Brian Kite News

Presenters have been announced for the 30th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards on Monday, January 13, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Red carpet arrivals will begin at 6pm and the ceremony, hosted by George Salazar, is set to begin at 7:30pm.

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT) announces today that Brian Kite has been named interim dean beginning January 1, 2020. Kite currently serves as the special academic senior associate dean at the School and chair of the Department of Theater. He begins his term on January 1, 2020, after current Dean Teri Schwartz steps down on December 31, 2019.

On Saturday, October 12th, the Foundation for New American Musicals will showcase short (10-minute) musicals written by high school and college-age finalists competing for cash-award scholarships at SHOWSEARCH 2019.

L.A. Theatre Works will record J.T. Rogers' 2017 Tony Award-winning play, Oslo for public radio, podcast and online streaming in front of a live audience over the course of four performances. The darkly funny, sweeping and surprising true story of the back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics that led to the Oslo Peace Accords between the Israelis and Palestinians, Oslo is set against a complex historical canvas: a story about the individuals behind world history and their all too human ambitions.

Rebel Genius, a new musical from Peabody Award-winning songwriter and film composer Matthew Puckett, and based on the life of the young and highly ambitious Albert Einstein, will have its world premiere at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's (UCLA TFT) Little Theater today, March 8, 2019. Rebel Geniuscrashes physics and love into one another as Albert falls madly in love with Mileva Maric and then risks everything he has to find a perfect Unified Theory of the Universe. Book, music and lyrics by Matthew Puckett; directed by Ovation Award winner Brian Kite; choreographed by Ovation Award winner Dana Solimando; musical direction by Dan Belzer and Jeremy Mann.

Rebel Genius, a new musical from Peabody Award-winning songwriter and film composer Matthew Puckett, and based on the life of the young and highly ambitious Albert Einstein, will have its world premiere at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's (UCLA TFT) Little Theater on Friday, March 8, 2019. Rebel Geniuscrashes physics and love into one another as Albert falls madly in love with Mileva Maric and then risks everything he has to find a perfect Unified Theory of the Universe. Book, music and lyrics by Matthew Puckett; directed by Ovation Award winner Brian Kite; choreographed by Ovation Award winner Dana Solimando; musical direction by Dan Belzer and Jeremy Mann.

The McCallum Theatre presents L.A. Theatre Works' production of Steel Magnolias on Monday, February 25, at 7:00pm. Strong as steel and delicate as magnolias. The six women of Chinquapin, Louisiana, face life's ups and downs together in this beloved comedy/drama. Truvy's home beauty parlor is their gathering place, where they gossip, needle, and jab each other through the best of times and comfort and repair one another through the worst. Based on the hit Off-Broadway show that became a star-studded motion picture in 1989, this is a funny, poignant tale of female friendship and the unbreakable mother-daughter bond.

L.A. Theatre Works will bring its signature radio-theater hybrid style to Morristown on Friday, March 8 as it presents Steel Magnolias.  The play is a funny, heartbreaking story of female empowerment and resilience by Robert Harling, is directed by Brian Kite and features a company of six diverse women including Shannon Holt, Elisa Bocanegra, Monica McSwain, Inger Tudor, Cerris Morgan-Moyer and Patti Yasutake.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT (celebrating its 25th Silver Anniversary at the theatre) are thrilled to present the award-winning and revolutionary 1776 THE MUSICAL, with musical direction by Jeff Rizzo and directed & staged by Glenn Casale. 1776 THE MUSICAL will preview on Friday, January 11, 2019 (with a press opening on Saturday, January 12 at 8pm) and runs through Sunday, February 3, 2019 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.  

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's (UCLA TFT) Department of Theater announced today its upcoming Mainstage theater season, which includes the production of two plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, who was previously announced as the school's inaugural Hearst Theater Lab Initiative Distinguished Playwright-in-Residence for the 2018-19 academic year.

