RAPUNZEL AND HER HOLIDAY WISH World Premiere Casting Announced

Laguna Playhouse will present Lythgoe Family Productions ninth “Panto at the Playhouse” with Darcy Rose Byrnes as “Rapunzel,” L.J. Benet as “Prince Sebastian,” and Larry Saperstein as “Simple Simon,” joining the previously announced Sally Struthers (“All In The Family”)  as “Madame Gothel,” in the world premiere of RAPUNZEL AND HER HOLIDAY WISH, produced by Lythgoe Family Productions, written by Kris Lythgoe, directed by Becky Lythgoe, supervising director

Bonnie Lythgoe, choreography by Becca Sweitzer and musical direction by Andy Street.  RAPUNZEL AND HER HOLIDAY WISH will begin performances on Saturday, December 7; (with a press opening on Sunday, December 8 at 5:30 pm); and runs through Sunday, December 29 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.  

Prepare for a spellbinding journey as Rapunzel tries to escape from her tower and the wicked Madame Gothel with the help of Prince Sebastian of Newport Beach, all the while learning her true identity and making her way to the Kingdom of Laguna for the Festival of Lights. Get set for Laguna’s favorite holiday event, filled with laughter, pop music from Taylor Swift to Stevie Wonder and of course snow!

ABOUT THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

The Full Cast of RAPUNZEL AND HER HOLIDAY WISH is as follows: Darcy Rose Byrnes (Reefer Madness, “Sofia The First”) as “Rapunzel,” L.J. Benet (Ring of Fire at Ensemble Theatre Company, National Tour of Million Dollar Quartet) as “Prince Sebastian,” Larry Saperstein (High School Musical: The Musical) as “Simple Simon,” Douglas Ladnier (Jekyll & Hyde) as “Sniville,” and Ralph Cole, Jr. (“NCIS,” “Scrubs”) as “B. Bouffant.”  The Ensemble will feature (in alphabetical order): Isabella Childers, Sydney Kinney, Elisha Nealy, and Andrii Strelkivskyi.

Sally Struthers (“Madame Gothel”) is a two-time Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner for her performance in the groundbreaking TV series “All In The Family.” She starred in CBS’ spinoff “Gloria” and “9 to 5” (FOX), and played recurring roles on “Still Standing” (CBS), as well as “The Gilmore Girls” (CW) and Netflix’s four movie revival, and guest starred in “Maron” (IFC). Sally’s television movies include: “A Gun In The House,” “And Your Name Is Jonah,” “The Great Houdinis,” “Hey… I’m Alive,” “In The Best Interest Of The Children,” “Deadly Silence,” “My Husband Is Missing,” and “Intimate Strangers.”  Sally co-starred in two legendary motion pictures: Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson, and The Getaway with Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw. Sally’s first two Broadway shows were Wally’s Cafe with Rita Moreno and James Coco, and Neil Simon’s female version of The Odd Couple with Brenda Vaccaro. For three years, she starred as Miss Mamie Lynch on Broadway and on tour in Tommy Tune’s production of Grease, and in the 20th Anniversary Tour of Annie co-starred as Miss Hannigan. Sally was named Best Actress by the Los Angeles Artistic Director Theatre Awards for her role as Louise Seger in the musical Always… Patsy Cline; won the Ovation Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Agnes Gooch in the LA production of Mame, a second Ovation Award for Cinderella, and also won a plaque for ‘Best Actress’ in her 7th Grade Class Play. Regional: Hello, Dolly!, Anything Goes, Fifth Of July, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Full Monty, Fiddler On The Roof, Chicago, All Shook Up, The Drowsy Chaperone, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, 9 To 5, Legally Blonde, Tootsie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Witches Of Eastwick, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Grumpy Old Men. Sally recently filmed an eight-episode series, “A Man On The Inside,” for Netflix starring Ted Danson.

Becky Lythgoe (Director) Most recently directed Rodgers & Hammerstein‘s Cinderella (TACFA). Associate director for LFP on numerous Panto productions over the past decade. As a producer, Becky is one of the founders of Lythgoe Family Productions which has received congressional recognition for their contribution to the arts. She also serves as casting director which has seen everyone from Ariana Grande to Alex Newell, Sabrina Carpenter to Shoshana Bean tread the boards in a Panto.  Television credits include: guest starring on “How I Met Your Mother” (Fox), “House, M.D.” (Fox), “All of Us” (CW).  Host for “Stars in Danger” (Fox), “CD: USA” (DirecTV), “Planet Green” (Discovery), and “Star Weekly” (E!).  As a recording artist, her Universal Records debut album garnered #1 Billboard dance hits and she won best new dance artist at the WMA’s and top dance artist of the year in Billboard Magazine.  She is a proud graduate of The University of Michigan Musical Theatre Department and a member on The Board of Trustees for Children's Hospital Los Angeles. 

