Tag Archives: Boca Raton Theatre

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

21 Thursday Jan 2016

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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.

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THE JAZZ SINGER at the Willow Theatre – January 8 – 24, 2016

21 Monday Dec 2015

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Black Box Booking & Hy Juter
present
JAZZ LOGO

January 8 – 24, 2016

December 21, 2015
BOCA RATON, FL: A talented son’s passion for music versus his deep commitment to his father and his heritage is the heart and soul of the classic story of The Jazz Singer. A musical version of The Jazz Singer, based upon the 1925 play by Samson Raphaelson will run from January 8th through January 24th at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.

275px-Samson_Raphaelson

Samson Raphaelson

Raphaelson’s play was based upon his own short story ‘The Day of Atonement’, written after he attended the musical Robinson Crusoe, Jr. in Chicago in 1917 starring a 37 year-old singer named Al Jolson. To Raphaelson, Jolson’s performance, particularly “his velocity, the amazing fluidity with which he shifted from tremendous absorption in his audience to a tremendous absorption in his song,” felt shockingly familiar. “When he finished I turned to the girl beside me, dazed with memories of my childhood on the East Side (of New York), and thought, ‘My God, this isn’t a jazz singer. This is a cantor!’”

This adaptation of Raphaelson’s play is a dynamic musical that explores the internal coming of age struggle of a talented son’s passion for music interfering with his cantor father’s plans for him to follow in his footsteps. The musical features songs by various iconic artists and composers including Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. Numbers include “You Made Me Love You”, “Baby Face”, “Mammy”, “I’m Sittin’ on Top of the World”, “I’m Just Wild About Harry”, and “April Showers”.

Kevin Black will direct the production, which will feature Larry Buzzeo as The Jazz Singer.   Also cast are Katie Angell Thomas, Larry Kent Bramble, Elissa D. Solomon, Floyd Nash, and Bob Levitt.

kevin_black

Kevin Black

“When I reread the play, the first thing I did was remove the image of Al Jolson from my mind,” Black explains. “The Jazz Singer has been recreated numerous times, and it’s a story that’s been loved by many people for many years. Yet it still resonates today. It addresses father-son relationships, inter-religious issues, and the never-ending internal struggle between passion and practicality. This version of The Jazz Singer is based on the original play that was eventually made into the first successful ‘talkie’ starring Al Jolson. But even though our production is very nostalgic, in no way is it a tribute to Jolson.”

The Jazz Singer will run from January 8 through January 24th at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park. Tickets are $35; group rates (6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction) are $22. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.willowtheatre.org/the-jazz-singer-the-musical or by phone at 561-347-3948.

For more information about The Jazz Singer and/or Black Box Booking please visit www.blackboxbooking.com or contact Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244).

The Jazz Singer
Based on the play by Samson Raphaelson
January 8 – January 24, 2016
Tickets: $35
Group rates: $22 (6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction)
Phone: 561-347-3948
   Showtimes:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 8:00 pm,
Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 pm
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 S. Military Trail
Boca Raton, FL 33486
http://www.willowtheatre.org

 

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Evening Star Productions presents THE LAST FIVE YEARS – July 17 – August 2

25 Thursday Jun 2015

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Evening Star Logopresents
The Last Five Years
July 17 – August 2
Last5Years_Poster-vibrant-1“The Last 5 Years is a solid click.”
David Finkle –TheatreMania.com

“It’s probably the best new musical New York will see all season.”
Lawson Taitte – Dallas Morning News

June 25, 2015:
BOCA RATON, FL: Evening Star Productions will follow their sold out production of The Addams Family with The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown’s look at love and marriage from an unusual and innovative ‘his and hers’ perspective. The musical will open on July 17th and run through August 2nd at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.

The Last Five Years is an emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two young New Yorkers who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. It premiered at Chicago’s Northlight Theatre in 2001 and debuted Off-Broadway in March 2002. The story explores the relationship between Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress. The show’s unconventional structure uses a form of storytelling in which Cathy’s story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie’s is told in chronological order (starting just after the couple have first met). The characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle of the play, as their timelines intersect.

The production will star Ben Sandomir and Sara Grant, and will be directed by Evening Star’s founder and artistic director, Rosalie Grant.

Rosalie Grant

Rosalie Grant

“My first exposure to The Last Five Years was when a middle-school Sara came to voice lessons wanting to work on “See I’m Smiling” and “Goodbye Until Tomorrow” and then commenced to work her way through the show”, says Grant.  Grant’s daughter Sara, who will play Cathy in the production, is currently attending Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts to receive her BFA in Theatre.

