The Group Rep Premieres LOVE AGAIN Musical Tonight

The Group Rep presents the world premiere musical Love Again, book by Doug Haverty, music by Adryan Russ, lyrics by Russ and Haverty, directed by Kay Cole, produced by Richard Alan Woody and Jon Cortez for The Group Rep, with musical direction by Richard Berent.

With its stories unfolding everywhere from the Louvre to a hospital room, this trio of contemporary mini-musicals places each of its characters in challenging situations, adding up to one sure-to-be-entertaining world-premiere production.

The first playlet, "In a Different Light," finds a pair of former lovers bumping into each other unexpectedly at the famed Paris museum after many years apart, only to discover that the romantic spark is still there. In "Two Lives," a couple of friends awake from a car accident and desperately try to reconnect with the outside world, which seems to think they're in a coma. And in "Forget-Me-Not," a husband and wife caught between taking care of their teenage kids and their memory-challenged parents find an ingenious solution to their issues.

Adryan Russ and Doug Haverty, the creative team behind the hit Off-Broadway musical Inside Out (which recently played at Burbank's Grove Theatre Center), provide the book, music and lyrics for this new show from The Group Rep at NoHo's Lonny Chapman Theatre.

Cast includes the talents of Michele Bernath, Paul Cady, Kathleen Chen, Amy Gillette, Renee Gorsey, Lloyd Pedersen, Lauren Peterson, Andrew Curtis Stark, Debi Tinsley, Elijah Tomlinson, and Janet Wood.

About the Writer/Lyricists...

Doug Haverty (Book & Co-Lyricist) has had his award-winning plays and musicals produced around the world. Could I Have This Dance? was named "Best New Play" by American Theatre Critics Association. His works been presented at Cherry Lane, Charlotte Rep., Laguna Playhouse, Phoenix Theatre, Florida Studio, Theatre West, The Colony, Theatre 40, The Lyric, Group Rep, Long Island Stage, Theatre in the Square, Lobero, just to name a few. Published plays: In My Mind's Eye, Inside Out, Could I Have This Dance?, Flavia & The Dream Maker (A musical). Last season Doug contributed the book and co-wrote lyrics for The Ghost of Gershwin here at the Group Rep.

Adryan Russ (Composer/Lyricist) co-wrote the off-Broadway, recently revived and re-celebrated musical Inside Out with playwright Doug Haverty. Published by Samuel French, the original cast album is available at Kritzerland (http://www.kritzerland.com/insideOut.htm). Her work has been produced across the U.S. and abroad. "Everyone Has A Story: The Songs of Adryan Russ" (www.lmlmusic.com) features Broadway singers David Burnham, Susan Egan, Jason Graae and Sharon McNight. Her song "Is It Me?" co-written with Joel Evans appears in the movie "Doubt" and with him has released "Changing My Tune," a collection of "new" film/TV standard songs. www.playworksmusic.com | www.adryanruss.com

Kay Cole (Director), as director/choreographer: 22%, Love Songs, Spelling Bee, Rose Bowl Queens, Bark! No Strings, Desperate Writers (off B'way/LA), Flunky, Dining Room, Nuncrackers, Judy's Scary Little Christmas, Frog & Toad, A Chorus Line, Choreographer: Hunger, Nightmare Alley, Atlanta, Great Expectations, Triumph of Love, Dancing at Lughnasa. Pasadena Playhouse: 110 in the Shade, Do I Hear A Waltz. Hollywood Bowl: Mame Bernsteins' Mass, My Fair Lady, Music Man, Camelot, Reprise!, Three Penny Opera, City of Angels, Company, 20th Century, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Most Happy Fella. Other Los Angeles: Atlanta, Paint Your Wagon (Geffen); Grave White Way (Hudson Theatre); Dogeaters, Gaytino (Kirk Douglas Theatre); Six Dance Lessons (Falcon, Geffen, B'way); Snoopy, Blockheads (London West End). Film/TV: "Country Rules", "Santa Clause 3", "Six Dance Lessons..." Website: www.kaycole.net.

Richard Berent (Music Director) is on the music faculty of AMDA Hollywood. Recent music director credits include She Loves Me, Secret Garden, Musical of Musicals, Altar Boys, Into The Woods, Children of Eden, and Working. He did the md/arranging for the earlier Russ/Haverty musical IGhost. He is an active pianist, composer,and cabaret performer in L.A. For the past 15 years he has been md of the REAF celebrity AIDS benefit in San Francisco. Paul Cady (Assistant Music Director) See Players Directory.

