Colony Theater Presents JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING, Opens 4/10

The Colony Theatre Company presents the fifth and final production of its 35th anniversary season, the unforgettable Jacques Brel IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS, production conception, English lyrics, & additional material by Eric Blau & Mort Shuman, based on Jacques Brel's lyrics & commentary with music by Jacques Brel, musical direction by Brent Crayon and directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera. Jacques Brel IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS will preview on Wednesday, April 7; Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, April 10 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May 9 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.

In 2006, this forgotten treasure of musical theatre was rediscovered in New York, and now it returns triumphantly to Los Angeles where it hasn't been seen in years. The genius of Jacques Brel is beautifully captured in this brilliant collection of timeless songs - songs of passionate desire and heartbreak, of youthful exuberance and world-weariness, of joyful hope and forgotten dreams. As fresh and poignant as ever, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well ... reflects the full scope of what it means to be alive, where every song is a story.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

JON LAWRENCE RIVERA (Director) is making his Colony debut. Mr. Rivera just directed Oedipus El Rey by Luis Alfaro at the Theatre @ Boston Court (and its original 2008 workshop at the Getty Villa). Other recent works include The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown (with an Asian-American cast at East West Players), Miss Saigon by Schönberg/Boublil, Ruby, Tragically Rotund by Boni B. Alvarez, Laws Of Sympathy by Oliver Mayer, The Joy Luck Club by Susan Kim, Sea Change by Nick Salamone (2009 LA Weekly Award for Direction), The Third From The Left by Jean Colonomos (2008 NY Fringe Festival), Hillary Agonistes by Nick Salamone (2007 NY Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Direction), Havana Bourgeois by Carlos Lacamara (2008 GLAAD nomination), Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn (Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre), Conjunto by Oliver Mayer, References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot by Jose Rivera, the Sondheim/Lapine musical Into The Woods, and Barefoot Boy With Shoes On by Edwin Sanchez. A four-time Ovation Award nominee, he is the founding artistic director of Playwrights' Arena, and his productions have garnered over 100 local and international awards.

Brent CRAYON (Musical Director) has had the privilege of working with such notable artists as Stephen Schwartz, Daisy Prince, Scott Schwartz, Chen Shi-Zheng, Kay Cole, and Richard Maltby, and he is thrilled to be working once again with Jon Lawrence Rivera. Favorite productions include the West Coast premieres of Songs for a New World and Tick, Tick...BOOM! and the world premiere productions of Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots and John Bucchino's It's Only Life. An accomplished and multi-faceted musician, Brent has been a featured soloist in ensembles throughout Southern California, including Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and the Ventura Chamber Orchestra.

ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM

Eileen Barnett (Woman #1) appeared on Broadway playing Luisa Contini (the wife) in Tommy Tune's Tony Award-winning musical Nine, and she starred in the national tour of Broadway's Footloose. She also had the great pleasure of appearing at The Colony Theatre (on Riverside Drive) in the Los Angeles premiere of Putting It Together. Other Los Angeles area theatre appearances include the Havok Theatre Company's Ovation Award-winning Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Wild Party at the Blank, Fiddler On The Roof at the Rubicon, and Radio Gals at the Pasadena Playhouse. As a member of Musical Theatre Guild, Eileen performed the role of Fosca in the critically acclaimed West Coast premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Passion. Other leading roles with MTG include Street Scene, Rags and Lady In The Dark. On TV, guest starring credits include Brothers and Sisters, E.R., Southland, Gilmore Girls, and Frasier. Soap fans may remember her as the evil Stephanie Woodruff on Days of Our Lives. Eileen performs her cabaret act in New York and Los Angeles where she recorded her CD, Eileen Barnett, Live at the Cinegrill.

ZACHARY FORD (Man #2) was most recently seen in Pasadena Playhouse's Camelot directed by David Lee. He'd ventured to Camelot once before when he spent most of 2008 covering Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, and Sir Bedevere in Monty Python's Spamalot at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter he made his Los Angeles debut in Little Women at the Lyric Theatre. Recent workshops of new musicals include Bubbleboy, iGhost, College Rhythm, Señorita Matador, and The Roxy. Chicagoans will remember Zachary from roles at The Apple Tree Theatre, The Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, TimeLine, and Porchlight. Notable performances in Chicago include A Man Of No Importance (Mid-West premiere at The Apple Tree Theatre) and Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein by Liza Gennaro, Stephen Flaherty, and Frank Galati (World Premiere at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art with About Face Theatre; cast recording on Jay Records). He was also a recurring medical technician on Passions and has been seen in several national commercials.

