Events

Chapatti, a Theatrical Production (CA)

After playing to sold-out audiences at the Sherry Theatre in Noho, the Scarpaci/Kelly presentation of Chapatti, a play by Christian O’reilly will do an extended run at the Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks for an extended run on Friday evenings beginning April 7 at 8:00 pm!
Chapatti is a two-character play starring Tim Simek and Rosanne Limeres.
Tickets: $30
Tickets are available at ticketleap.com: https://scarpacikelly-productions.ticketleap.com/chapatti/
For more information regarding Chapatti, please go to: mydogchap.com.

THE HUMAN COMEDY (CA)

The award – winning Actors Co-op Theatre Company proudly presents the world premiere play The Human Comedy, written and directed by Thom Babbes, based on the novel by William Saroyan. Set in war front America in 1942, tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who delivers telegrams to make money for his family. During the course of two days, he grows from an idealistic boy to a mature young man as he struggles with the unfairness of the world around him and the pain of families to whom he delivers the War Department’s death notices. March 10 – April 23, 2023. Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm, Sunday at 2:30 pm. Additional Saturday Matinees March 18 and April 1 at 2:30 pm. No performances Easter Weekend April 7 – 9. Adults: $35. Seniors (60+) $30. Students w/ID: $25. Group rates available. Tickets/Info: www.ActorsCo-op.org or (323) 462-8460. The David Schall Theater, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood, CA 90028.

LACO Presents Kahane Plays Kahane (CA)

It’s all in the family as Conductor Laureate and celebrated pianist Jeffrey Kahane performs Heirloom, a LACO commission by his son, composer Gabriel Kahane and conducted by Christopher Rountree. The program is rounded out with a flight of selections from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s operas Zaïs, Les Boréades, and Dardanus, as well as Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 in D major, “London,” his final symphonic work.

LACO Presents Kahane Plays Kahane (CA)

The Dry Years (CA)

The Dry Years begins—as stories so often do—with an arrival. It begins the day a pair of lawyers showed up and started buying “useless land” for more than it was worth. By the time folks realized why, it was too late. The lawyers had stolen their water at the point of a pen and built an aqueduct to bleed them dry. Ten years later, this rural California community stands on the edge of collapse. That is until a stranger drives out of the desert, offering a solution to all their problems: Rain.

Inspired by the strange-but-true story of Charles Mallory Hatfield—Southern California’s most famous (and infamous) practitioner of the pseudoscience of rainmaking—this is a story about stories. The ones that are true, the ones that aren’t, and the ones that are somewhere in between.

MCLA Presents: Taiji Terasaki’s Recipes to Nourish Communities (CA)

MCLA PRESENTS TAIJI TERASAKI’S RECIPES TO NOURISH COMMUNITIES
Terasaki Invites Community to Join in Mission of Art Activism and Social Impact With Mural Opening Reception Highlighting Local LA Organizations

FEBRUARY 25, 2023
Opening Reception
2pm-4pm PST

MURAL CONSERVANCY OF LOS ANGELES (MCLA)
260 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90012

Ever using his artistic platform to discuss topics surrounding the longevity of the planet and quality of life for its inhabitants, multimedia artist Taiji Terasaki unveils his latest project, a thoughtful and deeply important mural, “Recipes to Nourish Communities,” at the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles’ (MCLA) space at 260 S. Main St.

Welcoming the community to celebrate and engage in discourse surrounding food systems and the environment, Terasaki and MCLA are hosting an unveiling and opening reception on February 25th from 2pm to 4pm.

Featuring local activists and artists Alma Backyard Farms, Ron Finley, Fallen Fruit, and the LA Mission the mural explores different modalities of providing nourishing help. From Fallen Fruit’s planting of fruit trees for anyone to enjoy, to Ron Finley’s gardening commitment and march in DC for National Food Day, each organization promotes food equity and security, their mission amplified through Terasaki’s public work.

Residents and Downtown Los Angeles visitors can download recipes and view interviews via augmented reality, made possible by Future Arts.
With the mural and its AR component, this 2023 debut ignites an important conversation complete with actionable ways to contribute to a more sustainable and sustenance-filled Los Angeles.