Richard Alan Woody (Co-Producer), a member of The Group Rep for 12 years, directed Doug Haverty's Next Window Please, Lee Blessing's A Walk in the Woods, Gene Casey's theatresongs, the Casey/Buhrer Musical Milagro, Francis Mizrahi's Closets, Phil Olson's A Nice Family Gathering, Craig Alpaugh's Neighborhood Crime Watch and Jeffrey Sweet's Bluff. He also helmed Linda Steinbaums's Fat Chance and Jeremy Kehoe's Ready, Aim, You're Fired, both at the NoHo Actors' Studio, as well as the L. A. Premiere of Yazmina Reza's Life X 3 at the Asylum in Hollywood. He just finished producing Frawley Becker's Tiger by the Tail.

Jon Cortez (Co-Producer) has directed and produced at Secret Rose Theatre and The Zephyr. As director: Dog Sees God- Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Speech & Debate, The Little Dog Laughed. Psycho Beach Party, Tape, Santaland Diaries, The Laramie Project. Assistant Directed the rock musical Spring Awakening and Douglas Haverty's Aftershocks.

About the Cast...

Michele Bernath (Fanny, Kathryn) Eddon Award winning actress as Bessie Berger in Awake and Sing! Favorites: Boeing Boeing, Nice Family Gathering, Over the River, and Beat Goes On. Choreographer: Ghost of Gershwin, Tiger by the Tail. Actress, Dancer, Singer: Touring Companies, Vegas, etc., Minnie Faye, Hello Dolly; Aunt Sue, No No Nanette, and Anybodys West Side Story. Television: "Columbo," "Murder She Wrote," "Taxi," and "Laverne & Shirley". Solo Ballerina, Hayden's Surprise Symphony, Hollywood Bowl, LA Philharmonic. MFA -- UCLA.

Paul Cady (Craig, Stewart) has musical directed or performed in many shows including Guys and Dolls, Baby, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and Beauty and the Beast. Most recently he arranged and performed the production numbers in Stepping Out. An actor and singer, he has appeared in many musical productions such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Chorus Line, Unsinkable Molly Brown, and the national tour of The Pirates of Penzance. Paul also serves as the Assistant Music Director for Love Again.

Kathleen Chen (LeWanda) is thrilled to be a part of this new musical! A Los Angeles native, she has been performing professionally for over ten years. She was last seen onstage at GRT in Don't Hug Me, I'm Married. Favorite credits: Ragtime (PCPA Theaterfest), Miss Saigon (South Bay Civic Light Opera), and Song of Singapore (International City Theatre). She also performs in film, TV and commercials.

Amy Gillette (Bonnie, Katie) - for Music Theatre West: Sweeney Todd directed by Calvin Remsberg and Annie starring Andrea McArdle; for Candelight Pavilion: Jekyll and Hyde (Emma), Into the Woods (Cinderella); for Performance Riverside: Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), Company (Jenny); for Starlight CLO: Sweeney Todd (Johanna); and for the El Capitan: The World Premiere of: Pazzazz! by Richard M. Sherman (Josie Cohan). She won the ITL Award for Beauty and the Beast (Belle) and Secret Garden (Lily).

Renee Gorsey (Fiona) Broadway: How To Succeed... with Bobby Morse and Rudy Vallee. She has also appeared with Howard Keel, Betsy Palmer, Jose Ferrer and Julius LaRosa. Los Angeles: "Growing Pains", "The Beat Goes On" LCGRT: Grandma in Edward Albee's The American Dream, Jennifer in $4 Million Giveaway, Barbara in Is This Anyway To Start A Marriage (ADA nomination), Edna in Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue and Millie in Simon's California Suite (ADA nomination).

Lloyd Pedersen (Maxwell, Gary, Harold) Group Rep credits: Tiger By the Tail, The Paris Letter (Eddon & LA Scenes Awards), Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, My Three Angels, Baby, Heroes, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Theatresongs, and The Sunshine Boys (ADA award). Regional and National Tours: eLove, H.M.S. Pinafore, Tony Tanner's Second Thoughts, The Music Man, Amadeus, Affluence and In The Boom Boom Room (w/Julie Newmar), among others.

Lauren Peterson (Dr. Hillier) In NYC, Lauren studied under George Balanchine, at The School of American Ballet, and Uta Hagen, at HB Studios. A member of SAG since 1980 she has been in dozens of films, TV shows and Commercials. On stage she has performed at American Theatre Arts, Theatre/Theatre, The Underground Theatre, The Inner City Cultural Center, and the Century Playhouse, to name a few. Lauren is an advanced yogi, owner of The Yoga Salon. www.yogacompanion.com

Andrew Curtis Stark (Hal, Harry) is a recent transplant to to the L.A. area. He most recently was performing professionally in Portland OR. While in Portland Andrew performed as Sasha in Fiddler on The Roof, Steven Baker in Show Boat, and Max in Dial M for Murder. He is excited to be a part of the creation of this new work.

