James Snyder , Tom Lowe Lead La Mirada's I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND, 4/17

By: Apr. 17, 2011
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & UPRIGHT CABARET are thrilled to announce the performers for its third show of their season, I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND: The Music of The Beatles, which will include James Snyder (Broadway: Cry-Baby, Pasadena Playhouse: Dangerous Beauty), Tom Lowe (London: Les Miserables, Cats) and Elizabeth Brackenbury (Vanities, Rock Of Ages), performing the music of The Beatles, and their own selections, under the musical direction of Todd Schroeder, in a one night only concert - I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND which will perform on Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 7:30PM at the NEW Cabaret Lounge at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Elizabeth Brackenbury is a classically trained singer who takes pride in her versatility. Best known for her musical comedy she is equally at home in pop, rock, and jazz. She studied at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco before heading to Los Angeles where she received her BA from the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music and School of Theatre. She was most recently seen as Joanne in the pre-Broadway run of Vanities, A New Musical at the Pasadena Playhouse, directed by Judith Ivey. Brackenbury has performed numerous times at the Hollywood Bowl in such shows as Showboat, The Music Man, and Mame, including singing with Roger Daltrey of The Who for his induction into the Hall of Fame. She has also performed leading roles in LA Opera's The Merry Widow (Olga); Reprise!'s Sunday in the Park with George (Celeste #1/Elaine), directed by Jason Alexander; ICT's west coast premiere of A Year With Frog and Toad (Turtle); Theatre Works' Peter Pan; and the pre-Broadway run of Rock of Ages.

Tom Lowe starred in the London West End award winning productions of Les Miserables and Cats in the roles of "Marius" and "The Rum Tum Tugger". The multi-talented, award winning, British born singer, actor and composer first rose to fame just out of school, as a member of the teenage boy band NORTH and SOUTH. The band starred in the BAFTA nominated hit BBC TV series "No Sweat", for which Tom composed the soundtrack at the age of eighteen.

A 2005 graduate of Harvard University, Tom majored in East Asian Studies, and speaks fluent Mandarin along with six other languages. His ties to the emergent Chinese market are credited to numerous visits to China, many of them sponsored by the Chinese government. Tom appeared on many TV shows in China, being interviewed in Mandarin by prominent Chinese TV personalities. Tom is the Harvard cultural attaché to the famous Shaolin Temple, responsible for training such top Chinese film celebrities as Jet Li. His fellowship at Harvard enabled him to spend four months traveling the ancient Silk Road through Xinjiang and Gansu provinces in northwest and central China, as an editor for the best selling student travel guide "Let's Go." His esteemed Harvard thesis on Tang Dynasty frontier poetry won him an honors degree and was contributed to the Harvard Yenching Library following Magna Cum Laude recognition. These cultural advantages, coupled with his first hand, viable experience in the world of pop music and Broadway musicals, has afforded him a very unique expertise, for a Westerner, in the commercial Chinese entertainment scene.

Besides co-starring in the Hollywood premiere of Back to Bacharach and David, and at the Hollywood Bowl in a major production of Les Miserables, he also opened the current Las Vegas hit, VEGAS! The Show at Planet Hollywood Casino and Resort.

He is the first non-American on "American Idol", reaching the top tier of contestants. His encounter with "Idol" and "X Factor" has proved to be a source for Runner-Up, a new Broadway musical he is co-writing, centered on a fictitious reality show. Tom was honored to be the first non-American to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" at Fenway Park. His rendition of "God Bless America" at Dodger's Stadium reached a televised audience of millions.

His debut album, entitled "Back to Mine," is now available on iTunes. It features a collection of Tom's original songs in Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, French and English. Tom resides in Los Angeles and London. For more info, please visit: www.tomloweusa.com.

James Snyder has been seen on stage and screen, from his Broadway debut as the title role in John Waters' Cry-Baby (world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse) a performance that was nominated for a Drama League Award, to a recent stint in Dangerous Beauty at the Pasadena Playhouse as well as television and film roles on Drop Dead Diva and CSI, and the upcoming indie film "Meth Head". Other stage credits include Marius in Fanny at NY City Center, Broadway: Three Generations at The Kennedy Center, the Los Angeles productions of Rock Of Ages (also Las Vegas), The ovation award nominated Oedipus the King, Mama with the Troubadour Theater Co.. and Happy Days, both at the Falcon Theatre The Fantasticks at Sacramento Music Theater, Hamlet, Ray Bradbury's Let's All Kill Constance, Sneaux, Plop and Oklahoma. In addition, he played Luke Skywalker in the critically acclaimed production Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes in Los Angeles, Paris and Scotland. Film credits include "An American in China," "Anderson's Cross," "Shuttle," "She's The Man" and "Pretty Persuasion," which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Other television credits include "Without A Trace," "Cold Case," "Gilmore Girls," "Married to the Kellys," "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" and "Related." His first solo album entitled "L.A. Curse" is available at www.jamessnyder.com. He can also be heard on the studio cast recording of the musical Bare, and singing on an episode of "It's Always Sunny. . .". He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Southern California.