Ragtime: The Musical (CA)

5-STAR theatricals
is proud to announce the First Show of its 2023-2024 Season!
The Tony Award Winning
RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by Lynn Ahrens
Lyrics by Steven Flaherty
Musical Direction & Conductor: Tom Griffin
Choreography by Michelle Elkin
Directed by Jeffrey Polk

Make Them Hear You Beginning March 24
at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center!

5-STAR THEATRICALS is proud to announce the first show of its 2023-2024 season, the Tony Award winning, RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL, book by Terrence McNally, music by Lynn Ahrens, lyrics by Steven Flaherty, conductor and musical direction by Tom Griffin, choreography by Michelle Elkin and directed by Jeffrey Polk. RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL opens on Friday, March 24, 2023 and runs through Sunday, April 2, 2023 at the Kavli Theatre at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center (formerly the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza), 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, this musical tapestry depicts an African-American family, a Jewish immigrant family, and a wealthy white suburban family in turn-of-the-century America, who collide in pursuit of the American Dream. Nominated for 13 Tony Awards® including “Best Musical,” and winning for “Best Original Score” and “Best Book of a Musical,” Ragtime is a powerful portrait of life during the turn-of-the-century, exploring America’s timeless contradictions of freedom and prejudice, wealth and poverty, hope and despair.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

JEFFREY POLK (Director) Directed and Choreographed: The Color Purple, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Memphis (The Musical), Ain’t Misbehavin’. Choreographed: Dreamgirls, (TUTS, Houston with Sheldon Epps, Director), Kiss Me, Kate, (Pasadena Playhouse, Sheldon Epps, Director), Blues In The Night, (The Wallis, Beverly Hills, Sheldon Epps, Director). Guest Director with “The Young Americans” and “Heartglobal Outreach World Tours.” Mr. Polk has performed on Broadway, national tours, TV and film.

MICHELLE ELKIN (Choreography) Select credits include: “Sutton Foster Live” with Jonathan Groff (PBS), “Young Sheldon” resident choreographer (CBS), “Younger” (TV Land), “The Wonderful Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon), “Me And My Grandma” with Rhea Perlman, “Baby Daddy” (ABC Family), TNT pilot “Dawn” directed by Sam Raimi, Lifetime’s reality show “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” “Kristin” starring Kristin Chenoweth, and tap sequences in ABC Family’s “Bunheads.” Theater: Live musical numbers featuring Tony Award winner Sutton Foster with special guest Joshua Henry for the NSO at Kennedy Center, New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and the Houston Symphony. Theater: Something Rotten (Broadway World Nominee) Sister Act The Musical (Broadway World Nominee), Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Broadway World Nominee) Children Of Eden (Broadway World Nominee); Little Shop Of Horrors (Straz Center), The Goodbye Girl (MTG). Feature films: Wild Hogs, What Just Happened. Associate Choreographer credits include; “Dancing With The Stars,” Sister Act at Pasadena Playhouse, “Emmy Awards” with Jane Lynch, “Academy Awards” with Hugh Jackman and the Broadway show, Wonderland (Marquis Theater).

TOM GRIFFIN (Musical Director/Conductor) is a nationally recognized musical director and conductor for professional musical theater. Tom was musical director for the Los Angeles productions of Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, The Music Man, Annie, “13” The Musical, Bye Bye Birdie, Sweet Charity, West Side Story, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the national tour of My Fair Lady for Theatre Of The Stars, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s productions of A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan, 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, Disney’s Mary Poppins, the East Coast Premiere & New York Workshop of Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory and The Pioneer Theatre Company’s productions of Once, A Christmas Carol, Elf, The Musical, Peter & The Starcatcher, Oliver, Newsies and Once On This Island.