“So these characters and songs have been alive in our home for almost a decade,” she continues. “But to witness Ben and Sara connecting instantly at their first music rehearsal was electrifying.  Audiences are in for an emotional roller coaster of a ride as these two actors fearlessly bring this story to life … from the laughter of new love to the despair of the doomed relationship.”

Sara Grant

“The Last 5 Years is raw yet eloquent,” says Sara Grant. “And by the end of Cathy and Jamie’s story you sit there torn between who to empathize with more. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to work on this difficult material, especially with a talent like Ben.”

Ben Sandomir

Ben Sandomir

“Part of the challenge for me will be to disconnect myself from the music during Cathy’s songs,” Sandomir explains. “The play is perfectly designed to put the audience through a rollercoaster of emotions but as actors we have to remain disciplined to pull off this effect. It’s a little intimidating to work on such a small stage,” he continues, “However, I’ve found that nothing removes my pretenses like an audience member only a few feet away! And it’s so exciting to work with Sara. What a powerful voice!”

A live musical trio, consisting of Jason Buelow on piano, Brad Miller on bass, and Lehins Aragon on violin will accompany Grant and Sandomir.

Jason Robert Brown is the three-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of Songs for a New World, Parade, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, and Honeymoon In Vegas. He performs around the world as a soloist and with his band, The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, with whom he recorded his CD Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes. A film of The Last Five Years opened in theaters in February 2015 to critical acclaim, and a film of 13 is currently in development. He has conducted his orchestral suite The Trumpet of the Swan with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, and he has taught acting and composition at universities and colleges across the US and the UK.

Evening Star Productions’ The Last Five Years will run from July 17 – August 2 (there will be a preview performance on July 16 at 8 pm) at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton. Tickets are $25 or $10 for students. Group rates are also available. Tickets 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. 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 .

The Last Five Years
Book, Music, and Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown
July 16 (preview performance) July 17 – August 2, 2015
Tickets: $25 ($10 for students)
For tickets: 561-447-8829 / www.eveningstarproductions.org
Performances:
Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7 pm
Sunday at 2 pm
All performances at
Sol Theatre
3333 N. Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33431
www.eveningstarproductions.org
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“…Brown soars, making the conceit imbue every encouraging, optimistic step forward with an anticipation of its mortality…” “None of this would work without a score that is replete with infectious tunes as well as a couple of patter songs that reveal a jaded showbiz humor…”
Robert Hofler – Variety

“So here is a real modern falling in- and-out of love musical, a romance about careers, infused with soft-pop ballads, a faux Jewish folk song for overachievers at Christmas, and an irresistible, tempted-married-man lament with boogie-woogie insinuations. Finally, Jamie is singing “goodbye forever” and Cathy is singing “goodbye until tomorrow” while the music makes commentary on a schmaltzy waltz. Their last five years may have been painful, but they make us feel much better about the future of musical theater.”
Linda Winer – New York Newsday

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Slow Burn Theatre Company presents LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS – June 5 – 28

19 Tuesday May 2015

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SlowBurnLogoSlow Burn Theatre Company
presents
their final production at West Boca High School
Poster1June 5 – June 28

“The vegetable must be destroyed!” – Seymour Krelborn

May 20, 2015:

BOCA RATON, FL: Little Shop of Horrors, Slow Burn Theatre Company’s final production in the West Boca High Performing Arts Theatre before moving to their new home at the Broward Center, is a devilishly delicious mash up of sci-fi and Broadway, fertilizer and Faust, and of rock, doo-wop, and Motown.   This ‘horror and rock-n-roll musical comedy’ has delighted audiences of all ages for over thirty years, and includes several well-known songs, including the title song, “Skid Row (Downtown)”, “Somewhere That’s Green”, and “Suddenly, Seymour”.

Audrey-webLittle Shop of Horrors tells the story of Seymour Krelborn, who stumbles across a new breed of plant he names “Audrey II” – after his coworker crush. This foul-mouthed, R & B-singing carnivore promises unending fame and fortune to the down and out Krelborn as long as he keeps feeding it… blood. Over time, Seymour discovers Audrey II’s out of this world origins and intent towards global domination!

Based on Roger Corman’s low-budget 1960 ‘B’ movie The Little Shop of Horrors, the show’s music was composed by Alan Menken, with the book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. The musical premiered Off-Off-Broadway in 1982 before moving to the Orpheum Theatre Off-Broadway, where it ran for five years.

Alan Menken is best known for his work on films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Newsies, Home on the Range, Enchanted, Tangled, The Shaggy Dog, and Mirror Mirror.

