Rita Rudner to Star in World Premiere of STAGED at Laguna Playhouse

Comedienne Rita Rudner will star in the upcoming World Premiere of a new comedy, STAGED, written by Martin Bergman & Rita Rudner and directed by Martin Bergman at Laguna Playhouse. STAGED begins previews on Wednesday, January 25; will open on Sunday, January 29 at 5:30pm and perform through Sunday, February 12 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr. in Laguna Beach.

Taylor and Burton, Olivier and Leigh...Fennington and Haverly. After an acrimonious divorce, can a famous, high-maintenance acting couple work together again twenty years later? Rita Rudner stars as revered actress Fenella Fennington, with Mike McShane ("Whose Line Is It Anyway?," Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) starring as her ex-husband Jarvis Haverly, in this delightful world premiere comedy. STAGED is the fourth new play that Martin Bergman and Rita Rudner have brought to the Laguna Playhouse. Their last Playhouse production, Two's A Crowd, transferred to New York and enjoyed a successful run Off-Broadway.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

MARTIN BERGMAN

(Director/Playwright) After a brief career as a comedy writer and performer on stage and TV in the UK, Martin decided he preferred off-stage to on, and moved to Australia to partner with that country's top theatrical producer. The shows produced during his seven-year tenure included The Great Moscow Circus, The Royal Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Shakespeare Company, James Brown, Simon & Garfunkel, The Harlem Globetrotters, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, New York Stand Up Comedy and Torvill & Dean: The World Tour. Since moving to the USA in the late eighties, he has worked almost exclusively with his wife of thirty-five years, Rita Rudner, whom he met when producing New York Stand Up Comedy. Past projects as a writer and director include the films Peter's Friends, A Weekend in The Country and Thanks, the syndicated TV series Ask Rita and the plays Tickled Pink and Act 3....at the Laguna Playhouse. Martin produced Rita's multi-year run in Las Vegas and many of her TV specials.

Rita Rudner

(Playwright/"Fenella Fennington") began her career on Broadway in the 1970s. Some of the shows in which she appeared include Promises, Promises, Follies, Mack and Mabel, The Magic Show and Annie. In 1980, during Annie, Rita decided to swap chorus lines for punchlines. After an apprenticeship in Manhattan comedy clubs, she began appearing regularly on USA TV, particularly on Late Night With Letterman, The Tonight Show and HBO. Together with her husband Martin, Rita became a successful and award-winning Hollywood screenwriter and best-selling author, as well as performing concerts all over America and the world. In 2000, the MGM Corporation built Rita her very own theatre on the Las Vegas Strip. Over the course of a multi-year, record-setting run, Rita sold almost two million tickets. More importantly, the move to Las Vegas allowed Rita to become a non-traveling mother to daughter Molly, born in 2002. STAGED is the fourth play Martin and Rita have premiered at the Laguna Playhouse.

Mike McShane

(Jarvis Haverly) is a veteran film and television actor, improvisor, and has performed on stages from London to Broadway. Mike got his start with Faultline, a groundbreaking improv troupe based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His West Coast stage credits include - Henry IV Part 1, Hamlet, King John, All's Well That Ends Well, The Winter's Tale (California Shakespeare Festival), Waiting For Godot, You, Nero (Berkeley Repertory Theater), A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to The Forum, Golden Boy,(American Conservatory Theater) A Bright Room Called Day, The Stick Wife (Eureka Theater), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Little Foxes, Cousin Bette, The Seagull, Tonight At 8:30 (The Antaeus Theater Company). West End, London: Assassins, Little Shop of Horrors, La Cage aux Folles (Menier Chocolate Factory). Broadway: La Cage Aux Folles, Taller Than A Dwarf. Film: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Richie Rich, Tom & Huck, Office Space, Big Trouble. TV: "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (UK regular), "Brotherly Love" (regular) "Seinfeld," "ER," "Frasier," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Wayward Pines," "NCIS: LA"and "NCIS," "Slattery & McShane" UK, "The Big One," UK with Sandi Toksvig, "Broadway Stories" UK and "Doctor Who" UK. Nominated for a Daytime Emmy and winner of Cable Ace Award.

The Cast of STAGED also features (in alphabetical order): Annie Abrams, Kelly Holden Bashar, Brian Jones and Brian Lohmann. The understudies are Patrick Vest and Lindsey Young.

The Design Team for STAGED is: Scenic Design by Stephen Gifford; Lighting Design by Nita Mendoza; Sound Design by Ian Scot; Properties Design by Kevin Williams; Costume Coordinator is Stacey Nezda. The Production Stage Manager is Natalie Figaredo.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

STAGED will preview on Wednesday, January 25 at 7:30pm; Thursday, January 26 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Friday, January 27 at 7:30pm & Saturday, January 28 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; will open on Sunday, January 29 at 5:30pm and perform through Sunday, November 12 at 1:00pm at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive in Laguna Beach.
Performances will be Wednesdays through Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm. There will be added performances on Thursday, January 26 at 2:00pm and Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30pm. There will be no performance on Sunday, February 12 at 5:30pm.
Tickets range from $50 - $75 and can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-ARTS (2787). Group discounts are available by calling 949-497-2787 ext. 229. Prices subject to change.
The box office is open Mondays - Saturdays: 12p.m. to 4p.m.; Sundays open 2 hours prior to show time until 15 minutes after curtain. Open until showtime on all performance days.

For more information on all shows and programming visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com. LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.