Ben Giroux

Laguna Playhouse and Lythgoe Family Productions present A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS, written by Kris Lythgoe, directed by Bonnie Lythgoe, musical direction by Andy Street, and choreography by Becca Sweitzer. See photos from the production.

Laguna Playhouse presents A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS, written by Kris Lythgoe, directed by Bonnie Lythgoe, musical direction by Andy Street, and choreography by Becca Sweitzer.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has announced the winners of the very first Children’s & Family Creative Arts Emmy® Awards which took place on Saturday, December 10th at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Check out photos from the event here!

Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP), presents a virtual at home sing-along concert CAROLS FOR KIDS, benefiting Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), and featuring stars from a decade of Lythgoe Family productions.

The family-friendly fun of Lythgoe Family Productions' annual holiday British Panto returns to the Laguna Playhouse, this time with the reimagined Yuletide re-telling of PETER PAN & TINKER BELL: A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS, which continues through December 29, 2019 in the city of Laguna Beach. Overall, the show is an amusing, energetic Panto, though admittedly not as over-the-top as the two previous holiday Panto's that I have seen staged here. Still, the show had me smiling the whole time, and it's safe to say that you and your family will like sharing the experience, too.

Each year, in the decade since the Lythgoe Family first introduced Panto to American audiences, stars of TV, film and Broadway come together at the holidays-many returning year after year-to perform alongside local talent in cities across the U.S. This year's offerings include the beloved tales of Snow White, Aladdin and Peter Pan, featuring Richard Karn, Garrett Clayton, Neil Patrick Harris and many others. Past productions have featured the star power of Ariana Grande, Jordan Fisher, Morgan Fairchild, Lucy Lawless, John O'Hurley, Tamyra Gray and Alex Newell, among others.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham, Executive Director Ellen Richard and Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP) presents Lythgoe Family Panto's PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL: A PIRATES' CHRISTMAS,

BT McNicholl is the producing artistic director of La Mirada Theatre of the Performing Arts and occasionally directs a show. He is currently in rehearsal for the Lythgoe Panto Peter Pan and Tinker Bell A Pirate's Christmas to open this week at the Laguna Playhouse. In our conversation he talks in detail about the Panto. What do you like about the Panto productions? BTM: They're eminently accessible -- contemporary pop songs fused with plucky twists on well-known tales. Plus, these productions feature exceptional professional talents, so -- for children experiencing theatre for the first time -- it's an introduction at a very high level. Best of all, it's a family tradition that can be repeated annually, but without ever becoming stale -- the content keeps changing (one year it's PETER PAN, the next year it's SNOW WHITE, then ALADDIN, etc) -- but the theatrical experience remains vibrant and participatory.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham, Executive Director Ellen Richard and Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP) announce that LINCOLN CLAUSS (Broadway's Bat Out of Hell) will star as a?oePeter Pan,a?? DAKOTA LOTUS (Disney's a?oeCoop & Cami Ask The Worlda??) will star as a?oeJohn Darling, a?? BRYCE CHARLES (Pasadena Playhouse Ragtime, The Book of Mormon) will star as a?oeWendy Darling,a?? BEN GIROUX (a?oeBack to the 90s,a?? Nickelodeon's a?oeHenry Dangera??) will star as a?oeSmeea?? and CLARICE ORDAZ (a?oeSo You Think You Can Dancea??) will star as a?oeTiger Lilya?? in Lythgoe Family Panto's PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL: A PIRATES' CHRISTMAS, written by Kris Lythgoe, with choreography by Kitty McNamee, musical direction by Doug Peck and directed by BT McNicholl. They will join the previously announced TV and Broadway actor John O'Hurley (a?oeSeinfeld,a?? a?oeDancing with the Stars,a?? Broadway's Chicago) starring as a?oeCaptain Hooka?? and Ashley Argota (Laguna Playhouse Beauty and the Beast: A Christmas Rose) starring as a?oeTinker Bell.a?? PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL: A PIRATES' CHRISTMAS will begin performances on Wednesday, December 4 and run through Sunday, December 29, 2019 with a press opening on Thursday, December 5 at 7:00 pm at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. Casting is led by LFP Producer Becky Lythgoe.