Howard Ashman collaborated with Menken on Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin.

Little Shop of Horrors will be directed and choreographed by Carbonell Award-winning Director Patrick Fitzwater:

“We’re so excited to bring this production to life as our last show at West Boca Performing Arts Theatre with this all star local cast,” he says. “It’s a great chance for audiences of all ages to come out and celebrate everything that we have accomplished since we began in West Boca, and to look forward to building the future with us at the Broward Center.”

The cast of Slow Burn Theatre’s Little Shop of Horrors includes Mike Westrich as Seymour Krelborn, Amy Miller Brennan as Audrey, Shane Tanner as Orin, and Matthew Korinko as Mushnick, along with Christine Alexander, Elisa Danielle, Nicole Dikum. Rick Peña and Gregory Johnson will handle plant duties as Audrey ll.

MikeWestrich

Mike Westrich

“I’m thrilled be able to tackle Seymour since he’s one of my favorite musical theatre heroes,” says Mike Westrich. “And I’m happy to be with Slow Burn for yet another show.” Westrich received extremely positive reviews for his turn in the company’s recent production of Rent.  “It’s such a well received and well known musical,” he continues, “And getting to play opposite such enormously talented people in these iconic roles is just something that I can’t wrap my head around.”

Musical Direction for Little Shop of Horrors is by Andrew Gilbert, costumes are by Rick Peña, scenic design by Sean McClelland , lighting design by Lance Blank, and sound design is by Patrick Fitzwater.

Sean McClelland's set design for Slow Burn Theatre Company's 'Little Shop of Horrors'

Sean McClelland’s set design for Slow Burn Theatre Company’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

Slow Burn Theatre Company is an award winning locally based professional theatre group providing South Florida’s diverse population with opportunities to experience high quality, daring, contemporary and intelligent works of musical theatre. Shows are selected that educate and provoke thought as well as entertain.

Little Shop of Horrors will run for 12 performances – from June 5th through June 28th – at the West Boca Performing Arts Theater on the campus of West Boca Raton High School on Glades Road in Boca Raton. Performances are Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased at http://slowburntheatre.org ,or by calling 866-811-4111.

For more information about Little Shop of Horrors or Slow Burn Theatre Company, please visit http://slowburntheatre.org or contact Matthew Korinko at slowburntheatreco@gmail.com /954-323-7884 or Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244).
~*~

Little Shop of Horrors
Book by  Howard Ashman
Music by  Alan Menken
Lyrics by  Howard Ashman
Based on the film by Roger Corman, screenplay by Charles Griffith
June 5 – June 28
Tickets: $25-40
Phone: 954-344-7765
   Showtimes:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm,
Sunday at 2 pm
For Tickets: 866-811-4111 / http://slowburntheatre.org
West Boca Performing Arts Theatre
at West Boca High School
12811 Glades Road
Boca Raton, 33498
3.5 miles west of 441 on Glades Road
http://slowburntheatre.org
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Sol Children Theatre presents THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD June 12 – 28

18 Monday May 2015

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Sol-logo
Sol Children Theatre
presents
Drood

June 12 – 28

“Boisterous and delectable…Shimmering musical pleasure to savor…”
—Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

May 19, 2015
BOCA RATON, FL: Charles Dickens may not have completed his final novel, but theatre patrons in South Florida will soon have the chance to finish it themselves when Sol Children Theatre presents The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the Tony Award-winning musical, at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton from June 12 through June 28.

This wildly funny and warm-hearted musical begins when the Music Hall Royale (a hilariously loony Victorian musical troupe) “puts on” its flamboyant rendition of the unfinished Dickens mystery in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The story itself deals with John Jasper, a Jekyll-and-Hyde choirmaster who is quite madly in love with his music student, the fair Miss Rosa Bud; Miss Bud is in turn engaged to Jasper’s nephew, young Edwin Drood… who disappears mysteriously one stormy Christmas Eve. Has Edwin Drood been murdered? And if so, then whodunnit? The giddy playfulness of this play-within-a-play draws the audience toward one of the show’s most talked-about features – allowing the audience to vote on the solution as prelude to a most unusual and uproarious finale!

Rosalie Grant and Gisbert Heuer will co-direct/musical direct the production. Murphy Hayes will play ‘Mr. William Cartwright, Chairman’, and Alyssa Buelow is ‘Throttle, Stage Manager & Barkeep’. James Skiba has been cast as John Jasper, Yasmin Adli as Drood, Erin Cunningham as Rosa Bud, and Alexa Baray and Steven Michael Kennedy will play Helena and Neville Landless. Other cast members include Elvin Negron, Robyn Eli Brenner, and Kyle Laing. Ember Everett and Christopher Lam, who recently received excellent reviews in Evening Star Productions’ extremely successful production of The Addams Family will play The Princess Puffer and Durdles.

