ONE FOR MY BABY Comes to All Roads Theatre Company
Performances run March 14-23.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 18, 2025
All Roads Theatre Company’s 2025 Season will kick off with the World Premiere musical ONE FOR MY BABY, with Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by Ted Koehler, Johnny Mercer, E.Y. Harburg and Ira Gershwin, Book by Scott Thompson and Fred Barton with Music Arrangements by Conductor Fred Barton, Directed and Choreographed by Scott Thompson.
Broadway stars Lana Gordon (Hadestown, Chicago) and Luba Mason (Jekyll and Hyde, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying) lead a cast of 28 performers, supported by a 12-piece Big Band, in the new musical which will be presented for nine performances, March 14 – 23, 2025 on the Debbie Reynolds Main Stage at the El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Boulevard (at Weddington Avenue), North Hollywood, CA 91601. Parking is available on streets surrounding the theatre.
Other principal roles in ONE FOR MY BABY will be played by C.J. Eldred (New York Theatre: Rock of Ages, Desperate Measures, National Tour: Elder Price in Book of Mormon); Lianne Marie Dobbs (National Tour: White Christmas, Regional: Aldonza in Man of La Mancha); Sean McGibbon (Broadway National Tour: Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet); Jess Val Ortiz (National Tour: Spamilton); Amber Wright (Regional: Ain’t Misbehavin’, Dreamgirls, title role in Aida); Harris M. Turner (Broadway: MJ: The Musical, Ain’t Too Proud, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical); Phil Pritchard (London’s West End: A Little Night Music and Trevor Nunn’s Great Expectations); Natalie Holt McDonald (Los Angeles Revival: Reefer Madness, Regional: Singing in the Rain, Grease); Luke Steinborn (Film: Operation Seawolf); and Eric Toms (Film: Valley of the Heart’s Delight).
Ensemble cast members include Todd Andrew Ball, Keaton Brandt, Ryan Cody, Barb Erfurt, Emma Featherstone, Sylvie Gosse, Brittany Rose Hammond, Shira Jackman, Danielle LaRauf, Max Larsen, Mark Marchillo, Kitrell “Kit Kat” Poe, Camal Pugh, Charlotte Scally, Olivia Schuh, Krystle Simmons, Alec Talbott, Jeremy Ward and Kelsee Woods.
ONE FOR MY BABY’s Production Staff includes: Scott Thompson (Producer/Director/Choreographer), Fred Barton (Producer, Musical Director/Arranger), Jeramiah Peay (Producer/Managing Director), Sheri Clark Henriksen (Producer), Brian Zucker (Producer), Robert Levinstein (Production Stage Manager), Stephen DeAngelis (Casting Director), Paul Black (Set and Lighting Design), Shon LeBlanc (Costume Design), Julie Ferin (Sound Designer), Carter Thomas (Wig and Hair Design), Bouket Fingerhut (Prop Design), Joel Daavid (Technical Direction), Thomas Garcia (Assistant Stage Manager), Sylvie Gosse (Associate Choreographer), Mark Marchillo (Associate Choreographer), Joy Bodin Pacifici (Production Assistant), Derek Hecker (Set Construction), Pegge Forrest, Jay Irwin and El Pleitez (El Portal Theatre), Larry Sapperstein (Key Artwork, Production Photographer and Social Media) and Steve Moyer Public Relations (Press Representative).
Scott Thompson, Co-Founding Artistic Director of All Roads Theatre Company and Director and Choreographer for ONE FOR MY BABY, said: “It is thrilling after our smash hit 2024 production of Mack & Mabel to bring Los Angeles audiences a spectacular new world premiere musical with an all-star cast, high-octane choreography and a beautiful story told through some the greatest songs of the 20th century.”
Fred Barton, Co-Founding Artistic Director of All Roads Theatre Company and Music Arranger and Conductor of Stage Band for ONE FOR MY BABY, said: “Our new company will provide opportunities for performers, musicians, designers and technicians here in the Los Angeles area. Also, we’re excited to kick-off our first full season with a brand new musical. And you can’t beat Harold Arlen played by a 12-piece Big Band.”
The score for ONE FOR MY BABY features 24 legendary Harold Arlen songs, including “Get Happy,” “Stormy Weather,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Blues In The Night,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Come Rain or Come Shine” and the title song, “One For My Baby.”
ONE FOR MY BABY is a tale of lust, heartbreak, greed and redemption. As the story unfolds we are introduced to a colorful crowd of characters in the manner of old Hollywood all-star movies such as “Grand Hotel” or “Dinner at Eight.” Set in 1947, Panama Jones, a sophisticated African-American diva oversees one of the sexiest nightclubs in town, Dreamland. Tess Fleming, a wealthy, glamorous socialite, relentlessly promotes her handsome new singing beau, Rick Anderson, to Dreamland’s owner, Duke Sullivan, never imagining that her chic Best Friend Meredith Allen has designs on Rick for her own shocking purposes. Meanwhile, a knockout newcomer showgirl, Kitty McVey, and her smitten boyfriend, hoofer Eddie Parsons, vie for performing jobs at Dreamland, while Ethel, the club’s cigarette girl, is smitten with Eddie herself. Current club headliners, Jackie James (niece of Panama Jones) and her husband Keith, struggle to maintain their marriage and professional foothold against underworld skullduggery. Drama and intrigue lurk at every turn for this kaleidoscope of characters in this glittering, film-noir, jazz-drenched world.
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