MINETTA STREET PRODUCTIONS presents
IDEAL GLASS
22 E 2nd St
Thu, Fri & Sat
7PM
SAINT HOLLYWOOD
By Willard Morgan & Jerrold Ziman
Music & Lyrics by Willard Morgan
Directed by Jim Milton
Admission $20
GET TICKETS
For more information
Call 212.598.3030
WILLARD
MORGAN
actor/director/producer, debuted Saint Hollywood, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Morgan has appeared in numerous indie features and on theatre and comedy club stages in New York and Los Angeles. His comic personal documentaries have screaned at festivals from Nashville, Tennessee to Milan, Italy, include Festival Fever which won the Sony Visions comedy award, the Best Short award at the Florida International Film Festival and the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Me and Michael, his most controversial comedy feature, turns the camera on Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Michael Moore, who (ironically) dubbed Morgan a 'stalker.' He co-produced Babak Shokrian's feature, America So Beautiful, which opened in Paris, Los Angeles, and New York. Other producing credits include the Broadway debut of The Runner Stumbles and off-Broadway production of Say Goodnight, Gracie, both directed by Austin Pendleton. Misguided Tours, his comedy travel show, is in development. Morgan is always ready to done his super herojump suit and take the stage as Jelvis, the Jewish Elvis.
THE SAINT HOLLYWOOD BAND
GUITAR / MUSIC DIRECTOR: Mack Price
a renowned guitarist and songwriter on the New York music scene. He has worked alongside such greats as Kaki King, Bumblefoot (Guns and Roses), and the legendary Dr. Hollywood. His work in The Prigs, a New York City anomaly, has set him on course to the hall of legends and will echo throughout the ages for all generations to enjoy.
DRUMS : Tom Roslak
is a Musician/Teacher/Producer who resides in New York City. Tom is a recent graduate of the prestigious Berklee College Of Music of which he earned a BA in Music Education.
In the past few years he has toured and recorded extensively. He has performed on upwards of 10 CD's with various artists including his own group with compositions ranging from 70s Rock, Jazz, Post Punk and Reggae. When not on tour he finds himself teaching private students in his studio.He has also performed with the Off Broadway dance sensation Revolution, performed on International Fox Televison, Recorded Commercial Spots and has performed on the Vans 2006 Warped Tour.Recently, Tom is working as a freelance percussionist in NYC.
VOCALS : Sahirah Johnson
Sahirah has been singing and recording professionally since she was 15 years old. She has been on tour with the famous 90s Dance act, DeeLite, and the National Tour of the Broadway show, Rent. Sahirah has recorded for many labels such as Electra, Atlantic, Warner Bros. and Sony Music. When shes not recording or on tour, Sahirah teaches Musical Theater to children throughout the tri-state area.
PIANO / SYNTH BASS : Yuval Semo
is a composer, producer and pianist from Tel Aviv, Israel. He played on various albums and tours, including Kaki King, Sonya Kitchell, The Prigs and more. He is most famous for his extensive work with Papa Pat Prig, for which he won several scholarships and grants. His film scoring career includes releases such as Japanese feature film Faces Of A Fig Tree (staring Japanese Oscar winner Kaori Momoi), documentary Victory Over Darkness, The Evening Journey (a short staring Malcolm Mcdowell and Jack Kehler), the award winning short, Real Magic, and many more.
BACKUP VOCAL : Taylor Greenwood
loves hamburgers.
BACKUP VOCAL (sub) : Shannon Antalan
has been seen on Broadway in Caroline or Change & Xanadu, Off-Broadway: Junie B. Jones & Rosa Parks. 1st National Tour : Hairspray as Lil Inez. A few of Shannons Favorite regional shows: Abyssinia as Abyssinia, High School Musical 1& 2 as Taylor, Yolanda in Crowns and more. She has also been in several commercials. Shannon studied at AMDA and continues her studies at acting studios such as: Penny Templeton Studios, Rodger Simon Studios, and workshops with teachers such as David Cady. She is represented by Bret Adams ltd & Atlas Talent. Theatre is a gift to share and Shannon loves sharing that gift with the world.
BACKUP VOCAL (sub) : Briana Layon
is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She has appeared in such plays as: Iphigenia and Other Daughters (Electra) Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), and A Night in the Kremlin (Valentina), for which she received a nomination for best lead actress in a musical at the 2009 MITF. Briana has become a regular talent on CBS Radio's Rock Chicks Live! where she can be heard singing her own original music. Thanks to everyone in the St. Hollywood cast.
