Celebration to Give an Intimate Presentation of THE PRODUCERS

Celebration, under the artistic direction of Michael A. Shepperd, presents the second show in its 2019 season, the Los Angeles intimate theatre premiere of THE PRODUCERS, A New Mel Brooks Musical, book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, choreography by Janet Roston, musical direction by Anthony Zediker, produced by Andrew Carlberg and Rebecca Eisenberg and directed by Michael Matthews. THE PRODUCERSwill begin previews on Friday, June 21 at 8pm; will open on Friday, June 28 at 8pm, with tickets on sale through Monday, August 12 at Celebration Theatre @ the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

Director Michael Matthews brings Celebration his take on THE PRODUCERS! When a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his mild-mannered accountant come up with a scheme to produce the most notorious flop in history, things go awry when the show is a hit. THE PRODUCERS skewers Broadway traditions and takes no prisoners as it proudly proclaims itself an "equal opportunity offender!"

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

Michael Matthews (Director) Selected Credits: Good People (CV REP), Cabaret (Ovation Nom, Director), End of the Rainbow (Laguna Playhouse, La Mirada),12 Angry Men, The Graduate (w/ Melanie Griffith), Bootycandy (LA Premiere), Failure, a Love Story (Ovation Award, Director; LA Premiere), Sons of the Prophet (LA Premiere), Psyche (World Premiere), Peter Pan; the Boy Who Hated Mothers (LA Weekly Nom, Director), Rabbit Hole (La Mirada), Funny Girl (Ovation Nom, Director), Very Still and Hard To See (LA Weekly Nom, Director; World Premiere), The Color Purple, The Musical (Ovation and LA Weekly Awards, Director), What's Wrong With Angry? (Ovation Nom, Director), Take Me Out! (Ovation Nom, Director; NAACP Award, Director) The Women of Brewster Place, the Musical (Ovation Nom, Director; NAACP Award, Director), The Bacchae (Ovation Nom, Director), Beautiful Thing (Ovation Nom, Director). Michael is the recipient of the 2015 LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Career Achievement in Direction.

Janet Roston (Choreographer) Credits include: Cabaret at Celebration Theater, LADCC Award; The Boy From Oz at Celebration Theater, Ovation and LADCC Awards;The Color Purple at Celebration Theater, Ovation, NAACP, and LA Weekly Awards; Mutt House at Kirk Douglas Theatre; Once On This Island at International City Theater, NAACP Award; The Who's Tommy at East West Players; Failure a Love Story at Kirk Douglas Theatre. As Director/Choreographer: Tonya and Nancy, The Rock Opera at ART Boston; Anaïs, A Dance Opera at Avignon Festival and Casablanca International Theatre Festival, Morocco; Striking 12 at Laguna Playhouse; Moves After Dark at Disney Hall. Two American Choreography Awards.

ANTHONY ZEDIKER (Musical Director) native of Nashville, is a composer/song writer/arranger/ pianist/music director/vocal coach based out of Los Angeles and Chicago. He is currently on faculty at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy LA, the American Contemporary Ballet, Colburn School, and USC's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Recent project highlights include- Musical Director of Cabaret @ The Celebration Theatre (LADCC award for Musical Direction), hand double on Showtime's Kidding for Jim Carrey (2018), pianist/actor on HBO's Big Little Lies (season 1, 3 episodes), Orchestra pianist for NBC's Rob Cantor: Shia LaBeouf Live (2017), Musical Director of Urinetown, and The Wizard of Oz @ The Westridge School for Girls (2018-19), cover pianist Priscilla (2018 @the Celebration Theater), Spamilton (@the Kirk Douglas Theater), and In Trump We Trust (@the Second City LA), Music Director of numerous productions @ AMDA including musicals, staged readings, and blackbox concerts, pit keyboardist for The Color Purple @ The Greenway Court Theater (2018) and Beauty and the Beast @ The Orpheum Theater (2017), orchestrator/MD for Celebration Theatre's 30 minute musicals (2019), orchestrator on CMT's Nashville season 5 (1 episode), composer of original music for Homeward L.A and Our Town @ The Actor's Co-op (2017 & 19) directed by Richard Israel, composer of the iPhone videogame Hammertime (2009), and feature films Let it Bleed (2015), Better Criminal (2016), and Our Way (2016)(*audience choice award), each of which was featured in the 2017 Burbank International Film Festival.

The Cast of THE PRODUCERS will feature: Richardson Jones as "Max Bialystock," Chris Jewell Valentin as "Leo Bloom," Michael A. Shepperd as "Roger De Bris," Andrew Diego as "Carmen Ghia," MaryAnn Welshans as "Ulla," and John Colella as "Franz Liebkind." The Ensemble will feature (in alphabetical order): Brittany Bentley, Evan Borboa, Jasmine Ejan, Sarah Mullis, Tristan McIntyre, Angeline Mirenda and Jamie Pierce.

THE PRODUCERS has assembled an award-winning design team; Scenic Design by Stephen Gifford (Cabaret,Carrie: The Musical downtown LA and La Mirada), Lighting Design by Matthew Brian Denman (Cabaret, Failure: A Love Story at the Kirk Douglas), Costume Design by E.B. Brooks, Sound Design by Cricket S. Myers, Properties Design by Michael O'Hara (Failure: A Love Story), Wig/Hair/Make-Up Design is by Byron Batista. The Dialect Coach is Tuffet Schmelzle. The Casting Director is Jami Rudofsky. Estey DeMerchant is the Production Stage Manager.

THE PRODUCERS is produced by Andrew Carlberg and Rebecca Eisenberg.

This production is presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood's Arts Division.

THE PRODUCERS will preview on Friday, June 21 & Saturday, June 22 at 8pm; Sunday, June 23 at 2pm; Weds. June 26 & Thurs., June 27 at 8pm; will open on Friday, June 28 at 8pm, with tickets on sale through Monday, August 12 at Celebration @ the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

Performances are Friday, Saturday and Monday evenings at 8pm; Sundays at 2pm.

Tickets range from $30.00 - $50.00 (Prices subject to change). There will be no performance on Monday, July 1.

For tickets, please call (323) 957-1884 or visit www.celebrationtheatre.com to purchase tickets online or to view a complete schedule or for further details.

To post a comment, you must register and login.