Cynthia Ferrer News

With a title like THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF TOLUCA LAKE: THE MUSICAL you wouldn't expect to see high art, but I at least thought this new musical would kill it in the comedy department. Instead, it trades on desperate humor, trite songs, stereotypical characters, and a storyline you've seen before. What could have been a smart, cheeky parody of The Real Housewives television franchise instead ends up feeling rather desperate. Even an audience packed with friends and family on opening night grew tired of applauding and a fair number of one-liners made no impact at all.

More than 100 local and national theatre artists representing nearly than 60 San Diego theatrical productions will compete for the 2015 Craig Noel Awards, the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle announced today.

There are undoubtedly other productions worthy of merit in 2015 which I did not cover. This list is based only on what I saw and reviewed. (alphabetical listings; Equity, Equity-waiver & Non-Equity productions are mixed) (artists performing outside LA may be included in performance categories) No set, costume, or technical awards. I leave that to the bigger awards and to the expertise of those who really know those fields inside out.

Some shows I can see again and again, especially those composed by the forever upbeat Jerry Herman. Hello Dolly bowed on Broadway when I was a teenager in the 60s and it had a long run with original star Carol Channing, followed by turns with Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey, Martha Raye and Molly Picon, to name a few. Every major star wanted to do it because the role offers a female actress the chance to sing, dance and act the hell out of it. It's a big, splashy gut buster about a woman who has more moxy than the Pied Piper and enough wisdom and panache to win over an army or a whole kingdom, for that matter...and, for the audience, it's one of those extra-special feel-good musicals that just doesn't quit... for a moment. You leave the theatre actually humming the tunes.Welk Resort's current production of Dolly! in Escondido through November 15 is right on target...it's wondrously delectable.

Michael Sterling recently spoke with LA and off-Broadway playwright Doug Haverty, who is enjoying a very successful revival on the West Coast of the musical INSIDE OUT, which debuted at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City 20 years ago.

Inside Out/book by Doug Haverty/music by Adryan Russ/lyrics by Haverty & Russ/directed by Bruce Kimmel/The Grove Theater Center, Burbank/through March 22 Celebrating its 20th anniversary the little musical Inside Out by Doug Haverty and Adryan Russ throws a boldly bright spotlight on the positive loving effects of group therapy. Based on the actual accounts of women who joined a group in the early 90s, Inside Out shares their stories...and the music is not only part of the plot, as pop singer Dena (Leslie Stevens) agonizes over the challenges of making a comeback, but more urgently becomes the almost guaranteed therapeutic force of nature for the entire piece. Six outstanding singers/actresses under the uber skilled direction of Bruce Kimmel dispense advice and sing and move with electrifying verve. Now onstage at the Grove Theater Center in Burbank, Inside Out may very well prove to be a better tonic than a gospel revival. In fact, it's assuredly the most effervescent all-girl group in town!

The critically acclaimed New York, Off-Broadway hit musical Inside Out will celebrate its 20-year anniversary at the Grove Theatre Center in Burbank, CA tonight, February 12th - March 22nd, it was announced by Kritzerland Entertainment and PlayWorks Music.

The critically acclaimed New York, Off-Broadway hit musical Inside Out will celebrate its 20-year anniversary at the Grove Theatre Center in Burbank, CA February 12th - March 22nd, it was announced today by Kritzerland Entertainment and PlayWorks Music. Veteran TV/Film/Theatre/Actor/ Author/Performer/Playwright and CEO of Kritzerland Records Bruce Kimmel has been set to direct the musical by Doug Haverty (book and lyrics) and Adryan Russ (lyrics and music). An all-star female ensemble/cast of six features Sandy Bainum, Cynthia Ferrer, Stephanie Fredricks, Dana Meller, Leslie Stevens and Adrienne Visnic. Preview performances are February 12th and 13th with the show's official opening scheduled for February 14th.

A buoyant, truly impressive local revival directed by Alan Souza, 3-DT's DAMN YANKEES is a true audience pleaser, highlighted by an enthusiastic cast and spirited re-imagined sequences that are truly Broadway-caliber. This all-new production is now playing at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton through July 27, then travels to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center from August 2-10.

