Gil Kaan - Page 44

Establishing the Troubadour Theatre Company in 1995, Matt Walker today wears three hats quite well as its founder, artistic director and director. Matt found some time before prepping his latest Troubie production LITTLE DRUMMER BOWIE (opening November 30 at the Falcon Theatre) to enlighten us on Troubie, Funky Punks, and the late Garry Marshall.

The InterACT Theatre Company's production of playwright Jerry Sterner's OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY has an extended, very nice, exploratory prelude before the definitely-worth-waiting-for sizzling action dominates the stage with the equally matched, passionate Alexandra Wright and explosive Rob Shapiro as opposing lawyers.

With a wide and varied background in the performing arts (including a five-year stint with Cirque du Soleil), Normand Latourelle founded and created Cavalia Inc. in 2003, to showcase the beautiful athleticism of the horse. Just before Cavalia's second production ODYSSEO makes its return engagement in Orange County took some time to explain his passion for horses and for his creative projects.

In the American Coast Theatre Company's West Coast premiere of LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE, playwright Warren John Doody has brilliantly adapted Dr. Elizabeth Dermody Leonard's verbatim transcripts of interviewed, incarcerated women into a brutal, unrelenting look at our current justice system. Susan K. Berkompas directs her very talented and committed cast with the precision of a surgeon in a tightly-paced, illustrative narrative of what put these five women in prison.

The Actors' Gang's Cynthia Ettinger ever so smoothly directs her very exceptional cast as they infuse life to six real-life, wrongly convicted death row survivors and the peripheral people besides them. Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's script of THE EXONERATED vividly illustrates how these six people managed to find themselves at the crosshairs of the American criminal justice executioner.

A positive person with a healthy outlook on life, Drew Rausch has turned a major lemon into lemonade and, in the process, still manages time to help fight cancer! One of the founding members of InHouse Theatre Company, Drew took time from their now fifth production DINNER WITH FRIENDS to chat with BroadwayWorld and myself.

Groundlings' latest laugh-packed Friday & Saturday night show GROUNDINGS HOOK-UP APP  had their packed house in the palms of their hands laughing hard and reacting loudly to every possible twist, turn and diss. Jordan Black deftly directed his very talented cast of eight comedians extraordinaire at a lightning pace covering 14 skits in a little less than two hours.

Executive Producer Kate Pazakis has done it again with her latest UMPO production THE UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY OF HOCUS POCUS. Director Tye Blue effectively corrals his vocally gifted cast in gloriously performing re-purposed pop tunes in between delivering Pazakis and John Flynn's cleverly written homage to the 1993 film Hocus Pocus. 

The Pulitzer Prize winner and much lauded playwright Donald Margulies' currently back in Los Angeles for his revival of his 1988 Obie Award-winning THE MODEL APARTMENT. His foray into writing for film The End of the Tour made him a festival darling with nominations for Film Independent Spirit and UCLA Scripter Awards.

Any Broadway musical aficionado will be very familiar with the mere mention of Kelli O'Hara. Since landing her first Broadway role in JEKYLL & HYDE in 2000, Kelli has become the go-to staple for strong, three-dimensional women - who just happens to possess the voice of an angel. Long overdue for her Tony Award recognition, her name was called for her role in THE KING & I.

Obie-Awarding director Robert Allan Ackerman has worked the boards all around the globe bringing out outstanding performances from both stellar legends and before-they-were-known newbies. Robert's latest production BLOOD, which he wrote as well, had its world premiere earlier this year, also at The Complex.

This world premiere of playwright Ken Levine's GOING... GOING... GONE! has the benefit of a strong quartet of actors and sure-handed direction at a swift pace. Witty quips and snappy one-liners populate the rapid repartee of the baseball reporters in a sky-high reporters' box. If the purpose to duplicate the drudgery of sitting through 18-19 innings of a baseball game was intentional, Levine's script certainly succeeds.

In 1991, against all naysayers, Geoff Elliott & Julia Rodriguez-Elliott started a resident theatre company in Los Angeles to perform - the classics. The married couple, together with fellow American Conservatory Theatre alumni Art Manke, inaugurated A Noise Within. Today the Elliotts run ANW as co-producing artistic directors.

For years now, Kate Pazakis' UMPO has been steadily optimizing her passion of film, turning them into loving spoofs that even those unfamiliar with the movie sent-up can still enjoy. With her talented partners, they take cult film favorites and match them up with pop tune soundtracks for mash-ups of wit, fun, incredible singing and much laughter. UMPO's latest creation THE UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY OF HOCUS POCUS opened September 29, 2016 at the Rockwell Table & Stage.

Known to millions of television viewers as the snappy and charming Marc St. James on Ugly Betty, Michael Urie has since carved out a steady, thriving acting - and now directing - career; most effectively utilizing his training from Julliard. In between his current hosting gig on Logo's Cocktails & Classics, Michael is directing fellow C&C mate Drew Droege in his one-man show BRIGHT COLORS AND BOLD PATTERNS.

For The Record has come a long way from their humble East Los Angeles small bar beginnings in 2010. With ongoing, full-scale productions in Las Vegas, a permanent venue on the Norwegian Cruise Line's Escape, and shows across the country; FTR has just contracted with dick clark productions and ABC to develop For The Record Live for television viewers.

Director David Lee's latest directorial project DEAR WORLD stars Tyne Daly in a one-night-only concert performance at the Valley Performing Arts Center on September 30, 2016. The multi-lauded director/writer/producer of such television hits as Cheers, Fraiser and Wings continues his childhood passion in theatre.

Playwright Robert O'Hara's BARBECUE deservedly earned a rousing reception (and standing ovation) from The Geffen Playhouse's enthusiastic opening night audience September 14.  BroadwayWorld and I had a chance to chat with O'Hara's frequent collaborator, actor/playwright/director Colman Domingo a few days after his directorial success.

Those nostalgic for Three Stooges slapstick or old-time vaudeville will thoroughly enjoy playwright Mark Brown's AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. The very committed cast of five enact 30+ different characters, sometimes within the same scene. Allison Bibicoff directs her talented cast in a relentless pace, never stopping in between the barrage of some funny physical comedy bits and clever sight gags with the available props.

Kerry Logan - former caterer/event planner, now writer/director/producer - has combined his party throwing expertise and acting experiences into an audience-participation, behind-the-velvet-ropes evening titled HOLLYWOOD PREMIERE PARTY THE SHOW debuting October 7, 2016 at the Manor on Vine in Hollywood.