gather those opinions, and compare notes with our patrons’ comments.  I then took into consideration the very specific, not-easily-ignored logistics of our theatre, and finally added our Mission Statement as the umbrella everything must fall under.  A concept formed, and from that concept our next season was born.  Evening Star’s 2016-17 season consists of a regional premiere, an absurdist classic, challenging roles, small casts and brave directors.  Sol Children’s season gets as many children and local adults on stage as possible in family-friendly beloved stories under skillful direction.  Putting the two companies’ seasons together we’re giving local actors and our patrons an eclectic fair of three musicals and three straight plays – from contemporary to classic to absurd to fantasy.  So my job as artistic director is done for now, and my wonderfully talented directors are waiting in the wings!”

Ben Sandomir will direct Gutenberg!  The Musical!  The show, about two aspiring playwrights who perform a backers’ audition for their new musical was nominated for an Outer Circle Award and a Drama Desk Award in 2007:

“The first challenge is to find two versatile actors, as they will be singing all the songs and playing all the roles,” says Sandomir. “The play is normally very barebones as these aspiring playwrights are not yet successful. This is where the fun of directing will come in. As a director and writer I’ve worked on many low and no budget productions. The smaller the budget the more creative you have to be. The juices are already flowing and I can’t wait to fully figure out what this means for Gutenberg! at Evening Star!”

“Ever since seeing a college production of See Rock City and Other Destinations a few years ago, I’ve been fascinated with the notion this musical offers,” the show’s director Geoffrey Short explains. “Traveling and relationships have more in common than might meet the eye. Whether you’re on a North Carolina highway or on a tour in Niagara Falls, exploration, discovery, getting lost and being found can happen on the road and in our personal lives too. See Rock City is a contemporary musical about connections missed and made at tourist destinations across America.  When this show is presented in the intimate Evening Star theatre space I know it will create a very personal, funny and touching theatrical experience for our audiences.”

Rosalie Grant will direct Waiting for Godot herself.  “Godot is a comedic director’s dream script,” she says.  “It’s also the perfect vehicle for an ensemble experience.  It’s a challenging piece to say the least … for actors, director and audience. Putting these three elements together guaranteed an exciting venture, and I’m excited to freshly imagine Beckett’s word play to bring the poetry, dreamscapes and nonsense to life through a cast of what will have to be very skillful actors.”

Sol Children Theatre’s first production of the 2016-2017 The Christmas Carol is perfectly timed to fit the spirit of the holiday season:

“With it paying homage to both a cherished story and treasured holiday, I’m thrilled to be directing this production,” director Christopher Mitchell explains.  “Its eerie, spooky undertones and heartwarming ending will be great fun to play with next winter. Everyone loves a good ghost story and a great Christmas story. And with this show, you get both!

“Once On This Island is set in the Caribbean Sea one stormy night,” director James Skiba explains. “It contains elements of both Romeo and Juliet and the fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The story concerns a young peasant girl, TiMoune who is saved from a deadly storm by the gods on a tropical island, and who uses the power of love to bring together people of different social classes; it talks about society and the various classes and how we treat one another. In the end it is due to the young Ti Moune’s heart and her dedication to this true love that others begin to change and a seed is sown to make the world a better place where we all Live Once On This Island of Mother Earth in the hope that someday all of us might be able to truly love who ever we so choose. And that is why we tell the story.”

Evening Star Productions will continue its current season with the British Comedy Murdered to Death, which will run from April 14th through May 1st at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton. They are also teaming up with Infinite Abyss to present a ‘steam punk’ version of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, which will run at the Abyss Theatre in Ft. Lauderdale from May 12 – 28.  Rosalie Grant will direct both productions.   From June 17 – 26 they will present The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised], and they’ll close out their season with a ground-breaking project directed and adapted by Seth Trucks – William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream from August 6 – 21.

All Evening Star Productions and Sol Children Theatre performances (other than The Rocky Horror Show) will take place at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.  Ticket prices for all productions are listed below; group rates are available for all shows. Tickets to all Evening Star Productions and Sol Children Theatre 2016-2017 productions will be on sale soon; tickets for both companies remaining 2015-2016 productions are on sale now and can be purchased at the Sol Theatre box office at 561-447-8829 or on line at www.eveningstarproductions.org or www.solchildren.org  Sol Theatre is located at 3333 North Federal Highway in Boca Raton (33431).

The Rocky Horror Show will be presented at Abyss Theatre, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, 33305.

For more information about Evening Star Productions and Sol Children Theatre, please contact Rosalie Grant at 561-447-8829 / info@eveningstarproductions.com or Carol Kassie at 561-445-9244 / ckassie@gmail.com .

Sol Children Theatre on Facebook!
Evening Star Productions on Facebook!

EVENING STAR PRODUCTIONS
2016-2017 Season

Gutenberg logo 2Gutenberg! The Musical!
September 15 – October 2, 2016
By Anthony King & Scott Brown
Directed by Ben Sandomir
Tickets:  $25 / $10 for students
In this two-man musical spoof, a pair of aspiring playwrights perform a backers’ audition for their new project – a big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg. With an unending supply of enthusiasm, Bud and Doug sing all the songs and play all the parts in their crass historical epic, with the hope that one of the producers in attendance will give them a Broadway contract – fulfilling their ill-advised dreams.

SRClogoFINALSee Rock City and Other Destinations
January 12 – 29, 2017
Music by Brad Alexander
Book & Lyrics by Adam Mathias
Directed by Geoffrey Short
Tickets:  $25 / $10 for students
A wanderer believes his destiny is written on rooftops along the North Carolina Interstate. A young man yearns to connect with intelligent life in Roswell, New Mexico. A woman at the Alamo steps out of the shadow of her grandparents’ idealized romance to take a chance on love. Three estranged sisters cruise to Glacier Bay to scatter their father’s ashes. Two high school boys face unexpected fears in the Coney Island Spook House. A terrified bride-to-be ponders taking the leap… over Niagara Falls. With a book full of humor and humanity, and a score that incorporates pop, rock, folk and more, each story builds on the last to create a vivid travelogue of Americans learning to overcome their fears and expectations in order to connect.

