An update from Artistic Director, Doug Haverty.
There are many reasons for me to be excited about the upcoming production of this musical revue. We have a wonderful cast and I cannot wait for audiences to enjoy their performances.
We have a wonderful director (Bruce Kimmel) and choreographer (Cheryl Baxter), and a wonderful musical director (Richard Allen).
And we have great material written by my long-time collaborator Adryan Russ and my relatively new collaborator, Bruce Kimmel.
But we also have a new song by someone who has been a mentor to me, Mr. Richard M. Sherman (of the famous Disney Sherman Brothers). When I was very young, I saw MARY POPPINS in a movie theater (remember those?) and it altered my DNA. I loved it. I had been struggling with piano lessons and just not into some of the bland material I was learning. I went to the sheet music store (remember those?) and bought the song folio for MARY POPPINS. I took what I had learned and applied it to those songs and learned them all. I was inspired to teach them to myself. Well, flash forward thirty years later when I got a freelance job to design a CD of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and in the course of this process, I got to meet and work with Richard Sherman. He could not have been nicer or more supportive. I told him about my learning all the songs from MARY POPPINS and he told me that meant the world to him (and that he had heard this kind of story from other creatives). After that, he actually started attending plays and musicals I had written and he was always so supportive and encouraging. He, and his lovely wife Elizabeth, have been so generous with their time and compliments.
Richard Sherman has a new song in L.A. NOW AND THEN and it’s called “The Whimsey Works,” and it’s about his experience working at Disney for Mr. Walt Disney himself. It’s a beautiful song and captures their shared history. There is also another rare song that Richard wrote with his brother featured as well.
Another wonderful, new piece of material is a song by Amanda McBroom and Michele Brourman. This song is called “An L.A. Love Song,” and it’s funny, charming, effervescent and absolutely perfect for L.A. NOW AND THEN. Amanda, of course is known for having written the award-winning “The Rose” for the film starring Bette Midler. I’ve designed CD packaging and show posters for Amanda, and over the course of that collaboration we discovered a shared history with L.A.’s Callboard Theatre and its founder, John Allison. I wrote a piece for L.A. NOW AND THEN inspired by John, so it’s only appropriate that we should also include a piece written by Amanda.
This revue has songs, sketches and monologues all written by L.A. writers. It’s a valentine to the City of Angeles, its past and present. In addition to our amazingly talented cast, we have a LIVE band! It runs from April 1 — May 8, 2022 and this is one you must see.
