MY WAY opens tonight. See below to claim a fantastic coupon!

Happy opening to the cast/crew of My way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra. We had a wonderful preview last night- thank you to all of our invited guests who made up our first live audience.

Interested in seeing the show this weekend? Click HERE to claim a coupon worth up to $60.00 off walk-up tickets for this weekend!

Have a great opening, everyone!

-Kevin

The Cast of Sinatra makes the TRIBUNE!

Click HERE to read the article.

Check out this good-looking cast! See them in action this FRIDAY!

Photo courtesy Danielle Dutro

Photo courtesy Danielle Dutro

Opens this Friday. Click HERE for tickets.

Four more days. Get your tickets now.

Click HERE for tickets.

58 Frank Sinatra songs are coming to the Little Theatre!

Get your tickets now for My Way! A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, Click HERE to order them instantly online.

Check out this CLASSIC CLIP from The Tonight Show in 1976.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

-Kevin

Jason gets bamboozled by The YES MEN, feels stupid, and wants to punch a dead guy.

A fantastic article by everyone's favorite curmudgeon/cultural protector/theatre critic, Jason Rohrer. Contains harsh language and potentially inflammatory statements. Please don't click HERE if you think this might upset you.

Here's Jason:

Dear one,

For the past couple of weeks, I've been taken with the political theater that comes from meme culture.  I don't mean the cat-stuck-in-a-goldfish-bowl-talking-gibberish kind; to hell with that.  I agree that much Internet imagery seems designed to defeat the truism that a picture's worth a thousand words.  But some of it's pretty poignant.  I don't know, but it seems to me that in this regard, a few folks are doing a lot with very little.  Take the Yes Men, for example:

http://losangeles.bitter-lemons.com/2012/06/20/the-evil-that-meme-do/

Warning: political content.  Opinions.  Stupidity, mostly on my part.  Also contains links to a couple of my latest reviews.

If you dig the message, please share it.  If you'd rather be removed from this list, please tell me so and you'll be forever free.

Love,

Jason 

Election Results

Balloting concluded at last night's Annual Meeting.  Proposition 1—to revise the By Laws—passed with 51 votes in favor and 3 votes opposed.  Click here to see the bylaws as revised.

The board of directors, as of July 1, 2012, will be as follows:

Board Members	Term	Term ends June 30
Battalino, John	2nd	2013
Burkhart, Ron	2nd	2013
Rosene, Wilda	1st	2013
Simkins, Michael	2nd	2014
Engstrom, Bryce	2nd	2014
Luckett, Richard	2nd	2014
Slocum, Ralph	1st	2014
Chirpich, Jerry	2nd	2015
Fulton, Susie	2nd	2015
Kirk, Gina	2nd	2015
Peterson, Bob	1st	2015

Father of the "director-as-auteur" theory dies today...

Good afternoon friends of the Little Theatre,

Film critic Andrew Sarris passed away today. Sarris was extremely influential in the late 50's-60's in introducing the "director-as-autuer" point of view to film criticism and theory. Occasionally, critics can become major players in the medium they dissect and end of changing the artform. In the theatre world these visionaries included Walter Kerr, John Simon, Frank Rich, and Brooks Atkinson. Sarris paved the way for modern-day directors such as Wes Anderson, Paul-Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, and David Lynch.

Read Roger Ebert's tribute to Sarris HERE.

Andrew Sarris   1928-2012

Goodbye HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, hello MY WAY!

Good afternoon friends of the Little Theatre,

Congratulations to the cast/crew of The House of Blue Leaves. The production finished out its run this last weekend, playing to nearly full houses throughout the run. Thank you to director Jill Turnbow for bringing this beautiful production to life on our stage. What a great way to finish our 65^th anniversary season.

                                          The Eye Roll Has Left The Building

My Way has taken over the theatre. Thanks to Dave Linfield for staying after strike on Sunday night to get the set up for rehearsal tonight. My Way opens on June 29. Click HERE for tickets.

