Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet
WINTER WONDERETTES
Roger Bean, Director
at Laguna Playhouse
Nov 24-Dec 30
June 25 through August 20, 2009

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 
By William Finn

Directed and Choreographed by:
Mark Martino

ASPEN COLORADO, in Rio Grande Park

This Tony-winning hit musical comedy celebrates six young misfits in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves.  They learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser.

Chapter Two
By Neil Simon

Directed by
Jay Sandrich

ASPEN COLORADO, in Rio Grande Park

Chapter Two is the semi-autobiographical comedy by Neil Simon that chronicles his meeting and subsequent marriage to Marsha Mason.

NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY 
by Douglas J. Cohen

A musical thriller

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE! 

Based on the novel by William Goldman (The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) which was adapted as a movie of the same name, this hilarious, sexy musical gives new meaning to "knock 'em dead." A serial killer is on the loose, and Detective Morris Brummell is on the case. Can he find the killer, get the girl, and appease his disappointed mother -- all before the next chorus?  It's a game of cat and mouse -- a tour de force with 4 actors playing 17 roles -- and a murderously fun time! Winner of the Richard Rodgers Award.

"An old-fashioned, new-fangled thoroughly beguiling musical." --  Peter Travers (critic, Rolling Stone magazine)

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet
February 1 4 – March 1, 2009

Written by DALE WASSERMAN
Music by MITCH LEIGH
Lyrics by JOE DARION

Music Direction by BRAD ELLIS
Choreographed by KITTY McNAMEE
Directed by MICHAEL MICHETTI

Brent Spiner (Data in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and original Broadway Company of Sunday in the Park With George) stars as novelist-playwright
Miguel Cervantes and his immortal knight errant Don Quixote in the mesmerizing
MAN OF LA MANCHA, one of the most romantic, enduring and inspiring musicals of all time. Revisit this Tony-winning classic, also starring the world-class opera singer Julia Migenes, Tony nominee Lee Wilkof (Kiss Me Kate) and the sensational Valerie Perri*.

*Valerie Perri will perform the role of Aldonza at matinees.

For tickets and information, call 310-825-2101 or visit www.reprise.org.

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet
September 4 – 28, 2008

Book by Joe Masteroff
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on a play by Miklos Laszlo

Set in Budapest in the 1930s, this charming and romantic musical comedy is a love letter from Broadway's Golden Age - a funny, intelligent and sentimental story about two intensely competitive co-workers who unwittingly become pen pals through a "lonely hearts" column. Written by the creators of Fiddler on the Roof, the musical numbers include "Vanilla Ice Cream," "Dear Friend," and the title song. Time Magazine calls this show "the perfect musical!"

For tickets, please call the box office at 805.667.2900.

July 8 – August 31, 2008

Written and Directed by Roger Bean

Take four endearing characters, add nearly two dozen classic pop songs from the 50s and 60s, mix it with an engaging story, and you have a recipe for an unforgettable evening of musical theater! This cotton-candy colored, non-stop musical blast from the past transports audiences back in time to the 1958 Springfield High School prom, where we meet The Wonderettes: Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy—four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts, with voices to match. As they talk and sing about their lives and loves, audiences are treated to the girls performing such songs as “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” and many more. This must-take trip down memory lane!

"It's tremendously fun!" - VARIETY

Critics' Choice! "Exceptional" - LOS ANGELES TIMES

Winner! LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble and Best Choreography

My Antonia

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

May 8 – June 1, 2008

The Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, CA, will present the Southern California premiere of Scott Schwartz's My Antonia, an adaptation of Willa Cather's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Directed by the playwright, the production is scheduled to begin previews May 8, open May 10 and run through June 1. The cast will feature Shiva Rose as Antonia, Kevin Kilner as James Burden and Michael Redfield as Jimmy with Orestes Arcuni, Tom Beyer, Kate Fuglei, Karen Landry, William Lithgow, Julia Motyka, Bob McCracken¸ Miguel Perez, David Rogge and Nancy Sauder.

For tickets, please call the box office at 805.667.2900.

Red Herring

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

February 12 – March 16, 2008

By Michael Hollinger
Directed by Andrew Barnicle

Take three pairs of lovers, add an unsolved murder, several pinches of espionage and pickle everything in a brine of early Cold War paranoia and you have the ingredients for a side-splitting black comedy enmeshed in tangled romance. Why is Senator Joe McCarthy’s daughter dating a would-be traitor? And what’s that supposedly dead Russian fisherman doing pretending to be feisty landlady Mrs. Kravitz’ deaf husband?

Did we mention the pair of dogged gumshoes? Hollinger’s spoof Red Scare drama will keep you reeling with laughter and gasping for air.

