WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE,
CO-PRODUCED BY THE WALLIS AND FOR THE RECORD,
ANNOUNCES ALL-STAR CAST
Leading the Multimedia-Concert Celebration is Rumer Willis, Tony® and Grammy® Award-Winning Actor Steve Kazee,
Kelley Jakle, Rex Smith and Grammy® Award-nominee B. Slade
December 4 – 31, 2018 at the
Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts
(Beverly Hills, CA November 1, 2018) — Love Actually Live, a multimedia-concert celebration of the soundtrack to one of the most beloved holiday movies of all time from the team behind Los Angeles’ award-winning For The Record series, is featured this holiday season at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts from Tuesday, December 4, through Monday, December 31, 2018. Co-Produced by the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, Shane Scheel and Siobhan O’Neill and inspired by the Universal Pictures/Working Title motion picture written by Richard Curtis, this world-premiere production, presented by special arrangement with Universal Theatrical Group, transforms The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater into a giant, immersive, cinema for the modern day. The production, a one-of-a-kind presentation is performed live by an all-star cast and 15-piece orchestra, includes songs from the hit film, including “Christmas Is All Around,” “The Trouble with Love Is,” and “Both Sides Now.”
The lineup of outstanding vocalists includes Rumer Willis (Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Fox’s “Empire”) Tony® and Grammy® Award-Winning Actor Steve Kazee (Broadway’s Once: The Musical), Kelley Jakle (Pitch Perfect), Rex Smith (RIAA Gold® recording artist), Grammy Award-nominee B. Slade, Carrie Manolakos (Broadway’s Mamma Mia!, Wicked), Justin Sargent (NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert), Zak Resnick (Broadway’s Mamma Mia!, Fox’s “American Idol”), Doug Kreeger (Broadway’s Les Misérables), Olivia Kuper Harris (Postmodern Jukebox), Tomasina Abate, Sean Yves Lessard, Cairo McGee, Glory Curda, Tom Zmuda, Alex Csillag, Megan Shung, Carson Higgins and Emily Lopez.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have so many For The Record alumni back with us this year, to bring Love Actually to life,” says executive producer Shane Scheel. “Every song on the Love Actually soundtrack helps tell the story of this beloved holiday movie, and the vocalists comprising this company will bring joy, tears, and adoration to audiences nightly.”
Love Actually Live takes place in a three-dimensional world where scenery and video screens intertwine, providing a canvas upon which actors weave between projections as they bring unforgettable scenes to life through the movie’s album. The film, along with original custom-video content illustrating the London-based setting, is displayed on screens that travel throughout the stage, immersing the singers and musicians in a cinematic spectacle. This theatrical world transforms the experience so completely that audiences will fall in love with Love Actually all over again.
“Each year, The Wallis builds upon its commitment to developing lasting relationships with companies like For the Record,” says artistic director Paul Crewes, “and we value our long-term connection as we take this season’s world-premiere production of Love Actually Live into the next phase of its development.” Previous For The Record productions at The Wallis include the sold-out Tarantino, a rock-’n’-roll celebration of the famed filmmaker’s cinematic universe, and the Ovation Award-winning Scorsese: American Crime Requiem.
Love Actually Live is adapted and directed by Anderson Davis, with musical supervision and arrangements by Jesse Vargas, vocal design by Tony Award nominee AnnMarie Milazzo, musical staging by Sumie Maeda, scenic design by Emmy Award winner Matthew Steinbrenner, lighting design by Michael Berger, sound design by Ben Soldate, costume design by Steve Mazurek, video design by Aaron Rhyne, and co-produced by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Shane Scheel and Siobhan O’Neill.
Tickets, $35 to $125, are on sale now and, available at http://thewallis.org/love. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. To purchase tickets and for more information, please call 310-746-4000 or visit: http://thewallis.org/love.
