West of Broadway Podcast

Will is FREAKING out over today's guest! George Salazar is coming off his iconic run in the hit Be More Chill to mount a reinterpretation of the classic Little Shop of Horrors starring alongside Mj Rodriguez (Pose) As “Audrey,” and Amber Riley (Glee) as “Audrey II” in a classic boy meets girl, power-hungry, R&B Singing, carnivorous plant strives for world domination. Tuesday, September 17, 2019 to Sunday, October 20, 2019 Tickets: PasadenaPlayhouse.org.

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Will and Lara are talking Artists at Play and Greenway Arts Alliance's LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OFThe Chinese Lady with one of the stars Trieu Tran. September 7-29, 2019 | Greenway Court Theatre The Los Angeles premiere is directed by Rebecca Wear (Lauren Yee’s Samsara – Coeurage Theatre) and features Amy Shu (Susan Soon’s He Stanton’s We, the Invisibles – Cal State L.A.) as “Afong Moy” and Trieu Tran (LADCC Nominated for “Alan Strang” in Equus – East West Players) as “Atung.” THE CHINESE LADY is playing now through September 29, 2019 at Greenway Court Theatre (544 N. Fairfax Avenue) in Los Angeles. Inspired by the true story of America’s first female Chinese immigrant, The Chinese Lady is a dark, poetic, yet whimsical portrait of America through the eyes of a young Chinese woman. Afong Moy (Shu) is 14 years old when she’s brought to the United States from Canton in 1834. Allegedly the first Chinese woman to set foot on U.S. soil, she has been bought and put on display for the American public as “The Chinese Lady.” For the next half a century, she performs for curious museum-goers, showing them how she eats, what she wears, and the highlight of the event: how she walks with bound feet. As the decades wear on, her celebrated sideshow comes to define and challenge her very sense of identity. The Chinese Lady blurs the line between the observed and the observer, and gives us new eyes on the history of American entitlement and immigration. Named a New York Times Critic’s Pick in November 2018, the Times said of The Chinese Lady, “Extraordinary play...piercing...heart-rending...” and “...gently comical drama...”

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Super excited about this episode! Lara and Will are joined in studio with 567 Broadway creator and friend of the pod Joseph Corella to discuss Will and Joseph's night at the Hollywood Bowl seeing opening night of the star studded 3 day run of Into The Woods and then, they are joined by Executive Director of The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles Lou Spisto to tell us all about the 40th Anniversary Gala Concert featuring Chrissy Metz and Shoshana Bean at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on August 16, 2019 at 7:30 pm

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On This special episode of West of Broadway, Will and Lara talk with Radio Host Maggie Mckay about opening night at The Pantages for Miss Saigon and then screen and stage star Ashley Argota talks about her very special production of Spitfire Grill at the Garry Marshal Theater.

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On todays episode of West of Broadway, Lara talks about her experience at The Play that Goes Wrong. We talk with Mark Saltzman about his new show with a Guys and Dolls connection and we catch up with one of the creators of the Friends Musical Parody.

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On this episode of West of Broadway, we discuss Lara's trip to the Pantages to see The Phantom of the Opera tour now playing til July 7th and then we touch on the Geffen Playhouse's production of Mysterious Circumstances. Inspired by The New Yorker article Mysterious Circumstances: The Strange Death of a Sherlock Holmes Fanatic by David Grann, the play centers around the true story of the mysterious death of Richard Lancelyn Green, the world’s foremost scholar on Sherlock Holmes. After spending two decades searching for the missing papers of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Green came close to unlocking the secrets behind Holmes’ creator when he tracked down an elusive box which was said to be cursed. Featuring Hugo Armstrong, John Bobek, Austin Durant, Leo Marks, Ramiz Monsef, Helen Sadler & Alan Tudyk and playing untilJuly 14th. And finally, we get to speak with Joseph Corella, Dancer, Choreographer, Fitness Instructor and all around amazing human who created the new fitness sensation 567Broadway! Originally developed in Los Angeles to dedicated and enthusiastic class goers, Joseph has spent the past several years perfecting a fun filled home fitness dance workout for all levels that inspires movement, health and happiness by harnessing the magic of musical theater song and dance. In this non-stop cardio dance workout, you join Joseph Corella and his cast of real-life students as you follow along to the easy-to-learn dance fitness routines that will leave you shining bright like the Broadway STAR that you are! For more info go to https://www.567broadway.fitness/

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On this special mini episode of West of Broadway, Will and Lara talk with Noah Weisberg who is currently staring as Willy Wonka in the National Tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Now playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts til Sunday June 9th. Based on the classic Roald Dahl novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, with music by Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award winner Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Grammy and Tony Award winners Scott Wittman and Shaiman, a book by David Greig, and choreography by Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse. The production includes additional songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 1971 Warner Bros. motion picture. The show tells the story of Willy Wonka, world-famous inventor of the Everlasting Gobstopper, who has just made an astonishing announcement. His marvelous — and mysterious — factory is opening its gates...to a lucky few. That includes young Charlie Bucket, whose life definitely needs sweetening. He and four other golden ticket winners will embark on a mesmerizing, life-changing journey through Wonka's world of pure imagination.

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On this episode of West of Broadway, Will and Lara are joined by friend of the pod Wendy Rosoff to talk about the National Tour Production of Falsettos currently playing at the Ahmanson Theater and then, Lara and Will talk to Ariana Stultz of the Verdi Chorus who is performing in their one night only production "Love is Timeless." on May 4th!

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On this episode of West of Broadway, Will and Lara get to speak with 2 of the stars of the 36 th Season of The Verdi Chorus Spring 2019 Concert L’Amore e la Vita (Love and Life) Two performances only April 6-7, 2019 First United Methodist Church, Santa Monica Two of our guest soloists, Los Angeles Opera favorite Jamie Chamberlin and acclaimed tenor Nathan Granner, who are actually married in real life! In fact, Nathan proposed to Jamie onstage last fall at the conclusion of the Verdi Chorus 35th Anniversary concert! The Spring Concert is entitled L’Amore e la Vita (Love and Life), which Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum humorously calls “ the Rom-Com of opera,” and will feature selections from two Verdi operas – I vespri siciliani and Ernani, three Donizetti operas - Don Pasquale, La fille du régiment and L’elisir d’amore, as well as operatic sequences from Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers), Delibes’ Lakmé, and Puccini’s La rondine. Tickets are available for purchase at www.verdichorus.org or by calling (800) 838-3006. Priority seating is available for $40, general admission is $30, seniors are $25, and students aged 25 and under with a valid ID are $10. After that, Will tells Lara all about his experience at Pasadena Playhouse's production of Ragtime which has been extended to March 9th. Tickets are available at: https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/event/ragtime/

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On this episode of West of Broadway, Will Armstrong and Lara Scottsit down inside the Hollywood Pantages Theatre before the curtain rises on the National tour of #Cats. CATS, the record-breaking musical spectacular by Andrew Lloyd Webber that has captivated audiences in over 30 countries and 15 languages, is now on tour across North America and Lara and Will discuss the history how the show has evolved and the importance of Instagram famous cats on the Red carpet. Enjoy! CATS NOW PLAYING February 26 - March 24 2019 At the Hollywood Pantages Theater Tickets: www.hollywoodpantages.com/events/detail/cats

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