PRODUCTION
Jerrold Ziman is co-founder of Minetta Street Productions and was a founding partner in Hollywood of BBZ Films with Moritz Borman and Bill Benenson. He has developed, written, directed and produced stage plays and films. He starred in plays on and Off-Broadway, in films, TV series, TV serials and in commercials. Mr. Ziman is CEO of St. Andrews Capital Corp. He is a graduate of Francis W. Parker and has a degree in Philosophy from the University of Chicago..
Jim Milton (Director/Dramaturge) most recently directed The Germans in Paris by Jonathan Leaf and Robinson Jeffers Dear Judas at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He has directed more than forty professional productions for such theatres as the NY Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, La MaMa, American Conservatory Theatre, The Production Company, StageWest, The Magic Theatre and National Public Radio. Productions include True West, The Magistrate, A Life in the Theatre, In the Boom Boom Room, The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi, Ghosts, The Gilded Cage, Savage In Limbo, The Rimers of Eldrich, The Miracle Worker, Details Without a Map and Dexter Creed (by and starring Michael Moriarty). As the Artistic Director of Verse Theater Manhattan, he directed VKTMS (Michael McClure), Venus Observed (Christopher Fry), 1953 (Craig Raine), The Urban Stampede (an opera by Andrew Gant and F. D. Reeve), and adapted and directed the American premieres of Kings and War Music (both from Christopher Logues version of The Iliad) (Midwest and UK tours).
Randi Rivera (Asst. Stage Manager) is a director/designer/stage manager/technician from NYC. She is a Hamilton College graduate and studied theater at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Randi has proudly worked with many performing arts companies including HERE Arts Center, The Atlantic Theater Company, and Venue13 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She is currently working with choreographer Faye Driscoll on her new work due to debut in March at Dance Theater Workshop. Randi is excited to work with Jim, Jerry, Will and the whole Ideal Glass team!
David Tirosh (Technical Advisor) Originally from Israel, David is a multi-media artist, performer and artistic coordinator. David is the Co-Founder of WAX, a supportive environment that inspires discourse among artists in all media and encourages the creation of new work through presentation, networking, audience building, artist's assistance and public dialogue. After the highly-publicized closing of the WAX facility in November 2004, David continued working as Company Manager of 3-Legged Dog and freelance designer, performer, artistic advisor and media support. He became the Technical Director of Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo and the Managing Director of the HomeBase project. David's work unfolds in various layers of the production process, from concept, to technological implications, to performance and full coordination and realizations of art projects in private and public venues. He is grateful to all the collaborators with whom he had the pleasure of working.
Jorge Emmanuel artist, curator and teacher born in Geneva, Switzerland. Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro and New York. Jorge's work has been exhibited in international shows such as Um Olhar Brasileiro, Ludwig Art Forum (Germany) and is represented in collections including Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection at the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro. As a curator, he organized the revealing new artists show Fatos at Paco Imperial, Rio, and the multi-artist public art interventions project Banners, etc with a fellowship from RioArte Rio. As a teacher, he developed the recearch methology Circle of Clay at the School of Visual Arts, Parque Lage, Rio which presented workshops in Brazil, Cuba and Germany.
Scott Needhams most recent lighting designs include: The Arrangement at The Algonquin Theater, Examine Man Theaters The Secret Keeper and When in Disgrace, The Doctor and the Devils at The Milagro Theater, Once and Twice and White Widow with PASSAJJ Productions, The Death of Evie Avery at Looking Glass Theatre and The New School for Drama Theater, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress at Shetler Studios, the Rodney Graham Band at Henry Street Settlement, Matters of the Heart, a benefit for the American Heart Foundation, Little Princess, Oliver!, and A Midsummer Nights Dream at The Chapin School, and the International WOW Companys productions of Surrender and You Belong to Me. Scott has also assisted lighting designers such as Howell Binkley, Marcus Doshi, Frances Aronson, and Ed McCarthy.