Tom has received awards for his musical direction of shows including the Broadway revival of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Los Angeles premiere), for which he received a Garland Award for Best Musical Direction, and Side Show (Los Angeles premiere), for which he received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Musical Direction, as well as eight Theatre LA Ovation Award nominations. Tom was the musical conductor of Disney’s Beauty and The Beast on two national tours and served again as musical director for the show’s run at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Tom’s other productions include Grease, The Mystery of Edmond Drood, the West Coast premiere of My Way, A Connecticut Yankee, Honk! The Musical, the West Coast & Los Angeles premieres of The Last Five Years, the West Coast premiere of The Spitfire Grill, 70 Girls 70, Baby, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jungle Book, Aladdin, Fatty, Oklahoma, The Wizard of Oz, Inside the Music and Club Indigo, for which he also won a DramaLogue award for Best Musical Direction.

The Cast of RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL will feature Marty Austin Lamar as “Coalhouse,” Brittany Anderson as “Sarah,” Misty Cotton as “Mother,” Michael Scott Harris as “Father,” Hank Jacobs as “Tateh,” Samantha Wynn-Greenstone as “Emma Goldman,” Ceron Jones as “Booker T,” Monica Ricketts as “Evelyn Nesbit,” Jeremy Ingraham as “Younger Brother,” Steven Perren as “Grandfather,” Jacob Hoff as “ Harry Houdini,” Josh Christoff as “JP Morgan,” Davis Hamilton as “Henry Ford,” Lila Dunham as “Little Girl,” Daxton Bethoney as “Little Boy (Edgar)” and Jordan Jackson as “Sarah’s Friend/Ensemble.” The Ensemble will feature (in alphabetical order): Christopher D. Baker, Emily Cochrane, Domo D’DAnte, BK Dawson, Julia Feeley, Glen Hall, Tyler Marshall, Almand Martin, Jr., Donovan Mendelovitz, Kristen O’Connell, Will Riddle, Zara Saje, Leasa Shukiar, Kumari Small, Tania Pasano Storrs and Dekontee Tucrkile. The Youth Ensemble will feature (In alphabetical order): Delilah Bank, Tanner Cox, Camryn Daniels, Madelyn Freidman, Harley Grey, Harrington Gwin, Madison North, Calulla Sawyer, Weston Walker-Pardee , Poppi Wilbur-McDaniels and Olivia Zenetzis.

The Design Team of RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL features: Lighting Design by Brandon Baruch; Costume Design by Shon LeBlanc; Sound Design by Jonathan Burke; Props Design by Alex Choate; Hair and Wig Design by Luis Ramirez. The Production Stage Manager is Erin Nicole Eggers.

ABOUT THE PRICING AND SCHEDULE

RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL opens on Friday, March 24 and runs through Sunday, April 2, 2023 at the Kavli Theatre at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center (formerly the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza), 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

Performances are Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm; Sunday, March 26 at 2pm and Sunday, April 2 at 1pm; with an added performance on Thursday, March 30 at 7:30pm.

Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center Box Office located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks, or through www.5startheatricals.com, or by phone at (800) 745-3000. For groups of 10 or more, please call Group Sales, 5-STAR THEATRICALS at (805) 497-8613 x 1.

Ticket prices range from $35 – $90. For ticket and theatre information, call (805) 449-ARTS (2787). RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL performs exclusively at the Kavli Theatre, Bank of America Performing Arts Center, at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. For
membership and ticket information, call 805-497-8613 x 6 or visit www.5startheatricals.com.

COVID PROTOCOLS for RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL at the KAVLI THEATRE

There will no longer be any COVID vaccination requirements for The Bank of America Performing Arts Center. In compliance with the Ventura County Public Health Order masks or face coverings are highly recommended for all persons, regardless of vaccination status.

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To schedule press interviews, photos, press comps, or for additional information, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at (818) 508-1754 or by e-mail at davidelzer@me.com.

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5-STAR THEATRICALS (formerly Cabrillo Music Theatre) is the Ovation Award-winning Resident Musical Theatre Production Company of the Bank of America Performing Arts Center, and a non-profit theatre organization. For over three decades, 5-Star has been enriching the cultural life of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties and the surrounding areas by providing an extraordinary performing arts experience through live, Broadway-quality productions of musical theatre.

It is 5-Star’s mission to provide the highest quality musical experience, to foster educational opportunities, and to promote cultural and artistic enrichment to enhance the quality of life in Southern California.