Tickets for The Mystery of Edwin Drood are on sale now, and can be purchased on line at www.solchildren.org or by calling 561-447-8829. Tickets are $15; $10 for children aged 11 or younger. Sol Theatre is located at 3333 North Federal Highway in Boca Raton (33431).

For more information about Sol Children Theatre, visit: www.solchildren.org, or contact Rosalie Grant at: solchildtroupe@aol.com /561-447-8829, or Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com/ 561-445-9244.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Book, Music and Lyrics by Rupert Holmes
Adapted from the unfinished novel by Charles Dickens
June 12 – 28
Tickets: $15 / $10 juniors (11 and younger)
For tickets: 561-447-8829 / www.solchildren.org
Performances:
Friday & Saturday at 7 pm
Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
All performances at
Sol Theatre
3333 N. Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33431
www.solchildren.org
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Evening Star Productions Schedules Auditions for their 2015-2016 Season

07 Thursday May 2015

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Evening Star LogoEvening Star Productions
Announces Auditions
for their
2015 – 2016 Season

May 7, 2015

BOCA RATON, FL: Evening Star Productions will hold auditions for their 2015-2016 productions at Sol Theatre, 3333 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton on Friday May 29 and Saturday May 30; auditions are by appointment only. Bios and headshots must be emailed to info@eveningstarproductions.org .
Please include the show and role you are auditioning for in your email; audition requirements will be assigned along with appointment confirmation

All performances will take place at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.
Non-Equity/Paid

35mm: A Musical Exhibition
October 8 – 25
Music and Lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver
Based on Photographs by Matthew Murphy
Vocal Arrangements and Orchestrations by Ryan Scott Oliver
Additional Percussion arrangements by Jeremy Yaddaw
Additional Guitar arrangements by Matt Hinkley
Directed by Rosalie Grant

ALL ROLES ARE AVAILABLE
If a picture is worth 1,000 words – what about a song?  Can a picture inspire a song or fifteen?  In 35mm each photo creates an unique song; moments frozen in time; a glimmer of a life unfolding; a glimpse of something happening.  A stunning new multimedia musical which explores a groundbreaking new concept in musical theatre… this intricately woven collection of stories told through song re-imagines what the modern American musical can be.

oleanna prelim logoOleanna
By David Mamet
January 14 – 31, 2016
Directed by Rosalie Grant

THE ROLE OF CAROL IS AVAIALBLE
A seething investigation of “political correctness” in a time when the nation’s morality has been tested by increased incidents of sexual harassment.  Featuring Todd Bruno as John.
“Oleanna is likely to provoke more arguments than any play this year.” —NY Times. “One of the ten best plays of 1992…reason enough to cheer for the future of the theatre.” —Time Magazine.

murdered to death prelim logoMurdered to Death
By Peter Gordon
April 14 – May 1, 2016
Directed by Rosalie Grant

ALL ROLES AVAILABLE
From the author of Out of Focus comes this hilarious spoof of the best Agatha Christie traditions, with an assembled cast of characters guaranteed to delight: 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 – they’re all here, and all caught up in the side-splitting antics which follow the mysterious death of the owner of a country manor house. But will the murderer be unmasked before everyone else has met their doom, or will audiences die laughing first?

 

Evening Star Productions & Sol Children Theatre Announce Their 2015-2016 Seasons

04 Monday May 2015

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EVENING STAR PRODUCTIONS &
SOL CHILDREN THEATRE
2015-2016 season
Will Have Something for Everyone!

Two popular Boca Raton theatre companies will offer
audiences and actors of all ages an exciting mix of theatre

May 4, 2015:

BOCA RATON, FL: The first half of Evening Star Productions’ second season concluded on May 3rd after a sold out weekend of The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton. Their production of The Last Five Years will run at Sol from July 16 – August 2nd, and Bug by Tracy Letts will run from August 12th – 29th at Infinite Abyss in Ft. Lauderdale. And Sol Children Theatre, also housed at Sol Theatre, will present the innovative musical comedy The Mystery of Edwin Drood (June 12-28); Thumbelina (August 27 – September 6) will close out their season.

However Sol and Evening Star founder and Artistic Director Rosalie Grant is already deep into preparation for next season.

“Sol Theatre’s 2015-2016 season needed to be an exciting one – being Sol Children’s 14th and Evening Star’s 3rd seasons respectively,” Grant explains.  “The big question of course, was how to equal or top our previous seasons and shows?”