KRISTOPHER LYTHGOE (Writer/Producer) is so grateful to be back with Panto in Laguna. TV credits include: “So You Think You Can Dance” (Fox), “Corkscrewed: The Wrath of Grapes” (Fox Reality), “Who Are You” (Fox), “On The Nose” (Tvg), “My Beautiful Game” (Fox Soccer), “Soccer Superstar” (Nickelodeon), “Ellen's Game Of Games” and “True Story” (NBC). Theatre credits: Footloose, The Wedding Singer and many American Pantos across the country.

Bonnie Lythgoe (Supervising Director) With a career spanning more than 30 years, Bonnie’s achievements as a dancer, choreographer, director, TV presenter, TV producer and Broadway producer are second to none.  Starting her dancing career in the feature film To Sir, With Love, starring Sidney Poitier, she followed up with a variety of choreography and directing roles including the world premieres of Robin Hood and Maid Marion: A Holiday Panto, Snow White, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Grease, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Full Monty, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Aladdin, West Side Story and Royal Variety for HRH Queen Elizabeth. With ongoing success in musical theatre, Bonnie served as a judge for a BBC singing reality series “S Club Juniors” created by Simon Fuller. She joined the next Simon Fuller venture, “American Idol,” where she served as a producer on the first three series before moving on to another new project, “So You Think You Can Dance,” for which she was both a judge and a producer for the first two series. 

Bonnie then headed Down Under for “So You Think You Can Dance Australia.”  In 2011, Bonnie created Lythgoe Family Productions in Los Angeles with her son Kristopher.  Together they have brought musical “Panto” to Los Angeles. The first production was Cinderella, followed by Snow White with Neil Patrick Harris. Well-known for her creativity and involvement in global television hits, Bonnie is dedicated to bringing affordable theatre to families across the world through fun, laughter and music. 

ANDY STREET (Musical Direction) Television programs featuring his music are watched in over 100 countries throughout our world. His compositions, arrangements, and musical direction have won many major industry awards in England, Europe and the United States. He was the composer for “Madeline,” for which he was honored with an Emmy in 2003. He has continued to be a prolific composer in the television genre, wrote all the music for “Strawberry Shortcake,” “Angelina Ballerina,” and recently a new NBC/Universal show, for children, called “Norman Picklestripes.”  In 2012, Andy became the associate Musical Director and arranger for “American Idol” on Fox. He also mentored many of the successful singers on that show.  In October 2017, he was hired as Musical Director for a new variety series, Last Laugh in Vegas, featuring many variety stars of the past few decades in an all-new format, complete with orchestra, dancing girls, and the legendary Las Vegas razzmatazz! Andy’s first love, though, has always been the theatre. His latest musical, Doodle opened in January 2018 in London.  This follows other productions, The Hard-Boiled Egg and The Wasp, and 27 Santas and an Elf Called Kevin, also from the pens of Street and his good friend Jonathan Kydd, which were staged successfully in London and New York. He is currently working with Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) on a new thriller musical set in London in the 18920s and in Spring 2024 he is looking forward to working with acclaimed director Charlotte Ercoli, scoring her new feature film, Fior di Latte, set in New York and Florence. 

RAPUNZEL AND HER HOLIDAY WISH will preview on Saturday, December 7 at 12:00pm & 4:00pm (with a press opening on Sunday, December 8 at 5:30 pm) and runs through Sunday, December 29 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.  

Performances will be Wednesdays at 6:00pm; Thursdays & Fridays at 7:00pm; Saturdays & Sundays at 12:00pm & 4:00pm (Saturday, December 21 will perform at 11:00am: 3:00pm & 7:00pm).  There will no performances on Weds., Dec, 25 or Friday, December 27 at 7:00pm.   There will be added performances on Monday, December 23 at 12:00 pm & 4:00pm; Thursday, December 26 at 3:00PM & Friday, December 27 at 12:00 pm & 4:00pm.

Tickets range from $44 - $84 for adult tickets; $37 - $69 (for children 2 – 14). There is a $50 “Golden Ticket” add-on available for children ages 4-12 that includes a special onstage sing-along experience during the performance and a gift bag with special surprises!  Tickets can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-ARTS (2787). Group discounts are available by calling 949-497-2787 ext. 229.  Prices subject to change.    

The box office is open Tuesdays - Sundays: 12pm to 4pm; Mondays open 2 hours prior to show time and until 15 minutes after curtain.  Open until showtime on all performance days.