Joe Spano News

The dog days of summer arrive early this year, as Rubicon Theatre Company presents a spring production of A.R. Gurney's howlingly funny canine comedy SYLVIA, a love story about empty nesters Greg and Kate, and an irrepressible mutt named Sylvia. Written by Drama Desk, Obie and Lortel Award-winning playwright A.R. Gurney (also known for Love Letters and The Dining Room), the plot follows what happens after a man going through a midlife crisis finds a dog in Central Park and brings her home without consulting his wife.

The dog days of summer arrive early this year, as Rubicon Theatre Company presents a spring production of A.R. Gurney's howlingly funny canine comedy SYLVIA, a love story about empty nesters Greg and Kate, and an irrepressible mutt named Sylvia. Written by Drama Desk, Obie and Lortel Award-winning playwright A.R. Gurney (also known for Love Letters and The Dining Room), the plot follows what happens after a man going through a midlife crisis finds a dog in Central Park and brings her home without consulting his wife.

Rubicon Theatre Company celebrates Black History Month with THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH, starring singer and actress Miche Braden of the original Off-Broadway production (named one of the 10 Best Off-Broadway productions of the year by the N.Y. Daily Times). Described by CBC as a, "bawdy, bluesy, boozy rollicking night out at the theatre," the show follows the life, loves and career of blues and jazz singer Bessie Smith, called the "Empress of the Blues." 

Rubicon Theatre Company celebrates Black History Month with THE DEVIL'S MUSIC: THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH, starring singer and actress Miche Braden of the original Off-Broadway production (named one of the 10 Best Off-Broadway productions of the year by the N.Y. Daily Times). Described by CBC as a, "bawdy, bluesy, boozy rollicking night out at the theatre," the show follows the life, loves and career of blues and jazz singer Bessie Smith, called the "Empress of the Blues."

Award-winning playwright Arlene Hutton's newest play THE THREE SISTERS BRONTË receives a FREE staged reading at Rubicon Theatre Company on February 6 at 7:00 p.m. Interweaving the famous trio of literary sisters and Anton Chekhov's masterpiece Three Sisters, the play examines the complexities of feminism, art, love and family. Set against the bleak and windy Yorkshire moors in the mid-1800s, Arlene Hutton's THE THREE SISTERS BRONTË follows the lives of the sisters as they struggle to find creative prosperity while navigating the harsh realities of a male society. Faced with limited opportunities for educated women, Charlotte, Emily and Anne live in the rich worlds of their imaginations, until they are forced to face the truth that nothing is certain, and their destinies are best served when held firmly in their own hands.

Rubicon Theatre Company presents GULF VIEW DRIVE , the third and final play in Arlene Hutton's Nibroc Trilogy, directed by Indy award-winning Katharine Farmer with the same cast reprising their critically-acclaimed roles from the Los Angeles Times "Critic's Choice" productions of Last Train to Nibroc and last season's See Rock City. Lily Nicksay ("Boy Meets World"/The Wild Duck at A Noise Within) and Erik Odom("The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"/Sons of the Prophet at The Blank) return as May and Raleigh, along with See Rock City featured cast membersClarinda Ross (Spit Like a Big Girl/Steel Magnolias) and Sharon Sharth (Waiting for Grace/ member of Actors Studio and Circle Rep in New York). Joining the cast is returning Rubicon artist Faline England (Crimes of the Heart (Indy Award)/Turn of the Screw (Ovation Nomination).

Last season's critically acclaimed, World Premiere hit Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL returns to Rubicon Theatre Company this holiday season with Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Copenhagen) and Joe Spano ('NCIS,' RTC's Bucky) reprising their roles in this innovative retelling of the classic. Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura today, December 10, followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. The show is currently in previews for a run through December 24, and BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek below!

 Last season's critically acclaimed, World Premiere hit CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL returns to Rubicon Theatre Company this holiday season with Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Copenhagen) and Joe Spano ("NCIS," RTC's Bucky) reprising their roles in this innovative retelling of the classic. Adapted by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed byBrian McDonald, the 25-member cast features many of the same actors from the original production that earned a "Critic's Choice" in the Los Angeles Times and rave reviews from Ventura County Star, CASA Magazine, VIDA Magazine and the Ventura Breeze. Presented as a play with music, this dynamic and compelling stage version is highly theatrical. Actors narrate at various times, play multiple characters, sing and contribute to the soundscape for the production in the style of the Royal Shakespeare Company's landmark production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura on Today, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. Low-priced previews are December 7-9. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays through December 24.

