HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD
(Stagehappenings.com- Reviewed by Carol Kaufman Segal)
Yes, we can go back to the Big Band era and the wonderful songs of the 60's and imagine we are hearing the wonderful voice of Frank Sinatra! It is all pretend that we are part of an audience watching a live show being taped for television in the late 60's. It is all there, the 12‐piece orchestra (Music Director Paul Litteral) under the direction of Nelson Riddle (Jeff Markgraff), TV cameras, applause signs on each side of the stage, microphones, a sound booth, a genuine looking set‐up for the occasion. There is much bustling about between director Dwight (Al Bernstein) and his assistant Andy (Pat Towne) who is given more than his fair share of responsibilities. He brings the humor to the production and a surprise as well. During the taping of the show, there are even commercial breaks by Announcer (Chandler Hill) and his Assistant Darlene (adorable Franci Montgomery). Read more. . .
LUCA ELLIS TAKES EDGEMAR HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD
(Musicals In LA- Oct. 20, 2010)
Even though the name Sinatra is never mentioned in Hoboken to Hollywood, it's clear from the moment Luca Ellis hits the stage that we're watching a remarkable talent channeling the one and only "ol' blue eyes" himself. Backed by the fantastic Paul Litteral Orchestra, Ellis weaves an irresistible spell over the audience with spot-on vocals and an elegant, commanding presence, all while crooning some of the best-loved songs in the Great American Songbook.
Ellis is no stranger to the style, having played Sinatra in both Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show at the Sahara in Las Vegas (under the musical direction of Joey Singer) and in A Vegas Holiday, Songs From Live at the Sahara, which ran at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood last December. Read more. . .
HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD AT EDGEMAR CENTER
( LA Theatre Review - Reviewed by Joel Elkins Nov. 1, 2010)
Hoboken to Hollywood (subtitled "A Journey Through the Great American Songbook") puts you in the audience for the taping of a fictionalized television special, complete with commercials and behind‐the‐scenes drama. (The star of the show, a blue‐eyed, fedora‐wearing, hottempered crooner from Hoboken, is never mentioned by name, so I'll call him "Frank.") From the very beginning you are put in the mood, as, prior to escorting you into the "studio," the stage manager politely asks that you turn off your transistor radios or other more sophisticated devices, as they may interfere with the taping. After the audience is seated, the action starts abruptly, without fanfare or introduction, as the director and stage hands prepare for the beginning of the show. Read more. . .
HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD
(The Government Center Gazette & Van Nuys News Press - Nov. 1, 2010)
If you were a fan of the late, great Frank Sinatra, you're just going to love "Hoboken to Hollywood: A Journey Through the Great American Songbook" which is now onstage at the Edgemar Center for the Arts and will be running through December, 2010. Produced by Peach Reasoner, based on the book by Luca Ellis, Paul Litteral and Jeremy Alridge and directed by Jeremy Alridge, the production stars Luca Ellis as "The Crooner." It focuses on one day during a taping of the Frank Sinatra television show in 1965 when both video tape and TV color broadcasting were new. Read more. . .
Feel Frank Sinatra's "Old Black Magic" in "Hoboken to
Hollywood" (EXAMINER.com Los Angeles - Reviewed By Audrey Linden, Oct. 31, 2010)
Sinatra fans are in for a treat with this dynamic and nostalgic musical at the Edgemar Center for the Arts. Luca Ellis, who bears a strong resemblance to a young George Clooney, Paul Litteral, and Jeremy Aldridge created this "Journey Through the Great American Songbook." And, what a wonderful journey it is. You'll be "Swinging on a Star" with "Stardust in Your Eyes."
Jeremy Aldridge, the original director of the long running "Louis and Keely Live at the Sahara" won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award and the Garland Award. Trumpeter, Paul Litteral was the musical director for the musicals Geffen Playhouse run. When the show moved to the El Portal Theatre, Luca Ellis was featured as the Sinatra crooner. The three collaborated on this vehicle for the dangerously handsome Ellis. He is not a Frank Sinatra impersonator; rather, he embodies Sinatra's smooth sound and signature phrasing. I closed my eyes, and the rich crooner sound was, undeniable, "Old Blue Eyes." I had chills running down my spine. Read more. . .