Waiting-for-GodotWaiting for Godot
April 20 – May 7, 2017
By Samuel Beckett
Directed by Rosalie Grant
Tickets:  $25 / $10 students
In Waiting for Godot, two wandering tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, wait by a lonely tree, to meet up with Mr. Godot, an enigmatic figure in a world where time, place and memory are blurred and meaning is where you find it. The tramps hope that Godot will change their lives for the better. Instead, two eccentric travelers arrive, one man on the end of the other’s rope. The results are both funny and dangerous in this existential masterpiece.

SOL CHILDREN THEATRE
2016-2017 Season

CCThe Christmas Carol
December 2 – 18, 2016
By Charles Dickens/Adapted by Brian Way
Directed by Christopher Mitchell
Tickets:  $15 / $10 juniors (11 and under)
This Baker best-seller is a straightforward, faithful, and theatrically stunning adaptation of the Dickens story. It has proven enormously popular in repertory, regional, school and community theatres.

once-on-this-island-junior-colorOnce on This Island, Jr.  
June 9 – 25, 2017
Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Directed by James Skiba
Tickets: $15 / $10 juniors (11 and under)
Adapted from the celebrated Broadway musical, with its poignant story of one small girl who finds love in a world of prejudice, and its catchy Caribbean-flavored score, Once on This Island, Jr. is a highly original theatrical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s popular fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, and the Tony-nominated Broadway musical by the legendary writing team, Ahrens and Flaherty.

Alice - 1Alice in Wonderland
August 11 – 27, 2017
By Lewis Carroll
Adapted and directed by Seth Trucks
Tickets: $15 / $10 juniors (11 and under)
Alice will once again fall through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar anthropomorphic creatures.  This classic fantasy will be adapted especially for Sol’s stage by actor/director/playwright Seth Trucks.

Stage Door Theatre presents EVITA March 18 – April 24

08 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Clients

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Stage Door Theatre
presents
EVITA
Evita_web 2March 18 – April 24

“Don’t Cry For Me Argentina
The Truth Is I Never Left You”
-Eva Perón – Evita

March 8, 2016

MARGATE, FL:  Stage Door Theatre’s production of the multi-award winning Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical Evita will open on March 18th and run through April 24th.

Based on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, who became the spiritual leader of the nation, Evita traces this charismatic woman’s rise from obscurity to fame and fortune as one of the most influential political leaders in the country’s history.

The idea for the show began as a result of a visit to Argentina by lyricist Tim Rice, and a subsequent reunion and collaboration with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber – their first since the release of their double album Jesus Christ Superstar in 1970.  Like Superstar, Evita began as a rock opera concept album.  And like its predecessor, the album produced a smash it single, ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’, which, much to Rice’s delight would have people “walking into the theatre whistling the tune,” when the album went on to become a full length production – first in London’s West End, where it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and then on Broadway, where it became the first British musical to win the Tony Award for Best Musical.

Michael Leeds

Michael Leeds

Evita will be directed by Michael Leeds.  Kevin Black will choreograph the production, and Caryl Fantel is the show’s Musical Director.

“Since the first production in 1978, Evita has had over a thousand productions all over the world,” says Leeds.  “Kevin and I were attracted to this story of a woman who journeys from being an illegitimate, poverty-stricken child in the pampas of Argentina to become the most powerful woman in the world.  This musical is all about passion.  It fuels every scene and every relationship.  We watch the cat and mouse foreplay between Evita and Juan Perón, their rise to power and their manipulation of an adoring public, all seen through the cynical eyes of an impassioned Che Guevara.

Kevin Black

Kevin Black

“Because the tango is such an integral element to that world, Kevin and I have set theentire show in a tango bar,” Leeds explains. “Kevin hired an extraordinary couple who specializes in the tango and they lead us through the story in dance just as Che does through song.  It’s a potent combination.

“We needed a really talented cast of singers to do justice to Andrew Lloyd Weber’s music, he continues.  “We were lucky to find our fourteen-member ensemble from South Florida’s talented pool of singer/dancers.  We found our Evita (Jenna Pastuszek) in New York, our Che (Trevor Whitaker) in Great Britain, and our Perón is the talented Rick Hvizdak who we just worked with in Promises, Promises.  It’s an exciting production to create and I’m sure it will be just as exciting to watch!”

Caryl Fantel

Caryl Fantel

Caryl Fantel, the shows musical director is equally enthusiastic. “What an epic piece of theatre!” she says. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of Stage Door’s production of Evita. This musical tells the powerful story of Eva Perón almost entirely through music that is alternately sweeping and raw, and filled with emotion. Devotees of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber may catch hints of the master’s other works, including Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in this music. For our production, we have assembled an impressive group of actor/singer/dancers who share this true-life tale of ambition and political seduction that is timeless and certainly relevant today.”

Evita will run from March 18 – April 24 at The Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs. The theatre is located at 8036 Sample Road, in Margate.

Tickets for Evita are $38 – $42; $16 student tickets are also available.  Tickets may be purchased at the Broward Stage Door Theatre box office at 954-344-7765 or on line at www.stagedoortheatre.com.

For more information about Evita  and/or The Broward Stage Door Theatre, please visit www.stagedoortheatre.com , or contact Derelle Bunn Executive Producer/Artistic Director, at DerelleBunn@yahoo.com / 954-344-7765 or Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244).

Evita
March 18 – April 24, 2016
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Book and Lyrics by Tim Rice
Tickets:  $38 – $42
Phone:  954-344-7765
Showtimes:
Wednesday, Saturday, &  Sunday at 2 pm,
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
The Stage Door Theatre
8036 W Sample Rd
Margate, Fl 33065
www.stagedoortheatre.com
Stage Door Theatre on Facebook 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Carbonell Award-Winner Karen Stephens in BRIDGE & TUNNEL – March 16th, 2016

22 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by in Clients, The Theatre Arts Series at B'nai Torah

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

The Theatre Arts Series at B’nai Torah
Bnai Torah LogoShari Upbin
presents
Carbonell Award-Winner
Karen Stephens
in
B&T poster 2March 16th, 2016

February 23, 2016
BOCA RATON, FL: The Theatre Arts Series at B’nai Torah will conclude its season with star power: Carbonell Award-winning actress Karen Stephens will reprise her award-winning performance (Best Actress 2011 – New Times Best of Award) in Sarah Jones’ Tony Award winning Broadway show Bridge & Tunnel.