Winter Wonderettes

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007 - Monday, Dec. 30, 2007

By Roger Bean
Directed by Roger Bean

www.marvelouswonderettes.com

Art

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

September 11 – October 14, 2007

By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Andrew Barnicle

Art, like beauty, may be in the eye of the beholder but that doesn’t stop the three men in Yasmina Reza’s runaway hit play from having strong opinions about it.

Serge has paid a small fortune for a large white-painted canvas. Friend Marc is scornfully unimpressed, while Ivan tries to avoid taking sides. What begins as a sparkling debate about the nature of art soon morphs into a wittily observed, often poignant examination of friendship itself.

Just how strong are the ties that bind?

www.lagunaplayhouse.com

By Jeanie Linders
Directed by Kathryn Conte

Imagine four women at a Bloomingdale’s lingerie sale with little in common besides night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex, and more. Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, Menopause: The Musical® is a joyful celebration of women living through The Change. Featuring a parody of 25 re-lyricized classic Baby Boomer hits, the show has been a runaway success, with men and women, ever since it opened at a tiny perfume shop-turned-theatre in Florida almost six years ago.

www.lagunaplayhouse.com

The Master of the House
American Premier

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

March 27–April 29, 2007

By Shmuel Hasfari
Directed by Richard Stein

Nava wants to completely remodel the house. Joel doesn’t want to change a thing about it. Down deep, their motivation is really the same, and until they finally come to terms with that, there can be no resolution. Filled with humor and pathos, this play uses a familiar marital battleground as a springboard to explore life’s
complexities in contemporary Israel.

THIS PLAY CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE

www.lagunaplayhouse.com

A Marvelous Party
West Coast Premier

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

November 14–December 17, 2006

Words and music by Noël Coward
Devised by David Ira Goldstein, Carl Danielsen, Mark Anders, Patricia Wilcox and Anna Lauris
Musical Arrangements by Carl Danielsen
Choreographed by Patricia Wilcox
Directed by David Ira Goldstein

You’re invited to a party! Come join the fun in a scintillating evening of ravishing melody,
nimble dance and repartee as sparkling as champagne bubbles—all courtesy of that
master of theatrical sophistication, Noël Coward. Rediscover why Coward—for all his
razor-edged British wit—was a man who understood the human heart and the timeless,
bittersweet joys of love. Drawn from Coward’s songs, plays and journals, this effervescent
revue lifts the spirit and makes the perfect holiday-season entertainment!

www.lagunaplayhouse.com

Sonia Flew
By Melinda Lopez
Directed by Juliette Carrillo
September 12–October 15, 2006

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

How do we forgive the past?
Poignant and thought-provoking, yet also heart-warming, this moving account of two intertwined family dramas shows how political events impact ordinary lives. Set in post 9/11 America and Cuba of the Castro revolution—Melinda Lopez’s play
revolves around Sonia, cross-cultural matriarch of a mid-Western Jewish family, as she struggles with her son’s decision to join the Marines. The emotions triggered transport her back 40 years to Havana, when Sonia’s parents made a heart-wrenching choice and sent their teenaged daughter to a new life in America. What do we owe
our children? What do we owe our parents? Can we forgive the past? These universal questions resonate in a play embedded in the complexity of family life. www.lagunaplayhouse.com

tick...tick...Boom!
June 10th - Open ended

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

Before the revolutionary rock musical Rent, Jonathan Larson had another story to tell -- his own. tick, tick...BOOM! is a pop rock musical about facing crossroads in life and holding onto your dreams. It tells the story of Jonathan, a promising young composer on the eve of his 30th birthday. His girlfriend wants to get married and move out of the city (tick), his best friend is making big bucks on Madison Avenue (tick), and he's still waiting tables and trying to write the great American musical before time, and life, passes him by (BOOM!). The production stars Wilson Cruz of My So-Called Life, Tami Tappan Damiano and Andrew Samonsky.

ZORBA

Asst. Stage Manager

Zorba, based on the classic Nikos Kazantzakis novel Zorba the Greek and the film that it inspired, features a book by Josephy Stein, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb. The score includes "Life Is," "The Butterfly" and "Only Love."

PILGRIM, the long awaited mythical adventure musical, presents its world premiere MARCH 25 thru APRIL 16th, 2006 in a limited engagement at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Hollywood, California. Tickets went on sale December 8, 2005.

Click here for ticket information...

Production Stage Manager, Vernon Willet

PILGRIM is a mystical adventure about a rebellious young prisoner whose shocking dreams change the destiny of his crumbling walled city, his beautiful young wife, and their only hope of freedom forever...

Trapped behind the walls of an oppressive city-state, two unlikely young lovers are thrust into a world of dungeons, dreams and revolution in a classic struggle for freedom.