The stars came out in full force for the very special opening night performance of Ain’t Misbehavin’. Watch interviews with Anthony Bell, Telma Hopkins, Victoria Platt and many more and check out the scenes from the party!
Mike Sablone is CTG’s Literary Associate, starting left fielder and third-string shortstop for Dark Monday, the CTG softball team.
Note: This blog posting got lost in the blogosphere (another word I hate) and since it is part one of my two part exploration of VENICE, I reprint it here, a few weeks after the fact. Stay tuned for part 2. SERIOUSLY, STAY TUNED.
Two days from now (June 26) I head out to Kansas City.
Why Kansas City you ask?
What’s that? You weren’t asking that?
Huh. Ok then. Well, let’s just say, HYPOTHETICALLY, that you were to ask. I would say “Aww. Thanks for asking! That was so considerate of you! I like it when you allow me to give these blog entries forward momentum! It means a lot!”
Then I’d tell you that I’m going out for the first part of our VENICE workshop. About a year ago, after their run of CLAY ended, Matt Sax and Eric Rosen were commissioned to write a new piece for us, and that is VENICE. It’s a musical loosely based on the characters and themes of OTHELLO using a hip-hop score.
Now. First tangent. Note in my last paragraph that I didn’t use the term “Hip-Hopera.” Or “Hip-Hopsical.” Why? Because these are terrible names. I find them demeaning. And useless. And meaningless. So you will never hear me say them. It’s a musical that just happens to use the varied music stylings of hip-hop, rap and spoken word. I’m sorry that I haven’t given you a cute one-word phrase to capture that. I’m wordy. Deal with it.
Back on topic.
Since Matt and Eric no longer live in the same city (Matt in Brooklyn, Eric in Kansas City), they’re joining forces in KC to take a week to work on the script, which is where I come in. So for a few days I’ll hang out with them, listen to what they’ve got so far, and offer (hopefully) constructive feedback.
I will also pretend I’m a voracious meat eater and kill a few plates of barbeque.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the most important aspect of dramaturgy.
Click here to watch exclusive interviews with the cast, crew and creators of Ain’t Misbehavin’, now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre. This special 30th anniversary production will have the joint jumpin’ through May 31st!
Audiences at the opening night performance of Lydia were stunned by the play’s lyricism, rich characters and compelling human drama. Watch their reactions and check out footage from the party with Justin Kirk, Richard Montoya, Lydia playwright Octavio Solis and many more.
Audiences have been having strong emotional reactions to Lydia, as evidenced by the reader feedback on LA Times‘ Culture Monster blog.
Some excerpts from posted comments:
- “Glued to my seat the entire time…characters were rich and full of surprises.”
- “LA is fortunate to have this riveting, challenging, entertaining production.”
- “I was in utter amazement. The acting and writing were superb…I am still reeling from the play. Definitely go see it if you can.”
Lydia runs until May 17 at the Mark Taper Forum.
Stephanie Beatriz as Lydia and Carlo Albán as Misha. Onahoua Rodriguez (background) as Ceci. Photo by Craig Schwartz.
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“Playwright Octavio Solis has become an overnight sensation, and it took only 25 years. Long respected in theater and Latino arts circles, the writer is having breakthrough success with his play Lydia…”
- Article by Jan Breslauer
Scott Slesinger is an intern in the CTG marketing department.
Can you believe it’s been seven months since 9 to 5: The Musical first premiered at the Ahmanson? During it’s Los Angeles run, thousands of theatre-goers (myself included) completely fell in love with the show’s relateable characters, toe-tapping songs, and empowering themes as they watched the classic Dolly Parton movie come to life on stage. I am so excited to see that 9 to 5 has made its way across the country and starts previews on Broadway this week!!
If you’re bummed because you missed the show in LA and thought you’d never have a chance to see it again OR you loved it so much you want to catch it for the second (…or third, or fourth) time, call in sick from work and trek out to New York to catch a performance. With 17 new songs by the fabulous Dolly Parton, PLUS an all-star cast including Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, and Megan Hilty (fyi- my favorite Glinda from ‘Wicked’) and fantastic dance numbers, there’s no reason to skip out on this show.
If you’re bored during your own ‘9 to 5′ routine, go ahead and check out the musical’s super-interactive website where you can upload a pic of your boss for a little round of target practice, download a couple of the show’s stellar tunes (for free!), and even send a “doll-ecard” to your coworkers.
9 to 5: The Musical is currently in previews at the Marriott Marquis Theatre and opens on April 30th. We’re so proud of the cast and crew and can’t wait to hear all about their success on Broadway. Click here to purchase tickets.
In case you missed the SPAM-tastic festivities at the Ahmanson this morning, here are some choice photos from today’s SPAMAPALOOZA event. We celebrated Spamalot tickets going onsale with an April Fool’s Day Fair, complete with costumes, wandering minstrels, mimes on unicycles (you read that correctly), cow-toss and killer-rabbit-hoops games, a Spam-can hunt, and a giant foot (you read that one correctly, too).
Emcee Josh Venable from Star 98.7 was our excellent host for the day. Here he is with our knight in spamming armor.
Folks were lined up around the Ahmanson to be the first to get tickets for SPAMALOT as it makes its L.A. premiere.
Hundreds of patrons played carnival games - including a Killer Rabbit toss - for Spamulous prizes. Here is one of the pesky critters mid-flight.
Eager contestants got dolled up for our King of Fools competition, wearing their best and most ridiculous outfits for a cash prize of $350.
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