All Roads Theatre Company To Present ONE FOR MY BABY World Premiere And More At El Portal Theatre

All Roads Theatre Company has announced its inaugural season at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, beginning with the World Premiere Musical ONE FOR MY BABY, with a score by the incomparable Harold Arlen and headlined by Broadway stars LANA GORDON and LUBA MASON.

This will be followed by Stephen Sondheim’s and Arthur Laurents’s groundbreaking musical ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, headlined by international star CAROLINE O’CONNOR. 

These productions follow on the heels of the company’s sold-out productions of MACK & MABEL, starring Dermot Mulroney, and the all-star benefit concert, Broadway Showstoppers.

ONE FOR MY BABY is a film-noir musical tale of deception, lust and betrayal, with a book by ARTCO co-founders Scott Thompson and Fred Barton.  Starring are LANA GORDON, Persephone in the Tony-Award-winning Broadway musical HADESTOWN, and LUBA MASON, star of Broadway’s JEKYLL & HYDE and many more. 

The show features 24 classic Harold Arlen songs including “Blues in the Night,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Stormy Weather,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “Get Happy,” “When the Sun Comes Out,” as well as the famous title song.  Gordon plays 1940s nightclub singer Panama Jones, who presides over a collision of high society intrigue, the criminal underworld, and a fatal romantic triangle, all unfolding as her longtime brand of show business faces extinction.  At the head of that triangle is Mason’s role, Tess Fleming, a wealthy sophisticate with a past and a reputation for impulsive, violent behavior. 

Featuring a large cast, a hot swing band and dazzling choreography, ONE FOR MY BABY will be directed and choreographed by the award-winning Scott Thompson with musical direction and arrangements by Emmy-Award-winner Fred Barton.  ONE FOR MY BABY plays for nine performances, March 14 - 23rd 2025.

In addition to her show-stopping appearances in the Broadway and National Tour of Hadestown, LANA GORDON is also known to theater audiences as a long-running Velma Kelly in Chicago The Musical on Broadway, and throughout North America and Europe. Gordon began her professional career as a dancer with Alvin Ailey, Dunham Company and Donald Byrd/The Group, before landing her debut in the original Broadway cast of Disney’s The Lion King.  Other credits include Jesus Christ Superstar (Broadway), Hair, West Side Story, and many concerts the world over. 

LUBA MASON is a longtime Broadway veteran. After replacing Linda Eder in Broadway’s Jekyll & Hyde, Ms. Mason also appeared on Broadway as Velma Kelly in Chicago opposite Brooke Shields. Other favorite Broadway roles include Hedy LaRue opposite Matthew Broderick in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and Ziegfeld/s Favorite in The Will Rogers Follies. Mason recently originated the role of Mrs. Burke in the Bob Dylan musical Girl From The North Country. 

ANYONE CAN WHISTLE is a seldom-performed gem from the ingenious Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents, creators of West Side Story and Gypsy.  Anyone Can Whistle is the true definition of a cult musical! Despite its short original run on Broadway, the show has fascinated and intrigued musical theatre lovers for generations. 

ARTCO proudly presents this darkly comic masterpiece about politics, mind control and miracles – and suddenly in 2025, this 1964 show could not seem more timely.  Starring in the role originated by Angela Lansbury as the wicked Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper is CAROLINE O’CONNOR, the brilliant force of nature currently starring as Dolly Levi in the Lido de Paris production of Hello, Dolly! in Paris, and well known to ARTCO audiences for her brilliant comic timing and astounding tap dancing in Mack & Mabel. Anyone Can Whistle will be presented in grand ARTCO style with our full orchestra and large cast of singers and dancers. This lively musical will entertain mightily and provide a rare opportunity to see a thought-provoking Sondheim classic! Anyone Can Whistle will be performed October 17th - 26th 2025.

CAROLINE O’CONNOR is an international star of stage and screen. She may be best known to American audiences for her role as Nini Legs in the Air in Baz Lurhmann’s film “Moulin Rouge.” She also appeared as Ethel Merman in the Cole Porter bio-pic “It’s Delovely” starring Kevin Kline. On Broadway she’s appeared as Velma Kelly in Chicago and originated principal roles in Anastasia and A Christmas Story. In London’s West End she was nominated for an Olivier Award for her role as Mabel Normand in the London premiere of Jerry Herman’s Mack & Mabel. In her home country of Australia she’s won awards for roles in Anything Goes, Piaf, and End of the Rainbow.

Additional casting for both productions will be announced at a later date.

SCOTT THOMPSON is the founder of ARTCO and an award-winning producer, director and choreographer who has produced and directed a “Who’s Who” of today’s Broadway talent at theatres around the United States. His eclectic repertoire of productions includes Mack & Mabel starring Dermot Mulroney, Gypsy starring Broadway legend Betty Buckley, Oliver! starring Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block, and Tom Eyen’s notorious classic play Women Behind Bars, which enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles at the Montalbán Theatre starring Traci Lords and Eureka O’Hara, now streaming on Broadway HD. 

FRED BARTON’S symphony arrangements are played regularly at Carnegie Hall and by orchestras nationwide. He debuted at age 23 as co-creator of the international hit Forbidden Broadway, also arranging and playing the Off-Broadway hit revue Spamilton (including both show’s hit LA productions.) At age 24, Fred created his one-man musical theatre piece Miss Gulch Returns!, still produced by theatres nationwide into 2024. Broadway/National Tour conducting credits: Anthony Quinn in Zorba, Hal Prince’s Cabaret revival, Cy Coleman’s City of Angels, and Robert Goulet in Camelot. Television Composer/Arranger/Conductor credits: The Magic School Bus (Emmy Award), HBO’s Cathouse: The Musical, Wonder Pets! (Emmy Award), and Olivia. 

Season tickets for both musicals can be purchased now by visiting https://elportaltheatre.com/2025inauguralseries.html or by calling the Box Office at (818) 508-0281 between the hours of 10am and 3pm PST. A limited number of specially-priced Opening Night Premium Tickets, which include Priority Seating and a post-show reception with the casts, are available for each production.

Visit https://allroadstheatreco.org for more information about Los Angeles’s brand-new Equity theatre company.

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