Last season's critically acclaimed, World Premiere hit Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL returns to Rubicon Theatre Company this holiday season with Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Copenhagen) and Joe Spano ('NCIS,' RTC's Bucky) reprising their roles in this innovative retelling of the classic. Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura on Saturday, December 10, followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. The show is currently in previews for a run through December 24, and BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek below!

 Last season's critically acclaimed, World Premiere hit CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL returns to Rubicon Theatre Company this holiday season with Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Copenhagen) and Joe Spano ("NCIS," RTC's Bucky) reprising their roles in this innovative retelling of the classic. Adapted by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed byBrian McDonald, the 25-member cast features many of the same actors from the original production that earned a "Critic's Choice" in the Los Angeles Times and rave reviews from Ventura County Star, CASA Magazine, VIDA Magazine and the Ventura Breeze. Presented as a play with music, this dynamic and compelling stage version is highly theatrical. Actors narrate at various times, play multiple characters, sing and contribute to the soundscape for the production in the style of the Royal Shakespeare Company's landmark production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura on Saturday, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. Low-priced previews are December 7-9. The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays through December 24.

Rubicon Theatre Company has announced the complete cast of RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET, a fabulously campy send up of 'Forbidden Planet' and other sci-fi film and TV shows of the 1950s which melds plot elements from The Tempest with language from multiple plays by Shakespeare.

Rubicon Theatre Company presents RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET, a fabulously campy send up of 'Forbidden Planet' and other sci-fi film and TV shows of the 1950s which melds plot elements from The Tempest with language from multiple plays by Shakespeare.

Rubicon Theatre Company has announced the complete cast of RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET, a fabulously campy send up of 'Forbidden Planet' and other sci-fi film and TV shows of the 1950s which melds plot elements from The Tempest with language from multiple plays by Shakespeare.

The 2015-16 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Musical Concert Series at Rubicon Theatre Company concludes with a concert presentation of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.

The 2015-16 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Musical Concert Series at Rubicon Theatre Company concludes with a concert presentation of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.

Rubicon Theatre Company's 2016-2017 Season was publicly announced today at a special event hosted by Joe Spano(Emmy Award and L.A. Drama Critics' Circle Award-winning veteran of stage and screen) and Peter Van Norden (whose numerous credits include five Broadway shows, regional theatre, film and television). The two actors star as Marley and Scrooge, respectively, in the company's adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which was a Critic's Choice in the L.A. Times and will be reprised this December under the direction of Brian McDonald. The season also features the third play in Arlene Hutton's celebrated Nibroc Trilogy, Gulf View Drive, helmed by London-based director Katharine Farmer; Miche Braden reprising her Off-Broadway performance in The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith written by Angelo Parra and directed by Joe Brancato of Penguin Rep; the return of the most popular comedy in Rubicon history, A.R. Gurney's Sylvia, directed by Stephanie A. Coltrin; direct from Off-Broadway, The Other Mozart written by and starring Silvia Milo and directed by Isaac Byrne, about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's equally remarkable sister Nannerl; Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Frank McGuinness' riveting tale based on a true story about three hostages held in Beirut in1986, directed by Katharine Farmer; and King Lear by William Shakespeare, directed by James O'Neil.

Rubicon Theatre Company presents Moonlight and Magnolias, the hilarious fly on the wall comedy by Ron Hutchinson about how the most iconic film in Hollywood history almost didn't get made. Directed by Stephanie A. Coltrin, this production features the same principal cast members from her critically acclaimed staging of Moonlight and Magnolias at Hermosa Beach Playhouse in 2010. Just in time for the 80th anniversary of Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, 'Gone With the Wind,' Rubicon brings this wildly funny, behind-the-scenes farce to Ventura on Saturday, September 3 at 7:00 p.m. with an after party to follow atThe Greek Mediterranean Steak & Seafood. Previews are August 31, Sept. 1 and 2. The show runs through September 18.

For those adverse to sitting through cult orientation lectures, the world premiere of playwright Jesse Mu-En Shao's THE END TIMES might be ninety minutes to avoid. Shao vividly recreates the militaristic recitation of a cult's teachings which all members continuously repeat, either to re-enforce the lessons to each other or to convince themselves they're doing the right way.

Following a critically hailed, highly successful extended run of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rubicon Theatre Company continues the 2015-2016 Season with another American premiere -- eXtras by Sabina Berman.

Following a critically hailed, highly successful extended run of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rubicon Theatre Company continues the 2015-2016 Season with another American premiere -- eXtras by Sabina Berman.