Cary Ginell - Page 4

'Avenue Q' uses 'Sesame Street' as a framework to deliver hilarious lessons on friendship and identity, with actors/puppeteers manipulating Muppet-like characters.

Pacific Festival Ballet of Thousand Oaks will be premiering its new ballet version of Camelot, the original 'Game of Thrones' in two performances on May 18 at the Fred Kavli Theatre in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Directed and choreographed by Kim Maselli and featuring new music by Eric Allaman.

A story about a murdered dog turns into a character study of a teenager with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), brilliantly portrayed by 19-year-old Benjamin Colby Wilson. This play will warm your heart as it shows Wilson's honest and sympathetic portrayal of a boy in search for comfort and acceptance by his separated mother and father.

Pasadena Playhouse's vibrant re-thinking of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's masterpiece, 'Ragtime' is a triumph of innovation and imagination. The show has been extended until March 7.

Musical Theatre Guild revived an oldie but not so goodie last Sunday at the Alex Theatre. 'Minnie's Boys' purported to be modeled on 'Gypsy,' using a meddlesome, domineering mother to get her progeny, the four Marx Brothers, into show business. Unfortunately, a tepid book and uneven score made this a flop in 1970 and it doesn't fare much better today, despite the valiant efforts of the MTG cast.

Joe Spano and Ovation-Award nominee Faline England portray two lost souls who meet in a London Underground station and embark on an unlikely May-December romance. The story takes unexpected twists and turns that results in a life-affirmation display of how walls need to be broken down, and not built between people of different backgrounds and experiences.

Agoura High School senior Griffen Hamilton has gone all out in directing his first full-length production, the ABBA-driven jukebox musical 'Mamma Mia!' Utilizing the talents of 33 fellow students, Hamilton is putting on a world-class production in the school's black box theater. We talked with Hamilton about the process.

Shannon Warne (Mother) and Marc Baron Ginsburg (Tateh) talk about playing these 'kill for' roles in 'Ragtime,' a show that reflects as much about themes like racism, immigration, and vigilantism in today's society as it did at the time the story takes place.

In McCoy Rigby Entertainment's production of '1776,' director Glenn Casale utilizes a mixture of young and veteran performers. In the show, seasoned actors like James Barbour (Edward Rutledge) and Peter Van Norden (Benjamin Franklin) co-star with young newcomers like Jordan Schneider (Lyman Hall) and Nick McKenna (A Courier). We spoke with Schneider and Nick Santa Maria (John Hancock) in this enlightening interview about auditions, reacting, and listening as an actor.

A brilliant cast and production highlights McCoy Rigby Entertainment's '1776,' with bravura performances from Andy Umberger (John Adams), Peter Van Norden (Benjamin Franklin) and John Barbour (Edward Rutledge).

Tony Award nominee Sharon McNight stars as legendary vaudeville entertainer Sophie Tucker, 'the last of the red hot mamas' in 'Red Hot Mama: The Sophie Tucker Songbook,' a bravura performance of one of the great performers of the 20th century.

The national touring company of 'The King and I' (based on the Tony-award winning Lincoln Center production) arrived in Thousand Oaks for a brief, one-weekend run. Angela Baumgardner shines as governess Anna Leonowens, with a luxuriant production of rich costumes and marvelous vocal performances from the entire cast.

Facts and trivia surrounding the original production of 'The King And I,' which starred Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner. Lawrence would die of liver cancer a little more than a year into the run, at the age of 54.

The Rubicon Theatre Company brings back a Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, 'South Pacific,' in a uniquely intimate two-piano version, featuring stellar performances and a ravishing set design. This one will be talked about for years to come.

The infectious spirit of living life to its fullest is the message in 'Zorba,' the 1968 musical that starred Herschel Bernardi. Musical Theatre Guild's staged concert version of the musical starred Michael Kostroff in an exuberant display of hedonism that is welcomed after the tragic Borderline shooting in Thousand Oaks and subsequent fires in Southern California communities.

A stellar cast highlights William Inge's classic play about loneliness on the expansive prairie and a desolate diner on a highway outside of Kansas City. Hayley Georgeanne Cariker and Michael Wayne Beck turn in exemplary performances as the low-grade saloon singer and the wild, untamed cowboy who all but envelopes her with an obsessive desire to marry her and take her back to his ranch in Montana.

5-Star Theatricals' new artistic director Patrick Cassidy talks more about his vision for the future regarding the company's forthcoming seasons of musicals.

Newly appointed artistic director Patrick Cassidy, son of Shirley Jones and the late Jack Cassidy, puts a lifetime of theatrical experience to work as he begins his first season helming 5-Star Theatricals' musical theatre program in Thousand Oaks.

What do you do after suffering a debilitating stroke? Write a one-woman show, of course! On December 20, character actress Farley Cadena suffered an ischemic stroke, which left her unable to speak clearly, sing, or read. But she fought back, with this self-penned show helping in her rehabilitation. Cadena includes a number of familiar as well as obscure Broadway songs - with lyrics occasionally tweaked - to help illustrate her dilemma. The result is a moving, frightening, and also hilarious show about resilience and strength of character.

Musical Theatre Guild's production of 'Mame' wowed a Sunday evening audience with its broad comedy, Jerry Herman's tuneful score, and winning performances from its cast. The staged reading included full costumes, choreography, and some wonderfully funny moments, thanks to Lewis Wilkenfled's skillful directing.