Anne of Avonlea is now in its 3^rd week of rehearsal. ACT Summer camps began this morning, as well!

Have you voted yet? If you’re a voting member of the Little Theatre, CLICK HERE to cast your vote before our annual meeting this Wednesday. (This is purely a business meeting- we will have a party celebrating last season later in the summer.) Your voice matters! Vote today!

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Kevin

The Board of Directors will hold its monthly meeting Wednesday, June 20th at 6pm at the Little Theatre. Members are welcome to attend. View the Agenda

Annual Meeting/Board Meeting Reminder

The Annual Meeting takes place tomorrow, June 20, 6 PM at the Little Theatre.  It will be a short business meeting to conduct the board election.  The board will hold its regular monthly meeting immediately following the annual meeting.  All official members of the Little Theatre are encouraged to attend.

Click here to view the agenda.

Well, the Tonys happened, season ticket orders are through the roof, and THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES lives for one more weekend!

Good afternoon friends of the Little Theatre!

Season Ticket orders have exceeded projections and we're working overtime to get our subscribers their tickets before My Way opens on June 29. Order your 2012-2013 season tickets now to get the best seats- many popular performance times are already filling up after only a few days! Click HERE to download a season ticket order form.

Did you catch the Tonys last weekend? Click HERE for a great recap.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of The House of Blues Leaves- what a wonderful run. Haven't seen it yet? Only four more chances. Click HERE to get your tickets.

Have a great Friday, everyone!

-Kevin

HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES is a artistic and financial hit, seeking the WONDERETTES, and our 2012-2013 season is here!

Good afternoon friends of the Little Theatre!

The House of Blue Leaves finished up its third weekend of performances. Ticket sales for the production have been very strong- after last weekend’s walk-up sales, The House of Blue Leaves has surpassed its GROSS TICKET SALES goal (this is great news, considering we have one full weekend of performances remaining.) Thank you to Jill Turnbow and the entire cast/crew of Blue Leaves- it’s been a honor to have you bring this beautiful play to life on the Little Theatre stage.

Rehearsals for My Way are going very well. The show is nearly staged and Zach Johnson (choreographer) is coming in tonight to begin working on the largest dance number in the production. Tickets are now available- get yours today by clicking HERE.

Anne of Avonlea had its first read-through yesterday- what an amazing group of young actors. Get your tickets for this production by clicking HERE.

AUDITIONS for The Marvelous Wonderettes will take place in ONE WEEK (June 18.) Click HERE for all of the audition details. Click HERE to see a clip of the show.

Our SEASON BROCHURE is here! Over 11,000 brochures have arrived in mailboxes across the state. You can check out our new season by clicking HERE. Online ticket sales for season tickets begin on June 18!

Thank you for everything that you do to make this organization work. As always, please let me know if there’s anything the Board ro staff can do to make your time with us more rewarding and enjoyable.

Have a great week, everyone!

-Kevin 

Ferguson takes TALK to a higher level...

Last night I stumbled upon a youtube clip that I hadn't seen in a couple years. Think back to the fall of 2006. The biggest new event (sadly) at that time:

Thankfully, the News and the Post were tastefully on it.

Britney, after spending only 24 hours in rehab had walked out, shaved her head, and attacked a car with an umbrella. Shortly afterward, the authorities would arrive at her house to take her children while she locked herself in the bathroom. The country found itself unified by the most unlikely and unexpected of emotions: empathy for Kevin Federline.

I'm the sane one, bro.

Naturally, Britney's meltdown was fodder for all aspects of the media: CNN even instituted a "Britney Watch" as if she were ostrich about to give birth to a dolphin.

On February 20, 2007 Craig Ferguson delivered the following monologue on his Late Late Show. It serves as a great reminder that artists, at any moment, have the ability to transcend the inherent limitations of their medium. Ferguson puts his wise-cracking gay robot sidekick aside and explores his own past, his thoughts on Britney, and our own fascination with public humiliation. 