On March 16th, Stephens will once again inhabit the souls of 14 diverse members of New York City’s melting pot: A Polish-German-Lithuanian-American Jewish grandmother, a boyfriend-hating Australian, a Chinese mother of a lesbian daughter, a Jordanian woman with a fixation on the Beatles, and 10 other inimitable individuals provide their own distinctive, entertaining, and often moving perspectives on the American dream. Hosted by the charming and hilarious “Muhammad Ali” in a night club in Queens, New York, these fascinating characters from the outer boroughs of New York – bridge and tunnellers – will offer their perceptions of the immigrant experience.

Karen Stephens

Karen Stephens

“Through an annual poetry gathering we are introduced to these people from varying cultures who share their unique experiences,” Stephens explains. “It’s a delightfully entertaining view of the American immigrant story.”

Bridge & Tunnel was originally produced Off-Broadway by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, where it won an Obie Award (Outstanding Performance) and went on to become critically acclaimed, long running hit on Broadway where it won a special Tony Award. It was performed in both Sarasota and Ft. Lauderdale as part of the Women’s Theatre Project. Bridge & Tunnel will be directed Shari Upbin.

Playwright Sarah Jones is the winner of the 2007 Brendan Gill Prize. Jones has also received grants and commissions from The Ford Foundation, NYSCA, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and others.  Her theater honors include an Obie Award, a Helen Hayes Award, two Drama Desk nominations, and HBO’s US Comedy Arts Festival’s Best One Person Show Award.

Bridge & Tunnel will run for one performance, only – on Wednesday, March 16th, 2016, at 7:30 pm at Congregation B’nai Torah in Boca Raton.  Tickets are $36 ($25 for congregational members), and may be purchased by calling 561-392-8566 or on line at www.bnai-torah.org.  Group rates are available.

Bridge & Tunnel
by Sarah Jones
March 16, 2016
7:30 pm
Tickets:  $36 ($25 for congregational members)
Click HERE to purchase tickets on line
Phone: 561-392-8566
B’nai Torah Congregation
6261 SW 18th Street
Boca Raton, FL 33433
www.bnai-torah.org

Shari2

Shari Upbin

Shari Upbin:
Shari Upbin (Producer/Director) has been a theatre professional since the age of 13 when she became a member of Actors Equity. (Her father was a writer for Jack Benny). She has been a professional tap dancer and choreographer and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers; she was the president of the League of Professional Theatre Women/New York for seven years, and is currently President of the National Society Of Arts And Letters, Florida East Coast Chapter.
Shari has produced and directed over 50 productions in New York and around the country. Her directing Credits include Vincent, The Passions Of The Artist Van Gogh, Danny And Sylvia at the Forum Theatre in New Jersey. Other credits include Life With Father,  Fiddler On The Roof, Cabaret, Jacques Brel, and The Roar Of The Greasepaint; she was awarded Best Director for her production of Side By Side By Sondheim. Shari will be producing the national classical ballet competition En Pointe in South Florida in 2017.
Along with Bridge & Tunnel, some of Shari’s Florida directing credits include the recent sold out performance of Women’s Minyan, Broadway Live! and Hollywood Live!, Confessions Of A Jewish Shiksa Dancing On Hitler’s Grave at the Kravis Center, Dames In Divaland, From Door to Door, and In the Voice of Our Mothers (at the Posner JCC).
Shari served as assistant director to the world renowned British Director Michael Langham for the first Black/Hispanic Julius Caesar and Coriolanus at the New York Shakespeare Festival with Joe Papp starring Morgan Freeman.
Shari Upbin and Sandi Durell have been long time producing partners in Hollywood Live! and Broadway Live! as well as the Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award nominated Timeless Divas! series with hosts Ben Verreen, Tony Randall, Karen Mason,  Tovah Feldshuh , Phyllis Newman, and Leslie Uggams.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Stage Door Theatre presents WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT? THE SOUNDTRACK OF AN ERA

11 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by in Clients

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Stage Door Theatre
presents
What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an EraPussycat (mailer)

February 19 – March 2

These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ So let’s go Downtown taking The Long And Winding Road to A Bridge Over Troubled Waters.  Then I’ve Got Georgia On My Mind, so I’ll be Leavin’ On A Jet Plane with My Girl, My Guy and Eleanor Rigby.  But if you’re California Dreamin’, I’m feelin’ those Good Vibrations so just Walk Like A Man and let’s Hit The Road, Jack.  YOU Don’t Have To Say You Love Me ’cause Our Day Will Come and we’re gonna be Happy Together. How do I know…? I Heard It Through The Grapevine!

February 11, 2016
MARGATE, FL:  What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era the popular Michael Leeds/Kevin Black musical compendium of the music of the 1960s will return to Stage Door Theatre beginning February 19th, and run through March 27th.

“We’ve had so many requests to bring back the show, not only from people who didn’t get to see it, but from those who want to see it again!” Michael Leeds explains.  “For this go round we’ve hired six very talented actor/singer/dancers from New York.  Actually, the three guys were in the show we just did, Pompadour, and we were so impressed, we asked them to stick around!  Kevin and I are having a great time re-visiting the 60s and hearing these new voices sing those incredible songs. How can you get tired of songs like “Yesterday”, “Dancing in the Street”, and of course, “What’s New, Pussycat!””

The idea for What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era was born when Stage Door Theatre’s artistic director Derelle Bunn mentioned to Leeds and Black that she had an open time slot for a show in the summer of 2014, and asked them if they’d be interested in ‘doing something’. They jumped at the chance. “Kevin and I had wanted to work together for a while, and this was a terrific opportunity,” Leeds said.  “And then, of course, the question became – what should we do?!”

What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era, the result of their collaboration opened at Stage Door Theatre in August of 2014 and was an immediate hit with audiences and critics alike.

“What’s New, Pussycat? was originally going to be a revue of just Burt Bacharach songs,” Leeds explained at the time.  “But as Kevin and I started listening to Bacharach’s music, we kept being distracted by other great songs of the same era.  So we decided to expand the show to include The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, Etta James, Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers, The Fifth Dimension and all those Motown greats like The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Ronettes, as well as incredible composers and writers like Henry Mancini, Michel LeGrand and of course, Burt Bacharach!

“Creating the piece took careful deliberation, Leeds continued: “From past experience, both Kevin and I learned that though there are no “rules” to creating a musical revue, there are some guidelines.  First, of course, is what songs are the most popular; the songs the audience is coming to hear.”   (See below for a complete list of songs)

Leeds and Black will revisit their roles as the show’s director and choreographer, and Carbonell Award-winner Eric Alsford will once again serve as What’s New Pussycat’s musical director/arranger.