The award-winning 3-D Theatricals of Orange County, CA opened Damn Yankees at the historic Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, CA on July 11. Check out the opening night photos below!

Belonging to the Golden Age of Broadway musicals, Damn Yankees opened in New York in 1955, winning 7 Tony Awards and was made into a feature film in 1958, starring its original Tony winners Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon. In fact, Damn Yankees sparked the long-time fruitful collaboration between Verdon and choreographer Bob Fosse. Legendary stuff! Now in a dazzling revival at 3D Theatricals in Fullerton, America's number one sport baseball - well, in the 50s anyway - is given a finely honed treatment...the perfect summer entertainment.

Just in time for the country's favorite pastime, the award-winning 3-D Theatricals of Orange County, CA will not only present a rousing revival of the eternally effervescent American Broadway classic Damn Yankees at the historic Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, CA tonight, July 11 - July 27 for eleven performances, but an additional six performances at South Bay's Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in Redondo Beach, CA August 2 - 10, 2014.

Just in time for the country's favorite pastime, the award-winning 3-D Theatricals of Orange County, CA will not only present a rousing revival of the eternally effervescent American Broadway classic Damn Yankees at the historic Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, CA July 11 - July 27 for eleven performances, but an additional six performances at South Bay's Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in Redondo Beach, CA August 2 - 10, 2014.

Sterling's Upstairs - housed at popular LA hot spot The Federal in North Hollywood's NoHo Arts District - has not only been described by the Los Angeles Times as "LA's cabaret destination;" but was just cited by LA Weekly as one of Los Angeles's top five supper clubs, With an arsenal of similar accolades from LA based media, Sterling's Upstairs celebrates its eight-year anniversary this month with Broadway performers Maura Hanlon Smith (June 9), Sandy Bainum (June 22) and Bernard Dotson (June 29-June 30). Kritzerland Records' Nobody Does it Better... The songs of Dorothy Fields kicked off the month-long celebration on June 1st featuring Tara Browne, Cynthia Ferrer, Zachary Ford, Kim Huber, Jenna Lea Rosen, Sami Staitman, Sarah Staitman, Robert Yacko and Special Guest... Broadway's Kerry O'Malley.

The 46th Kritzerland show on Sunday, June 1 featured one of the most influential female lyricists of all time, the great Dorothy Fields. In a time when Tin Pan Alley was almost exclusively a male-dominated club, Dorothy Fields rose to the top, first writing hit after hit with Jimmy McHugh, and later becoming one of the first female lyricists on Broadway and in film. Fields created some of the cleverest and most beautiful lyrics ever written, and was a master of the craft who forged the way for so many other talented female lyricists. There was no one like Dorothy Fields.

Kritzerland at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal presents NOBODY DOES IT LIKE ME -THE SONGS OF DOROTHY FIELDS on Sunday, June 1, 2014 - 7:00 PM.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) presents the new holiday classic, Elf The Musical, running tomorrow, Dec. 6 - 22 at Hobby Center's Sarofim Hall. Making his TUTS debut as the loveable 'elf' Buddy is Tommy J. Dose. He played Alfred Doolittle in the national tour of My Fair Lady and has circulated the regional theatre scene with companies including the Fulton Theatre, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, and the Cumberland County Playhouse. Check out a first look at highlights below!

ELF, a holiday themed musical, first opened on Broadway in 2010. With the 2003 motion picture of the same title starring Will Ferrell as source material, theatergoers all over were interested in the sugarcoated musical. Negative reviews lead to a re-tooling of the show, and it returned to Broadway in 2012 in addition to having a mini tour of the US. Now, in 2013, Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) is bringing the confection to Houston audiences with a locally produced production of the saccharine holiday confection that is rather donuts for dinner.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) presents Elf The Musical, running tonight, Dec. 6 - 22 at Hobby Center's Sarofim Hall. Making his TUTS debut as the loveable 'elf' Buddy is Tommy J. Dose. He played Alfred Doolittle in the national tour of My Fair Lady and has circulated the regional theatre scene with companies including the Fulton Theatre, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, and the Cumberland County Playhouse. BroadwayWorld has photos from the TUTS production below!

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) presents the new holiday classic, Elf The Musical, running tonight, Dec. 6 - 22 at Hobby Center's Sarofim Hall.