A VERY DIE HARD CHRISTMAS Opens December 10 At Theatre 40

A Very Die Hard Christmas. A musical, written by Jeff Schell and The Habit. Additional dialogue by Sandro Monetti. Directed by Sandro Monetti. Produced by Raymund King, Brina Palencia, and Josey Wells to be presented at Theatre Forty, 241 S, Moreno Drive, in the Mary Levin Cutler Theatre (same venue, new name), Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

The venue is on the campus of Beverly Hills High School. Free parking is available in the parking lot beneath the theatre. To access parking, enter through the driveway at the intersection of Durant and Moreno Drives

A real Christmas crowd-pleaser with lots of laughs and nostalgia, this fun musical parodies the hit film Die Hard on the 35th anniversary of that action classic's release. New York cop John McClane flies to Los Angeles to visit his estranged wife Holly for Christmas. But soon after he shows up at Nakatomi Plaza for her office work party, terrorists take over the building and it's up to John to save the day.

The live show is written by Jeff Schell and The Habit. The Habit is the Seattle-based comedy troupe that originated this show. Jeff Schell is known for his musical parodies, including Titanish and Indy Jones and Raiders of the Lost Temple of the Doomed Ark.

Sandro Monetti directs and contributes additional dialogue. Also a playwright, his works include Marilyn and Sinatra; Miserable Lesbians; and Clooney, Cowell, Pitt and Me. He is known to international audiences for his frequent appearances on CNN and BBC World News, where he reports on the Hollywood film industry. He is a recipient of several National Journalism Awards.

Sandro's cast for A Very Die hard Christmas includes Nick Versteeg (of the BBC series Wolfblood), Lauren Samuels (called the "Queen of West End musicals" for her roles in Grease, We Will Rock You, Bend It Like Beckham, Children of Eden), Jesse Merlin (Re-Animator: the Musical, Carved in Stone), Raymund King(The Starter Marriage), Nick Bredosky (Exorcistic), and Theatre 40 favorites Roslyn Cohn, Joe Clabby, and Kristal Dickerson.

Original music: Elizabeth Rossi. Costume design: Marianne Parker. Choreographer: Hisato Masuyama.

Theatre 40 is around the corner from the building used as the Nakatomi Plaza location in the original Die Hard film.

In association with the production, a song I'm John McClane has been recorded with Niek Versteeg, composed by Flynn/Hopper. Proceeds from the single will be donated to charities fighting Aphasia, the disorder affecting Die Hard star Bruce Willis. You can see the music video for the song at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47YwkkNwzc0

Christmas is coming, and it will be time for that most L.A. of Christmas narratives, A Very Die Hard Christmas. Yippee-ki-yo-ki-yay.......

WHEN: Sundays, December 10 and 17, Wednesday, December 20, 2023. All shows at 7:30 p.m.

ADMISSION: $35.

RESERVATIONS: (310) 364-3606.

ONLINE TICKETING: http://theatre40.org

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