LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS (BT McNicholl, Producing Artistic Director) is pleased to announce that four-time Tony Award nominee Gregg Edelman will direct the reading of a new musical, THE HISTORY OF LIGHT, with book by playwright Michael Small and a score featuring Gilbert & Sullivan classics re-interpreted by Musical Adaptor Lawrence Yurman. With Musical Direction by Scott Harlan, this new work will be presented for one night only, on Tuesday, August 7that 8 pm La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada, CA.
THE HISTORY OF LIGHT is set in New York’s Gilded Age, 1886. When idealistic newlyweds decide to bankroll an invention that could bring electricity into every home, they shed light on their era’s double standards about race, sex, and poverty — and expose the hypocrisy of their own lives. THE HISTORY OF LIGHT explores the electric revolution that disrupted morals and lifestyles, mirroring our own Digital Age.
The cast is led by veteran actors E.E. Bell, Wilkie Ferguson, Riley Frey, Madison Claire Park, Bryan Vickery, and Natalie Wachen. Also featured are Saundra Agababyan, Charlie Haakenson, Alyssa Jaffe and Ethan Treiman, “We’re thrilled to be part of developing this exciting new work, which deftly uses the past to shine a light on the present,” says BT McNicholl, La Mirada Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director.
ABOUT THE CREATORS:
GREGG EDELMAN (Director) is a director and actor in the theatre, on television, and in film. Most recently, Gregg directed a world premiere production of Coming Back Like A Song at the Berkshire Theatre Group. Other directing credits include Constellations, Arsenic and Old Lace, Night Without A Moon, and The Seeing Place. His acting credits include fifteen Broadway productions (four TONY nominations), regular appearances on Hack and House of Cards, and the movies Crimes and Misdemeanors, Spiderman 2, and Liberal Arts.
LAWRENCE YURMAN (Musical Adaptor) is a pianist, arranger, and conductor with 30 years of experience on Broadway and beyond. His credits include the original Broadway productions of War Paint and Grey Gardens. He was the music director/arranger of the Broadway revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, starring Harry Connick, Jr. Additional credits include It Shoulda Been You, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Side Show, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Guys and Dolls and Les Misérables. He has provided arrangements for and recorded with Lea Salonga, Christine Ebersole, and Howard McGillin, among others. He has 12 Broadway cast albums to his credit.
MICHAEL SMALL (Playwright) co-wrote the book for the musical The IT Girl, which premiered at Off Broadway’s York Theater in 2001 and is performed regionally. His farce Kaboom! was in the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival and his comedy The Cool Club had a site-specific run at NYC’s CBGB-313. Other works include Beautiful Foolish Arms and We’ll Be Fine. A former writer and editor at People magazine and Entertainment Weekly, he now works at NBC News Digital.
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE
THE HISTORY OF LIGHT will be presented for one night only, on Tuesday, August 7that 8 pm at La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada.
Private reading; attendance by invitation only.
LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is located at 14900 La Mirada Boulevard in La Mirada, near the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue where the 91 and 5 freeways meet. Parking is free.
The Tony-nominated LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS has been hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the best Broadway-style houses in Southern California.” This beautiful state-of-the-art theatre has been producing quality productions since 1977. The theatre has co-produced several national tours and is the recipient Tony, Emmy and Ovation Award nominations; for its 2012-13 season, it won the won the L.A. Stage Alliance OVATION AWARD “Best Season of the Year.” The theatre is located at 14900 La Mirada Boulevard in La Mirada, California.. For further information call 562-944-9801 or visit www.lamiradatheatre.com.
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