THE COLONY THEATRE
PRESENTS THE SIXTH PRODUCTION OF ITS SEASON OF PREMIERES
FALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE
A World Premiere with
Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Book by Mark Saltzman
Limited Engagement opens Saturday, April 27 at The Colony Theatre in Burbank!
April 3,
2013...Burbank... The Colony Theatre is thrilled to present the final
production of its "Season of Premieres" with the World Premiere of
FALLING
FOR MAKE BELIEVE, with Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by
Lorenz Hart, Book by Mark Saltzman, and directed by Jim Fall, with
Musical Direction by Keith Harrison and Choreography by Lisa Hopkins.
FALLING
FOR MAKE BELIEVE will preview on Wednesday, April 24;
Thursday, April 25; and Friday, April 26 at 8:00pm and will open on
Saturday, April 27 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May 19.
Lorenz (Larry) Hart
was one of Broadway's all-time greats, the brilliant lyricist who
penned "My Funny Valentine," "Blue Moon," "Manhattan," "Falling in Love
With Love," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "Where or When," and
countless other classics. As half of the legendary team of Rodgers and
Hart, he lived a life of dizzying heights and crushing lows. Now Mark
Saltzman (author of The Colony's smash hit
Clutter: The True
Story of the Collyer Brothers Who Never Threw Anything Out)
captures them all in an intimate look at the life and times of this
lyrical genius, a brand new musical developed by The Colony and
featuring some of the most memorable songs of the 20th Century.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE
TEAM
MARK SALTZMAN
(Book Writer) began his career in NY with Jim Henson writing for the
Muppets. His Sesame Street sketches and songs (including "Caribbean
Amphibian") earned him seven Emmy Awards. But behind Kermit's back,
Mark was writing cabaret shows and musicals that played at The
Ballroom, Soho Rep, 13th Street Theatre, and the Village Gate, where he
co-wrote the long-running revue,
A, My Name is Alice.
For network television, Mark wrote
Mrs. Santa Claus,
the holiday musical starring Angela Lansbury with songs by Jerry
Herman. For the movies, he wrote the children's classic
The
Adventures of Milo and Otis. His TV movie,
The Red
Sneakers, directed by and starring Gregory Hines, was
nominated for a Writers Guild Award. His stage musical
The
Tin Pan Alley Rag premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse and
played many U.S. theaters, including the Roundabout in NY, where it was
nominated for a NY Outer Circle Critics Award. Other TV:
Reading
Rainbow, Johnny and the Sprites, Third Man Out. Theater:
Romeo
and Bernadette (Paper Mill Playhouse),
Mr. Shaw
Goes to Hollywood (Laguna Playhouse)
Rocket City
(Alabama Shakespeare Festival) and a Colony Theatre premiere,
Clutter:
The True Story of the Collyer Brothers, Who Never Threw Anything Out.
Mark makes his home in Studio City with his partner, Ron Gutierrez and
their dog, a chow named Leo.
JIM FALL
(Director) most recently directed David Dean Bottrell's sold-out runs
of
David Dean Bottrell Makes Love, A One Man Show,
and
David Dean Bottrell is Working; also John
Cantwell's
Connie Loves Juice, Richard Tanner's
Small
Parts, and the world premiere of Gary Lennon's
The
Interlopers at The Bootleg Theater. Also Clinton Leupp's
Miss
Coco Peru's Universe at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and
Miss
Coco Peru's Glorious Wounds...She's Damaged at the Renberg
Theater (GLAAD Award Nomination). His New York credits include Tom
O'Leary's
Breath, Blood Orgy Of The Carnival Queens
(co-written with Robin Carrigan), James C. Kantor's
Christmas
On Hell Island, and
Chorus Girls On Mars.