The What’s New Pussycat?  The Soundtrack of an Era’s cast consists of Jessica Bennett, Brandon Godfrey, Preston Grover, Caitlie Moss, Dana Reminsky, and Jay Wilkinson.

Michael Leeds

Michael Leeds

Although he is primarily recognized as one of South Florida’s finest and busiest directors, Michael Leeds has also had great success as a playwright, screenwriter, and choreographer. He co-wrote and directed the Broadway musical Swinging on a Star which received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical as well as a Drama Desk Award nomination and a Theatre World Award. Off-Broadway Leeds directed and choreographed Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah – The Songs of Allan Sherman, starring Tovah Feldshuh & Mary Testa, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Director and Best Choreographer.  His production of the European premiere of Arthur Miller’s Playing For Time won a Festival Fringe First Award. For film, he choreographed End of Summer, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Peter Weller and co-wrote The Simian Line starring William Hurt and Lynn Redgrave, and The Last Film Festival, starring Dennis Hopper and Jacqueline Bisset. Leeds’ plays include The First Step, and The Gift.  His many South Florida productions include Mack and Mabel (Carbonell Award Best Musical), The Light In The Piazza, and A Little Night Music, (both nominated for Best Musical, and a Silver Palm Award for Direction for Night Music).  As Associate Artistic Director for Island City Stage, his production of The Timekeepers garnered six Carbonell Awards including Best Direction and Best Production of a Play. The Island City Stage production of his play, Who Killed Joan Crawford, opened to rave reviews on January 14th, and is currently playing to sold out houses. Michael also teaches a weekly adult acting class.  www.LeedsWorkshop.net

Kevin Black

Kevin Black

Kevin Black is the owner and artistic director of Kevin Black Productions. His expertise, experience, and creativity in directing and choreography, as well as in set, costume, and lighting design have built him a solid reputation as one of the top ‘go-to guys’ in South Florida. Kevin’s most recent work includes 8 Track, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, and Rags at The Plaza Theatre in Manalapan. He directed and choreographed Spamalot, Tommy, and The Rocky Horror Show for Entr’Acte Theatrix performing at TheCrest Theatre in Delray Beach.  Kevin has also produced South Florida tours of La Cage Aux Folles, The Jazz Singer, Smokey Joe’s Café, Funny Girl, Victor/Victoria, Cabaret and Dreamgirls. He recently directed The Jazz Singer at The Willow Theatre in Boca Raton, which sold out every performance. Kevin’s work can currently be seen at the Villa de Palmar Resorts in Cabo, Mexico; Kevin is also the Artistic Director for CAST (Career in the Arts, School of Talent) located in Miramar, Florida. www.kevinblackproductions.com/

What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era will run from February 19 through March 27 at The Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs. The theatre is located at 8036 Sample Road, in Margate.

Tickets for What’s New Pussycat? are $38 – $42; $16 student tickets are also available.  Tickets may be purchased at the Broward Stage Door Theatre box office at 954-344-7765 or on line at www.stagedoortheatre.com.

For more information about What’s New Pussycat?  and/or The Broward Stage Door Theatre, please visit www.stagedoortheatre.com, or contact Derelle Bunn Executive Producer/Artistic Director, at DerelleBunn@yahoo.com / 954-344-7765 or Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244).

What’s New Pussycat?  The Soundtrack of an Era
Compiled by Michael Leeds & Kevin Black
Dates: February 19 – March 27
Tickets:  $38 – $42 (Students $16)
For Tickets:  954-344-7765 / www.stagedoortheatre.com
Showtimes:
Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2:00 pm,
Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm
The Broward Stage Door Theatre
8036 W Sample Rd
Margate, Fl 33065

These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ So let’s go Downtown taking The Long And Winding Road to A Bridge Over Troubled Waters.  Then I’ve Got Georgia On My Mind, so I’ll be Leavin’ On A Jet Plane with My Girl, My Guy and Eleanor Rigby.  But if you’re California Dreamin’, I’m feelin’ those Good Vibrations so just Walk Like A Man and let’s Hit The Road, Jack.  YOU Don’t Have To Say You Love Me ’cause Our Day Will Come and we’re gonna be Happy Together. How do I know…? I Heard It Through The Grapevine!

What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era
Song List: 

A House Is Not A Home – Dionne Warwick
At Last – Etta James
Be My Baby – The Ronettes
Born Free – Matt Monro
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
California Dreamin’ – The Mamas & The Papas
Cherish – The Association
Dancin’ in the Streets – Gladys Knight and The Pips
Do You Know the Way to San Jose – Dionne Warwick
Do You Wanna Dance – Del Shannon / The Mamas & The Papas
Downtown – Petula Clark
Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire
Fixin’ To Die Rag – Country Joe & The Fish
Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles
Georgy Girl – The Seekers
Get Ready – The Temptations
Goldfinger – Shirley Bassey
Happy Together – The Turtles
Heatwave – Martha &The Vandellas
He’s So Fine – The Chiffons
Hey Jude – The Beatles
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
I Left My Heart In San Francisco – Tony Bennet
Land of 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett
Leavin’ on a Jet Plane – Peter, Paul & Mary
Let’s Twist Again – Chubby Checker
Locomotion – Little Eva
Mashed Potato Time – Dee Dee Sharp
Moon River – Andy Williams
Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel
Pretty Woman – Roy Orbison
Same Old Song – The Four Tops
Shop Around – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Stop in the Name of Love – The Supremes
Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch – The Four Tops
Talk to the Animals – Rex Harrison
The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles
The Peppermint Twist – Joey Dee and The Starliters
The Pink Panther Theme – Henry Mancini
These Boots Were Made for Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra
Time in A Bottle – Jim Croce
To Sir, with Love – LuLu
Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers
We Can Work It Out – The Beatles
Wedding Bell Blues – The Fifth Dimension
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life – Michael Dees
What’s New Pussycat? – Tom Jones
Yesterday – The Beatles
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield
You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling – The Righteous Brothers

 

Pigs Do Fly Productions presents CURLY TALES ~ March 11-27 at Empire Stage

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Clients, Pigs Do Fly Productions, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents

CurlyTales_logo

Seven Short Plays
at Empire Stage March 11th – 27th
(Preview performance March 10th)

A collection of Seven BRAND NEW Short Plays chosen to appeal to audiences of all ages

February 9, 2016
LAUDERDALE, FL – Pigs do Fly Productions will return to Ft. Lauderdale’s Empire Stage with Curly Tales the first production of their third season, from March 11th through March 27th. There will be a preview performance on March 10th.

