Kelly Lester News

From Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the creators of Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, and The Secret Life of Pets, comes BUBBLE BOY: THE MUSICAL, a quirky, fun, family-friendly show about stepping outside your comfort zone and embracing the world with an open heart.

From Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the creators of Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, and The Secret Life of Pets, comes BUBBLE BOY: THE MUSICAL, a quirky, fun, family-friendly show about stepping outside your comfort zone and embracing the world with an open heart.

Celebration Theatre at the Lex and Bruce W. Zisterer in association with Nicholas Caprio, Michael C. Kricfalusi, Todd Milliner and Jack Morrissey presents, under the artistic direction of Michael Matthews & Michael A. Shepperd, and thrilled to announce that their critically-acclaimed (LA Times Critic's Choice) Smash-Hit, West Coast premiere of THE BOY FROM OZ, music and lyrics by Peter Allen, book by Martin Sherman, original book by Nick Enright, choreography by Janet Roston, musical direction by Bryan Blaskie, produced by Andrew Carlberg and directed by Celebration Theatre co-artistic director Michael A. Shepperd is EXTENDING through SUNDAY, JULY 31 at the Celebration Theatre's new home, Celebration at the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

An Evening of Classic Broadway, the popular ongoing line-up show now in its second year, will be back at Rockwell Table and Stage on Monday evening, June 13th.

Once in a great while an extraordinary performer comes along, one that not only moves us, but also affects meteoric changes within our culture. Peter Allen, born Peter Woolnough in 1944 in Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia and who died young in 1992, was one such mega-talented singer/dancer/musical composer, who appealed to a wide audience.Not at first, mind you; it took a few years in the 60s for him to realize his bisexuality and to understand who he was.

Celebration Theatre at the Lex in association with Nicholas Caprio, Michael C. Kricfalusi, Todd Milliner and Jack Morrissey presents, under the artistic direction of Michael Matthews & Michael A. Shepperd, the West Coast premiere of THE BOY FROM OZ, music and lyrics by Peter Allen, book by Martin Sherman, original book by Nick Enright, choreography by Janet Roston, musical direction by Bryan Blaskie, produced by Andrew Carlberg and directed by Celebration Theatre co-artistic director Michael A. Shepperd. THE BOY FROM OZ will begin previews on Friday, April 22 at 8pm; will open on Friday, April 29 at 8pm and perform through Sunday, June 19 at the Celebration Theatre's new home, Celebration at the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

AN EVENING OF CLASSIC BROADWAY returns to Rockwell Table and Stage on Tuesday night, April 12th. The crowd-pleasing line-up show from Fraser Entertainment Group continues to be a popular event at the venue.

Members of the 'Pro99' movement of Actors' Equity Association have issued an open letter to AEA's newly elected president, Kate Shindle, in response to her victory and to her inaugural address as president of the national union for actors and stage managers. The open letter is signed by over 400 Equity members (listed below), including such notable names as Ed Asner, Francis Fisher, Sally Kirkland and Alfred Molina. The 'Pro99' movement formed in late 2014 in opposition to AEA's rollout of a new plan that will effectively force 'intimate theaters' in Los Angeles to pay Equity actors minimum wage, go 'non-union' or even close - despite an overwhelming vote against the plan by 66% of the Los Angeles membership on an advisory referendum. 'Pro99' members around the nation, who take their name from the current AEA '99 Seat Plan' that allows members to volunteer in smaller venues, oppose AEA's new promulgated plan. They are requesting that Equity leadership put a moratorium on the plan until local members' voices can be heard, and that the union work with its members to develop an alternative plan that will more realistically address the needs of the Los Angeles theater community.

Due to the enormous success of their first show, Sixth Avenue presented an encore of its National Tour 'ILove99 The Musical!' cabaret event to save Los Angeles intimate theatre on Tuesday, March 24 at the Dragonfly on Hollywood's Theater Row. Produced by Adam Silver and directed by Alan Smithee (wink wink) featuring returning and additional performers, the event proved to be a real meeting of the minds for both union and non-union audience members. And what a show it was, giving both AEA union members as well as non-members a chance to enjoy great entertainment while rallying everyone to go out and encourage all union member to vote NO on the proposed union changes that could wipe out intimate theater in Los Angeles.

Sixth Avenue announced an encore of its 'I Love 99 The Musical!' cabaret event to save Los Angeles intimate theatre. Produced by Adam Silver and directed by Daniel Henning, the curtain will go up once again, featuring returning and additional performers, tonight, March 24 at 8pm at The Dragonfly in Hollywood.

Sixth Avenue has announced an encore of its "I Love 99 The Musical!" cabaret event to save Los Angeles intimate theatre. Produced by Adam Silver and directed by Daniel Henning, the curtain will go up once again, featuring returning and additional performers, on Tuesday, March 24 at 8pm at The Dragonfly in Hollywood.

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will continue their 2014-2015 season with the 1955 cult classic THE GOLDEN APPLE. The one-night-only concert will take place at the Moss Theatre at New Roads School in Santa Monica on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 7:00 pm.

Kelly Lester, stay at home wife and mother to three daughters, has become a million dollar 'do it yourself' business owner, grossing over $1.6 million dollars last year with her company EasyLunchboxes (www.EasyLunchboxes.com). With no MBA or formal background in business, Kelly is self-taught, having learned design and marketing via Google. Between carpooling and cooking, from the comfort of her home, she harnesses the power of social media to attract customers and grow her loyal fan base. Her products are top-sellers on Amazon.com, and Amazon often features her as one of their 'seller-success' stories. Kelly is the author of 'Cooking with Trader Joe's Cookbook: Easy Lunch Boxes'.

Thirty years after directing and choreographing the Odyssey Theatre's award-winning West Coast premiere, and following a wildly successful off-Broadway revival at the York Theatre last season, Bill Castellino reunites with musical director Gerald Sternbach to charm audiences with a revitalized, updated version of Ionescopade at the Odyssey Theatre, beginning May 31. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

Taken from the plays, playlets, journals and poetry of "Theatre of the Absurd" playwright Eugene Ionesco (Rhinoceros, The Bald Soprano, Exit the King), IONESCOPADE is a zany musical vaudeville featuring mime, farce and parody - all hilariously balanced on the edge of madness.

Thirty years after directing and choreographing the Odyssey Theatre's award-winning West Coast premiere, and following a wildly successful Off Broadway revival at the York Theatre last season, Bill Castellino reunites with musical directorGerald Sternbach to charm audiences with a revitalized, updated version of Ionescopade at theOdyssey Theatre beginning May 31.

GIFTS OF LOVE: THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF Stephen Schwartz, a benefit concert featuring premiere talent from the musical theatre world, is to take place today, February 10.

GIFTS OF LOVE: THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF STEPHEN SCHWARTZ, a benefit concert featuring premiere talent from the musical theatre world, is to take place on February 10. Tickets are $50 a person (food included), and may be purchased through www.brownpapertickets.com. Doors open at noon for a lunch/brunch buffet, and the show begins at one. All proceeds benefit Musical Theatre Programs at Culver City/Valley Glen campuses. The event will be hosted by True Blood's Carolyn Hennesy. To learn more about Summit View School please visit: www.summitviewschool.org.

When Frank Wedekind wrote Spring Awakening in the late 1800's, he could hardly have imagined that a little over a century later his play would be transformed into a Tony Award-winning rock musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater.

In the following videon, Broadway veteran Sam Harris teams up with Kelly Lester and her husband is Loren Lester for a hilarious tribute to musicals of the silver screen. Click below to check it out!