Jim's feature film career started with the acclaimed independent
feature
Trick which premiered at the Sundance Film
Festival and Berlin Film Festival in Dramatic Competition. It was
quickly acquired by Fine Line Features and released in the summer of
1999 becoming Fine Line's highest-grossing film of that year. Jim's
studio directing debut,
The Lizzie McGuire Movie -
a big-screen adaptation of the
hit Disney Channel series
Lizzie McGuire, starring
Teen Queen Hilary Duff - was a big box office success opening at number
two below
Xmen its opening week, and earning over
$45 million domestically. His TV credits include episodes of
So
NoTORIous, VH1's scripted comedy starring Tori Spelling and
Zachary Quinto, and
Grosse Pointe, the Darren Star
produced comedy series that has since become a cult favorite. Jim also
directed the A&E feature
Wedding Wars,
starring John Stamos and James Brolin, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil
Meron. He recently directed and co-wrote
Holiday Engagement
(Hallmark's highest rated movie in their history on a Sunday night),
starring Shelley Long, Bonnie Somerville, and Jordan Bridges, last
year's
Holly's Holiday (Lifetime) starring Claire
Coffee and Ryan McPartlin, and will be directing the upcoming
Last
Chance Holiday for MarVista later this year. www.JimFallFilms.com.
KEITH HARRISON
(Musical Director) is an Emmy Award-nominated composer and performer.
Theatre credits include
Million Dollar Quartet
(original Chicago cast), Whoopi Goldberg's
White Noise,
and
The Boys from Syracuse (Jeff Award-nominated
Best New Adaptation). His original music has been heard on ABC, NBC,
CBS, FOX, CW, HDNet, several independent films, and dozens of national
television and radio advertisements. Keith is also an established
singer-songwriter whose work can be heard at www.keithharrison.tv
LISA HOPKINS
(Choreographer) received an Ovation nomination for her choreography on
Dames
at Sea at The Colony Theatre and choreographed
Irving
Berlin's White Christmas at San Diego Music Theatre. She
directed and choreographed the off-Broadway and national tours of
Scrooge
and co-created the internationally acclaimed show
TAP KIDS. She choreographed sequences for the films
The
Fantastic Clown Club and
Temptation of Vanity. She
assisted choreographer Kathleen Marshall on the Broadway revival of
Stephen Sondheim's
Follies where she also acted as
coach to leading man Treat Williams. She was a featured soloist with
Manhattan Tap for 2 seasons and is adjunct faculty at AMDA in Los
Angeles. Lisa owns and operates New York Stage Originals (www.nystage.com)
with husband/composer Philip David Stern. Their original shows have
played off-Broadway in NYC and toured nationally and internationally.
Their show
Dream will be touring China in the fall.
ABOUT THE CAST AND
DESIGN TEAM
BEN
D GOLDBERG (Lorenz Hart) is making his Colony
Theatre debut with
Falling For Make Believe. Other
selected Los Angeles theatre credits include: the "
For The
Record" series at Rockwell Table and Stage,
The
Existents and
BOTH: A Beatles Nativity at
The Open Fist Theatre, and
GravityWorks at The
Dragonfly, and his own solo shows,
Looking Back and
Songs for a Bris. Film/TV:
ER (NBC),
Delayed,
Real Life: The Musical (OWN),
The Emperors
Club (Universal),
She's Out of My League
(Dreamworks), and
The End of an Era (WQED). Web:
The
Battery's Down and
SMBC Theatre.
Commercials:
CA State Lotto,
Nickelodeon
Kid's Choice. Industrial:
AT&T Apple.
Ben holds a BFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University, where he
received the Henry Boettcher Award for Excellence in Artistic Studies.