Both companys’ 2014-2015 seasons were extremely successful in terms of both ticket sales and recognition. A large percentage of patrons who attended one Evening Star production returned to see a second, and even a third. And Sol Children Theatre attendance numbers also rose.

“I carefully took each company’s mission statement into consideration,” Grant continues.  “Evening Star will open with 35MM a Musical Exhibition, a regional premiere – we’re only the 4th theatre in the country to stage this difficult, contemporary musical. We’ll follow that up with the still-relative theatre classic, David Mamet’s Oleanna, and close our season with the hysterical British comedy Murdered to Death.

“Sol Children will open with the funny, clever, and beloved classical musical Once Upon a Mattress; we’ll continue the classic theme with the family-favorite, but seldom staged Around the World in 80 Days, and close with a ground-breaking project directed and adapted by Seth Trucks – William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  I am over the moon excited with each choice; our audiences are in for another season of Sol Theatre-style theatrical delights!”

Evening Star Productions’ mission is to offer serious young adult actors, stage managers, and designers the opportunity to push the boundaries of their knowledge and talent in a safe and highly professional environment, and to afford them the opportunity to work with professionals in their chosen fields. Grant’s choices will allow the company to further those goals with her talented casts and crew combinations.

Founded by artistic director/producer Grant in 2002, and soon to be celebrating their fourteenth season, Sol Children Theatre’s goal is to provide children with a safe, secure, and highly professional theatre experience.  The company’s three 2015-2016 productions will not only fulfill the Sol Children Theatre’s mission, but will allow Sol students and actors, as well as their audiences, the opportunity to experience an exciting, eclectic, and extremely enjoyable season of theatre.

All Evening Star Productions and Sol Children Theatre performances 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 2015-2016 productions will be on sale soon; tickets for both companys’ remaining 2014-2015 productions (The Last Five Years, Bug, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Thumbelina, 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).

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 .

Evening Star LogoEVENING STAR PRODUCTIONS
2015-2016 Season

35mm prelim logo35 mm: A Musical Exhibition
October 8 – 25
Music and Lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver
Based on photographs by Matthew Murphy
Vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Ryan Scott Oliver
Additional percussion arrangements by Jeremy Yaddaw
Additional guitar arrangements by Matt Hinkley
Directed by Rosalie Grant
Tickets:  $25 / $20 for students
If a picture is worth 1,000 words – what about a song?  Can a picture inspire a song or fifteen?  In 35mm each photo creates an unique song; moments frozen in time; a glimmer of a life unfolding; a glimpse of something happening.  A stunning new multimedia musical which explores a groundbreaking new concept in musical theatre… this intricately woven collection of stories told through song re-imagines what the modern American musical can be.

oleanna prelim logoOleanna
By David Mamet
January 14 – 31, 2016
Directed by Rosalie Grant
Tickets: $20 / $20 students
A seething investigation of “political correctness” in a time when the nation’s morality has been tested by increased incidents of sexual harassment.  Featuring Todd Bruno as John.
“Oleanna is likely to provoke more arguments than any play this year.” —NY Times. “One of the ten best plays of 1992…reason enough to cheer for the future of the theatre.” —Time Magazine.

murdered to death prelim logoMurdered to Death
By Peter Gordon
April 14 – May 1, 2016
Directed by Rosalie Grant
Tickets: $20 / $10 students
From the author of Out of Focus comes this hilarious spoof of the best Agatha Christie traditions, with an assembled cast of characters guaranteed to delight: 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 – they’re all here, and all caught up in the side-splitting antics which follow the mysterious death of the owner of a country manor house. But will the murderer be unmasked before everyone else has met their doom, or will audiences die laughing first?

Sol-logoSOL CHILDREN THEATRE
2015-2016 Season

once upon a mattress prelim logoOnce Upon a Mattress
December 4 – 20, 2015
Music by Mary Rodgers
Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller & Marshall Barer
Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Directed by Rosalie Grant and Gisbert Heuer
Tickets: $15 / $10 juniors (11 and under)
If you thought you knew the story of ‘The Princess and The Pea,’ you may be in for a walloping surprise! Did you know, for instance, that Princess Winnifred actually swam the moat to reach Prince Dauntless the Drab? Or that Lady Larken’s love for Sir Harry provided a rather compelling reason that she reach the bridal altar post haste? Or that, in fact, it wasn’t the pea at all that caused the princess a sleepless night? Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the familiar classic of royal courtship and comeuppance provides for some side-splitting shenanigans. Chances are you’ll never look at fairy tales quite the same way again.

