Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is

"I'm sure that if you were alive and online during the 2008 Presidential Election you were inundated (like I was) by requests for donations to campaigns, lobbying groups, and political parties. And if (like me) you were lured by the promise of a super trendy T-Shirt or bumber sticker and made that $20 donation you probably felt (like I did) an awesome sense of pride and enpowerment. That feeling is the spirit of philanthropy.

As much as I hate to admit it, we live in a world where money talks...and it's voice is very loud. If you believe in a cause and value its survival you MUST support it financially, even if it's with a $5 donation. The Obama campaign raised over $250 million in donations under $200. That was an unprecedented achievement that demonstrated that it isn't only the big money corporations and wealthy individuals who have the right to have their dollars heard....we do too!

So its time, now more than ever, to put your money where your HEART is and give to the organizations you love. And if you LOVE Pasadena Playhouse (like I do) please make a gift, of any size, and start (or continue) a pattern of philanthropy that will allow that spririt to grow throughout our generation and those to come."

Contributed by Executive Assistant and Board Liaison Jerusha Schmalzel.

Click here to support the Playhouse!

Stamp Collectors Day

In honor of our next production, Mauritius, we are hosting Stamp Collectors Day: A Celebration of the Stamp

Saturday, April 11
1:00 - 3:30 p.m.
On the Playhouse Courtyard

Featuring a special Pasadena Playhouse Pictorial Postmark, USPS Exhibition and presentation by fine artist Synthia Saint James.

For more information, please email Gay Parker at gparker@pasadenaplayhouse.org.

MAURITIUS

by Theresa Rebeck

Directed by Jessica Kubzansky
March 27 – April 26, 2009

A new mystery by one of America's most prolific playwrights!

Filled with scams and double-crosses, two half-sisters vie for the rights to a recently inherited (and dazzlingly valuable) stamp collection. Throughout their farcical escapades, the pair come face-to-face with a couple of machine-gun mouthed con artists who ensnare them in their own brand of beguiling trickery.

Click here to purchase tickets!

www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org

Mauritius in the Hollywood Theatre Scene

Hey there theatre fans-

If you're like me, you not only enjoy seeing plays and musicals at Pasadena Playhouse but at numerous other venues around Los Angeles, both large and small. The Playhouse was thrilled to kick off a wonderful promotional campaign with Footlights (the Playbill of Los Angeles' 99-seat theatre community) for the upcoming run of Mauritius (a new mystery that takes the stage this Friday, March 27!). As part of the promotion, Mauritius will be featured on the back cover of the show program for theatres such as The Fountain, The Falcon Theater, The Celebration Theatre and 20 more of the most prolific and dynamic intimate theatres in town. So when you're visiting your favorite venues in Santa Monica, Hollwood, North Hollywood, Silverlake, West LA and elsewhere, keep an eye out for exciting news and offers from Pasadena Playhouse!

Click here for more information about Footlights.

Star-Studded Cast Announced for Mauritius!

Featuring Ray Abruzzo, best known as "Little Carmine Lupertazzi" from The Sopranos

MAURITIUS
By Theresa Rebeck
Directed by Jessica Kubzansky
March 27 - April 26

A new mystery by one of America's most prolific playwrights.



CASTING ANNOUNCED!
Ray Abruzzo (The Sopranos, LA Law)
John Billingsley (True Blood, Star Trek:Enterprise)
Kirsten Kollender (Home Baking Made Easy, Williamstown Theatre Festival)
Monette Magrath (The Constant Wife, Pasadena Playhouse)
Chris L. McKenna (Art School Confidential)

Buy your Mauritius tickets today!

Los Angeles Critic's Circle Award Nomination for the Playhouse' s Sharon Lawrence

The Playhouse is thrilled to announce that Sharon Lawrence has been nominated for a 2009 Los Angeles Critic's Circle Award for her powerhouse performance as Vivienne Leigh in Orson's Shadow! Her nomination in the "Featured Performance" category marks another recognition of her phenomenal on stage work that also included a LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award Nomination.

Here is more about the LADCC Awards From BroadwayWorld.com:

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced its nominations and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2008. The 40th Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, March 16 at the El Portal Theatre, thanks to the generous donation of the El Portal's management. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a catered reception (with no-host bar) and silent auction. The show commences at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the Awards show can be reserved from the LADCC's website, at www.ladramacriticscircle.com.

Pictured above: Sharon Lawrence. Photo by Craig Schwartz.

Happy Independence Day Mauritius!

March 12 (today!) is Mauritius' Independence Day!

2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Mauritius' independence from The United Kingdom. Mauritius Independence Day traditions include touting Mauritius flags (pictured above), celebrating and supporting the Mauritius community and partying all night long (sound familair?)!

Read more about the island of Mauritius here. Read more about Pasadena Playhouse's upcoming production of Mauritius here.

Image provided by www.mapsoftheworld.com

Stormy Weather: A Pasadena Playhouse Success

Pasadena Playhouse closed their wildly successful production of Stormy Weather this past weekend. Stormy Weather broke the Pasadena Playhouse record in tickets sales - quite an accomplishment considering the current economic conditions! Check out these photos taken closing weekend! Don't forget to reserve your tickets for our upcoming production of Mauritius. Enter the dangerous world of stamp collecting with Theresa Rebeck's new mystery play.
Dionne Warwick with Stormy Weather star Leslie Uggams and Nichelle Nichols.


