​What a year! 2019 was - one of our best years yet,   serving a record number of people in our community. I  wanted to pause a moment and take a look back at the
moments that defined 2019 for us at the Playhouse. Here  are my top 10 moments:

#1 Ragtime Raves: We started the year with one of  the most ambitious shows we ever produced. Created  by over 100 local theater people, our extraordinary  production of Ragtime was hailed by critics and  audiences alike, and just received a record-breaking
14 Ovation nominations.

#2 Science + Art: We continued our partnership with CalTech presenting Mach33, a festival of new science-themed plays with a goal of illuminating science through theater. The festival will continue this Spring.

#3 A Musical Theater Lovers Paradise: NYU Professor Adam Epstein taught a 12-week course, The History of the Broadway Musical, to a sold-out class expanding our education program efforts to lifelong learners. 

#4 A Very Beautiful Thing: Our production of Tiny  Beautiful Things directed by Thomas Kail (Hamilton’s director) starring Nia Vardalos brought audiences to tears with its healing stories. The LA Times even wrote a story  about audiences crying in the theater.

#5 Dancing in the Streets: Over 12,000 people came together for our  Playhouse Block Party. With over 50 local community groups participating, it was  truly a highlight of the year.

#6 A Convening of Directors: The Playhouse brought emerging directors from  all over the country together for a one-week conference, Directors Lab West.
The conference continues our commitment of being a center of theater learning
including professional development opportunities.

#7 Good Boys: Our powerful and timely new play, Good Boys by Roberto  Aguierre-Sacasa had audiences riveted as it explored the world of private boys  school culture. The talented cast gave performances that are still being talked   about.

#8 The Next Generation: We partnered with the  London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and  hosted a two-week Summer Intensive for early career   actors. They studied the classics and had some of the  top instructors direct from London. And even better, our Playhouse alumni-funded scholarships subsidized  tuition for 20 of the students.

#9 Little Shop Reinvented: We blew the roof off The  Playhouse with our re-conceived Little Shop of Horrors. The  LA Times Theater Critic Charles McNulty raved that the
production was “the best Little Shop I’ve ever seen.” We  broke our box office record for a musical and our  performance on the Late Late Show with James Corden has
already been viewed well over 600,000 times by people  all over the world.
​
#10 A Great Partnership: We recently concluded our run of Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap directed by BD Wong and receiving an LA Times Critic’s Pick. The show was a partnership between the Playhouse and the local theater company,  East West Players, the nation’s premier Asian-American Theater Company.

Thank you for your continued support and for your part in making 2019 such a
special year for us here at the Playhouse. Here’s to 2020!

Danny Feldman, Producing Artistic Director, Pasadena Playhouse

In 1922 the Pasadena Playhouse presented   Gibert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance for  the  first time. The play was performed   at  the Savoy   Theatre. Even  then, more than 40 years since it premiere in 1879, it  was   a   play with   refreshing  music, inventive melodies and   surprisingly  relevant themes that  delighted  audience.

"I think Pirates   has endured all these years because  it lets us to escape into a world of joy, laughter , and absurdity", says Danny Feldman, Producing   Artistic  Director of the  Playhouse.   "It shows us how the world should be in spite  it really is. In the divisive world we're loving mow, we need to find ways to come together and the best way to do that is to find common ground. Let's start with a simple gesture: Let's have fun together."  (Pasadena  Playhouse / Performances  Magazine) 

 Pirates of Penzance  on stage  January 23 — February 25, 2018.
The Pasadena Playhouse in association with The Hypocrites
​By Gilbert & Sullivan.
Adapted & Directed by Sean Graney
Co-Adapted by Kevin O’Donnell.
Music Direction by Andra Velis Simon.
Cast and   Creative  Team.

The Pirates of Penzance, or, Love and Duty Libretto.

About   the operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan 'The Pirates of Penzance'   (Encyclopedia   Britannica) 
Pirates, Privateers, Corsairs, Buccaneers: What’s the Difference?  (Encyclopedia   Britannica) 
​

Review in LA   Times   by   Charles McNulty : 'Pirates of Penzance,' with a piña colada: Gilbert & Sullivan plays as interactive party.

 December 14 — December 23, 2017

This season the Friends support two holiday productions: Miracle on 34th Street  at the  Pasadena Playhouse and   Beauty and the Beast: A Christmas Rose,   the   American  Panto   at the   Pasadena  Civic   Auditorium.  Miracle on 34th Street    is   performed on the  main  stage of the Pasadena   Playhouse   as   a live radio play ​. ​
​

What   does it take   to   built   the set?   See the work  in progress recorded  during  an entire week.   

Meet the Playwright Mike Bartlett   |   How I wrote King Charles III | Stage | The Guardian   | September  20,  2014.​

Meet Director   Michael Michetti  |     BWW Interview:  Man of the Hour 
by Ellen Dostal Oct. 19, 2017.  

 Meet   the cast   and company  of  King  Charles  III.
​King Charles III speculates on what happens after Queen Elizabeth II dies and Prince Charles ascends to the throne. Jim Abele stars as Charles, alongside Laura Gardner (Camilla), Adam Haas Hunter (William), Meghan Andrews (Kate), and Dylan Saunders (Harry). The cast also includes Sarah Hollis, Nike Doukas, J. Paul Boehmer, Mark Capri, Carie Kawam, Amielynn Abellera, Dileep Rao, Robert Beddall, Eamon Hunt, Bo Foxworth, and Abe Martell.

The production features scenic design by David Meyer, costumes by Alex Jaeger, lighting design by Elizabeth Harper, original music and sound design by Peter Bayne, wig and hair design by April Metcalf, casting by Nicole Arbusto, and accent coaching by Nike Doukas. King Charles III also features an original score recorded by the Pasadena Master Chorale, led by chorale director Jeffrey Bernstein.

King Charles III premiered in London in 2014, winning the Olivier Award for Best New Play, and transferred to Broadway in 2015, earning five Tony nominations.

Charles is king, Harry's in trouble and Kate's taking charge in Pasadena Playhouse's royal winner "King Charles III"    | Los Angeles   Times  |   November   15, 2015.

Performances   at the Pasadena Playhouse run November 8 -  December 3, 2017.