Mike Burstyn To Headline JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN, At The El Portal Theatre

Al Jolson, once dubbed as The World's Greatest Entertainer, will return to North Hollywood at the historic El Portal Theatre in the person of critically acclaimed Broadway actor, Mike Burstyn (Winner of Two Israeli "Oscars"; Broadway: Barnum; Off-Broadway: Lansky) starring in the titular role as Al Jolson. The Los Angeles Premiere of the new musical, JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN, will be backed by a live on stage band and three back-up singers. The musical is a recreation of Al Jolson's famous Sunday concerts at the noted New York Broadway theatre, the Winter Garden.

A Limited Engagement of the new musical will be presented at the El Portal Theatre; 5269 Lankershim Boulevard; North Hollywood, CA 91601 from September 6 - 18, 2011 on Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. In addition, Matinee performances will be given at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Official Opening Night is Thursday, September 8, 2011. Tickets are $35, $50 and $60. For tickets and further information please call the Box Office at 877-SEE-PLAY (877-733-7529) or buy online at www.ElPortalTheatre.com. Group Rates are available; please call to inquire. The view a clip from the show, please visit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUWuPMT-7vk.

Created and Written by Bill Castellino (World Premieres: Dorian Gray, Heartbeats, Lizzie Borden) and Mike Burstyn; directed and choreographed by Bill Castellino and produced by Dan Israely Productions and Kit Productions, and Producers, Dan Israely (Creator and Producer of the Hit Comedy, org*sms) and Zahava Atzmon (Producer of the Hit Comedy, org*sms), JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN includes crowd-pleasing songs popularized by Al Jolson like: Swanee, My Mammy, For Me and My Gal, Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody, Toot Toot Tootsie, Sonny Boy and Nothing Could Be Finer Than To Be in Carolina, to name a few.

The supporting cast of JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN includes: Jacqueline Bayne (Broadway/National Tours: South Pacific, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Ragtime, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Some Like It Hot); Laura Hodos (Major Regional Productions: Tommy, Into The Woods, Hair, Company, The Music Man); and Wayne LeGette (Two Time Carbonell Award Winner; Major Productions of West Side Story, The Rothschilds, Sunday in the Park With George, The Full Monty).

Other Production Personnel include: Christopher McGovern, Music Director and Vocal Arranger (Broadway: The Lion King, Aladdin, Fame); Timothy R. Macabee, Scenic Designer (Broadway: Fela!, Cymbeline, The Color Purple); Christopher Ash, Projection Designer (South Coast Repertory, Hershey Park, The Geffen Playhouse); M. Shan Jensen, Costume Designer (Lincoln Center, New Jersey Shakespeare, Theatre in the Park); Gerard Kelly, Wig Designer (Broadway/National Tours: Hair, Ain't Misbehavin'); David Siegel, Orchestrator (Broadway/National Tours: How To Succeed in Business, 101 Dalmations, Beauty and the Beast); Michael White. Production Stage Manager (Ballroom With A Twist, An Evening With Lucille Ball); Joseph Shannon, Assistant Stage Manager (Teacher in Stage Management and Production, University of North Carolina - Charlotte) and Steve Moyer Public Relations, Press Representative (Broadway, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival).

About Mike Burstyn:
Born in New York to a famed family of Yiddish-language actors, the late Pesach Burstein and Lillian Lux, Burstyn first walked on stage at the age of three. He has enjoyed a unique international career entertaining audiences on stage, screen and television, in nightclubs and on concert stages throughout the world. The documentary, The Komediant, about Burstyn and his family, won the Israeli "Oscar."

In February and March 2011, Burstyn, who co-wrote and created his new musical, JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN, debuted it at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Jupiter, FL to critical acclaim. He recently appeared Off-Broadway and in Los Angeles as Mayer Lansky in Lansky, which garnered him his second New York Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. He received his second New York Drama Desk Award nomination and rave reviews for his Off- Broadway performance in On Second Avenue.