Seisha Mercado with Leslie Uggams.


Leslie Uggmas with Beverly Todd.


Linda Hart and Leslie Uggams.


Diahann Carrol and cast member Kevyn Morrow who played Billy Strayhorn in Stormy Weather.

www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org

If "variety is the spice of life," Pasadena Playhouse has been quite the spicy spot of late. On Tuesday, January 29th, the theatre celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Diversity Project, instigated by Artistic Director Sheldon Epps in 2005 to fund culturally diverse, nontraditional, or particularly elaborate productions that would otherwise pose too great a financial risk to properly produce on our stage. The event was a big success, netting over $50,000 despite the nation's ailing economy, drawing many Playhouse friends, and bringing new patrons into the fold. Hosts Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, and Gabrielle Union presided over the event, which consisted of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, a tribute to Playhouse supporter Brenda Galloway, a special performance of the Playhouse's best selling show ever - Stormy Weather, starring Leslie Uggams as the remarkable Lena Horne, dessert, and a party with the cast in the Makineni Library above the lobby.

Thanks to efforts like this, when you subscribe to Pasadena Playhouse, you know that six times throughout the year, you will be treated to a totally unique experience. From one production to the next, the Playhouse explores the infinite variety of styles, themes, stories and characters the rich American canon has to offer. Furthermore, a contribution to the Diversity Project is an investment in the future of theatre in this country, funding productions like our world premieres of RAY CHARLES LIVE! A New Musical, Vanities, Mask, Matter of Honor, and SISTER ACT - A New Musical, which have left our stage bound for Broadway, London's West End, and regional theatres around the country.

If you're interested in being a part of this important work, or want to join us in the fun next year, please contact Brad Price, Director of Development, at bprice@pasadenaplayhouse.org or (626) 737-2845.

Pasadena Playhouse mourns the loss of a beloved artist and friend.

The staff of the Playhouse was saddened to hear that Horton Foote; one of America's great playwrights, a Pasadena Playhouse alum, and an enormous supporter of our theatre; has passed away. He was 92.

From Artistic Director, Sheldon Epps:

"All of us at Pasadena Playhouse deeply mourn the loss of Horton Foote, a true American playwright. Mr. Foote has acknowledged many times that his days here as a student at the Playhouse theatre school were enriching, inspiring, and a source of great happiness for him. This theatre is fortunate to have had a connection with this true gentleman of the theatre, and we celebrate the joyous fact that his huge body of work will remain with us and alive on our theatre’s stages well into the future.”


Several of Mr. Foote's plays have been produced at the Playhouse including Only the Heart (1944), The Chase (1959), A Trip to Bountiful (1962) and The Traveling Lady (1964). Mr. Foote is the author of 60 plays and received the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1995 for The Young Man From Atlanta.

The New York Times had this to say about Mr. Foote and his work:

"A sense of existential isolation pervades the generations-spanning nine plays that make up The Orphan's Home Cycle, as well as his individual works... His plays are quiet, artful balances of everyday minutiae and an aching cosmic loneliness. Mr. Foote, whose career in the theater encompassed more than six decades, also wrote numerous screenplays. He received Academy Awards for his adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and his original screenplay, Tender Mercies. -- Ben Brantley

To read the complete New York Times article, click here.

Pictured above, Horton Foote. Courtesy of WGA. org.

Mauritius starts rehearsals today!

The dangerous life of stamp collecting has begun!

Rehearsals started today for Mauritius, the fourth play of our 2008-2009 cross season series Women: The Heart and Soul of Theatre.

It is a Pasadena Playhouse tradition that on the first day of rehearsals for every production the entire administrative staff, production staff and representatives from the Friends of the Pasadena Playhouse (our 350-person strong volunteer organization) join the cast and creative team for the upcoming show in a brief get-to-know-you-meet-and-greet session in our rehearsal hall.

This is a time for the cast and crew to meet the dozens of year-round staff who work to keep our great organization going and make sure that the production they are working on is as successful as possible. It is also a time for the staff to get to know the artists who will be lending their talents to our theatre for the next several months.

I have been told by many former cast members (and many current staff members!) that the first rehearsal meet-and-greets is one of the absolute highlights that comes with working for or with our theatre.

What would you do if YOU ran the NEA?

This is a fascinating series of answers to one of the hot-button questions floating around the arts world - take a read, and let us know what YOU would do:

Were it only that simple.

When Congress voted on President Obama’s $787-billion stimulus package, fiscal conservatives slammed the NEA’s $50-million allocation. It wasn’t the first time the agency, whose 2008 budget was about $144 million, had been thrust under the microscope.

Since awarding its first grant in 1965, the NEA most famously riled opponents in the early 1990s with its plan to award grants to a quartet of controversial artists. As the president prepares to name a new NEA chief, we asked people from the arts and other fields to share what their priorities would be if they ran the cultural agency.

Read the full article here.