Debi Tinsley (Loretta) Previous stage roles include: Crystal - Little Shop of Horrors; Rosamund - The Robber Bridegroom; Charlayne - Ain't Misbehavin'; Claudia - Nuts; Mrs. Bruchinski - Division Street; Old Widow - All's Well That Ends Well. Debi can be heard as an evil stowaway British cat in the upcoming animated film, "Tuesday's Tale." Debi is a jazz singer and specializes in Brasilian bossa nova (in Portuguese!). She studied at Webster University and is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Elijah Tomlinson (Derrick) is an actor, singer, dancer who brings a fresh new energy and style to the stage. After moving to California from his native Arizona, Elijah has starred in "OMGTv Live!" and held lead roles in productions directed by Obba Babatundé including Danny in Grease and Albert in Bye Bye Birdie. Additionally, he has appeared in numerous commercials including a national spot for TurboTax that ran during the 2014 Super Bowl.

Janet Wood (Jane, Penny) is a founding member of GRT. Plays include Love Letters, Nunsense, Sweet Sue, Company, and Reaching Up, among many others. The Baby Dance resulted in a Best Actress in a Drama award. Some television credits include "Monk," "Six Feet Under," "Charmed," "The Wonder Years," contract player on "Days of Our Lives" and "Young and Restless" plus over 30 film roles.

About the Design Team...

Chris Winfield (Set Designer) has been a member of The Group Rep for 27 years, and has appeared in over 30 productions, most recently as Dad is Phil Olson's Mom's Gift, Various roles in Hotel Paradiso, as Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock's Last Case, and as George Hay in Moon Over Buffalo. Film and TV credits include "Firefox", "MASH", "Baywatch", "The Nanny" and "Eli Stone" He designs and builds most of the Group Rep's sets, and is the co-artistic director of the company.

J. Kent Inasy (Lighting Designer) is an award winner for his work in LA Theatre. His designs have appeared across the North American continent. Recent shows: Me, Myself and I, by Myself in Seattle. J. Kent designed the acclaimed The Paris Letter and The Ghost of Gershwin, both here at Group Rep.

Angela M. Eads (Costume Designer) Graduate of FIDM with degrees in Fashion Design and Costume Design. Film work includes "In Another Life, "Meteor: Path to Destruction", "Accidental Christmas" and her theater work includes Hamlet, Much Ado about Nothing, Twelfth Night, IGhost, Next Window, Please, My Three Angels and Moon Over Buffalo, Boeing, Boeing, The Ghost of Gershwin, A Streetcar Named Desire, Don't Dress for Dinner, Tiger by the Tale, & The American Dream.

Steve Shaw (Sound Designer) is a Group Rep member who has designed sound for Tiger by the Tail, Don't Dress for Dinner, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Ghost of Gershwin, Mom's Gift, Awake and Sing, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Stepping Out, Sherlock's Last Case, Collected Stories, The Paris Letter, Moon Over Buffalo, and many others. Other recent credits include The Real Thing (at Two Roads Theatre), and Ryan is Lost for the New York Fringe festival.

DETAILS:

Love Again

May 15 - June 28

Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00PM

Sunday Matinees at 2:00PM

Talk-back after Sunday shows, May 24th & June 7th

Admission: $25; Seniors/Students: $20; Groups 10+: $15

Buy Tickets/Info: www.thegrouprep.com or (818) 763-5990

The Group Rep, has produced well over 300 productions including more than 50 World Premieres. The company boasts more than 80 active company members, from those with notable careers to those building new careers.

The acting company began May 1973, with a rag-tag group of 11 actors performing scenes for audiences in a laundromat-turned 36 seat theatre on Van Ness Blvd. When Lonny Chapman first entered that theatre, the match was perfect and The Group Rep was born with Chapman at the helm. In 1999, Lonny was honored when the current theatre's name officially became the "Lonny Chapman Theatre". The partnership continued until Lonny's passing in 2007.

In addition to productions, The Group Rep gives back to the community with its Annual Foster Children's Holiday Party and a new program, still in its infancy of donating play tickets to Veteran Groups. Also, its Participating Actor and Technical Associates (PATA) program provides internship opportunities for aspiring theatre artists. Past graduates include such notables as Sean Penn and Jennifer Tilly.

From 2009 - 2010, Ernest Figueroa who is producer for the Broad Stage, came on board as Artistic Director, and brought needed creative and organizational changes to The Group Rep. In April of 2010, Figueroa passed the torch to longtime members Larry Eisenberg and Chris Winfield to serve as Co-Artistic Directors. The dynamic duo strive to take The Group Rep to even greater heights and continue to fulfill the vision of Lonny Chapman.

To post a comment, you must register and login.