80 Days GraphicAround the World in 80 Days
June 17 – July 3, 2016
Book and Lyrics by Chris Blackwood
Music by Piers Chater Robinson
Based on the book by Jules Verne
Directed by Rosalie & Gisbert Heuer
Tickets: $15 / $10 juniors (11 and under)
Based on Jules Verne’s classic novel, the musical recounts the journey of Phileas Fogg who has made a bet with the members of his gentlemen’s club that he can travel around the world in 80 days. Accompanied by his servant Passepartout the plot revolves around the adventures Fogg faces in his attempt.

msnd prelim logoA Midsummer Night’s Dream
August 6 – 21, 2016
By William Shakespeare
Adapted and directed by Seth Trucks
Tickets: $12 / $8 juniors (11 and under)
One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream depicts the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and his bride Hippolyta, including the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors, who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set.

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Evening Star Productions presents THE ADDAMS FAMILY – A NEW MUSICAL April 16 – May 3

12 Thursday Mar 2015

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Evening Star Logopresents
ADDAMS-LogoThe Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy
April 16 – May 3

They’re creepy… and they’re kooky…and they’re back!
Charles Addams’ weird and wonderful family comes to life in this
award-winning musical comedy.    
THEATRE FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!

March 12, 2015

BOCA RATON, FL: Evening Star Productions’ audiences are in for a fiendishly delightful treat beginning April 16th when Boca Raton’s Sol Theatre will host Charles Addams’ wonderfully bizarre cast of characters known as The Addams Family. The award-winning musical – the show’s South Florida professional premiere – will run through May 3rd.

Charles Addams’ ghoulishly clever and devilishly satirical Addams Family cartoons first began appearing in the New Yorker magazine in 1938, and his characters captured the hearts and the humor of the American public almost immediately. A close knit, loving family, with a few odd quirks – and a definite affinity for the bizarre and macabre – the Addams Family has appeared in a number of film and television adaptations since their debut, however The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy is based on Addams’ cartoons, rather than any of the characters as they were portrayed in film or on television.

Evening Star’s Artistic Director Rosalie Grant explains the reason she chose The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy as the young company’s third outing of the season:

Rosalie Grant

Rosalie Grant

“Designing Sol Theatre’s seasons is always a challenge,” she says. “We need to include straight plays for young children and adults; musicals for children, teens and adults to perform in and audiences to enjoy; commedia one acts to tickle the funny bone; and edgy plays to create a little emotional havoc.  Our 2014 season was particularly important to me since it’s Evening Star’s sophomore outing.  I wanted to choose a musical that hasn’t been done by a professional theatre in South Florida, yet would provide us the opportunity to satisfy Evening Star’s mission statement at the same time as giving local performers and audiences something new.  There were a handful of musicals that fit this bill, but I kept coming back to The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy.  It is being performed all over the country in high schools, and I can see how it is every high school director’s perfect choice for their drama programs … the music is difficult, the characters are iconic, the costuming, make up, set just so much fun!  But why not let adults have a little fun with it?!  And,” she continues, “Judging by how our Addams Family rehearsals are going with the amazing cast we have put together I made the right choice!”

Samantha Streich, who will play Morticia Addams agrees:
“I think the audience will really connect with this show,” she says.  “It’s nostalgic, because these people and their charmingly morbid family are so familiar for so many, but that’s not to say that there won’t be some surprises.  It pays homage to them in a really unique and fun way.”

George Macia is looking forward to his turn as Gomez Addams:
“He’s a very passionate and romantic character who surrounds himself with things that resemble death and darkness,” he explains. “Yet, he is very much in love with life, living, and loving. He is very educated, charismatic, witty, and elegant in his own very unorthodox way. As an actor this is a very exciting role to play”, he continues, “Because it covers lots of ground. It’s got humor, a bit of drama and great language fusion in its musical score and script.”

Evening Star’s other Addams Family members include Gisbert Heuer as Uncle Fester, Nicole Minardi as Grandma, Nicole Kinzel as Wednesday Addams, Tony Smyth as Pugsley Addams, Christopher Lam as Lurch, Murphy Hayes as Mal Beineke, Ember Everett as Alice Beineke, and Christopher Mitchell as Lucas Beineke. Lito Becerra, Robyn Eli Brenner, Steven Michael Kennedy, Brooke Hall, Sofia Manolesco, and Denise Michelle have also been cast.