Stefanie Koseff (video) is a Brooklyn-based video artist, filmmaker and editor. She holds a Masters degree in Media Philosophy from the European Graduate School. Her work has been shown at the The 3LD Art & Technology Center in New York City, and Open Source Gallery and the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Uta Paata Bekaia (Fashion Show Designer and Garage Sale Contributor). Born and raised in Tbilisi , Georgia, ex-Soviet Union bloke, Uta has been living and working in New York City since 1998. Primarily a costume designer, he has worked on over 150 projects with theater companies using his background in fashion design. Some of them include: Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, Genet's The Balcony, James Joyce Finnegan's Wake and many others. He worked with director Jim Milton on Michael McClure's VKTMS. Always looking to express his visions and experiment with new ideas, Uta has lent his creative eye to numerous other projects involving fine art, film, interiors and industrial design. His main objective is to find beauty in our surroundings and highlight it for eveeryone to see. http://utajan.tripod.com/utapbekaia/
Christopher North (Sound Design) is a multi-instrumental composer and singer-songwriter based in New York City. His compositions have been performed at venues in Europe (London, Berlin, Edinburgh) and the U.S. (Texas, California, Illinois, Ohio, Hawaii), including collaborations with film makers (Tribeca, Big Apple and SXSW Film Festivals), theater companies (including Workshop Theater, NY and Edinburgh Fringe), choreographers (Wave Hill, Joyce SOHO) and concerts, including the 92nd Street Y. His childrens songs can be heard around the globe on the Disney Channel and the Noggin Network (Oobi). In 2002, he produced and released two albums of his own compositions: Opus Zero, featuring classical chamber music and art songs; and De La Sur, an eclectic rock/soul album on which he played most of the instruments. Recently, hes been focusing on collaborating sound design/ music for the play, The Forever Waltz, by Glyn Maxwell, the score for Angelica Torn's film, Lucky Days, and writer/director Matthew Miele's feature films Everythings Jake, in 2006 and Eavesdrop in September 2007.
Dani Clifford (Assistant Lighting Designer/ME) Lighting Design: Cruising: The Divide, 10 in 10, Stay Tuned, ALD on The Tempest (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Two Small Bodies, The Loveliest Day of the Year (Williamstown Theatre Festival), ALD on Romeo and Juliet (California Shakespeare Theatre). Dani has also worked at New York Stage and Film, The Atlantic Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Actors Theatres Humana Festival of New American Plays.
Darlene Ken is a mulitmedia designer and artist who divides her time between Los Angeles and New York, Ms. Ken has worked extensively with Ideal Glass Gallery. The Cambodian born artist's body of work includes interior design, lighting, and fine art. The Saint Hollywood installation and set design is her first theatrical effort and she looks forward to further collaborations in film and theatre.
Jessie A. Stead (video) is a multi-purpose artist and experimental motion-picture maker currently based in New York. Recent cinematic involvements have screened at the Museum of Modern Art, International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Times BFI London Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, The New York Film Festival and have received notable awards including the Ken Burns Award for Best Film at the 45th Ann Arbor Film Festival. Jessie completed an MFA with honors distinction from The Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College in 2007. She is currently writing an experimental feature screenplay and sporadically presenting interdisciplinary work at festivals, art galleries and other miscellaneous and ephemeral venues internationally and in collaboration with other artists and musicians.
Debra Stunich (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be living the dream in NYC after originally hailing from sunny Florida. After earning a BA in Theatre from Stetson University, she worked at SeaWorld, Orlando for 3 years, stage managing the dolphin show. FL credits: Joseph/Dreamcoat (Tuscawilla Methodist), Sweeney Todd (Stetson), The Fantasticks (Stetson). NYC credits: Songs for a New World (Chernuchin Theatre), The Vagina Monologues (at New World Stages), Two Spoons (Otherside Productions), Our Country (winner of Best Musical from the Planet Connections Festivity), and The Hole (at Off Broadway venue Theatre _ St. Clements).
Daniel Koehler (Sound Engineer) is a New York City native and proud disciple of Saint Hollywood. Currently a student of Theater Technology at the City University of New York's Staten Island campus, his favorite sound department credits include: Sex! Drugs! and Ukuleles! (Engineer), The Set Up (Engineer), and the prestigious Drama Desk Awards (Asst. FOH Mixer). Other New York credits include Art's Heart (Lighting Designer) and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (Stage Manager). His infinite thanks are due to his family, friends, and the entire Saint Hollywood team.
Ayaka May Komatsu (ayakamay)
was born in Nashville, TN, and grew up in Tennessee, California and Japan. Currently living and working in New York City as a freelance photographer and art director. Her work has been presented at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art and the Kyoto Metropolitan Museum of Art , the world biggest photo gallery in Rochester Downtown Wallpaper Project, Gallery Countach. Her awards include prizes from the 34th & 36th Japan Advertising Photographers' Association and the Music Power Statio,Music Nation.
www.ayakamay.com
MINETTA STREET PRODUCTIONS
is an entertainment company based in Los Angeles and New York which develops and produces music, stage plays and films. Minetta Street presents performance events and exhibitions at Ideal Glass Gallery in Manhattan's East Village.
