Kyle Riabko to Return to Beverly Hills with RICHARD RODGERS REIMAGINED

After bringing his groundbreaking arrangements of the Burt Bacharach catalogue to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) last season, Kyle Riabko returns to Beverly Hills for the West Coast debut of his new program Richard Rodgers Reimagined.

Backed by his band, Riabko will offer his unique pop/rock sensibility to the classics such as "The Lady is a Tramp," "My Favorite Things," "Some Enchanted Evening," "My Funny Valentine," and more, performing the Rodgers songbook as it's never been heard before.

The limited engagement-which follows the official album launch on October 27-will include three performances on Friday, November 10 at 7:30pm and Saturday, November 11 at 2pm and 7:30pm.

"We're thrilled to bring back Kyle Riabko to our stage," said Paul Crewes, The Wallis' Artistic Director. "Richard Rodgers was an iconic composer who set the pace for 20th Century American musical theatre. We look forward to Kyle's reimagining of some of this work, which we're sure to be another highlight of our season."

Single tickets are now available for $25 - $75. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit TheWallis.org/Riabko, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Ticket prices subject to change.

The Wallis also offers three different options to subscribe to the 2017/18 season: the Premium Subscription Series; the Design-Your-Own option; and the new 3-show Flex Pass for $99, created for busy young professionals-39 and younger-giving the most flexibility to join The Wallis family of subscribers. Learn more at TheWallis.org/Subscribe.

After reading a fan letter Rodgers had written to Bacharach, Riabko was inspired to take on the classic Rodgers songbook. "It was during one of my trips to Burt's home in Los Angeles that something very unique caught my eye - a fan letter, framed and hanging right outside the music room, addressed "Dear Burt" and signed "Yours Sincerely, Richard Rodgers," says Riabko. "Between this greeting and signature are colorful expressions of the "enormous admiration" that Rodgers had for Bacharach's work. I later learned that Rodgers wrote this letter in response to a New York Times piece in which Burt had expressed his admiration for Rodgers' body of work. This discovery led me to interpret the timeless songs that Rodgers wrote with both Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, through my own musical lens, as I had earlier with the Bacharach catalogue." Riabko's Richard Rodgers Reimagined album is now available on Ghostlight Records. The album is produced, arranged and recorded by Kyle Riabko with David Lane Seltzer of Entertainment 360 serving as executive producer.

Riabko created and starred in the West End hit Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined and the earlier acclaimed Off Broadway version What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined, which was named "One of the Year's 10 Best" by The New York Times and received nominations for Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, and Lucille Lortel Award for which Riabko was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical. The New York Times wrote, "Riabko searches out the emotional layers of the songs with impressive precision," and Entertainment Weekly said that Riabko is "a wonderfully appealing star."

Riabko previously appeared on Broadway in both Spring Awakening and Hair, and in his teen years, recorded an album of original material for Sony/Aware, as well as performed as an opening act for such artists as BB King, James Brown, John Mayer, Keb Mo, Jason Mraz, and Maroon 5, among others. For more information, visit KyleRiabko.com.

Since opening its doors in October 2013, The Wallis has produced or presented more than 150 dance, theater, opera, classical music and family programs to an ever-expanding audience. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Crewes and Managing Director Rachel Fine, The Wallis brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world's most talented and sought-after artists. Featuring eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the U.S. and around the globe.

The mission of The Wallis is to create, present and celebrate unique performing arts events and educational programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of our community. Nominated for 28 Ovation Awards, four L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards and the recipient of six architectural awards, The Wallis is a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue that celebrates the classic and the modern and was designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA of Studio Pali Fekete architects. The building features the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, GRoW at The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education (a gift of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family and the Annenberg Foundation) and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these structures embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike.

For the complete listing of all Music @ The Wallis programs, visit TheWallis.org/Music. Like The Wallis on Facebook, and follow on Twitter and Instagram.

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