Audiences have until next Sunday - December 23, to be precise - to experience what is likely to become a Music City holiday tradition: Peter Pan and Tinker Bell: A Pirate's Christmas at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's James K. Polk Theatre. A somewhat Americanized version of a peculiarly British seasonal entertainment, aka "panto," Peter Pan and Tinker Bell is a winning blend of theater, Christmas pageant, vaudeville and British music hall all rolled into one bright, shiny, kind of weird, but altogether fun and rather unique holiday-themed package that's a welcome addition to yuletide revelry.

The opening night celebration of THE WONDERFUL WINTER OF OZ on December 14 will also serve as a benefit for the GiveKidsPanto program.  Lythgoe Family Panto created GiveKidsPanto, a non-profit educational program, serving over 6,000 Title 1 students across America annually. For many of these students, this is their first opportunity to see live theater.  GiveKidsPanto raises funds, which allows each LFP production across the country to add a student matinee to their performance schedule.  The funds raised through GiveKidsPanto go to facilitate the student's bus transportation to and from the theater as well as buy the tickets to the performances.  Last year at the Pasadena Civic alone, over 2,000 students from the Pasadena and Greater Los Angeles area schools were brought in to see a performance of Beauty and the Beast: A Christmas Rose.  For more information please contact events@americanpanto.com

Nashville's own Broadway star, actress, recording artist and American Idol alum Diana DeGarmo will join the holiday spectacular Peter Pan and Tinker Bell - A Pirate's Christmas presented by Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the Lythgoe Family Panto December 13-23 in TPAC's James K. Polk Theater.

After comedy hip-hop duo BEN & JENSEN reached 116 million people with their recent mega-viral BACK TO THE 90s music video, they charted at #11 on the Billboard digital charts and joined THE BACKSTREET BOYS in Las Vegas. Now, BEN & JENSEN are set to premiere their next nostalgic music video IN DA ARCADE on September 10.

In partnership with Lythgoe Family Panto, Theatre Under the Stars has opened their family-fun, holiday-filled interactive production Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight to Houston audiences. With a star-studded cast, popular music, and a storybook vibe, Kris Lythgoe's Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight had both the children and the parents in the audience laughing, shouting at the characters onstage, and erupting in applause. This production tells the tale of the cursed Princess Aurora (Lauren Taylor) on the brink of her eighteenth birthday, and the handsome Prince (Garrett Clayton) on the road to his wedding day with the Princess, as the evil fairy Carabosse (Debbie Gravitte) does everything in her power to sabotage the kingdom.

Broadway star and Tony Award winner, Debbie Gravitte, has joined the cast of SLEEPING BEAUTY AND HER WINTER KNIGHT as the evil fairy, 'Carabosse,' completing the cast for the upcoming holiday production at Theatre Under The Stars!

Teena Hostovich and Darrell Brooke just hosted a Pasadena Panto Season Launch Party in celebration of the Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP), in association with Pasadena Playhouse production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - A CHRISTMAS ROSE, which expands this winter at The Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Performances will begin December 13 through December 24 at The Pasadena Civic Auditorium. BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

Teena Hostovich and Darrell Brooke are hosting the Pasadena Panto Season Launch Party in celebration of the Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP), in association with Pasadena Playhouse production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - A CHRISTMAS ROSE, which expands this winter at The Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Teena Hostovich and Darrell Brooke are hosting the Pasadena Panto Season Launch Party in celebration of the Lythgoe Family Panto (LFP), in association with Pasadena Playhouse production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - A CHRISTMAS ROSE, which expands this winter at The Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Theatre Under The Stars and Lythgoe Family Panto have announced that John O'Hurley of Seinfeld and Broadway's CHICAGO, and Lauren Taylor of Disney's Best Friends Whenever, will be joining the cast starring as 'The King of Houston' and 'Princess Aurora'!

Actor/director Ben Giroux has teamed up with indie hip-hop artist Jensen Reed for their third parody music video collaboration, Back to the 90s.