THEATER REVIEW:
HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD (SANTA MONICA MIRROR - Reviewed By Beverly Cohn, Oct. 21, 2010)
For lovers of Frank Sinatra and big band music, as well as a nostalgic glimpse into the earlier challenges of shooting a television show, Hoboken to Hollywood, billed as "A Journey Through the Great American Songbook," is a musical and visual treat.
A world‐premiere guest production on stage at the Edgemar Center for the Arts, produced by Peach Reasoner, this glorious evening of music, with a sprinkling of comedic theatrics, is skillfully directed by Jeremy Aldridge who won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his direction of the delightful "Louis and Keely, Live at the Sahara." Read more. . .
HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD; SWOONING IS BACK! (SOCAL - Reviewed By Laurel Belgreen, Oct. 20, 2010)
"Hoboken to Hollywood" is more, better, and beyond. Touted as "A New Musical Event" and "A Journey through the Great American Songbook," you might expect a good show and a pleasant evening of musical standards. It is more than a terrific show, better than other current shows, and well beyond the promises of the promotion.
The entire cast is splendid (special acknowledgment goes to Al Bernstein, Pat Towne, and Jeff Markgraff) and the 12‐piece Paul Litteral Orchestra is great. The set, the staging and the pacing of the musical numbers blending into the plot are perfect. It's a magnificent production. Read more. . .
I ONLY CAUGHT ONE PRODUCTION ON THE WEEKEND, BUT IT WAS A
WILD ‘N' WONDERFUL WINNER! (TOLUCAN TIMES - Reviewed By Pat Taylor, Oct. 27, 2010)
Hope you'll see it! A winner for all audience members who are "young at heart". . . of any age!
Wow. . .What a spectacular musical adventure… I loved every magical moment! If there was a "re‐run button," I would've sat there and watched it again from start to finish. "We" are the live audience at a 1960s taping of a TV broadcast Special, starring "that famous crooner from Hoboken." A clever "behind the scenes" look at the whole process… we are privy to the loveable crooner's inspiring song performances, camera work, cue cards, commercials, audience applause signs, screw ups, bickering, and final outcome, of an exciting TV show. Read more. . .
GO! FROM HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE
GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK (LA WEEKLY - Reviewed By Lovell Estell III, Oct. 25, 2010)
The big‐band show in this musical (book by Luca Ellis, Paul Litteral and Jeremy Aldridge) is staged as a behind‐thescenes live taping of a late‐1960s television special with a star identified in the program only as "The Crooner." James Thompson's authentic set Read more. . .
THEATER REVIEW: ‘HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD' AT THE EDGEMAR (LA TIMES - Reviewed By Daryl H. Miller, Nov. 2, 2010)
It's a mass seduction. A guy saunters in, snappily attired in a single‐breasted charcoal suit. Setting aside his fedora, he turns his sexily hooded eyes to the audience and, as the band strikes up, emits a dreamy baritone.
The clock speeds backward and, ring‐a‐ding‐ding, the audience at the Edgemar in Santa Monica finds it's been returned to an era of swinging, swanning hipness.
Technicians scurry, cameramen train their lenses. Theatergoers are the studio audience for a program titled "Hoboken to Hollywood: A Journey Through the Great American Songbook." Its headliner is a crooner whose name is never mentioned but who is introduced, at one point, as the Chairman of the Board. The audience knows who he is, despite the pains taken to avoid breaching the perimeter securing this singer's carefully controlled legacy. Read more. . .
PRISCILLA'S PERFECT DAY (Reviewed By Robert Axelrod, July 10, 2010)
Playwright: Diana Martin | Song Writer:
Richard Levinson
- PRISCILLA'S PERFECT DAY is the kind of musical for children of all ages that adults want to take home so they can play it for the kids every weekend. The husband and wife writing team of Diana Martin and Richard Levinson have come up with a unique blend of book and music that avoids being formulaic and entertains from beginning to end. The combination of a great show that runs just under an hour and a pancake breakfast served afterwards in the Chapman Theatre Green Room makes for a terrific event to take the kids to on Saturday morning. Read more. . .
