Tag Archives: Sara Grant

Riveting Legal Drama! A CLASS ACT – November 11 – 20, 2022 at Sandrell Rivers Theater

20 Thursday Oct 2022

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A Riveting Legal Drama
A Class Act
at Sandrell Rivers Theater
November 11 – 20, 2022

“…always absorbing, always unpredictable.”
~ TheaterScene.net

“…contamination is really a national crisis, and the real scale of contamination is staggering. The more we test, the more we find it.”
~ Melanie Benesh, Legislative Attorney at the Environmental Working Group, Washington

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

October 20, 2022

MIAMI, FL:   A major chemical company pours cancer-causing waste into the water supply, and a high-powered law firm brings a class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of “the little people” – who might die from the poisonous water. Who wins?  Who loses?  A Class Act, Norman Shabel’s intriguing and timely look at the inner workings of our justice system will ask and possibly answer these, and other questions when the play runs from November 11th through November 20th at the Sandrell Rivers Theater in Miami.  

As the lawyers wheel and deal and decide whether to take a settlement or go to trial, it becomes increasingly unclear who is really winning. Who makes millions whether they win or lose? Which lawyers battle the best… or the worst? Who gets justice in the end? A Class Act is a sophisticated thrill ride that has been described as “engrossing and gripping”. It examines a world in which greed pervades, the loyal suffer, and morality is always relative.

Norman Shabel

“When I originally wrote the play, we were all probably peripherally aware that there was poison being dumped in the worlds’ drinking waters by non-caring corporations whose only consideration was saving expenses in the production of their products,” Shabel said recently.  “But of late there have been numerous articles and exposés – nationally and locally – that have brought the issue to the forefront. 

“In fact, this past June, the Environmental Protection Agency warned that ‘forever chemicals’ found in our nations’ drinking water are more dangerous than previously thought, and by some estimates, these toxic family of chemicals can be found in the blood of nearly every person on our planet.

“The issue of polluted drinking water is now in the headlines regarding Camp Lejeune, where millions of soldiers housed there were poisoned by deadly drinking water.  A Class Act involves the deadly drinking water in the fifty states of the US and the litigation that evolved from that awful water poisoning, etc.

“Courts are inherently dramatic places, and I guess I saw that connection between law and theater before I even realized it,” he continued. “A Class Act depicts the dramatically war-like negotiations between those corporate non-caring pollution perpetrators and the lawyers who represent the dying public.”

Attorney turned author and playwright Norman Shabel spent close to 50 years as a trial and class action lawyer.  He has drawn upon his experience to fashion a ‘pulled from the headlines’ look at what goes on in corporate America, in courtrooms, and behind the scenes.  A Class Act received excellent reviews when it played Off-Broadway in 2016.

A Class Act director Seth Trucks’ cast includes Lito Becerra, Adam Crain, Christopher Dreeson, Carey Hart, Harold Petion, and Nick Valdes.  Sara Grant will serve as the production’s Stage Manager.

A Class Act will run at Sandrell Rivers Theater from November 11 – 20. Ticket prices range from $25 to $40 and can be purchased online at https://normanshabel.net/plays/a-class-act-performance  or by phone at 305-284-8872.

Sandrell Rivers Theater is located at 6103 MW 7th Avenue, in Miami (33127).

For more information about A Class Act, or to arrange to see the production, pleasecontact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.
~

A Class Act
By Norman Schabel
November 11 – 20, 2022
Performances:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
Tickets: $25 (veterans, seniors, students with ID)/$35 (advance sale)/$40 (at the door)
For tickets: https://normanshabel.net/plays/a-class-act-performance
Or call 305-284-8872
Sandrell Rivers Theater
6103 NW 7th Avenue
Miami, FL 33127

  • Seth Trucks
  • Lito Becerra
  • Adam Crain
  • Christopher Dreeson
  • Carey Hart
  • Harold Petion
  • Nick Valdes
  • Kent Wilson
  • Sara Grant
  • Norman Shabel
  • R. Kent Wilson, Nick Valdes, Carey Brianna Hart, Christopher Dreeson
  • Lito Becerra, Adam D. Crain, Harold Petion
  • Bottom: Harold Petion, Carey Brianna Hart, Nick Valdes Top: Adam D. Crain, R. Kent Wilson, Christopher Dreeson, Lito Becerra

MNM Theatre Company to present TREASURE ISLAND – January 10 – 13

05 Wednesday Jan 2022

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Four Performances Only at The Delray Beach Playhouse!

January 10 -13

A swashbuckling, heart-stopping pirate adventure suitable for the entire family

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

January 5, 2022

DELRAY BEACH, FL:  Devin Tupler, MNM Theatre Company’s Director of Education and Outreach Program, will helm the world premiere of Treasure Island, by South playwright Luis Roberto Herrera.  The production will run from January 10th through 13th at the Delray Beach Playhouse.

This version of the beloved Robert Louis Stevenson classic by playwright Luis Roberto Herrera is a swashbuckling, heart-stopping pirate adventure suitable for the entire family. 

“The play is a fun 90-minute rollicking good time,” Tupler says. The playwright managed to roll a stunt show, a comedy, and a heartfelt look into what makes people truly “good” all into an hour and a half – plus he found time for MUSIC!” 