SAINT HOLLYWOOD'S LINKS
Saint Hollywood's Facebook
Ideal Glass
Minetta Street Productions
Saint Hollywood Youtube
Dennis Woodruff
The Prigs
ayakamay
Red Bastard
Dixon Place
3-Legged Dog
Dave Hill's Internet Explosion
New York Ukulele School
Libero Canto Szamosi
THE
SAINTS of HOLLYWOOD
FASHION SHOW
The Saints of Hollywood Fashion Show features creations by Uta Bekaia, avant-garde fashion designer and theatre artist from Tibilisi, Georgia. A one-night-only event, this dazzling catwalk bacchanal showcases new designs made fom "stuff" found at L.A. thrift stores and garage sales. Uta's designs are a sequined-and-spiked, unapologetically glamorous vision of transcendence in recycled urban street wear.
REVIEWS
Comedy is a Science by Kelly Aliano
Saint Hollywood reviewed February 6, 2010
Walk into Ideal Glass Gallery and you will be welcomed to a boutique of kitsch, courtesy of Los Angeles. The piece that is performed amidst all of this seemingly meaningless junk is Saint Hollywood, written by Willard Morgan and Jerrold Ziman and directed by Jim Milton. Saint Hollywood is one-part rock concert, one-part play, and one part stand-up comedy act. For fans of the live comic genre, it is a delightful one-man show about the perils and pitfalls of living and trying to make it as a performer in LA.
Willard Morgan tells a metarealistic tale of the crazy, unbelievable events that occur along his journey to the stage for a benefit for colo-rectal cancer, being held for a slew of Hollywood big wigs. Morgan takes us through his experiences in a way reminiscent of 2008's Broadway musical Passing Strange. Like Stew, Passing Strange's creator and performance narrator, Morgan, uses a fourth-wall breaking audience address format, enhanced by the inclusion of expositionary as well as novelty songs. Unlike the Broadway piece, however, Morgan does not rely on an ensemble of players to embody all those he encounters. Rather, Morgan plays all of the roles himself. He even steps in and out of the action to play a secondary version of himself, one who can look upon the play's events from the outside and provide commentary.
There are many moments of great humor in this performance. Morgan is charming in the role and makes the audience root for his success. The songs are catchy and the piece benefits greatly from the surrounding projections on the three stage walls. The background film is both a supplementary realistic picture of the LA setting and an experimental and abstract reflection of each scene's larger issue or theme.
The set is absolutely superb, filling all of the theater space with any and every element of random clutter you can imagine. The message here is clear: one can fill his/her life with tons of stuff and still never be complete or fulfilled. The lighting accents this absurd reality, consistently painting with a palette of blues and pinks. We are both faced with the cruel reality of being an aspiring performer in Hollywood and subtly reminded that this, too, like much of LA and the future fame and fortune it will provide, is a fantasy.
Morgan is an enjoyable comedian, though at times the comedy sets spliced in throughout the piece seem too long and act to distance the viewer from the overall narrative. He does a magnificent job with each one of the accents he adopts; each character has a distinct voice and a unique characterization. The piece is a kind of self-indulgent fun, occasionally veering too much toward the former, but regularly balanced out by the latter.
Morgan displays how truly multi-talented he is, doing everything from hammy jokes to playing the harmonica to juggling. There is a powerful statement about the emptiness of the search for fame hidden beneath all of these comic trappings. It is a profound LA tale, though elements may be lost on some New York spectators. For anyone who is a fan of stand-up, or who is a fellow "LA survivor," this is the show to see. It is funny and compelling and an all-around good time.
Cast
Band
Production
Sun Productions
2162 Broadway • 4th Floor • New York • NY • 10024-6620 Phone: (212) 799-3753
www.sun-productions.com
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please Contact: Stephen Sunderlin (212) 799-3753
EXTENDED THROUGH MARCH 20TH
MINETTA STREET PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
COMEDIAN WILLARD MORGAN
IN HIS ONE-MAN MULTIMEDIA MUSICAL
Playing at Ideal Glass Gallery
22 East 2nd Street, NY, NY 10003
MINETTA STREET PRODUCTIONS is pleased to announce the extension of the one-man, multimedia musical SAINT HOLLYWOOD, featuring comedian WILLARD MORGAN with music and lyrics by WILLIARD MORGAN and book by WILLARD MORGAN & JERROLD ZIMAN. The production is directed by JIM MILTON. The production began previews Thursday, January 28th and opened Thursday, February 4th. The current performance schedule is Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:00 pm through February 20th. Extended performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 pm through March 20th. The production is also the inspiration for the art installation STUFF - THE GARAGE SALE OF DREAMS which will be displayed in the Ideal Glass Gallery. All tickets are $10.00. For reservations and information visit www.sainthollywood.comor call (212) 598-3030.
