L.A. Stage Insider
Celebrating the Best in Live Theater and Cabaret in the Greater Los Angeles Area
L.A. Stage Insider
Written by Julio Martinez
AUDITION
Garry Marshall Theatre is holding auditions for “Cindy & The Disco Ball,” a reimagined two-act musical re-telling of the Cinderella story, set in 1976 Los Angeles. Book is by Joseph Leo Bwarie & Lori Marshall; lyrics by Bwarie; music by Rachel Larwence. The show is scheduled to begin previews Oct 5, opening Oct 7, running through Oct 29. Equity Members Signups begin Aug 1, 12:00 pm (PDT). Auditions are Tue, Aug 8 (10am-6pm). Break: 1-2:pm. An Equity monitor will be provided. Seeking all roles and understudies. Please bring current headshot/resume and prepare song provided in character breakdown below. All characters to sing and dance in this musical. Callbacks: Friday, Aug 11. Rehearsals begin Sep 9. Sides will be provided for those invited to callbacks. Equity and non-equity actors welcome. The cast of seven will be joined by a 5-piece live band on stage. Minimum of 100 hours rehearsal over rehearsal/tech, Questions, go here or please contact Box Office: (818) 955-8101, Tue-Fri between 12pm-4pm. period.
NEWS
Christian Rodrigo
The Brisk Festival III, an international theater extravaganza, featuring an impressive lineup of 53 short one-act plays, will be taking place, Aug 5-Sep 3, at the Morgan-Wixson Theater, 2627 Pico Blvd in Santa Monica 90404. Founded in 2018 by Christian Rodrigo, the festival serves as a platform for artists, celebrates diverse voices, and aims to discover new or established talent. Two distinct programs will be presented, each featuring 10-minute one-act plays. Three of the one-acts are written and performed exclusively in Spanish. Participants from Mexico, Florida, and Spain join local artists. Free workshops are Sat & Sun (4:15pm). Shows are Sat & Sun (6:15pm & 8:30 pm). Festival-goers can savor food options and peruse various vendors on the theater's patio. A variety of Baja California dishes by Los Toxicos and authentic Iberico ham flown in from Spain will be among the culinary delights. Tickets are available at https://tickets.briskfestival.com/tickets. For more information, call (323) 863-6052.
PREMIERES
Emerson Collins & Mat Hayes
P3 Theatre Company, in association with the Del Shores Foundation and Beard Collins Shores Productions, presents the world premiere of “The Red Suitcase,” exploring the sometimes difficult relationship between fathers and sons and the many moments, stories, and characters that build a person and a life. Written by Jiggs Burgess, directed by Del Shores, assistant directed & additional staging by Blake McIver Ewing. The Cast will feature Emerson Collins, Kristen McCullough, Bruce Melena, Charlotte Louise White, Mat Hayes, Pam Trotter and Tiago Santos. Opens Aug 12 (8pm) and continues Fri & Sat (8pm), Sun (2pm), through Sep 3 at the Broadwater Theatre Main Stage, 1076 Lillian Way in L.A. 90038. Tickets and additional information available online at https://p3theatre.biz/theredsuitcase/.
AROUND TOWN
Open-Door Playhouse continues to present short plays in podcast form. Its upcoming work, “Barren Landscape,” focuses on a woman struggling with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, written by Steve Gold. It stars Ayla Rose Barreau and Rosemary Thomas, directed by Bernadette Armstrong. Production debuts Aug 23 online at http://opendoorplayhouse.org. Founded by playwright and filmmaker Bernadette Armstrong, Open-Door Playhouse is a Theater Podcast, like the radio dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. The Playhouse launched on Sep 15, 2020.
SOLO MOJO
Anne Cherion Rashim Cannad
Recurring spoken-wordfest, “BackStory,” returns to Victory Theatre Center in Burbank. Using the title of a classic stage play or movie as inspiration, storytellers and poets write poems and stories to be read aloud. Writers may pen a personal story inspired by the themes of the play. They may write in the voice of a character from the play and tell his or her back story. Or they may simply riff on the words in the title. Whatever the writer’s approach, Backstory has consistently been an eclectic night of theatre. On Aug 6 (7:30pm), “BackStory: A Raisin in the Sun” will feature Rashim Cannad, Anne Cherian, Ashton Cynthia Clarke, Cory Cofer, Jacon Luckett and Miyo Yamauchi, hosted by Carl Weintraub, live at the Victory and streaming on Zoom. For tickets, go here. The Victory Theatre is located at 3326 W Victory Blvd, Burbank, 91505. To zoom, here is the free link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81153078472.
Rebecca O’Brien
Voted Best Solo Performance at Hollywood Fringe 2023, “Getting There!,” written and performed by Rebecca O’Brien, directed by Cameron Watson, is having a return engagement at Hudson Guild Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038. Rebecca celebrates the miracles of traveling with strangers as she commutes to and from the clinic for treatments for a life-threatening ill. There will be one performance only, Aug 16 (8:15p.m). Reservations: http://onstage411.com//gettingthere. Runs 58 minutes (suggested for mature audiences).
Arts in Review, hosted by arts journalist Julio Martinez, celebrating the best in theater and cabaret in the Greater Los Angeles area, airs on KPFK90.7fm on Fridays (2-2:30pm), streamed live around the world in real time over KPFK.org.