He was named a New Jersey Governor's Scholar of the Arts. www.bengoldberg.com
REBECCA JOHNSON
(Vivian Ross) is making her Colony Theatre debut. L.A. Theatre:
Little
Miss Scrooge (Rubicon Theatre),
Pippin (Center
Theatre Group/Deaf West Theatre),
Children of a Lesser God (Deaf
West Theatre),
Zanna Don't (West Coast Ensemble,
winner 2008 LADCC Award for Best Ensemble),
Silk Stockings
(Musical Theatre West),
She Always Told Me (Hudson
Theater). Film/Television/Web:
30 Nights of Paranormal
Activity... (20th Century Fox),
Breaking Wind
(Lionsgate Films),
Anger Management (FX),
The
Middle (ABC)
, Community (NBC)
,
Las Vegas (NBC),
The Tinsley Bumble Show (WE),
Coco & Ruby, Easy Bake Lovin',
Downer's
Grove (WB.com). www.rebeccajohnson.com,
www.cocoandruby.com
JEFFREY LANDMAN
(Doc Bender) has appeared on Broadway in
Les Misérables
and
Falsettos (also national tour). Los Angeles
premieres:
[title of show], Jesus' Kid Brother, A Year With
Frog And Toad. Other regional credits include:
Joseph
And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Disney's Aladdin: A Musical
Spectacular, Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate, A Funny Thing Happened
On The Way To The Forum, A Grand Night For Singing, The Producers,
Can-Can, The Roar Of The Greasepaint, The Smell Of The Crowd, Lucky
Stiff, Lobby Hero, Gypsy. Workshops:
Toy Story: The
Musical, Big: The Musical. Film/TV:
Halloween 5,
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, Home Alone 2, Life With Mikey, The Magic
School Bus, Gulla Gulla Island, Saturday Night Live. Back-up
vocals for such artists as Gloria Estefan, Little Richard, Maureen
McGovern, and Michael Jackson. Jeffrey holds a BFA from NYU's Tisch
School Of The Arts.
TYLER MILLIRON
(Fletcher Mecklen) is making his Colony debut. Recent roles
include Dorian in
The Picture of Dorian
Gray at the Knightsbridge Theatre, Tony in
Master Class
at International City Theatre, and the Swing in the touring production
of
Re-Animator: The Musical!
Other credits include Lew Fields in Pazzazz! at the Lobero Theatre, Man
3 in
Loving Repeating
at ICT, Young Scrooge in
A Christmas Carol
and Hero in
A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum at the Norris Theatre,
the title role in
Barnum
with El Dorado Musical Theatre, and Anthony in
Sweeney Todd at
El Camino Center for the Arts. He was a 2011BroadwayWorld.Com
Nominee for Best Cabaret Performance (Male) L.A. www.tylermilliron.com
MEGAN
MORAN (Peggy, Dorothy Rodgers, Policewoman) is a new
arrival to LA, having recently graduated from the University of Miami
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre. Last summer, she
appeared at Connecticut Repertory Theatre as Antonia in
Man
of La Mancha, alongside Terrence Mann. Megan is thrilled to
be working with Mark Saltzman again, after appearing in the premiere of
his musical
Fifty Four Forever last year, directed
by Tommy Tune. Past credits include
Pal Joey
(Gladys Bumps),
Urinetown (Little Sally), and
Stage
Door (Judith). Megan also co-starred in the webseries
To
Live and Die in Opahumpka, which recently appeared at LA
Webfest 2013.
BRETT RYBACK
(Richard Rodgers) is an actor, composer, and playwright. At the Colony
he was last seen as Charlie in
Mary's Wedding.
Other regional credits include work with The Ahmanson Theatre, Mark
Taper Forum, Kirk Douglas, South Coast Repertory, La Jolla Playhouse,
Geffen Playhouse, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Laguna
Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, and Reprise! Highlights:
Upright
Grand (World Premiere, Theatreworks, Palo Alto); The World
Premieres of
The Prince of Atlantis, Dr. Cerberus,
and
Imagine (SCR);
The History Boys,
The Lieutenant of Inishmore (CTG);
The
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Ovation nomination,
La Mirada); and Rodgers & Hart's
On Your Toes!
