INSIDE OUT Plays Grove Theatre Center, Now thru 3/22

The critically acclaimed New York, Off-Broadway hit musical Inside Out will celebrate its 20-year anniversary at the Grove Theatre Center in Burbank, CA tonight, February 12th - March 22nd, it was announced by Kritzerland Entertainment and PlayWorks Music.

Veteran TV/Film/Theatre/Actor/ Author/Performer/Playwright and CEO of Kritzerland Records Bruce Kimmel has been set to direct the musical by Doug Haverty (book and lyrics) and Adryan Russ (lyrics and music). An all-star female ensemble/cast of six features Sandy Bainum, Cynthia Ferrer, Stephanie Fredricks, Dana Meller, Leslie Stevens and Adrienne Visnic. Preview performances are this weekend, February 12th and 13th with the show's official opening scheduled for February 14th.

"Set in the 80s," says Haverty, "when 'group therapy' was shifting into high gear, Inside Out will remind audiences in a positive, funny and feel good kind of way, that there is an uncommon strength to be gained in communal sharing."

Ms. Russ states "The message inside Inside Out is still relevant today and that is this: people helping people is one of the most invaluable and deeply nourishing gestures that we, as human beings, can do for one another."

Kimmel concurs by saying, "The show was initially presented as a contemporary piece. Now, twenty years later, it's a period piece. This anniversary production not only embraces its origins (and relative newness back then), but also effortlessly emphasizes an ultimate timelessness."

A portion of proceeds from the production will go to the 1983-founded Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation; an "army of women" dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer and how to stop it before it starts. www.dslrf.org

A women's therapy group, headed by group leader, Grace, is transformed forever when former singing star Dena joins the group and winds up being a catalyst for change in the lives of Sage, a flower child; Liz, a powerful businesswoman who has problems balancing work and home; Chlo, a gay bank employee and single mom of a teenage son; and Molly, a mother of two young children who is dealing with weight and work issues. Featuring tuneful, memorable music by Adryan Russ and insightful lyrics by Russ and Haverty, Inside Out, is every bit as timely today as it was when it premiered Off-Broadway.

When Inside Out first opened in November of 1994 at New York's Cherry Lane Theatre, it was met with lavish reviews from both the New York Times and Variety, among others. It has since been produced with equal acclaim throughout the U.S. and, more recently, in Zurich, Switzerland where "group therapy" is not widely available. The Swiss mounting of the show sold out in record time with a return engagement six months later.

SANDY BAINUM (Liz) - Broadway and First National Tour of 42nd Street as Anytime Annie, starred in productions at The Kennedy Center, Ford Theatre and Signature Theatre in musicals: Company, Parade, Ladies Swing the Blues, Showboat, Music Man and Kiss Me Kate.

CYNTHIA FERRER (Grace) - is a regular on television's General Hospital and Port Charles. She has also appeared in musical versions of: Happy Days, Sleepless in Seattle, 9 to 5, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Footloose and the Pre-Broadway tour of Turn to the Right.

STEPHANIE FREDRICKS (Chlo) - Broadway's Wonderful Town, plays and musicals at Paper Mill Playhouse, Portland Stage Company, the El Portal Theatre; television's All My Children, and the upcoming Henry Jaglom film, Ovation, in theaters this spring.

DANA MELLER (Molly) - Broadway/National Touring companies of Les Miserables (Eponine), The Full Monty (Estelle) and productions at: Kennedy Center, North Shore Music Theatre, The El Portal Theatre as well as television's The Days of Our Lives, The Today Show.

LESLIE STEVENS (Dena) - Broadway/National Touring companies of Victor/Victoria, La Cage aux Folles, Big and plays/musicals at Laguna Playhouse, I.C.T., Taper, Geffen, Pasadena Playhouse, GeVa and television's The Young and the Restless.

ADRIENNE VISNIC (Sage) - is an Award-winning actress who has been featured in The Most Happy Fella, On The Town, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Little Night Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Into The Woods, LES MISERABLES, Damn Yankees, and Pippin.

DOUG HAVERTY (Book/Lyrics) - Mr. Haverty's award-winning plays and musicals have been produced around the world. Could I Have This Dance? was named "Best New Play" by The American Theatre Critics Association. His works have been presented at Cherry Lane, Charlotte Rep., Laguna Playhouse, Phoenix Theatre, Florida Studio, Theatre West, The Colony, Theatre 40, The Lyric, Here Performing Arts Center, Long Island Stage, Theatre in the Square, and Lobero...among others. Published works include: In My Mind's Eye, Inside Out (a musical), Could I Have This Dance?, Flavia & The Dream Maker (a musical). He's been commissioned to write three musicals and one play. Actors who have appeared in Doug's plays including: Marilyn Chris, John Wylie, Teri Ralston, Lee Meriwether, Ann Crumb, Jan Maxwell, Kathleen Chalfant, Cass Morgan, Jennifer Tilly, Elizabeth Norment, Bonita Friederici, and Isabel Keating, to name but a few.

ADRYAN RUSS (Music/Lyrics) - writes for theater, film, television and recordings. Inside Out, published by Samuel French, has played around the world. Love & Order, co-written with Haverty, was selected for the ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles, and Ebenezer, Return of the Scrooge, co-written with playwright Keith Huff, was selected for the ASCAP/Disney Workshop in Chicago. The Ugly Duckling, co-written with Lloyd J. Schwartz, was produced at Theatre West's Storybook Theatre. Everyone Has A Story: The Songs of Adryan Russ (LML Music) showcases Adryan's songs performed by David Burnham, Susan Egan, Jason Graae, Joan Ryan and Sharon McNight, among others, produced by Bruce Kimmel. A song co-written with Joel Evans appeared in the film Doubt with Meryl Streep and in The Falcon Theatre's A Catholic Girl's Guide to Losing Your Virginity. With Lissa Levin, she co-produced Life's A Stitch, at The Alex Theatre in Glendale. Adryan is a member of ASCAP, The Dramatists Guild, and serves on the board of the Society of Composers & Lyricists. www.adryanruss.com

BRUCE KIMMEL (Director) - wrote, directed and starred in the cult movie hit, The First Nudie Musical (available on a Special Edition Blu-ray). He also co-created (with David Wechter) the story for the hit film, The Faculty, directed by Robert Rodriguez. As an actor, Mr. Kimmel guest-starred on most of the long-running television shows of the 1970s, including The Partridge Family (recurring), Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, MASH, Alice, and many others, including leading roles in several pilots for all three of the major networks. Mr. Kimmel is a legendary Grammy-nominated producer of theatre music on CD, having produced over 180 albums. He has produced solo albums for Petula Clark, Helen Reddy, Jason Graae, Liz Callaway, Christiane Noll, Rebecca Luker, Brent Barrett, Sally Mayes, Judy Kaye, Judy Kuhn, and many others. In addition to the albums he has personally produced, Kimmel has also released over four hundred classic cast albums and soundtracks, including his acclaimed remix of the original cast albums of Follies; Promises, Promises and Sugar. His label, Kritzerland, issues a new CD every two weeks. For the past four years he has been producing and hosting a series of live entertainments based on the albums he's produced, called Kritzerland at Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal, which feature incredible singers and legendary guest stars. He is also the creator, writer, and director of the popular web series, Outside the Box. Most recently he directed a critically acclaimed production of Li'l Abner and took a sampling of his Kritzerland shows to New York.

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