He recently completed a sold-out concert tour of Israel celebrating his 50th Anniversary in Show Business, and he co-starred with Valerie Harper in the National Tour of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. He won his New York Drama Desk Award nomination for his portrayal of Mayer Rothschild in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway Revival of The Rothschilds.

Burstyn starred on Broadway as P.T. Barnum in the Tony Award winning musical, Barnum (a role he recreated in the Dutch language production in The Netherlands). Other Broadway credits include: The Megilla, Ain't Broadway Grand and Inquest, in which he was hissed and booed eight times a week as Roy Cohn.

Off-Broadway he has appeared as host-narrator for the 92nd Street Y's "Lyrics & Lyricists" series, he inaugurated New York City Center's popular Encores series in Fiorello, and he starred in The Fishkin Touch, in Murray Schisgal's Circus Life and in the revival of Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue.

He has appeared as Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof at Salt Lake City's Pioneer Theatre and at the Westchester Broadway Theatre; as Nathan Detroit in Guys & Dolls with Vic Damone; in 1040, a new musical by Jerry Bock (Fiddler On The Roof) and Jerry Sterner (Other People's Money) at the University of Houston; as Kurt Weill in Berlin To Broadway at the Coconut Grove Playhouse (Carbonell Award nomination); in Hatikva, his tribute to Israel's 50th Anniversary and in the National Tour of the Broadway musical, Those Were The Days.

Television appearances include: As The World Turns, The Cosby Mysteries, Law & Order and HBO's Dog Watch with Sam Elliott and Paul Sorvino. He has also appeared as the host for Saturday Night At The Movies on www.JLTV.tv.

Oversees, Burstyn has been one of Israel's all-time popular stars since settling there with his parents and twin sister, Susan, in 1962. He is the winner of two Israeli "Oscars" for his screen portrayal of Kuni Leml, a kind of Israeli Forrest Gump. The Israel Cinematheque saluted his achievements in the Israeli film industry by honoring him at a special ceremony in 1997. Over the past decades he has had several successful television shows. He has also been a recording artist for CBS Israel.

From 1978 to 1981, Bursytn hosted and starred in his own television variety show in Holland, The Mike Burstyn Show, which was rated among the 10 most popular shows in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Among the many guest artists to make their Dutch television debuts on the show were Burstyn's friends Ben Vereen and Chita Rivera, who recommended him to the producers of the Broadway musical, Barnum. Since then he has divided his time between the United States, Holland and Israel.

Among his other numerous achievements, Burstyn has had the honor of performing for President Reagan, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, and the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Israel. He has starred in a Royal Variety Show at the famed London Palladium, and as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces he entertained troops both in peacetime and during three wars, hosting and performing with Danny Kaye on his month-long tour of army bases and hospitals following the Six Day War. He is fluent in and has performed in eight languages.

Burstyn's late mother, Lillian Lux, partnered with her late husband, Pesach Burstein, on and off stage nearly 50 years. Burstyn brought his mother to Israel where they marked what would have been his father's 100th birthday by mounting one of his legendary musicals, with Burstyn playing his father's original role.

Burstyn has been honored through the years with numerous artistic, cultural and humanitarian awards. He is an honorary board member of Gilda's Club, a Regent of the American Friends of Hebrew University, President of American Friends of Yedidim and served as Honorary President of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Israel.

Mike Burstyn is the husband of a Cyona Burstyn, the proud father of two incomparable sons and the very proud grandpa of one princess of a granddaughter. And no, he isn't related to actress Ellen Burstyn. To learn more about Mike Burstyn, please visit www.mikeburstyn.com.

About Al Jolson:
In his heyday, American singer, comedian and actor Al Jolson, was dubbed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer." During his lifetime from May 26, 1886 - October 23, 1950, he had lived in various areas throughout the Southland, and had homes in Toluca Lake, Encino, Beverly Hills and spent a short stint in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. He also served as Mayor of Encino at one time.

