Photo Coverage: Curtain Call And Press Night Celebration Of A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN At La Mirada Theatre

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCoy Rigby Entertainment (celebrating its 25thSilver Anniversary at the theatre) in association with T&D Productions, LLC are thrilled to present Mary Bridget Davies, Broadway's original "Janis" starring in her Tony nominated performance A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox, musical direction by Brent Crayon, and created, written & directed by Randy Johnson. A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin will preview on Friday, September 14, 2018 (with a press opening on Saturday, September 15 at 8pm) and runs through Sunday, October 7, 2018 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Janis Joplin exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the queen of rock & roll. The unmistakable voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort, made her a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock. Fueled by such unforgettable songs as "Me and Bobby McGee," "Piece of My Heart," "Mercedes Benz," "Cry Baby" and "Summertime," A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin is a musical journey celebrating Janis and her biggest musical influences-icons like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith, who inspired one of rock & roll's greatest legends.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

Randy Johnson (Book & Direction)Recent credits include: Broadway, Regional and Touring - 2014 Tony Award Nominated production of A Night With Janis Joplin (writer and director). Regional; Shout Sister Shout - The untold story of Gospel, Rock Legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe. (Co-creator, Director); Jukebox Hero- A new musical based on the music of "Foreigner" (director) - international touring productions commencing in Toronto 2020. As TheNew York Timeswrote, "Randy Johnson certainly doesn't lack for ambition or vision, or social conscience. In the strictest sense of the word, he isn't a theater director - that might be too much of a constricted space for him, although he's certainly succeeded in almost every medium, including Broadway, Off Broadway, Regional Theatre and the Concert world. If there is a trademark for Randy Johnson's productions, it's that they're going to be nothing that you might expect."

Patricia Wilcox (Choreography) Broadway: A Night with Janis Joplin and Motown the Musical (Astaire Award and NAACP Award). Off Broadway/ National Tours: Little Shop of Horrors (Encores/City Center starring Jake Gyllenhaal & Ellen Greene), Children's Letter to God, Bowfire (and PBS Television Special), Blues in the Night (NAACP nomination), Seussical, A Night with Janis Joplin and Motown the Musical. Selected Regional: The Secret Garden (Denver Theatre Center), Bye Bye Birdie (Goodspeed Opera House), Peter and the Starcatcher and Mamma Mia (Pioneer Theatre Company), Pirates of Penzance (Missouri Repertory Theatre), A Swell Party( The Kennedy Center), Smokey Joe's Café, Aida, Camelot (North Shore Music Theatre), The Pajama Game (Marriott Lincolnshire-Jeff nomination), Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret, A Little Night Music (Sacramento Music), Hair, My Fair Lady, HMS Pinafore, (Arizona Theatre Company), Guys and Dolls (Paper Mill Playhouse), A Marvelous Party (and co-conceiver - Geva Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Center Repertory Theatre - LA Drama Critics Circle Award, a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Award, an Elliott Norton Award, and a JEFF Award). Selected European: Falco (Ronacher Theatre/Vienna), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Moscow Arts Center), A Magic Night (Berns/Stockholm), Motown the Musical (West End/London). She has staged original works for the Houston Symphony, Minnesota Pops, Phoenix Symphony, Lyrics and Lyricists at the 92ndStreet Y, Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, and has also created numbers for ice skating gold medalists Viktor Petrenko, Ilia Kulik, Katya Gordeeva, Miki Ando and ice dancing teams for the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

Brent Crayon (Musical Direction) has had the privilege to work with such notable artists as Stephen Schwartz, Daisy Prince, John Caird, Paul Gordon, Robert Longbottom, John Bucchino, and Richard Maltby, Jr. Favorite theatrical productions include Dreamgirlsin Tokyo, Japan, the West Coast premieres of First Date, Songs For a New World and Tick, Tick...BOOM!, as well as the world premiere productions of Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots, John Bucchino's It's Only Life, and Bubble Boy, The Musical. An accomplished and multi-faceted musician, Brent has been a featured soloist in ensembles throughout Southern California, including the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and the Ventura Chamber Orchestra.

Mary Bridget Davies (Janis) performs with her own band, The Mary Bridget Davies Group, and is also an interpreter of Janis Joplin's music. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance as Janis in A Night with Janis Joplin. Her band The Mary Bridget Davies Group released an album with original songs in 2012 titled "Wanna Feel Somethin'." She trained first as a dancer, touring with dance productions as a child working with Tina Landon, and later began singing and acting. Davies has studied improv with The Second City in Cleveland and is also a member of the Something Dada Improv Group in Cleveland. After college, Davies started singing at blues jams in Cleveland around 2002. Also during this time, she worked as a dance instructor at Dance Dimensions in Ohio with Jen Naso. In 2005, she auditioned and landed the lead role for a touring production of Love, Janis. She has toured in Europe with Janis Joplin's original band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and has formed her own band, titled The Mary Bridget Davies Group that tours in festivals and clubs worldwide. In 2012, Davies took over the lead role in A Night with Janis Joplin on tour and stayed with the show when it moved to Off-Broadway and eventually Broadway in 2013, closing February 9, 2014. Davies was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance. She had previously been nominated in 2013 for a Helen Hayes Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. Davies has also performed in a tour of the Broadway musical revue It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues. She is currently writing a new album which she expects to release in early 2019.

The Cast of A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin will also feature Aurianna Angelique, Ashley Támar Davis, Tawny Dolley, Paige McNamara and Jennifer Leigh Warren. Please Note: The role of "Janis" on the Saturday matinees will be performed by Paige McNamara.

The Design Team for A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin is as follows: Scenic Design and Prop Design by Brian Prather; Lighting Design by Ryan O'Gara; Sound Design by Josh Bessom; Projection Design by Darryl Maloney; Costume Design by Amy Clark; Hair/Wig/Makeup Design by Leah Loukas. The Casting Director is Lindsay Brooks and the Production Stage Manager is Heather Verhoef.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin will preview on Friday, September 14, 2018 (with a press opening on Saturday, September 15 at 8pm) and runs through Sunday, October 7, 2018 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

Performances are Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays at 8:00pm;
Saturdays at 2:00pm & 8:00pm & Sundays at 2:00pm. There will be no performance on Saturday, September 15 at 2pm.

There will be an Open-Captioned performance on Saturday, September 29 at 2pm and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, October 6 at 2pm. Talkbacks with the cast and creative team will be on Wednesday, September 19 and Wednesday, October 3.

Tickets range from $20 - $84 (prices subject to change) and can be purchased at La Mirada Theatre's website, www.lamiradatheatre.comor by calling the La Mirada Theatre Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310. Student, Senior and group discounts are available. $15 Student Tickets available for the first 15 performances of the production.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is located at 14900 La Mirada Boulevard in La Mirada, near the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue where the 91 and 5 freeways meet. Parking is free.

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