Click HERE to watch Ferguson get serious. While still being funny.

Have a great Thursday, everyone,

-Kevin

Annual Meeting - Election - Board Meeting

We will have two meetings on Wednesday, June 20, beginning at 6 PM at the Little Theatre.

The first meeting will be the Little Theatre annual meeting.  The only agenda item for this meeting is the board election, which includes a vote on proposed revisions to the Bylaws.

All members may easily vote online.  Click here for full information and an online ballot.

The regular June board meeting will take place immediately following the annual meeting.

The TONY Awards are coming, which can mean only ONE thing: let's have a JUDAS-OFF!

The Tony Awards are this Sunday, and I would like to pay homage to musical that got me into theatre back in "the day." (The day was sometime in August, 1986. It was a warm day.) I stumbled upon this in a thrift store:

The original concept double album of Jesus Christ Superstar featuring Ian Gillian (DEEP PURPLE) as Jesus and Murray Head (RASPY ROCK) as Judas. I had never heard anything like it- Judas's first song Heaven on Their Minds was a guitar-heavy, riff-driven rock anthem which Murray Head destroys with his heartfelt, brutal tenor.

Is there a better Judas out there? Time for a Iscariot-off!

HERE is the Murray Head version from 1970.

HERE is Roger Daltry taking a stab at it in 1976.

HERE is Carl Anderson as Judas in Norman Jewison's 1973 film adaptation.

HERE is Ben Vereen throwing his hat into the traitor-ring.

HERE is Jerome Praden. I dare to to make it to the end of this one. Ugh. Tanktops.

HERE is Jack Black covering the song at a club appearance in 1998.

The winner? Duh.

Murray Head is bored by this contest.

Of COURSE Murray Head wins. If ONLY because THIS exists.

Lastly, check out Mr. Show's take on Susperstar in this 1997 episode of MR. SHOW. Click HERE.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

-Kevin

ANNE OF AVONLEA has a cast, MY GENERATION rides again, and 888 Morro Street echoes with the sound of SINATRA. This week at the Little Theatre!

Good afternoon friends of the Little Theatre!

The House of Blue Leaves finished up the second weekend of its four weekend run on Sunday. Audience response is great and tickets sales are very strong for a play as difficult and unique as this one. In case you missed Joan Crowder’s review of Blue Leaves, HERE it is. Congratulations to director Jill Turnbow and the entire cast/crew.

 Rehearsals for My Way are in full swing. Choreographer Zach Johnson begins his work on the dances this evening while musical director Stephen Tosh puts the final touches on all 58 songs later this week. Click HERE to find out about the show. Tickets for My Way are now available. Click HERE to purchase tickets.

Auditions for Anne of Avonlea were this weekend the turnout was spectacular. Shelagh and Kerry ran some of the smoothest callbacks I have ever seen (especially when you consider the participants are 30+ children.) In the end, 24 wonderful young actors were cast in the production, which opens on August 3, 2012.

On Saturday afternoon several cast members from My Generation came together to perform 10 songs for the winner of the My Generation raffle. The event was a great success. Thank you to Stephen and Barbara Tosh, Kerry DiMaggio, Ali Peters, Seth Blackburn, Redzuan Abdul Rahim, Michelle Hanson, Kelly Fidopiastis, and Travis Nefores for giving up your time and talents to make this event possible. It was great to see everyone again.

Have a great Monday everyone!

-Kevin

HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES a "tour de force theatre piece." Get your tickets today!

Happy Friday, friends of the Little Theatre,

We're about 7 hours from beginning the 2nd weekend of performances of The House of Blue Leaves. If you didn't see Joan Crowder's review in the Ticket yesterday, please CLICK HERE to read about our production.

You can get your tickets to The House of Blue Leaves by clicking HERE.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

-Kevin