Jolson was born in the Russian Empire, now part of Lithuania. He emigrated to America with his Jewish parents at the age of five. He popularized a good many songs and was known for his brash and extroverted performing style. During the 1930s he was America's highest paid and most famous entertainer.

Between the years of 1911 - 1928, Jolson performed in nine sold-out Winter Garden shows in New York in a row on Broadway. During the course of his career, he made more than 80 hit records and embarked on 16 national and international tours. He is perhaps best remembered as the star of the first full-length talking movie, The Jazz Singer, which was made in 1927.

In the 1930s he appeared in a number of successful musical films. In 1946, actor Larry Parks portrayed Al Jolson with songs dubbed in with Jolson's real voice in the Academy Awardâ winning film, The Jolson Story. A sequel to that film, Jolson Sings Again, made its debut in 1949, garnering three Academy Awardâ nominations.

Jolson enjoyed performing in blackface makeup, which was a theatrical convention that began in the mid-19th century. He is credited with single-handedly introducing African-American music to white audiences, and was well known for his unique performances of jazz and blues music, including popular songs like Swanee and My Mammy. As stated in the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, "Jolson was to jazz, blues and ragtime what Elvis Presley was to Rock ‘n' Roll."

Al Jolson became the first star to entertain troops oversees during World War II, as well as in 1950 when he became the first star to perform for servicemen in Korea, logging in 42 shows in 16 days. He died only weeks after returning to the United States while playing cards in his suite at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, where he collapsed and died of a massive heart attack at the age of 64. His last words were: "Boys, I'm going." He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, CA, where his widow commissioned architect Paul Williams to create a six-pillar marble structure mausoleum, next to a bronze statue of Jolson, resting on one knee, with arms outstretched, as if he were ready to break into another verse of his signature song, My Mammy.

Mike Burstyn On Al Jolson:
"The first time I heard Al Jolson sing (on a recording, of course), I was captivated by his voice. I was 11-years-old and have been a fan of his ever since. I had most of his record albums and would sing along with every one of his wonderful songs. I knew them all by heart. Little did I dream that one day I would have the privilege of portraying ‘The World's Greatest Entertainer' and that I'd get to sing all those songs in his honor.

"In 1998 I had auditioned in New York to play Al in the National Tour of the musicAl Jolson, then, as now, directed by Bill Castellino. It was the United States version of the London smash hit. I flew to Los Angeles while awaiting the results of the audition. On my way into town from the airport I passed by Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery and decided to stop off and visit Jolson's gravesite. It is a handsome memorial on a hillside, prominently visible from the 405 Freeway. I had a nice chat with Jolie, promising him that if he helped me get the part I would do him justice. And, lo and behold, within a few days I got the part. Thank you Al!

"As the tour progressed from coast to coast I began to sound more and more like the man I was portraying. I felt like I was almost channeling Jolie. Now, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his passing, with JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN I am pleased to have the chance to bring Jolie back to where he always preferred to be - on stage, in front of his beloved audience, entertaining and singing his heart out, as only he could. I can hear his voice calling out to me in one of his favorite expressions: ‘Folks, you ain't heard nothin' yet!'"

The musical, JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN received its World Premiere production to rave reviews at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Jupiter, FL in February and March of 2011 under the leadership of Andrew Kato, Artistic Director and Tricia Trimble, Managing Director. The original cast included: Mike Burstyn, Jacqueline Bayne, Laura Hodos and Wayne LeGette under the direction of Bill Castellino.

HOW:
Tickets are $35, $50 and $60. For tickets and further information please call the Box Office at 877-SEE-PLAY (877-733-7529) or buy online at www.ElPortalTheatre.com <http://www.ElPortalTheatre.com> . Group Rates are available; please call to inquire.

Photo Credit: Alice Tannery Donelan