By creating opportunity for up-and-coming performers and artists, 5-Star has launched hundreds to success in theatre, movies, television and music, including Adam Lambert, Katharine McPhee, and Tony nominee Stephanie J. Block. In addition,5- STAR THEATRICALS goes “Beyond the Footlights” with Outreach programs to give back to the community, and to provide enhanced theatre experiences for all audiences.

Since the inception of “Beyond the Footlights,” over 49,000 underserved children, in-need seniors, and active military have enjoyed 5- STAR THEATRICALS’ productions at no charge. In addition, 5-Star provides ASL signed performances of every production; and talkbacks with cast and staff. For more information about 5- STAR THEATRICALS’ “Beyond the Footlights” programs call (805) 497-8613 x 1 or write to info@5startheatricals.com.

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Calendar Listing:
RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by Lynn Ahrens
Lyrics by Steven Flaherty
Musical Direction by Tom Griffin
Choreography by Michelle Elkin
Directed by Jeffrey Polk

OPENS: FRIDAY, MARCH 24 at 8pm and runs through
SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2023

Performances are Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm; Sunday, March 26 at 2pm and Sunday, April 2 at 1pm; with an added performance on Thursday, March 30 at 7:30pm.

BANK OF AMERICA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER – KAVLI THEATRE
2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd, in Thousand Oaks
Tickets range from $35 – $90
For tickets, please call (800) 745-3000.

For theatre information, call (805) 449-ARTS (2787) or buy online at www.5startheatricals.com.

Student, Senior and Group discounts are available

(con)fusion (CA)

In the short play (con)fusion, Dan is a good man and Sadie is a lovely lady. Alas, they are both human and have fallen prey to the rituals and routines that eventually befall all those in relationships: they have stopped communicating with each other. They talk at each other, not to each other, repeating the to-do lists that occupy space in their minds. Now the bedroom, a sanctuary for seduction, has become a refuge of rejection between them. The bolt out of bed into the societal roles that entrap them until eventually they end up in the arms of strangers.

Mark Dylan Brown is the playwright. His previous plays include The Midsagittal Waltz, Simulating Flight, and Rosetta Stoned. He attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television.

Bernadette Armstrong directs a cast that includes Cynthia Gravinese Brown, Jeffrey L. Johnson, Leah Jarvik and Garath Williams.

Open-Door Playhouse will present this play in podcast form starting Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

Founded by playwright and filmmaker Bernadette Armstrong, Open-Door Playhouse launched in September 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, when playwrights had nowhere to produce their plays and actors were left without a creative outlet. Since its inception, Open-Door Playhouse has presented over 80 new short and one-act plays, with no limit in sight.

Plays are produced by Bernadette Armstrong, Sound Engineer is David Peters, sound effects are provided by Audio Jungle, and music from Karaoke Version. All plays are recorded at The Oak House Studio in Altadena, CA. Associate Producer, Laree Griffith, manages our website.

There’s no paywall at the Open-Door Playhouse site, so you could listen to everything for free. Open-Door Playhouse is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and if you would like to support performances of works by new and emerging playwrights, your donation will be gratefully accepted. Your tax-deductible donations help keep our plays on the Podcast Stage. We strive to bring our listeners thoughtful and surprising one-act plays and ten-minute shorts that showcase insightful and new perspectives of the world we share with others. To listen or to donate (or both), go to https://opendoorplayhouse.org

Last Night at Mikell’s (CA)

Play reading. Written by Larry Muhammad. Directed by Ben Guillory. Presented by The Robey Theatre Company.James Baldwin is writing himself into bad health. After two heart attacks, the author returns to New York City for some rest, relaxation and much-needed TLC. First on his itinerary is the iconic jazz club Mikell’s, a favorite hangout, where his brother David tends bar. But things have changed. Mikell’s is closing, and his entourage this night consists of just Maya Angelou and Miles Davis. What’s intended as a celebration turns into an Irish wake for the not-yet deceased, instigated by Miles as James impulsively, on the spot, starts writing an elegy to his beloved old joint. It’s time to par-taayy!!