Curly Tales will once again feature seven short plays chosen from numerous submissions the company received after putting out a call for works specific to their mission: To highlight vibrant healthy people over the age of fifty doing interesting things with their lives.

Ellen 2“When we began Pigs Do Fly with the idea of highlighting, positively, the many of us over 50,  I had no idea of what to expect,” says Ellen Wacher, the company’s founder and Executive Producer. “I’m thrilled the subject has resonated with so many theater-goers. I think we’ve selected a good balance of comedies and dramas for this production – we look to keep getting better and better and happily move forward. Our audience is growing, and so are we!”

Directing duties for Curly Tales will once again be shared by Elena Maria Garcia and Gail S. Garrisan, both of whom wholeheartedly share Wacher’s vision:

“This time the plays are more personal with attention to life’s details,” Garcia says. “And I’m excited to work with former Pigs cast members as well as new ones. Let’s see where this new journey will take us.”

“It’s both a pleasure and a challenge to find new works that exemplify the mission of Pigs Do Fly,” Garrisan explains. “Working on this affords me the opportunity become acquainted with a number of talented playwrights with whose work I was not familiar.” This will be Garrisan’s second Pigs Do Fly production.

Local actors Brenda Aulbach, Lynn Simmons Chvotkin, Harry Marsh, Stanley Ross, Kerry Sensenbach, Elissa D. Solomon, and Carol Sussman have been cast in Curly Tales.

“Entertaining an audience with a variety of short plays is great,” says Brenda Aulbach. “But entertaining an audience with short plays about people over the age of 50 is even greater because it’s relevant. And performing in this production by Pigs do Fly that clearly values and showcases the talent and artistry of actors over the age of 50 is nothing short of an honor.”

The seven 10-minute plays are (see below for playwright bios):
Yours and Mine – by Glenn Alterman
Flowers – by Sheila Cowley
The Dove – by Joshua Fardon
Land of the Music – by E.M. Garcia
The Nude – by W.L. Newkirk
Politically Correct Police – by Larry Parr
The Mating Season of Flying Monkeys – by Ann R. Wuehler

Tickets for Curly Tales are $35 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 North Flagler Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, 33304.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com. To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Pigs Do Fly Productions presents
Curly Tales
By Various Playwrights March 11 – 27
(Preview Performance – March 10)
Tickets: $35 Tickets: 866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Performances: Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 North Flagler Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33304

Curly Tales – Playwright Bios:

Glenn Alterman (Yours and Mine) is the author of 29 theater related book, including 10 books of original monologues. He’s listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and RecordSetter.com for “The Most Published Original Monologues For Actors”. His plays and monologues have appeared in over 30 “Best of the Year” anthologies. He’s won The Arts and Letters Award In Drama, The Julio T. Nunez Arts Grant, The Bloomington Playwrights Project (Reva Shiner Award) and over 60 playwriting competitions. Glenn’s work’s been performed at Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, LaMama, Beverly Hills Rep, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Circle Rep., and at many theaters in the U.S. and in Europe. 

Sheila Cowley’s (Flowers) plays have been developed in Chicago at Chicago Dramatists and The Equity Library Theatre, in New York with Athena Theatre, March Forth and Reverie Productions, in London through American Actors UK and in Florida at American Stage, The Gorilla Theatre, Stageworks and the University of South Florida. There have been productions of her work from New York to Florida and Texas, with Ohio coming up. Sheila recently completed two commissions, one using live sound effects for a show in New York, and a work drawn from a painting for a local arts performance. www.sdcowley.com 

Joshua Fardon’s (The Dove) play A Painting of a Dog is a semifinalist for the 2016 Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. The Annoyance Theatre, Chicago: The Condition. Theatre of NOTE, Los Angeles: Do Not Disturb – An Evening of Plays by JoshuaFardon, Shake, This Contract Limits our Liability – Read It! Brand Studio Theatre: Julia Arbuck. Short plays for The Naked Angels, EST, Sacred Fools, The Secret Rose, Slap n’ Tickle, the Yale Cabaret, the Yo! Yo! Theatre Company. A graduate of Northwestern University and the acting department of the Yale School of Drama, he is thrilled that Pigs Do Fly.www.joshuafardon.com

Elena Maria Garcia (Land the Music) is a co-founder of Underdog Productions where she has adapted numerous children’s books and stories into plays for young audiences.  Her adaptation of Give A Boy A Gun was produced twice in South Florida to rave reviews from students, teacher, and parents. She was also the co-founder of the all female improv troupe Big Purse and Matching Shoes as well as Separate Checks Improv Troupe, where she learned quickly how to write sketch comedy about current political and social issues.  Through Underdog Productions, Elena has been able to direct, act, write, and produce her one-person show, Do You Speak Mexican? at the Fillmore Miami Beach.  She is currently writing her new one person show titled, Teacher Conference: A True Story.

W.L. Newkirk (The Nude) is best known as a playwright. His recently-written, award-winning stage plays include East Lansing (Winner, Best Play, 2014 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival), 5 to 4 (Winner, Best Play, 2015 4 X 6 Fest), and In Me (Winner, 2015 Vigoda Award, Best Dramedy).  He has degrees from the Ohio State University (Medicine) and Harvard University (Government), where he was a John Harvard Scholar and Lecturer.  He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the arts and sciences, including Recognition from the Daniel Hanley Trust for “Courage, Leadership and Innovation.” He is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Larry Parr (Politically Correct Police) Hundreds of regional productions. Hi-Hat Hattie Kansas City’s Drama Desk Best Musical, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, American Cinema Foundation; My Castle’s Rockin’ Sart ScriptFest, National Black Theatre Festival; Invasion Of Privacy 1999 Gold Coast Players best-play award, Playwrights First Award in Manhattan, Ashland New Play Festival, Theatre Conspiracy’s New Play Competition, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Dezart Performs Audience Favorite; Sundew Sart Scriptfest; His Eye Is On The Sparrow Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Sarasota County Arts Council’s Fellowship, Dayton Best Overall Production; Shunned Sart’s ScriptFest, Utah Shakespeare Festival, New American Playwrights Project. 2000, 2010 Barbara Anton Playwriting Award. http://www.larryparr.info

