Rita Rudner to 'LAUGH, DRINK AND LEAVE' at Laguna Playhouse on New Year's Eve

Laguna Playhouse has announced the fourth annual New Year's Eve return of superstar comedienne Rita Rudner, in her hilarious new show, Rita Rudner: LAUGH, DRINK AND LEAVE. LAUGH, DRINK AND LEAVE will perform on Sunday, December 31 at 7pm at Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Rita Rudner is not only one of America's top comedians - she's also a New York Times bestselling author, as well as an award-winning television personality, screenwriter, playwright, Broadway dancer and actress. A house-filling favorite in Vegas, Rudner is beloved for her witty one-liners, which have helped make hers the longest-running solo show in Vegas history - she's sold more than a million tickets during her time there.

Now this comedy legend is hosting her own early evening New Year's Eve party at Laguna Playhouse in Orange County, where you'll toast the end of 2017 and watch the ball drop on the East Coast with a complimentary champagne drink and dessert. Rita Rudner: LAUGH, DRINK AND LEAVE is a one night special performance featuring special guests Molly Bergman and Sidney Bowen.

Rudner has performed over 3,000 solo shows in Las Vegas since the MGM Corporation built a theatre for her twelve years ago. She's been named "Comedian Of The Year" nine years in a row and in 2006 received The Nevada Ballet's Woman Of The Year Award (other recent recipients include Bette Midler, Celine Dion, Chita Rivera and Twyla Tharp).

Rita's first solo HBO special, Rita Rudner's One Night Stand, was nominated for several awards, as was her eponymous English BBC television show that later appeared in the USA on A&E. Rudner's two one-hour specials for HBO, Born to Be Mild and Married Without Children, were ratings standout and in 2008, she starred in PBS's first ever stand-up comedy special, Rita Rudner: Live From Las Vegas. Rita's most recent special Rita Rudner and Three Potential Ex-Husbandswhich aired on Showtime.

Rita Rudner has written five books, including such bestselling non-fiction titles as Naked Beneath My Clothes and Rita Rudner's Guide to Men and the novelsTickled Pink and Turning the Tables. The audio version of Tickled Pink received a Grammy nomination. Her most recent book was a latest collection of essays, called I Still Have It...I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It.

Rita Rudner moved to New York at the age of 15 to become a dancer on Broadway. She appeared in several shows, including the original productions of Folliesand Mack and Mabel. It was while in Annie on Broadway that she began exploring the comedy clubs of Manhattan. In the early '80s, Rudner took a full-time leap from chorus lines to punch lines and was soon a regular guest on both Late Night With David Letterman and The Tonight Show.

Rudner is a frequent collaborator with her writer/producer husband of twenty years, Martin Bergman. The couple's first produced film script was Peter's Friends.The film, starring Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Kenneth Branagh, Imelda Staunton, Stephen Fry, and Rita, won the Evening Standard Peter Sellers Award for Comedy and was nominated for the Goya Award for Best European Film of 1994. The couple's play -Tickled Pink had its world premiere at the Playhouse.

Rita has performed to sold-out audiences everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Universal Amphitheatre, but one of her proudest accomplishments was being asked to perform alongside Bette Midler and Sheryl Crow at a fundraiser for President Obama and the Democratic leader of the Senate, Harry Reid.

Rita Rudner lives Monarch Beach, California, with her husband and daughter. For more information on Rita, log on to her website at www.ritafunny.com or become her fan on Facebook.

Molly Bergman and Sidney Bowen are two local teen singer/songwriters who sometimes perform as a duo. They appeared together at the Laguna Playhousewhen they performed last year for recent-Emmy-winning comedian Louie Anderson. They've also performed at several benefit shows around Orange County.

Sidney hosts the highly successful Tuesday open-mike nights at The Point in Dana Point, and Molly usually joins her, depending on homework!

As well as performing covers of popular songs with beautiful harmonies, both Molly and Sidney independently write their own songs. Together, they wrote "Who Are You?" for a teen outreach program ("Tilly's Life Center") which is used as the program's theme song. Molly and Sidney are both teen ambassadors for the TLC program.

Rita Rudner: LAUGH, DRINK AND LEAVE will perform on Sunday, December 31, 2017 at 7pm. Tickets range from $99 - $125 and 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 Mondays - Saturdays: 11a.m. to 5 p.m. (open until showtime on performance days); Sundays: 11a.m. - 4p.m. Laguna Playhouse is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Founded in 1920, the historic Laguna Playhouse is one of the oldest continuously-operating not-for-profit theatres on the West Coast and is proud to be an active participant in the celebrated Laguna Beach arts community. From classic plays and musical comedies to the current off-Broadway smash, cutting edge and traditional music exhibitions, dance festivals and stand-up comedy performances, Laguna Playhouse brings the magical experience of the performing arts direct to over 80,000 patrons each season.

Laguna Playhouse educational programming includes year-round classes, productions by and for children and teens (Youth Theatre) and is one of the few companies in the region that offer a curriculum-based professional theatre-touring program, TheatreReach, which aligns with the California State Standards for literature, history and performing arts curriculum.

Laguna Playhouse has been recognized in 2016 and 2015 as one of Orange County Register's "Best of OC" in the category of Live Theatre, and has been recognized by OC Hotlist in their "Best Theatre Group" winning first place in 2017 and 2016. The Laguna Playhouse has featured many talented performers on stage, including Ed Asner, Leslie Caron, Hershey Felder, Harrison Ford, Val Kilmer, Gregory Harrison, Dan Lauria, Hal Linden, Wendie Malick, Rita Rudner, Charles Shaughnessy, French Stewart, Loretta Swit, and Bette Davis.

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