Pasadena Playhouse Announces Programming For PLAYHOUSELIVE

Pasadena Playhouse announces Fall Programming for PlayhouseLive, a first-of-its-kind nonprofit streaming platform to showcase theatrical productions to a national and international audience, launching online September 30. With the continuation of the Playhouse's efforts as the State Theater of California, PlayhouseLive productions will offer a broad range of voices and perspectives while ensuring that access to the programming will remain accessible to the widest possible audience.

Pay-per-view theatrical streaming events will include: poet, performance artist and professor Javon Johnson in Still., a timely one-man performance about the complexities of the Black experience, commissioned by Pasadena Playhouse; the premiere of Jerry Herman: You I Like, a new musical revue dedicated to the works of legendary Broadway composer/lyricist Jerry Herman; new works from Ojai Playwrights Conference; and family entertainment from the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.

In addition, the debut programming will feature the pilot episodes of four new series:

In Development gives an insiders' look at unproduced theatrical works as they are introduced to the world for the first time. The first episode will feature Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman performing excerpts from Iceboy!, a new musical by Mark GollmanHollmann, Jay Reiss and Erin Quinn Purcell.

Intermission with Hashtag Booked features celebrity interviews hosted by LaNisa Frederick and Danielle Pinnock, a comedic duo that started the web series Hashtag Booked. Their first guest will be acclaimed actor Alfred Molina.

Page to Stage takes you behind the curtain to explore the theatrical journey from conception to opening night. In Page to Stage: Little Shop of Horrors, the creative team at Pasadena Playhouse takes you from rehearsal to opening night of their groundbreaking revival; featuring interviews with George Salazar, MJ Rodriguez and Amber Riley. Page to Stage is free to the public.

From the Archives celebrates the unique impact regional theater has had across generations in shaping American culture. Initial episodes include a silent film featuring rare vintage footage of the Playhouse from the 1930s; a documentary short chronicling the years the Playhouse went dark (1968 through 1984) and the journey of the extraordinary woman who kept the hope alive to bring the historic theater back; and a fascinating look at the historic 1928 production of Eugene O'Neill's Lazarus Laughed which brought 151 actors together to perform 420 roles in a four-act play - this unforgettable production put Pasadena Playhouse on the map.

PlayhouseLive will also feature educational programming, including The Everyday Avant Garde in Black Theatre Making, led by award winning writer, composer, and performer Eisa Davis, Shakespeare Masterclass, led by internationally-recognized director and actor Rob Clare, Basics of Stage Management, led by Broadway stage managers Kathleen Purvis and Andrew Neal, and the return of Adam Epstein with The Contemporary Broadway Musical and Janet Fontaine with Playtime with Miss Janet.

To get more information about PlayhouseLive and its programming, including new announcements and pricing specials, sign up for the newsletter at www.playhouselive.org.

PlayhouseLive Membership is being launched with a free trial period through December 2020. Pay-per-view theatrical streaming events start at $14.99. Pasadena Playhouse Members will receive full access to the content on PlayhouseLive throughout the 20/21 season. Content release dates for PlayhouseLive may vary.

Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman says, "PlayhouseLive is a new way for audiences and artists to connect during this pause of in-person programming. With a bold new commissioned work about the Black experience in America, a musical celebration of the great Jerry Herman, and a series of shows bringing theater lovers backstage, there is something for everyone. While PlayhouseLive is not a replacement of live theater, it is a high-quality alternative that harnesses the power of theater in an all new way.

Fall 2020 Slate of Offerings on PlayhouseLive

As one of the nation's most prominent spoken-word artists, Javon Johnson takes to the Playhouse stage in Still, to share his very personal experience at a pivotal time in our history. Johnson blends powerful imagery, witty prose and beautiful lyricism in this timely, unforgettable theatrical event.

Javon Johnson is an Assistant Professor and Director of African American & African Diaspora studies and holds an appointment in Gender & Sexuality Studies in the Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. A renowned spoken word poet, he is a three-time national poetry slam champion, a four-time national finalist, and has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, BET's Lyric Café, TVOne's Verses & Flow, The Steve Harvey Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, United Shades of America with Kamau Bell on CNN, and co-wrote a documentary titled Crossover, which aired on Showtime, in collaboration with the NBA and Nike.

The production is directed by Donny Jackson. A staple of the poetry community for over 2 decades, Donny Jackson is also a doctor of clinical psychology, and a multiple Emmy-winning Producer and Director in unscripted television, including CNN's United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, R&B Divas for TV One, The Bachelor for ABC, A&E's Teach, and Inside the Label for BET. Dr. Donny is also an NAACP Image Award winner for his producing duties on TV One's music documentary series, Unsung.

Jerry Herman: You I Like lovingly celebrates the work of the genius responsible for Broadway classics Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cage aux Folles and many more - no one has written "showtunes" with as much exuberance as Jerry Herman. His musicals offer an optimistic approach to the human condition, finding common ground with his audience by showing us that the differences between us are, in fact, what unite us.

Join Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman as they give you a rare peek behind the curtain of Iceboy!, the hilarious and irreverent new musical from the co-creators of the Broadway hits The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Urinetown: The Musical. Iceboy! tells the absolutely untrue story of a 10,000-year-old Neanderthal who's discovered frozen in the Arctic, brought to New York, and adopted by Vera Vimm (Mullally) the biggest Broadway star of 1938. But once thawed, Iceboy becomes an acting sensation whose talents threaten to upstage the once mighty Vera. It's All About Eve if only Eve were a caveman. The PlayhouseLive Original series In Development puts you in the producer's chair, giving you an insiders' look at unproduced theatrical works as they are introduced to the world for the first time.

The Ojai Playwrights Conference (OPC) is renowned for its development of exciting and cutting-edge playwrights and their plays, many of which have gone on to Broadway, as well as numerous regional theaters across the country. PlayhouseLive will exclusively stream play readings from OPC that will include new works for the American theater from both celebrated and emerging playwrights.

LaNisa Frederick and Danielle Pinnock, of the online sketch series Hashtag Booked (@hashtagbooked), take on a deliriously funny new talk show for PlayhouseLive called Intermission with Hashtag Booked. With special celebrity guests from theater, film and television, this powerful duo takes a playful approach to uncovering the art of the craft and what it takes to make it as an actor in the biz while getting to know some of our favorite personalities a little better.

Launched in 2018, Danielle and LaNisa created Hashtag Booked as an improvised sketch show that explored the joys and misfortunes of being an actor of color in show business. These 2020 Webby Award Honorees have set the internet ablaze with their viral laugh-out-loud sketches, memes and celebrity IG LIVE interviews. Hashtag Booked's content has reached millions of views and has captured the hearts of major networks, celebrities, and nationally acclaimed media outlets including Forbes, Essence, and Shondaland.

Bob Baker Marionette Theater (BBMT) has been pulling the strings of family fun since 1963. As a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization, their mission is to educate, celebrate, and rejuvenate puppetry and the allied arts. BBMT are bringing The Circus, Halloween Spooktacular

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