(Reprise!). Television credits include:
Cupid, House, and
How I Met Your Mother. His plays and musicals include:
Liberty
Inn: The Musical (Ovation nominations
Best Book, Best Music/Lyrics);
Darling (Weston
Playhouse New Musical Award);
Weïrd (Winner,
Tennessee Williams One-Act Competition);
Death Valley DQ,
and
The Tavern Keeper's Daughter. He has written
songs for the web series
The Battery's Down, and he
is the music director and arranger for Lesli Margherita's acclaimed
nightclub act
All Hail the Queen, which recently
played Off-Broadway. www.brettryback.com
FALLING FOR MAKE
BELIEVE has assembled an award-winning design team.
The Scenic Design is by Jeff McLaughlin (Ovation Awards –
Grace
and Glorie and
A Skull in Connemara).
The Costume Design is by Dianne K. Graebner (Ovation nominations
–
The Brothers Karamazov and
Battle Hymn).
The Lighting Design is by Sohail e. Najafi (
The War Cycle:
Gospel According to First Squad). The Sound Design is by Drew
Dalzell (Ovation Award –
Songs for a New World,
Ovation Award nomination –
Old Wicked Songs). Props
design and Set Dressing is by Colony Theatre resident designers
MacAndMe.
COLONY THEATRE
UPDATE
Founded in 1975,
the theatre announced last October that it needed to raise $49,000 in
just under two weeks to open its next production, the West Coast
Premiere of Willy Holtzman's THE MORINI STRAD, and that completing its
season was also in doubt. The announcement resulted in such an
outpouring of support that the needed funds to open MORINI materialized
in just ten days. Since then, the company has managed to continue on a
show-by-show basis, securing the funds to produce the Los Angeles
Premiere of Peter Colley's I'LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT, and now,
FALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE.
"Our subscribers
have been so loyal and supportive, the thought of leaving them holding
tickets they couldn't use has been my worst nightmare," states Artistic
Director Barbara Beckley, who was one of the founders of the company.
"I'm thrilled and relieved that we will be able to discharge our
obligation to them with this very exciting World Premiere." Executive
Director Trent Steelman adds "We are working on a plan to move forward,
and will announce a new season when we are confident that we can
deliver it. At this time I would say that we are cautiously optimistic."
The Colony has long
been a vibrant center of L.A.'s theatre life. Its subscribers renew at
an astounding rate of 90%, and this year the theatre received nine
Ovation Award nominations, including the coveted one for Best Season.
From its beginnings as a 99-seat Equity-waiver theatre in Silver Lake,
the company became so successful artistically, and built such a large
subscriber base, that in 2000 it was able to move into a 270-seat
state-of-the-art theatre created for it by the City of Burbank. As
such, it became one of only a handful of mid-sized professional
theatres in the L.A. area that produce a year-round season of plays and
musicals, and that employ actors under contract with Actors' Equity
Association. Its current season features two Los Angeles premieres,
three West Coast premieres, and a World Premiere musical.
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
FALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE will
open on Saturday, April 27, at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May
19. Performances for FALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE are Thursdays &
Fridays at 8:00pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm; and Sundays at
2:00pm. Ticket prices range from $20.00 - $42.00 (student, senior, and
group discounts are available). FALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE will preview
on Wednesday, April 24; Thursday, April 25; and Friday, April 26 at
8:00pm at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress)
adjacent to the Burbank Town Center Mall.
For more information, press interviews, photos or for
press comps, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at 818/508-1754 or
at ELZERD@aol.com
or
visit www.demandpr.com.
The award-winning Colony Theatre Company was
founded in 1975 as a 99-seat Equity-waiver theatre in Silver Lake. Over
the years the company was so successful artistically, and built such a
large subscriber base, that in 2000 it was able to move into a 270-seat
theatre created for it by the City of Burbank, becoming one of only 5
mid-size professional theatres in the LA area that produce a year-round
season of plays and musicals, and that employ actors under contract
with Actors' Equity Association.
The theatre is located at 555 North Third
Street, at the corner of Cypress, in the heart of the Burbank Media
Center. For further information, call (818) 558-7000. Fax number: (818)
558-7110. E-mail: colonytheatre@colonytheatre.org.
Or visit our website at www.colonytheatre.