GREGORY FRANKLIN (Man #1) recently appeared in the critically-acclaimed world premiere of Divorce! The Musical (Best Ensemble Ovation Nomination and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Ticket Holder Award). He went on to appear in Light in the Piazza at the El Portal Theatre followed by the critically-acclaimed American Premiere of F*cking Men at Celebration Theatre. In 2008, after completing a run of the award-winning production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Chicago, he returned to Los Angeles to perform in Jacques Brel: A Life in Song (Best Cabaret Ensemble Ticket Holder Award), translated and directed by Peter Mellencamp. Chicago theatre highlights include Galileo (Goodman Theatre), Kabuki Medea (Wisdom Bridge), Chicago and Grant Park Symphonies as a vocalist, and Ensemble Espanol as a company dancer. Other recent southern California credits include Glengarry GLen Ross (Egyptian), Twentieth Century (Lillian Theatre), Wild About Harry (Crown City Theatre), The Winter's Tale (A Noise Within), Man of La Mancha (A Noise Within, Best Supporting Actor Ticket Holder Award), Joan of Arc (The Lobero) and The Boys From Syracuse (Crown City Theatre, Garland Citation). Additional theatres include Actors Alley, Actor's Company, Long Beach Studio, Welk Resort, Southern Arizona Light Opera, California Music Theatre Broadway Series, Jewel Box, Theatre Geo, Inside The Ford, Ark, and Whitefire. In 2005, Gregory performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival under producer Jon Lawrence Rivera and continues to tour with The Roger Wagner Chorale to Japan. He has been a recurring sketch player for Talk Show With Spike Feresten. Other screen credits include House, Mad Men, Samantha Who?, Close To Home, Ghost Hunters: Point of Contact, Friendly Fire, Pure Love, and Power Poison.

JENNIFER SHELTON (Woman #2) has had the pleasure of touring the country with the 1st National Company of Ragtime (Livent Inc.) and performing with such companies as The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra/LA Philharmonic, CLO of South Bay Cities, Laguna Playhouse, McCoy Rigby, and Sacramento's Music Circus. She's also a frequent headliner at The Carpenter Center, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and Pacific Southwest Symphony. Favorite credits include Songs for a New World, Five Course Love, The Story (Yvonne), Honk! (Maureen/Queenie), and Swinging on a Star for International City Theatre; Kiss of the Spider Woman (Spider Woman), It's a Bird ... Superman! (Lois Lane), As Thousands Cheer, and Do Re Mi (Tilda) for Musical Theatre Guild; And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little (Ceil) and A Raisin in the Sun (Ruth) for CCAP; Man of La Mancha (Aldonza) for the Rubicon; Into the Woods (Cinderella) for Lamb's Players; Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Belle), Ragtime (Sarah) and Hello, Dolly! (Irene Molloy) for Moonlight Amphitheatre; Hot Mikado (Yum-Yum) and World Goes ‘Round for Musical Theatre West; Rosemary in How to Succeed... for Starlight; and Sarah in Guys and Dolls. Jennifer is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association and Musical Theatre Guild.

Jacques Brel IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by John H. Binkley. The Lighting Design is by Adam Blumenthal. The Costume Design is by Dianne K. Graebner. The Sound Design is by Cricket S. Myers. Prop Design is by Colony Theatre resident designers MacAndME.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

Jacques Brel IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS will open on Saturday, April 10 and perform through Sunday, May 9, 2010. Performances for Jacques Brel IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. There will be additional performances on Saturdays, April 17 and April 24 at 3pm & Thursdays, April 29 and May 6 at 8pm. (No 7 pm performance on April 11).

Ticket prices range from $37.00 - $42.00 (student, senior and group discounts are available). Jacques Brel IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS will preview on Wednesday, April 7; Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9 at 8:00pm. Preview Tickets are $20.00 - $25.00. Opening night performance with reception - all tickets $50.00. There are question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday, April 16, and Thursday, April 29. For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.colonytheatre.org.

For more information, press interviews, photos or for press comps, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at 818/508-1754 or at ELZERD@aol.com or visit www.demandpr.com.

The award-winning Colony Theatre Company is Burbank's premiere professional theatre. It was voted "Best Live Theatre in L.A." in The Daily News 2006 Readers' Choice poll, and has been named one of "25 Notable U.S. Theatre Companies" by Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac for 6 years in a row. The Colony Theatre Company is a 35-year old organization dedicated to bringing the finest-quality theatrical productions to Los Angeles. The theatre is located at 555 North Third Street, at the corner of Cypress, in the heart of Downtown Burbank. For further information, call (818) 558-7000. Fax: (818) 558-7110. E-mail: colonytheatre@colonytheatre.org. Or visit our website at www.colonytheatre.ORG.

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