In SAINT HOLLYWOOD, comedian Willard Morgan's wild ride chasing Hollywood stardom ends up being a descent into the belly of the show business beast. Using digital video projections on three sides of the gallery walls and a live 5 piece rock bank Morgan introduces us to his "Saints," an unusual lineup of unlikely advisors: Vuzar, the Mexican transvestite paraplegic who conducts a lucrative phone sex business from her pink People Mover; Champ, a/k/a Lord Anthony, the ex-prizefighter knighted by the King of Greece for building the royal stretch limo; Dennis Woodruff, the actor who has made a high-profile career out of never being cast in anything; and many others. These real-life Saints, whose unique journeys have lifted them into the realm of the sublime, offer their encouragement and the occasional well-placed kick to Morgan on his odyssey to the perfect gig.
SAINT HOLLYWOOD "...about about the perils and pitfalls of living and trying to make it as a performer in LA...is funny and compelling and an all-around good time..." - offoffonline.
Writer, Performer, Composer, Photographer and Videographer WILLARD MORGAN debuted SAINT HOLLYWOOD at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Morgan has appeared in numerous indie features and on theatre and comedy club stages in New York and Los Angeles. His comic personal documentaries have screened at festivals from Nashville to Milan, Italy, include Festival Fever which won the Sony Visions comedy award, the Best Short award at the Florida International Film Festival and the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Me and Michael, his most controversial comedy feature, turns the camera on Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Michael Moore. He co-produced Babak Shokrian's feature, America So Beautiful, which opened in Paris, Los Angeles and New York. Other producing credits include the Broadway debut of THE RUNNER STUMBLES and off-Broadway production of SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE, both directed by Austin Pendleton. MISGUIDED TOURS, his comedy travel show, is in development.
Writer, Producer Jerrold Ziman is co-founder of Minetta Street Productions. Co-Producer of 13Ps CRAWL FADE TO WHITE, producer ZARMEN, co-writer and producer Me & Michael, producer DIPLOMACY with Garrett Morris and Joe Regalbuto, producer TWICE REMOVED with Estelle Parsons and Carol Kane, director First to See the Lights Go On with Reggy Baff, co-writer/producer Crosby Street and The Trial. Actor in YENTL with Tovah Feldshuh, HAMLET with Rip Torn, KADDISH with Marilyn Chris, Genets THE SCREENS, Saroyans REBIRTH CELEBRATIONS OF THE HUMAN RACE AT ARTIE ZABALAS OFF-BROADWAY THEATER with Dick Shawn, EAST LYNNE WITH CHRIST GUEST, GOLDEN BOY with Jerry Zaks and opposite Mary Louise Wilson in THE BEGGARS OPERA. Films include Jules Dassins The Rehearsal, Martha Coolidges Bimbo, 9 to 5, Harrys War, Cheap Detective and California Suite. TV includes Ryans Hope, All in the Family, Baretta, Eight is Enough, Starsky & Hutch, Mork & Mindy. Mr. Ziman is CEO of St. Andrews Capital and was a founding partner of BBZ Films with Moritz Borman and Bill Benenson.
Director/Dramaturg JIM MILTON recently helmed THE GERMANS IN PARIS by Jonathan Leaf, Robinson Jeffers DEAR JUDAS at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and a reading of ZARMEN for Minetta Street Productions. He has directed more than forty professional productions for such theatres as the NY Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, La MaMa, American Conservatory Theatre, The Production Company, StageWest, The Magic Theatre and National Public Radio. As the Artistic Director of Verse Theater Manhattan, he directed VKTMS (Michael McClure), VENUS OBSERVED (Christopher Fry), 1953 (Craig Raine), THE URBAN STAMPEDE (an opera by Andrew Gant and F. D. Reeve), ON THE ROCKS (David Yezzi) and adapted and directed the American premieres of KINGS AND WAR MUSIC (both from Christopher Logues version of The Iliad), which toured the Midwest and the UK.
The band includes Musical Director and guitarist MACK PRICE, TOM ROSLAK on drums, YUVAL SEMO on piano/synth/bass and backup vocals by TAYLOR GREENWOOD, SAHIRAH JOHNSON and BRIANA LAYON.
The design team includes sets by DARLENE KEN, lighting by SCOTT NEEDHAM, video design by JESSIE STEAD & STEFANIE KOSEFF, sound design by CHRISTOPHER NORTH, installation by DARLENE KEN & JORGE EMMANUEL, animation by BECK UNDERWOOD & CELINE GUILLUAME and film sequence by ABHAY SOFSKY. DEBRA STUNICH is the Production Stage Manager.
IDEAL GLASS GALLERY is an interdisciplinary industrial space designed and used for the development and presentation of unusual works.
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