Todd Schroeder (Musical Direction) started playing piano at the age of four. Growing up in a musical family, he was introduced to everything from Claude Debussy to Neil Diamond, from Ray Charles to Elton John, but what he remembers most is discovering, at the age of eight, the rock and roll piano playing of Jerry Lee Lewis. For Schroeder, this variety of musical influences has produced a variety of musical accomplishments as a composer, producer, arranger, musical director and performer. Playing piano remains Schroeder's first love. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House, with the Boston Pops and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and has appeared on numerous television shows including "The Oprah Winfrey Show." As an accomplished composer, his original music has been featured in film and television. His production of "Roter Mond: The Braveheart Musical" is set to open in Duisburg, Germany in November 2011. He composed music and lyrics with his writing partner, Kevin Fisher, for the new hit musical "Unbeatable: A Bold New Musical". .(UnbeatableMusical.com) He has also recorded four of his own CD's including the critically-acclaimed "Songs My Father Taught Me".

Along with writing and producing, Schroeder has conducted and arranged for such artists as Angela Lansbury, Nell Carter, Jason Alexander, Rita Coolidge, David Burnham and Sam Harris. He also serves as the vocal director for Disney's "Aladdin, A Musical Spectacular" and for "Wicked" at Universal Studios Japan. And finally, he is the proud founder of the Todd Schroeder Young Artist Grant, an annual scholarship presented to graduating High School students wanting to pursue careers in the arts.

ABOUT Chris Isaacson AND THE "UPRIGHT CABARET" SERIES

Returning for a second year, this series will perform the first Sunday night of each of La Mirada Theatre's mainstage productions as UPRIGHT CABARET, the pre-eminent Los Angeles hot spot for the next generation of world-class entertainers, brings its unique brand of cabaret entertainment to La Mirada!

Chris Isaacson has created, produced and promoted over 450 events since forming his company in 2004. From small clubs to major theatres, Isaacson has produced some of the most influential stars of his generation including Adam Lambert ("American Idol)", Lea Michele ("Glee," Spring Awakening), Neil Patrick Harris (CBS's "How I Met Your Mother" & ABC's "Doogie Howser, M.D.") and more. Isaacson is also creator/founder of LA's renowned Upright Cabaret which has been redefining the cabaret milieu for a new generation of audiences in Los Angeles since 2005. Upright Cabaret seeks to celebrate old style cabaret while simultaneously turning it on its ear, bringing young Broadway and young Hollywood together in a live setting. Isaacson produces concerts and events under the "Upright Cabaret" banner including the summer concert series at the Ford Amphitheatre, the successful "American Icon Series" which plays at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, as well as, his critically acclaimed concerts Shoshana Sings Streisand starring Shoshana Bean, Stephen Schwartz: Making Good featuring Wicked creator/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and Eden Espinosa: Me starring Eden Espinosa.

In Aug 2010, Chris Isaacson and Upright Cabaret began a relationship with The Grove in Los Angeles and The Americana at Brand in Glendale.

Chris Isaacson produced Summer Concert Series with headlining acts Grammy winners Steve Tyrell, Grammy winner Paula Cole, 3x Grammy Nominee Taylor Dayne and Grammy Nominee Natasha Bedingfield. Broadway veteran Jennifer Leigh Warren, Grammy winning songwriter Matt Morris, Broadway star & Grammy nominee Frenchie Davis and WB's "One Tree Hill" star Tyler Hilton. These concerts were featured on Access Hollywood, Extra, ABC's On The Red Carpet, and KTLA 5 Morning News. Currently, Chris Isaacson will present Broadway sensation Jennifer Leigh Warren's in Little Woman/Big Voice: the songs of Dame Shirley Bassey at the Renberg Theatre in Hollywood, CA in June 2011 with Dir. Richard Jay-Alexander (Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters) and New York's Finest Leading Men of Broadway at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood, CA in Sept 2011. Also look out for new projects with "Star Search" Grand Champion Jake Simpson and Broadway star and American Idol star Frenchie Davis in the fall of 2011. Upright Cabaret is also currently working with the City of West Hollywood to find a permanent home for Upright Cabaret in West Hollywood. Isaacson is committed to his humanitarian and social causes including The Trevor Project and AIDS Project Los Angeles. Visit Chris Isaacson at www.ChrisIsaacsonPresents.com.

THE SECOND SEASON'S SHOWS INCLUDE:

I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND • April 17, 2011 • 7:30PM
Music of The Beatles

COWBOYS AND ANGELS • June 5, 2011 • 7:30PM
Music of Patsy Cline, Garth Brooks and Loretta Lynn

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' • July 10, 2011 • 8:00PM
Music of The Mamas & The Papas, Linda Ronstadt and Eagles

Ticket prices for UPRIGHT CABARET Single Shows $45 / $35 / $25 / $15;
Series Price $114 / $90 / $66 / $39

Tickets to these extraordinary shows are now available by calling the Box Office at 562-944-9801 or 714-994-6310 or online at www.lamiradatheatre.com.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is located at 14900 La Mirada Boulevard in La Mirada, Parking is free.



Videos