Evening Star Productions’ The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy will preview on April 16, and run from  from April 17 – May 3 at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton. Tickets are $25 or $10 for students. Group rates are also available. Tickets 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. 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

The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy
Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Based on Characters Created by Charles Addams
Preview Performance: April 16
Runs: April 17 – May 3, 2015
Tickets: $25 ($10 for students)
For tickets: 561-447-8829 / www.eveningstarproductions.org
Performances:
Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7 pm
Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
All performances at
Sol Theatre
3333 N. Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33431

www.eveningstarproductions.org
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“Gomez and Pugsley are enthusiastic. Morticia is even in disposition, muted, witty, sometimes deadly. Grandma Frump is foolishly good-natured. Wednesday is her mother’s daughter. A closely knit family, the real head being Morticia—although each of the others is a definite character—except for Grandma, who is easily led. Many of the troubles they have as a family are due to Grandma’s fumbling, weak character. The house is a wreck, of course, but this is a house-proud family just the same and every trap door is in good repair. Money is no problem…”   Charles Addams

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Evening Star Productions’ Addams Family:

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Slow Burn Theatre Company presents RENT – April 9 – 26

10 Tuesday Mar 2015

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SlowBurnLogopresents
unnamed
April 9 – 26

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical that transformed the definition of modern musical theatre and changed Broadway forever!

 March 11, 2015:

BOCA RATON, FL: Slow Burn Theatre Company’s spring production is a perfect example of their continuing commitment to present ‘high quality, daring, contemporary and intelligent works of musical theatre’. Jonathan Larson’s Rent meets those qualifications on every level. The ground-breaking musical – the regional professional premiere – will run at the West Boca Performing Arts Theatre at West Boca High School from April 9th through April 26th.

Based on Puccini’s La Bohème, Rent first ran Off-Broadway, and transferred to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre in April 1996. It won numerous Tony (including Best Musical), and Drama Desk Awards, as well as the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play is set in a low rent loft apartment in New York’s East Village, and depicts “young … artists struggling to celebrate life in the shadow of drugs, poverty and AIDS,” Jonathan Wiederhorn wrote in Rolling Stone. Larson’s score blends pop, dance, dance, salsa, rhythm and blues, gospel, and rock music, while his characters update those of Puccini: Rodolfo, the lovelorn poet, is resurrected in punk-rocker Roger; Marcello the painter becomes Mark the videographer; Mimi trades tuberculosis for HIV. “In both productions,” Wiederhorn noted, “the main characters are threatened with eviction and burn their written work to stay warm.” Larson, however, leavens the lost dreams and lives with his show’s “emphasis on love, friendship, and survival.” Sadly, Jonathan Larson did not live to see his work’s success; he died the morning of Rent’s first preview Off-Broadway performance.

Rent has become an iconic piece of theatre since its 1996 debut – devotees of the play call themselves ‘Rentheads’, and boast of seeing the show multiple times. Director Patrick Fitzwater is aware of the phenomenon and promises although Slow Burn’s Rent will definitely be a contemporary version, it will equally please the plays most zealous fans.

“We’re so excited to breathe fresh new life into this classic musical of love, friendship and community; it’s the kind of show Slow Burn Theatre is in existence to produce”, says Patrick Fitzwater, Slow Burn’s Artistic Director. “I look forward to re-examining this piece with fresh eyes and ears and to present Rent to a new generation, as well as remind the ‘Renthead Generation’ why they fell in love with this show, and help them discover something new.”

The cast of Slow Burn Theatre’s Rent includes: Bruno Faria (Roger Davis), Mike Westrich (AEA) (Mark Cohen), Darrick Penny (Tom Collins), Rayner Garranchan (Benny), Christina Alexander (Joanne Jefferson), Bruno Vida (Angel), Abby Perkins (Mimi), Amy Miller Brennan (AEA) (Maureen) and an ensemble featuring: Erin Pittleman, Kayla Fast, Elisa Dannielle, Alexander Zenoz, Bradley Mack, Michael Friedman and Ross Parris.

The production will be directed and choreographed by Carbonell Award Winning Director Patrick Fitzwater (next to normal). Musical Direction is by Caryl Fantel, costumes by Rick Peña, scenic design by Sean McClelland , lighting design by Lance Blank, and sound design by Danny Butler.

Slow Burn Theatre Company is an award winning locally based professional theatre group providing South Florida’s diverse population with opportunities to experience high quality, daring, contemporary and intelligent works of musical theatre. Shows are selected that educate and provoke thought as well as entertain.

Rent will run for 12 performances – from April 9th through April 26th – at the West Boca Performing Arts Theater on the campus of West Boca Raton High School on Glades Road in Boca Raton. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased at slowburntheatre.org ,or by calling 866-811-4111.