Ann R. Wuehler (Mating Season of Flying Monkeys) is a native Oregonian who has traveled to China, Europe and Honduras. Oregon Gothic, a collection of her short stories published by Kensington Gore, came out last year. She is currently working on a new novel that just went into editing. City Theatre, Miami, awarded her play, the Mating Season of Flying Monkeys, Short Playwriting Finalist, 2015. Her Traces of Memory has been made into several short films by Joseph Culp, Jody Jaress  and Jason Figgis, to name a few. She also holds a BA in Theatre, from Eastern Oregon University and an MFA from UNLV in Playwriting.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Thinking Cap Theatre’s Neo-Restoration Comedy OR, at the Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts – February 19 – March 5

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Clients, Thinking Cap Theatre

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thinking Cap Theatre at The Vanguard
presents
OR - ckFebruary 19 – March 5

“Love ceases to be a pleasure when it ceases to be a secret.” Aphra Behn

February 3, 2016
LAUDERDALE, FL: Thinking Cap Theatre will open its 2016 season with OR, Liz Duffy Adams’ wild and witty neo-restoration comedy set in the intriguing and intrigue-filled days of Charles II. The play will run at The Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale from February 19th through March 5th.

As the play’s title, OR, suggests, much remains uncertain about Aphra Behn, England’s first professional female playwright.  Was Aphra gay or straight?  A playwright or a whore?  A loyalist or a spy? Adams’ clever, bawdy, and riotous send-up of restoration comedy will give audiences plenty to ponder – and to laugh at – in this exploration of Behn, the decadent King Charles II, and their mutual lover, the stage beauty Nell Gwynne.

Thinking Cap Theatre at the Vanguard has quickly established itself as a respected presence in the South Florida theatrical community.  The company earned three Carbonell Award nominations during their 2015 season:  Ann Marie Olson (Best Actress in a Play, Always Patsy Cline), Barbara Sloan (Best Actress in a Play, Vita & Virginia), and Niki Fridh (Best Suporting Actress in a Play, Vita & Virginia).

Niki Fridh will star as Aphra Behn in OR, alongside Betsy Graver as Nell Gwynn, and Alex Alvarez as King Charles II.

Niki Fridh

Niki Fridh

“I’m thrilled to be joining TCT for my fifth production,” says Fridh. “Nicole is a friend and a true inspiration in my life, and when she told me that she wanted to do OR, and have me play Aphra Behn, of course I jumped at the opportunity to work with her again. She is a real visionary and the South Florida Theatre community it so very lucky to have her as an integral part of it. Nicole is the ONLY producer/director down here to take on such varying works and I love her sense of fearlessness and passion for theatre.”

Nicole Stodard

Nicole Stodard

“Most audiences will be unfamiliar with Behn’s name,” Stodard explains. “But it’s one that any lover of mystery, art, and liberty should know.  She was a royal spy, a bisexual, the author of more than 18 plays and countless volumes of poetry, and an innovator of the modern day novel. For centuries, Aphra, like so many other (women) artists had been edited out of history books,” she continues. “But she has thankfully been restored to her exciting place in history, thanks to artists such as Virginia Woolf and Liz Duffy Adams, and general increased interest in the 17th century because of films like The Libertine and Stage Beauty.  The era of Charles II’s court (1660-1685) was one of the sexiest and wittiest of all London ages, making it a blast to travel back in time to play with him, Aphra, and the great Nell Gwynne!”

Tickets for OR, are $35 ($20 for students with ID) and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling 813-220-1546 or on line at www.thinkingcaptheatre.com .

The Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts is located at 1501 S. Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, 33301.  There is free street parking surrounding the building and a metered municipal lot just south of The Vanguard on Andrews Ave.

For more information about Thinking Cap Theatre at the Vanguard visit www.thinkingcaptheatre.com.  or contact Nicole Stodard at nicole@thinkingcaptheatre.com / 813-220-1546 or Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com  / 561-445-9244.

Or,
By Liz Duffy Adams
February 19 – March 5
Tickets:  $35 ($37.22 with s/c)
Students 25 and under with valid ID $20
For Tickets: 813-220-1546
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2492363   
www.vanguardarts.org
February 19 8pm
February 20 8pm
February 21 3 pm & 7 pm
February 25 8pm
February 26 8pm
February 27 8pm
February 28 5pm
March 2 8pm
March 3 8pm
March 4 8pm
March 5 8pm

All performances will take place at
The Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts
1501 S. Andrews Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
www.thinkingcaptheatre.com
Like us on Facebook!

Critical Praise for OR,

“…Tom Stoppard is the most celebrated contemporary playwright to compose history-based fictions that occasionally take liberties with the facts. Many have tried to emulate the formula in his heady wake; most have sunk under the challenge… Ms. Adams fares remarkably well. Her language has a natural period flavor and a formidable wit; her characters possess the spark of fully animated spirits; and she weaves into her story both biographical detail and cultural context with grace.” –Charles Isherwood, New York Times. 

“Adams’s historical play celebrates not only Behn’s pioneering career, which Virginia Woolf famously memorialized in A Room of One’s Own (‘All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn’), but also the side of the writer’s tumultuous life that Woolf dismissed as ‘shady and amorous.’ [Adams] has written an Aphra-disiac valentine, not a stodgy bio-play.”—Rob Weinert-Kendt, TimeOut New York

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Shari Upbin presents WOMEN’S MINYAN – February 3rd, 2016

21 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by in Clients, The Theatre Arts Series at B'nai Torah

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

The Theatre Arts Series at B’nai Torah:
Shari Upbin
presents
158815

                                          February 3, 2016
“Ragen is… a champion of those who have no voice.”  ~ Amazon.com

BOCA RATON, FL: Naomi Ragen’s powerful play, Women’s Minyan resonates as deeply today as it did when it premiered in July 2002 at Habima National Theater in Tel Aviv.  A powerful and fascinating exploration of religious fundamentalism in a patriarchal society, the play is based on a true story.  Women’s Minyan will be performed at Boca Raton’s B’nai Torah on February 3, 2016 in the Weiner Auditorium.

