Past Productions


		PAST PRODUCTIONS Quick Links 2006 Season Diva As You Like It - A California Concoction Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure Marriage Musicals Fences Sister Act 2007 Season Defiance Cuttin' Up The Constant Wife Can-Can Matter of Honor Ray Charles Live! 2008 Season Orson's Shadow Mask Diva Todd Waring, Annie Potts, and Richard Kline in Diva. Photo by Craig Schwartz By Howard Michael Gould Directed by David Lee Starring Annie Potts (Designing Women, Ghostbusters, Toy Story, Pretty in Pink) January 20 - February 19, 2006 with Patrick Fabian, Robert Farrior, Richard Kline, Ian Lithgow and Todd Waring "Almost nonstop head shaking laughter.... Refreshing and biting at the same time." - San Diego Union Tribune "The funniest play of the season!" - Advocate An explosively funny opening sets the stage for this behind-the-scenes look at television's most egomaniacal diva. When the dust settles, we travel back in time to discover how hidden relationships and other surprises brought this sitcom star and her producer to the breaking point. As You Like It: a California Conconction Bahni Turpin and Christian Barillas in As You Like It: a California Concoction. Photo by Craig Schwartz. Adapted by Alison Carey From William Shakespeare Directed by Bill Rauch A World Premiere adaptation in association with Cornerstone Theater Company! March 10 -April 16, 2006 Pasadena Playhouse in association with Cornerstone Theater Company brings you a world premiere of Cornerstone co-founder Alison Carey's adaptation of As You Like It. Shakespeare’s court and country are now Southern California city and desert, and Shakespeare's themes of love, liberation and gender confusion unfold hilariously in a modern America obsessed with red states, blue states, political power and cultural identity. Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure A play by Steven Dietz Directed by David Ira Goldstein A World Premiere in association with Arizona Theatre Company! May 5 - June 11, 2006 Sherlock Holmes has been foiling the plots of the world’s most insidious criminal minds for over 100 years. With his unparalleled gifts of perception, stealth, and wit, no villain has ever gotten the best of the great detective… until now. Enjoy the latest work of prolific playwright Steven Dietz as he pits Holmes against his two most vicious foes: certain death and impassioned love. Dietz’s adaptations (ranging from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull to Bram Stoker’s Dracula) and original plays (including the widely lauded Lonely Planet and God’s Country) have been produced in over 100 regional theatres, off-Broadway, and abroad. Marriage Musicals - Two Musicals In Repertory Misty Cotton and Daniel Tatar in "The Last Five Years." Photo by Craig Schwartz. I Do! I Do! Music by Harvey Schmidt Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones Based on the play The Four-Poster by Jan de Hartog and The Last Five Years Music, Book and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown June 30 - August 6 I Do! I Do! The story of a marriage is at the center of this intimate and nostalgic work by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, the authors of The Fantasticks. The show begins with Michael and Agnes on their wedding day and traces their life together over a period of 50 years, until the day they leave their house to the next pair of newlyweds. In that time we watch them go through their wedding night jitters, raise a family, negotiate mid-life crises, quarrel, separate, reconcile and grow old together, all lovingly to the strains of a tuneful, charming score that includes the standard "My Cup Runneth Over." The Last Five Years On the second evening, join writer Jamie and actress Cathy in a contemporary song-cycle musical that ingeniously chronicles the five-year life of a marriage, from meeting to break-up... or from break-up to meeting, depending on how you look at it. Two points of view - one man, one woman, one husband, one wife, one telling the story forward in time, one telling it backward. Fences Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett in Fences; Photo by Craig Schwartz by August Wilson directed by Sheldon Epps August 24 - October 1, 2006 Starring Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett also starring Bryan Clark, Kadeem Hardison, Orlando Jones, Wendell Pierce with Victoria Matthews Troy Maxson — a former star ballplayer in the Negro Leagues — finds himself an embittered 53-year old garbage collector. As he comes to terms with his own lost dreams, Troy struggles to hold onto a shred of personal dignity while battling to unite his family. Fences is widely considered the gem of August Wilson's remarkable playwriting career and the pinnacle of his ten-play cycle chronicling the African American experience in the 20th Century. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, 1987 saw the play garner four Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Sister Act Dawnn Lewis and The "Sister Act" Company in a scene from "Sister Act" at the Pasadena Playhouse. Photo by Craig Schwartz. Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Glenn Slater Book by Cheri Steinkellner & Bill Steinkellner Based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture Sister Act written by Joseph Howard Music Supervision, Vocal and Incidental Music Arrangements by Michael Kosarin Choreographed by Marguerite Derricks Directed by Peter Schneider A World Premiere Musical! October 24-December 23, 2006 Alan Menken (Tony Award Nominee and composer of Little Shop of Horrors and Beauty and the Beast) and a top-notch creative team join forces to bring the 1992 sleeper hit movie to a glorious new life on stage. When disco club singer Deloris Van Cartier is placed in protective custody in a dying convent, her unique brand of funk comes face-to-face with the traditions of the church and the strict order is in for a change. Masquerading as a nun named Mary Clarence, this Sister's act will have you laughing and singing in the aisles. Defiance Robert Manning, Jr. and Kevin Kilner in DEFIANCE. Photo by Ed Krieger. By John Patrick Shanley Directed by Andrew Robinson January 12 - February 18, 2007 The 2007 Season begins with DEFIANCE, the latest work of award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley. DEFIANCE follows Shanley's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Doubt. It is 1971 and North Carolina's Camp Lejeune military base is rife with racial unease. When Colonel Littlefield invites a black officer, Captain Lee King, to his home to discuss the building tensions, unexpected and profound events turn the discourse from race to an even deeper exchange that touches the heart and soul of all involved. Cuttin' Up Pictured is the Cast of CUTTIN' UP. Photo by Roger Mastroianni. Contact: Patty Onagan / 818-464-3706 By Charles Randolph-Wright From the book of the same name by Craig Marberry Directed by Israel Hicks March 9 - April 18, 2007 With: Dorian Logan, Darryl Alan Reed, Adolphus Ward Harvy Blanks, Bill Grimmette, Iona Morris Maceo Oliver, Jacques C. Smith CUTTIN' UP is the West Coast premiere of writer and director Charles Randolph-Wright's theatrical exploration of the African-American barbershop. Randolph-Wright weaves a series of profound, yet hilarious, anecdotes, memories and music into a living oral history covering 60 years. Pasadena Playhouse patrons will remember Charles Randolph-Wright's Blue, the 2002 smash hit that starred Phylicia Rashad and Diahann Carroll. The Constant Wife Pictured is The Company of "The Constant Wife." Photo by Ed Krieger. May 4 - June 10, 2007 THE CONSTANT WIFE is an intelligent and witty comedy written By W. Somerset Maugham in 1926. When Constance Middleton learns of her husband’s indiscretion with her best friend, she challenges our perceptions of love and marriage with a surprising course of action. THE CONSTANT WIFE was revived on Broadway in 2006 where it garnered four Tony Award Nominations including Best Revival of a Play. Can-Can Pictured is the CAN-CAN Company. Photo by Craig Schwartz. Can-Can Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter Book by Abe Burrows Revised by Joel Fields and David Lee Originally produced for the Broadway Stage by Feurer and Martin Directed by David Lee June 29 - August 8, 2007 Matter of Honor Pictured is Cedric Sanders with (background) Eric Lutes. Photo by Craig Schwartz. By Michael J. Chepiga Directed by Scott Schwartz August 24 - September 30, 2007 In 1880, Cadet Johnson Whittaker should have been the second African-American man to graduate from West Point. Some say he was phased out because of his race - others say that he simply was not up to snuff. RAY CHARLES LIVE! Pictured are (L-R seated) Yvette Cason as Retha Robinson, Jeremiah Whitfield-Pearson as Little Ray and (standing) Brandon Victor Dixon as Ray Charles. Photo by Craig Schwartz. Book by Suzan-Lori Parks Directed by Sheldon Epps November 1 to December 23, 2007 A world premiere musical featuring a spectacular ensemble of Broadway talent! Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks charts the deepest parts of The Man in a moving and triumphant story laced with his greatest hits including “Georgia on My Mind,” “Hit The Road, Jack,” and “I Got a Woman.” ORSON ’S SHADOW Bruce McGill, Libby West and Sharon Lawrence in Orson's Shadow. Photo by Craig Schwartz. By Austin Pendleton Conceived by Judith Auberjonois Directed by new Associate Artistic Director, Dámaso Rodriguez January 11 - February 17, 2008 An ingenious tale of two Hollywood giants – Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier. The time is 1960; the place is a London theatre. Legendary critic Kenneth Tynan has made a startling proposal: Welles should direct Olivier and the young Joan Plowright in Rhinoceros, Ionesco’s absurdist masterpiece. But it is the rehearsal process that brims with absurdity as titanic personalities, including Vivien Leigh, wrestle the muse. Based on an actual event, Orson’s Shadow is a witty and incisive depiction of the drama of theatre. “Absolutely SMASHING!” - Bob Verini, Variety "SUPERB direction... TERRIFIC CAST!" - Lovell Estell III, LA Weekly MASK Pictured are (L-R) Michelle Duffy and Allen E. Read. Photo by Ed Krieger. Book by Anna Hamilton Phelan Music by Barry Mann Lyrics by Cynthia Weil Based on the Universal motion picture Mask Musical Staging by Patti Colombo Directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. March 12 - April 20, 2008 One of the most successful songwriting teams in history, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"), Academy Award-nominated writer Anna Hamilton Phelan (Gorillas in the Mist) and Tony Award-winner Richard Maltby, Jr. (creator/director of Ain't Misbehavin' and Fosse) have come together to bring you this world premiere musical. Mask stars Michelle Duffy (Can-Can, Ovation Award-winner), Greg Evigan (B.J. and the Bear, My Two Dads), Michael Lanning (Tony Award-nominated production of Civil War) and introducing Allen E. Read as Rocky Dennis. This theatrical pop-rock musical is based on a true story of an unusual looking boy and his unconventional biker mother. She shows him how to embrace life. He shows her how to choose it.
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