About the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts:
Since opening its doors in October 2013, The Wallis has produced or presented more than 250 dance, theatre, opera, classical music, cinema and family programs to an ever-expanding audience. Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, The Wallis brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world’s most talented and sought-after artists. Featuring eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the U.S. and around the globe. The mission of The Wallis is to create, present and celebrate unique performing arts events and educational programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of our community. Nominated for 48 Ovation Awards, seven L.A. Drama Critic’s Circle Awards and the recipient of six architectural awards since opening in 2013. The Wallis is a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue that celebrates the classic and the modern and was designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA, of Studio Pali Fekete architects. The building features the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater’s dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, GRoW at The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education (a gift of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family and the Annenberg Foundation) and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these structures embrace the city’s history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike. For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org.
About FOR THE RECORD:
Created by Shane Scheel and Anderson Davis, For The Record is an unconventional theatrical series that brings the soul of treasured directors’ films front and center: the soundtrack. Staged in a variety of venues that immerse the audience in the excitement, carefully-selected songs from movie soundtracks are brought to life. Part rock-concert and part musical theater, For The Record unites characters across a film directors’ cannon into one world. In 2010, the new generation cabaret experience began in a 60-seat bar in Hollywood and has featured the works of acclaimed directors Quentin Tarantino, John Hughes, Baz Luhrmann, The Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Robert Zemeckis, and Garry and Penny Marshall. For The Record has performed around the country with shows in Los Angeles, Las Vegas (a three-year run with Cirque du Soleil and The Venetian), New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, SXSW in Austin, TX, The Montreal International Jazz Festival and currently making waves on Norwegian Cruise Line’s mega-ship, The Escape. For The Record is carving a new place in the market that transcends jukebox musicals and creates a transportive experience making the audience feel like they are twisting in Jack Rabbit Slims, in detention at Shermer High School, or toasting in Gatsby’s Mansion. www.fortherecordlive.com @FTRLIVE #ForTheRecordLive
About Love Actually
Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Richard Curtis (About Time, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill), Love Actually is the unforgettable holiday classic from Universal Pictures/Working Title that has had audiences laughing, crying and hugging since it first premiered in the U.S. in 2003. Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Keira Knightley, Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Andrew Lincoln and Bill Nighy lead an illustrious all-star cast that charm and delight in this heartwarming romantic comedy about eight couples whose lives intersect shortly before the holidays. The film’s hilariously unpredictable plot examines how love inspires experiences that are alternately exciting, unexpected and unequalled. Since its debut 15 years ago, Love Actually has become a new holiday classic, and according to Entertainment Weekly, “one of the great Christmas movies” of all time.
WHAT:
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Shane Scheel and Siobhan O’Neill Present
LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE
World Premiere Production
Inspired by the Universal Pictures/Working Title motion picture written by Richard Curtis
Presented by special arrangement with Universal Theatrical Group
Adapted By/Director Anderson Davis
CAST
Rumer Willis
Steve Kazee
Kelley Jakle
Rex Smith
- Slade
Carrie Manolakos
Justin Sargent
Zak Resnick
Doug Kreeger
Olivia Kuper Harris
Tomasina Abate
Sean Yves Lessard
Cairo McGee
Glory Curda
Tom Zmuda
Alex Csillag
Megan Shung
Carson Higgins
Emily Lopez
Musical Supervision/Arrangements Jesse Vargas
Vocal Design AnnMarie Milazzo
Musical Staging Sumie Maeda
Scenic Design Matthew Steinbrenner
Lighting Design Michael Berger
Sound Design Ben Soldate
Costume Design Steve Mazurek
Video Design Aaron Rhyne
WHEN:
Tuesday, December 4, through Monday, December 31, 2018
Weekdays, 7:30 pm; Saturdays, 2 pm and 7:30 pm; and Sundays, 2 pm and 7 pm
New Year’s Eve Celebration, December 31, 8:00pm
WHERE:
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Bram Goldsmith Theater
9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
TICKET PRICES AND INFORMATION:
$35 to $125 (prices subject to change)
TheWallis.org
310.746.4000
Box Office – Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210
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