Luis Roberto Herrera is a New York City based playwright with a bachelor’s degree in acting from the University of Florida.  He is currently completing his M.F.A. in playwriting at The New School. He was a resident playwright in the Greenhouse Residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm and has had work produced at the Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival and the New York Summer Theatre Festival. His full-length plays include Pale Blue Dot, Bang Bang, Poolside Glow, and Grandma’s Armchair. Poolside Glow was chosen for the New Year New Works reading series at Fantasy Theatre Factory in January 2019 and was part of the Greenhouse Development Residency 2019 program at FIU. Herrera was part of the 2019 Athena Writes fellowship at Athena Theatre Company and had a reading of Grandma’s Armchair through Zoetic Stage. 

Director Tupler has assembled a multi-talented cast, several of whom will take on multiple roles in the production.  James Skiba will play Billy Bones/Long John Silver, along with Eliot Mahon as Jim Hawkins, Sara Grant as Jim’s Mother/Tom/ Ben Gun, Manuel Zaldivar as Black Dog/Israel Hands/ Christian Cooper as Dr. Livesey, Doriyan Caty as Squire Trewlaney, Om Jaye as Captain Smollet, Franz Joseph as Joeb, and Blaine Deberry as Gray.

Martyna Reczka is the production’s Stage Manager, Andre Lancaster is the Technical Director, and Sonia Buchanan is handling the lights.

Treasure Island will run from Monday, January 10th through Thursday, January 13th at the Delray Beach Playhouse.  All performances are at 6 pm. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and/or children under 10, and $15 for groups of 6 or more, and can be purchased online at delraybeachplayhouse.com or by phone at 561-272-1281. 

Masks covering the nose, mouth, and chin must be worn in order to attend.

The Delray Beach Playhouse is located at 950 NW 9th Street, in Delray Beach (33444).

For more information about Treasure Island, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~

MNM Theatre Company
presents
Treasure Island
By Luis Roberto Herrera
January 10 – 13, 2022
Directed by Devin Tupler
Tickets:  $25
              $20 for seniors and children under 10
              $15 for groups of 6 or more
For tickets:  delraybeachplayhouse.com
Direct ticketing link: https://tinyurl.com/2wawu5xx
Or call 561-272-1281
All performances at 6 pm
All performances to take place at
The Delray Beach Playhouse
950 NW 9th Street
Delray Beach, FL  33444




 


  • Devin Tupler
  • James Skiba & Friends

Evening Star Productions presents David Mamet’s OLEANNA – September 22 – October 8

05 Tuesday Sep 2017

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Evening Star Productions
presents
David Mamet’s
Oleanna
September 22 – October 8
(Preview performance September 21)

“We can only interpret the behavior of others through the screen we create.” 
― David Mamet, Oleanna

For Immediate Release
Contact: Rosalie Grant
info@eveningstarproductions.org / 561-447-8829
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

September 5, 2017

BOCA RATON, FL:  Who is right, and who is wrong?  David Mamet’s play, Oleanna, asks this question, and leaves its audiences searching for, and often even arguing about the answer.  Evening Star Productions will present Oleanna, at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton, from September 22 – October 8. (There will be a preview performance on September 21.)

A powerful and thought provoking two-character drama, Oleanna is a play about academic politics, student/teacher relationships, and sexual harassment.  The play explores the power struggle between John, a university professor, and Carol, one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual exploitation and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure. The play’s title, taken from a folk song, refers to a 19th-century escapist vision of Utopia*.

Rosalie Grant

Rosalie Grant, Evening Star’s founder and artistic director will helm the production: “Oleanna premiered in 1992, shortly after the infamous United States Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas brought the term “sexual harassment” into the national spotlight,” Grant explains. “The play deals with a male professor and a female student who are arguing over her grade in his class.  By the play’s end, both of their lives have changed forever – and not for the better.  

“Every time I have seen Oleanna, the audience members are arguing about it in the lobby after the show,” she continues.  “It really pushes some buttons.  It’s hard to believe that in 2017 a story about sexual harassment is once again relevant.  I look forward to eavesdropping on audience conversations after the show.”

Sara Grant and Todd Bruno will portray the play’s two characters, Carol and John.

Director Grant has enlisted Ardean Landhuis to design and construct the Oleanna set and lighting.  Scenic art is by Kate McVay, with an assist by intern Kayla Asuoty, and costume design is by Mj Baum.  The production’s stage manager is Sean Smyth.

Oleanna will run from September 22 – October 8 at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton. (There will be a preview performance on September 21 at 8 pm.) Tickets are $30 and $20 for students. Group rates are available. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased  by calling 561-447-8829 or on line at www.eveningstarproductions.org.

For more information about Evening Star Productions visit www.eveningstarproductions.org or contact Rosalie Grant at 561-447-8829 /info@eveningstarproductions.com ; for more information about this production, contact Carol Kassie at 561-445-9244 /carol@carolkassie.com.

Oleanna
September 22 – October 8, 2017
(Preview performance – September 21)
By David Mamet
Tickets:  $30 / $20 for students
Tickets:  561-447-8829 / www.eveningstarproductions.org
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, Saturday:  8 pm
Sunday: 2 pm
Sol Theatre
3333 N. Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL  33431
www.eveningstarproductions.org
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* Oleanna (Oleana) is a Norwegian folk song that was translated into English and popularized by Pete Seeger. The song is a critique of Ole Bornemann Bull’s vision of a perfect society in America. (Bull was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer). Oleanna was the name of one of Ole Bull’s settlements in the New Norway colony of Pennsylvania. His society failed, and all the immigrants moved away since the dense forest made it hard to settle there. The lyrics concern the singer’s desire to leave Norway and escape to Oleanna, a land where “wheat and corn just plant themselves, then grow a good four feet a day while on your bed you rest yourself.”   ~ Wikipedia

 

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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
Like us on Facebook!

“…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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