Chana Sheinhoff, is the respected Rabbi’s wife in an ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem. After years of abuse by her husband, she breaks her silence only to find herself excommunicated and forcibly separated from her twelve children. She convenes a ‘minyan’ (a quorum) of women asking them to decide her worthiness to be reunited with her children.  Hearing for the first time what led to her divorce, this group of women explores the boundaries between religion and social convention, truth and falsehood, and women’s true place in the religious world.

Producer Shari Upbin, one of the driving forces behind B’nai Torah’s Theatre Arts Series, will direct Women’s Minyan.   The production will feature Faiza Cherie as Chana Sheinhoff, along with Rene Barrett, Fern Katz, Abby Linker, Peggy Linker, Ellie Murray, Clelia Patrizio, Renee Rogoff, Phyllis Spear, and Skylar Voelker.  Jeffrey Bruce will provide the voice of the Rabbi.  Sound design for the production is by Carbonell Award-winner Matt Corey and lighting design is by Sean Cutler, Artistic Director of Ft. Lauderdale Children’s Theatre and winner of the 2015 BroadwayWorld.com Best Director of a Musical award.  Live music will accompany the production.

Women’s Minyan has received universally rave reviews whenever and wherever the play has been produced, and praise for Upbin’s production of the play, which ran at the West Boca Theatre Company at the Levis Jewish Community Center in Boca Raton in November 2012 was unanimous.

Women’s Minyan will run for one performance, only – on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016, at 7:30 pm at Congregation B’nai Torah in Boca Raton.  Tickets are $36 ($25 for congregational members), and may be purchased by calling 561-392-8566 or on line at www.bnai-torah.org.  Group rates are available.

For more information about Women’s Minyan or Shari Upbin, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

Women’s Minyan
by Naomi Ragen
Produced and Directed By Shari Upbin
February 3rd, 2016
7:30 pm
Tickets:  $36 ($25 for congregational members)
Phone: 561-392-8566
B’nai Torah Congregation
The Weiner Auditorium
6261 SW 18th Street
Boca Raton, FL 33433
www.bnai-torah.org

Shari2Shari Upbin:
Shari Upbin (Producer/Director) has been a theatre professional since the age of 13 when she became a member of Actors Equity. (Her father was a writer for Jack Benny). She has been a professional tap dancer and choreographer and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers; she was the president of the League of Professional Theatre Women/New York for seven years, and is currently President of the National Society Of Arts And Letters, Florida East Coast Chapter.
Shari has produced and directed over 50 productions in New York and around the country. Her directing Credits include Vincent, The Passions Of The Artist Van Gogh, Danny And Sylvia at the Forum Theatre in New Jersey. Other credits include Life With Father,  Fiddler On The Roof, Cabaret, Jacques Brel, and The Roar Of The Greasepaint; she was awarded Best Director for her production of Side By Side By Sondheim. Shari will be producing the national classical ballet competition En Pointe in South Florida in 2017.
Along with Women’s Minyan, some of Shari’s Florida directing credits include Broadway Live! and Hollywood Live!, Confessions Of A Jewish Shiksa Dancing On Hitler’s Grave at the Kravis Center, Dames In Divaland, From Door to Door, and In the Voice of Our Mothers (at the Posner JCC).
Shari served as assistant director to the world renowned British Director Michael Langham for the first Black/Hispanic Julius Caesar and Coriolanus at the New York Shakespeare Festival with Joe Papp starring Morgan Freeman.
Shari Upbin and Sandi Durell have been long time producing partners in Hollywood Live! and Broadway Live! as well as the Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award nominated Timeless Divas! series with hosts Ben Verreen, Tony Randall,  Karen Mason,  Tovah Feldshuh , Phyllis Newman, and Leslie Uggams.  Shari is currently teaching a master class, and will be staging Tony Finstrom’s Wave Your Flag for the Jan McArt Playwright’s Series at Lynn University.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

MY SON THE WAITER: A JEWISH TRAGEDY – February 4 – March 27 at The Palm Beaches Theatre

11 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by in Clients

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

WaiterNewLogo_July28-3 at
The Palm Beaches Theatre
(Formerly Florida Stage/Plaza Theatre)
February 4 – March 27, 2016

Actor/Comedian Brad Zimmerman’s hilarious and inspiring story
about the grit and passion required to ‘make it’ as an artist and the sweet rewards that come from never giving up on your dream. 

January 12, 2016

MANALAPAN, FL:  Brad Zimmerman’s My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy is the story of one man’s struggle to fulfill his dream and ‘make it’ as a comedic actor in New York.  One part standup, one part theatrical, and all parts uproarious My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy will open at Manalapan’s Palm Beaches Theatre on February 4th, and run through March 27th.

Brad Zimmerman

Brad Zimmerman has paid his dues.  He spent 29 years “temporarily” waiting tables in
New York, all the while chasing a career in acting and comedy.  He tells of his pursuit, along with stories about his childhood, family, and misbegotten love life with warmth, wit, self deprecating humor, and wicked charm, and combines his years of training as an actor with his innate comedic talent.

And of course Zimmerman also examines the trials and tribulations of waiting on tables – particularly for someone not exactly invested in that career, and with little tolerance for persnickety diners:

“I don’t want 60 questions, get to the point!” he said he would tell restaurant patrons when he sat down for a recent interview for The New York Times. He joked that if diners prefaced their orders by saying they were in a hurry he would say “So go!” He says he did enjoy some of the bantering he did with diners, and often tried out material on them, however there were also ‘the bossy customers who would snap their fingers to get his attention… and the health-food obsessives who elaborately customized their orders and button-holed him over ingredients.’  As he says in My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy, he was convinced his epitaph would read “I’ll be right with you.”

His perseverance and hard work eventually did pay off, and Zimmerman went on to act – he had a small part in “The Sopranos” playing Johnny Sack’s lawyer – and become the opening act for a number of well-known entertainers, including George Carlin, Brad Garrett, Dennis Miller, Julio Iglesias, and Joan Rivers who said “I’ve had three great opening acts in my lifetime:  Billy Crystal, Garry Shandling, and Brad Zimmerman.”

Brad Zimmerman

Zimmerman worked on the script for My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy for 9 years and performed it in small venues all over the country, including a stint at Stage Door Theatre in Margate, where it came to the attention of producers Dana Matthow and Philip Roy (Respect: A Musical Journey of Women, Old Jews Telling Jokes, My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy). Since then My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy spent 2 years at Off-Broadway’s Stage 72 at the Triad Theatre in New York, and has toured the USA from coast to coast.