Based on a true story, Steel Magnolias features six strong, resilient women who bond over love, laughter, and loss. The show was written as a tribute to playwright Robert Harling's sister who passed away due to diabetes complications. The actors respond to events featuring life challenges over three years. Steel Magnolias takes the stage during their 29th year of touring at Popejoy Hall on Sunday, November 4, 2018 at 3 p.m. Directed by Brian Kite, the theatrical and film classic is set against the backdrop of the Louisiana Bayou in the 1980s. The performance begins when a group of women meets unexpectedly at Truvy's in-home beauty salon on the day of the Eatenton Wedding. Shelby, the bride, is in dire need of an up-do from Truvy. Although Shelby was cautioned against having children because she has Type 1 diabetes, she is determined to experience motherhood. Following Shelby's decision to have a child, her friends and family stand beside her to support her and her baby on the way. Steel Magnolias opened Off-Broadway in 1987 prior to the launch of a U.S. national tour in 1989. Since then, the show has performed worldwide in the U.K., Ireland, Japan, Poland, and Sweden. The cast includes Inger Tudor (Goliath and The Social Network), Cerris Morgan-Moyer (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Monica McSwain (Red Eye), Patti Yasutake (Star Trek and Grey's Anatomy), Shannon Holt (Judgment at Nuremberg), and Elisa Bocanegra (Gilmore Girls and Undecided). Steel Magnolias is an L.A. Theatre Works production. L.A. Theatre Works was found in 1974 and began audio recording in the 1990s instead of producing conventional theatrical presentations. The company is the leading producer of audio theatre in the United States. L.A. Theatre Works produces modern masterpieces, world classics, original and contemporary works with an emphasis in cultural, historical, and social issues.

L.A. Theatre Works has announced its 2018-19 season of seven plays, each to be recorded in front of a live audience for future radio broadcast and online distribution. All performances take place at the James Bridges Theater, located on the campus of UCLA in West Los Angeles. In addition, the company will introduce audiences to its signature style of radio theater at venues across the country during its 15th national tour.

REPRISE 2.0, led by Producing Artistic Director Marcia Seligson, presented in association with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Department of Theater (UCLA TFT) chaired by Brian Kite, performing at UCLA Freud Playhouse, announces casting for Grand Hotel performing October 24 to November 4, as well as a new 2-show FlexPass for $99, now on sale at Reprise2.org and by phone at 866-811-4111.

REPRISE 2.0, led by Producing Artistic Director Marcia Seligson, in association with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Department of Theater (UCLA TFT) chaired by Brian Kite, announces Dawnn Lewis (This Is Us, Major Crimes and IZombie), Valerie Perri (LA Shubert Theatre Evita, Jerome Robbins' Broadway) Larry Cedar (Deadwood), Kelley Dorney (Annie at Hollywood Bowl) and Michael Starr (Bright Star national tour) for its production of The World Goes 'Round with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and David Thompson. It will play September 5 through September 16 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.  

REPRISE 2.0, led by Producing Artistic Director Marcia Seligson, in association with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Department of Theater (UCLA TFT) chaired by Brian Kite, announces its production of The World Goes 'Round with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and David Thompson. It will play September 5 through September 16 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse.  The World Goes 'Round will be directed by Richard Israel with choreography by John Todd, and musical direction by Gerald Sternbach.

REPRISE 2.0 (led by Producing Artistic Director Marcia Seligson), in association with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Department of Theater (UCLA TFT) chaired by Brian Kite, presents its inaugural production of Sweet Charity.  Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall with musical direction by Gerald Sternbach, the classic Broadway hit plays through July 1 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. Take a look at photos from the show's opening night below!

Single tickets are now on sale for the inaugural REPRISE 2.0 production of Sweet Charity. Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, the classic Broadway hit plays from June 20 to July 1 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. REPRISE 2.0 is led by producing artistic director Marcia Seligson.

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), one of the world's most prominent academic institutions for entertainment and performing arts education, announced today that distinguished costume designer Paul Tazewell will be the keynote speaker at the 16th annual Design Showcase West (DSW) on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Freud Playhouse.

Disgraced - Ayad Akhtar's controversial Pulitzer Prize and Obie Award-winning drama has become one of the most passionately discussed plays in the world. Amir Kapoor is a brilliant, successful Muslim American attorney who has turned his back on his faith in order to thrive in post-9/11 Manhattan.

REPRISE 2.0 is now announced, presenting a season of three classic American musicals at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, by Marcia Seligson, Producing Artistic Director of the new performing arts organization.  REPRISE 2.0 is partnering with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Department of Theater (UCLA TFT), chaired by Brian Kite.