The Robey Theatre Company Producing Artistic Director Ben Guillory directs a cast that includes Julio Hanson, Toyin Moses, Dmetrius Williams-Conley and Nick Gillie.

b. Robert Moore’s Out The Mud: A Black American Rite Of Passage (CA)

Thinkspace Projects Presents b. Robert Moore’s
Out The Mud: A Black American Rite Of Passage

MARCH 4 – MARCH 25
Thinkspace Projects
4207 W. Jefferson Blvd. & 4217 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
T: 310.558.3375 | Tues. – Sat. Noon to 6PM
Thinkspaceprojects.com

Opening Reception
Saturday, March 4, 6-10pm
DJ, Refreshments, and More

Thinkspace Projects is honored to present b. Robert Moore’s latest solo show Out the Mud: A Black American Rite Of Passage. Self-taught and multidisciplinary, he notices that human nature has a subjective stance. Robert attempts to strip away those subjective “soft” assumptions of narrative, calling it out directly, to conflict and provoke thought of narrative of African and African American diaspora as well as social and civil experiences of underrepresented people and narrative.

In addition to this show, Thinkspace Projects presents: F CANCER—a group exhibition benefiting the American Cancer Society; Marissa Reyes’s Fighting Fickle Feelings For You; Roja’s Asco.

The Cherry Orchard at North Coast Repertory Theatre (CA)

Anton Chekhov’s beloved masterwork is a rich tapestry of the human condition woven into a humorous and haunting tale. With universal themes of societal upheaval, love, loss, grief, envy, and ambition, THE CHERRY ORCHARD remains as relevant and powerful today as it was when it first premiered in 1903. Serious theatre-lovers will not want to miss this classic tale of heightened human drama.

David Ellenstein directs Richard Baird,* Ted Barton,* Michael Louis Cusimano,* Amanda Evans,* Jackson Goldberg,* Sofia Jean Gomez,* Katie MacNichol,* Riley Osburn, Michael Raver,* James Thomas Snyder, James Sutorius,* Katie Tang,* John Tessmer, and Bruce Turk.* Christopher M. Williams* is the Stage Manager; Matt Fitzgerald is the Assistant Stage Manager. The design team includes Marty Burnett (Set Design), Matthew Novotny (Lighting Design), Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design), Rachel Hengst (Props Design), and Evan Eason (Sound Design).
*The actor or stage manager appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association. For photos, go to www.northcoastrep.org/press.

THE CHERRY ORCHARD previews begin Wednesday, March 8. Opening Night on Saturday, March 11, at 8pm. It will play Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm with Sundays at 7pm through April 2. There will be a talkback with the director and actors on Friday, March 31. A performance has just been added on Wednesday, March 22, at 2pm. North Coast Repertory Theatre is located at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, CA 92075. Tickets: Previews – $57 (including Friday preview at 2pm), Weeknights/Wed. & Sat. Matinees – $63; Sat. Eve. & Sun. Mat. $68; Sun Night – $60. Seniors, Students, Military & Educators – $3 off admission. Call 858-481-1055, or visit www.northcoastrep.org to purchase tickets.

Joshua Henry LIVE GUEST on The Downside With Gianmarco Soresi and co-host Russell Daniels from Titanique the Musical (NY)

“Join us for a live recording of The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi with special guest Broadway star/actor/3X Tony Award Nominee/Grammy Nominee/all-around extraordinaire Joshua Henry!

Stand-up comedian and lifelong cynic Gianmarco Soresi (co-hosted by Russell Daniels) interviews people more famous than him about all the downsides to their life. This is a podcast where complaining is encouraged, negativity is celebrated, and silver linings are debunked. Misery loves company, and when Gianmarco is with company he loves talking about their miseries.”

Black Annie and the Pastor

Tony Robinson’s riveting drama, Black Annie and the Pastor, exposes the true story of a fateful day in August of 1930 when a mob of more than 10,000 white people dragged two African American teens from their jail cells in Marion, Indiana and lynched them on the local courthouse grounds. Word went out that their bodies were to remain hanging to “send a message.” At a time and place where almost 30% of white protestant men belonged to the Ku Klux Klan, Pastor J. E. Johnson and three African American men from nearby Muncie defiantly drove to Marion, retrieved the bodies, and took them to be respectfully prepared for burial.