My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy will run from February 4th through March 27th at the Palm Beaches Theatre in Manalapan (formerly Florida Stage/Plaza Theatre).  Tickets are on sale now, and are available on line at MySonTheWaiter.com or by phone at 844-448-7469.  For group rates (12 +) call 888-264-1788.  Tickets for My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy range from $40 – $65.

For more information about My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy please visit MySonTheWaiter.com or contact Carol Kassie at 561-445-9244 / ckassie@gmail.com.

Photographs and graphics available on request.
~
My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy
By Brad Zimmerman
February 4 – March 27, 2016
Tickets:  $40 – $65
Phone:  844-448-7469
  On Line: MySonTheWaiter.com
Group Rates (12 +):  888-264-1788
Showtimes:
Thursday 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Friday 7:30 pm
Saturday 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday 2:00 pm
The Palm Beaches Theatre
250 South Ocean Blvd., 33462
Manalapan, FL
(East Ocean Ave. & A1A – Formerly Florida Stage/Plaza Theatre)
MySonTheWaiter.com
Like Us on Facebook!

Praise for My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy:

“Delicious! Distinctly original… powerfully poignant.” “Great Comedy!” ~ The New York Times

“A Must See. It’s Hysterical, Heartfelt, Timely and Poignant. I cried, I laughed, I forgot where I parked.” ~ Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond)

“Like Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays.” – Jewish Week

“This is easily the funniest show to hit an off-Broadway stage since ‘Old Jews Telling Jokes.’ What makes this SUPERIOR is that it isn’t just jokes. It’s a life.” ~ The Jewish Daily Forward

“HILARIOUS! The humor is universal!” ~ San Diego Union Tribune

“AN ABSOLUTE MUST-SEE! You’ll laugh and you’ll walk out of the theater with a lesson: If you can find something that you truly love, it gives your life meaning. ~ Palm Beach Arts Paper

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

A JEW GROWS IN BROOKLYN Returns to the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center – January 24 – 26

05 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Clients

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

The Broadway Smash
Returns to The Aventura Arts & Cultural Center
Eblast 1 JEJanuary 24-26

“Charmingly infectious, touching and poignant…delightfully irresistible.
You’ll laugh your head off!” ~ New York Theater Scene

 January 6, 2016

AVENTURA, FL:  After a record-breaking success at the historic Lambs Theater in the heart of Broadway in 2006-2007, and a reprise in 2012, Jake Ehrenreich returns to South Florida and the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center for a limited run of just four encore performances of his hit show A Jew Grows in Brooklyn.  The show will run from January 24-26, 2016.

Ehrenreich’s “rock ‘n roll true story, Holocaust family, Borscht Belt” autobiographical comedy sold out when it played at Aventura last season.

Jake001a_highWhen Jake Ehrenreich was growing up in Brooklyn in the 1960s and 70’s, he wanted nothing more than to be All American. But his Yiddish-speaking parents, who failed to understand the game of baseball or make sense of rock music, made it difficult for him to feel part of the mainstream culture. In his comedy musical memoir, A Jew Grows in Brooklyn, directed by Jon Huberth, Ehrenreich explores how his family history, dominated by the shadow of the Holocaust, shaped the man he turned out to be. A multimedia performance, complete with photos and video of his relatives, bar mitzvah, and wedding – and filled with laughter, tears, and music, Ehrenreich’s stories will resonate with audiences of all ages.

“I wanted to tell a very serious story – but make it accessible with as much joy and laughter and music as possible”. Ehrenreich said, noting that his show is mostly upbeat and optimistic.

Leather Jacket IIThe New York Times raved: A Jew Grows in Brooklyn is “funny… touching… beautiful… dazzling… you don’t have to be Jewish or Brooklynish…” and compared Ehrenreich to Billy Crystal and Bill Murray. The Philadelphia Inquirer called the show “An uplifting treasure with universal appeal – in the same elevated company as Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays, and Chaz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale.”

Jake Ehrenreich, 58, an award winning actor, playwright, musician and author, has appeared on Broadway in Dancin’, Barnum and They’re Playing Our Song and toured internationally as Ringo in Beatlemania. He has performed and recorded with such diverse artists as Richie Havens, Greg Allman, Tito Puente, Cab Calloway, Jay Leno and the Smothers Brothers.

After over 2,000 performances, and a National Tour of more than 25 cities, the extraordinary success of the stage play has spawned many branches, including a full-length book, A Jew Grows in Brooklyn: The Curious Reflections of a First Generation American (Published by HCI), a PBS documentary in the works, A Jew Grows in Brooklyn Day proclaimed in New York City, and even a sandwich namesake at the famous Carnegie Deli.

While A Jew Grows in Brooklyn is widely known for its comedy, it successfully uses laughter to convey a broader message.  The Los Angeles Times said:

“Ehrenreich is an engaging and thoughtful raconteur who weaves philosophy into personal history. His insight into the legacy of the classic Borscht Belt entertainers is elegant in its simplicity. They made Jewish comedy synonymous with American comedy, but for Holocaust survivors and their offspring their contribution was even more special and profound: They taught us to laugh again.”

A Jew Grows in Brooklyn will run from January 24 to 26 at The Aventura Arts & Cultural Center.  Tickets for A Jew Grows in Brooklyn range from $45 – $75 and can be purchased by phone at 877-311-7469 or on line at www.aventuracenter.org. For information about group rates (10 or more) call 954-660-6307.

For more information about A Jew Grows in Brooklyn and/or Jake Ehrenreich, please visit www.jakeehrenreich.com or contact Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244).

Photographs and graphics are available at:
http://www.jakeehrenreich.com/press-shots.html

A video featuring highlights from A Jew Grows in Brooklyn can be seen HERE.
~*~

A Jew Grows in Brooklyn
By Jake Ehrenreich
January 24 – 26, 2016
Tickets:  $45 – $75
Phone: 305-466-8002
Group Sales:  954-660-6307
To Order Tickets on Line: http://tinyurl.com/zv4j9g4
Performances:
January 24 at 3 pm & 7 pm
January 25 at 8 pm
January 26 at 8 pm
Aventura Arts & Cultural Center
3385 NE 188th Street
Aventura, FL 33180
www.jakeehrenreich.com
Like Us on Facebook!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.