For more information about Rent or Slow Burn Theatre Company, please visit slowburntheatre.org or contact Matthew Korinko at slowburntheatreco@gmail.com /954-323-7884 or Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244).
~*~

Rent
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
April 9 – 26
Thurs-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
Tickets: $25 – $40
For Tickets: 866-811-4111 / slowburntheatre.org
West Boca Performing Arts Theatre
at West Boca High School
12811 Glades Road
Boca Raton, 33498
3.5 miles west of 441 on Glades Road

“The breakthrough musical of the 90’s” ~ Newsweek
“A landmark rock opera!” ~ The New York Times
“The first original breakthrough rock musical since Hair.” ~ Newsday

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The Boca Raton Theatre Guild presents TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE – February 27 – March 15

09 Monday Feb 2015

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The Boca Raton Theatre Guild
presents
Morrie postcard 2Tuesdays with Morrie
February 27 – March 15

“A touching, life-affirming, deeply emotional drama with a
generous dose of humor.”
—NY Daily News

February 9, 2015

BOCA RATON, FL: The Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s production of Tuesdays with Morrie will preview on February 27th, open Saturday night February 28th, and run through March 15th at the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park.

Tuesdays with Morrie is columnist Mitch Albom’s moving, inspirational, and often humorous chronicle of the conversations he had with his former professor and mentor Morrie Schwartz. Albom was a successful sports columnist for The Detroit Free Press; after catching Morrie on Nightline, Albom called him and the result was a series of fourteen Tuesdays during which he learned there is more to life than reporting on Wimbledon tournaments and following the tabloids. Throughout their conversations Schwartz, plagued with health complications, never lost his zest for teaching, learning, love, and above all, life.

Albom’s book spent 205 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, sold over 14 million copies, has been translated into 41 languages, and became an Emmy-award winning television movie starring Jack Lemon and Hank Azaria. In 2001 Albom collaborated with playwright Jeffrey Hatcher to adapt his work for a very successful Off Broadway production.

Genie Croft

Genie Croft

“I’m delighted to have to opportunity to direct this piece…” says director Genie Croft. “…To track the evolution of Mitch and Morrie’s relationship as they spend time together and rekindle a bond that turns into one final class – lessons in how to live. Their conversations explore acceptance, communication, love, openness, values, and lasting happiness. Throughout the play, as they continue to meet each Tuesday, Mitch’s character evolves as Morrie’s stories inspire him. Their conversations are supplemented with lectures and life experiences, and interspersed with flashbacks and allusions to contemporary events.”

DSCN5378 cropped

Howard Elfman & Wayne LeGette

“I had the pleasure of doing Tuesdays With Morrie five years ago at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples,” says actor Wayne LeGette, who is playing Mitch in the BRTG production. “I found Morrie’s compassion and courage to be almost saintly. It’s a story about an incredibly wise man that causes both Mitch and the audience to realize that there is no hurdle insurmountable if you approach it with kindness and always keep looking forward. One day, I can’t wait to play Morrie.”

Howard Elfman, who plays Morrie Schwartz is equally enthusiastic. “When I read Tuesdays with Morrie I knew right then I had to do it,” he says.

Tickets for Tuesdays with Morrie are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 561-347-3948. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm. The Willow Theatre is located at 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton, 33486 (in the heart of Sugar Sand Park, just south of Palmetto Park Road).

For more information, production shots, head shots, or to set up interviews, please contact Carol Kassie at 561-445-9244 / ckassie@gmail.com or visit: www.brtg.org.

Tuesdays with Morrie
By Jeffrey Hatcher and
Mitch Albom based on his book.
February 27 – March 15, 2015
(Previews February 27 at 8 pm and Saturday February 28 at 2pm)
Tickets: $28 (Groups of 10 or more and previews $22)
Performances:
Thursday – Saturday at 8 pm (Previews February 27 at 8 pm and Saturday February 28 at 2pm)
Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 S Military Trail
Boca Raton FL 33486
http://www.brtg.org
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Critical Praise for Tuesdays with Morrie:

“Unforgettable! No matter how well you tell the story, the play makes it more vivid, more shattering, more humorous.” —NY Magazine.

“Making the language of the book crisper, cleverer and more palatable…aphoristic wisdom, expressed with gallows wit.” —NY Times.

“I was unprepared for how moving and powerful Tuesdays with Morrie turned out to be…On this ground, the flowers of humanity grow.” —NY Post.

“The evening has an aura of celebration. Just what the doctor ordered, you are likely to be moved.” —Journal News.

 

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