PRISCILLA'S PERFECT DAY (LA WEEKLY)
Playwright: Diana Martin | Song Writer:
Richard Levinson
GO PRISCILLA'S PERFECT DAY
Young Priscilla Periwinkle (Courtney DeCosky) has an annoying but good-hearted little brother Billy (Matt Valle), whose idea of a great time is to belittle his sibling with peurile jokes, such as calling her "Prisilly", until she's at boiling point. They find themselves at their great aunt's house in Maine for a family vacation with mom and dad (Natascha Aldridge and Stephen Simon) - like in a parody of Father Knows Best. They also brought along the semi-articulate family pooch, Roscoe (Victor Isaac, in brown fur and floppy ears). Mom really runs things, though Dad is whimsically smug enough to persuade you Read more. . .
PRISCILLA'S PERFECT DAY
Playwright: Diana Martin | Song Writer:
Richard Levinson
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On Stage: PRISCILLA'S PERFECT DAY
Monday, 14 June 2010 17:30 Jackie HouchinCatawba Club Productions in association with The Group Rep, happily presents the delightful, family-friendly, musical "PRISCILLA'S PERFECT DAY" as a perfect way for kids (and grownups) to kick off their summer vacation. Read more. . .
SAVIN' UP FOR SATURDAY NIGHT
by Jeff Goode | Songs by:
Richard Levinson
- "director Jeremy Aldridge does double-duty to seduce us into an environment,
as he did with last year's hit at this same theater, Louis & Keely, Live at the Sahara."
-L.A. Weekly, PICK OF THE WEEK
LOUIS AND KEELY LIVE AT THE SAHARA
by Vanessa Claire Smith and Jake Broder
- "Jeremy Aldridge's direction is as compact and tight as the script, making good use of the entire performance space to isolate private moments on the sides and place the public lives front and center."
-Variety
- "One of the best musicals playing in town…And director Jeremy Aldridge synthesizes it all into one shiny package. This is musical theater at its most rousing and entertaining. Go twice."
-L.A. Times, CRITIC'S CHOICE
- "In a glorious world-premiere production directed by Jeremy Aldridge…Prima and Smith are re-created with accuracy and richness...I walked out of the theater wrenched by a depth of emotion that seemed to make no sense, coming from a musical about the quaint saga of an almost forgotten lounge act. That's when I realized I'd been punched in the gut and didn't even know it."
-L.A. Weekly, PICK OF THE WEEK
- "…and there's still time left to flesh out these enigmatic icons thanks to Jeremy Aldridge's snappy direction."
-Backstage West, CRITIC'S PICK
DURANG: MAKE IT A DOUBLE
by Christopher Durang
- "The great thing about this pairing of plays by Christopher Durang is that they are exceedingly well cast, performed by agile, intrepid comedians, and directed by the smooth skilled hand of Jeremy Aldridge…This production is warped, wild, unsettling, and not for those in need of a spiritual backrub - just what Durang intended."
-Backstage West, CRITIC'S PICK
THE BOYS NEXT DOOR
by Tom Griffin
- "Kudos to the Rep for living up to expectations with this wonderfully ambitious work…Inspiring Theatre…Director Jeremy Aldridge has found an amazingly adept cast."
-The Santa Clarita Signal
FRAGMENTS
by John J. Garrett
- "This production about the imprint war makes on the human soul . . . depicts fragments of stunning brutality, soul-wrenching tenderness, courage, and eyes that flatline…Modern battle scenes are some of the trickiest stagings to pull off and Jeremy Aldridge's direction brings them to a vital authenticity."
-L.A. Weekly, RECOMMENDED PICK
PERFECT
By Justin Warner
- "The pleasingly neurotic one-liners and romantic situations are genuinely charming, while Cattalini and Tassiopulos offer highly likable acting turns."
-L.A. Weekly
RECKLESS
by Craig Lucas
- "Through some magic that I wish all directors could master, he helped his cast find a great energy level and then sustain it…The results of this production are solid proof of his talent for directing."
-American College Theater Festival
- "Aldridge interprets Craig Lucas's comedy with a flair that accentuates the intricate plotting of its author."
"Aldridge exhibits a keen eye for detail . . . in both the design and the superb acting of his cast. "
-The Oswegonian
