Natalia Vivino News

Make your list and check it twice, because we are HEADED FOR THE HOLIDAYS on Monday 11.19.18 at Upstairs at Vitello's!

Musical Theatre Guild's production of 'Mame' wowed a Sunday evening audience with its broad comedy, Jerry Herman's tuneful score, and winning performances from its cast. The staged reading included full costumes, choreography, and some wonderfully funny moments, thanks to Lewis Wilkenfled's skillful directing.

Musical Theatre Guild, the winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in the theatre, will open their 23nd Anniversary season with Jerry Herman's classic musical MAME. The one-night-only concert will take place at Glendale's historic Alex Theatre on Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

A Little New Music will bring its entertaining showcase of emerging musical theatre talents to The Sorting Room's 2018 Summer Sessions at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m.  A Little New Music's audiences will discover brand new musical theatre songs firsthand before they land on Broadway or beyond.

A Little New Music brings its entertaining showcase of emerging musical theatre talents to The Sorting Room's 2018 Summer Sessions at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.  A Little New Music's audiences will discover brand new musical theatre songs firsthand before they land on Broadway or beyond.

On Sunday, June 10, 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 in SHOWSEARCH 2018.

Jukebox musical featuring Elvis Presley catalog is refreshing, funny, and has some of the most energetic, stellar choreography of the year.

CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE is going to 'take you to heaven' with the second show in its 2016-2017 season, SISTER ACT! For the first time in the Kavli theatre, Cabrillo will present this hilarious new musical, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, musical direction by Kyle C. Norris, choreography by Michelle Elkin and direction by Misti B. Wills.

Cabrillo Music Theatre is going to 'take you to heaven' with the second show in its 2016-2017 season, SISTER ACT.

Cabrillo Music Theatre is going to 'take you to heaven' with the second show in its 2016-2017 season, SISTER ACT. 

On Sunday, February 19 LA's Next Great Stage Star 2017 Presented by Princess Cruises came to an uber exciting conclusion at the Colony Theatre. After a very entertaining 90-minute program in which the 18 contestants gave 150% to their uptempo songs from Broadway shows, thirteen contestants were eliminated and the top five finalists selected during the first intermission. It was then decided, like the last two years from the consensus of the judges, to add a sixth contestant. Then each of the six proceeded to perform a second number after which the distinguished panel of 18 judges made the final decision during the second intermission. Musical director par excellence Richard Berent accompanied at the piano throughout the three hour show.

Loosely patterned after 'an audition process', this 11th annual fully produced event is geared to discovering new talent between the ages of 18 and 32 for the musical theatre stage. This year once again the contest is generously sponsored/presented by Princess Cruises. As has become the standard, approximately 20 contestants compete for the title, a $2500 cash prize, a headlining engagement at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal during the New Year, professional representation in the business of  musical theatre, and other valuable prizes. To date, over a dozen former contestants have already made their Broadway and/or Off-Broadway debuts; while nearly another 100 have either starred in Broadway U.S. National Tours; Regional U.S. Musical Theatre productions; Las Vegas Hotel sit-downs of Broadway Musicals; on board in lavish production shows presented by some of the world's most prestigious cruise lines; or have starred on stages at numerous Southern California Theme Parks such as Disneyland's California Adventure and Lego Land. Internationally, Tokyo Disney is also host to Stage Star talent. 

With the angst over the immediate future of Cabrillo Music Theatre finally receding into the background, it's time to focus once again on what is happening on the Cabrillo stage. Its current production of Children of Eden, which made its debut last night at the Fred Kavli Theatre, proves how indispensable Cabrillo continues to be to the arts in this community. The high production values, sensitive direction, superlative casting, and, yes, insistence on live musicians in the pit, have made Cabrillo a consistently professional theater company in Ventura County for more than two decades, a streak that, thanks to some Frank Merriwell heroics by anonymous donors, will continue on for the time being.

Before his retelling of the Witches of Oz in WICKED, composer Stephen Schwartz took on a contemporary retelling of some of the most popular Biblical tales known to Man. CHILDREN OF EDEN uses these stories and characters to strike a universal chord in all of us. Beautiful music, story, humor, and imagery remind us of Spring, filled with new life bursting all around. CHILDREN OF EDEN opened on Friday, April 8th, 2016, playing until Sunday, April 17th, 2016 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. 

Last night's opening of Cabrillo Music Theatre's Children of Eden was every bit as enchanting and magical as anticipated. After the debacle of Theater League's Ragtime, in which two synthesizer players were hidden back stage, out of sight of the audience, it was a pleasure to hear a sumptuous orchestra of musicians playing real instruments in the Kavli orchestra pit once again. My review of the show will be in this coming Thursday's Acorn, but today, we conclude our visit with Natalia Vivino, who plays the role of Yonah, and Ryan Driscoll, who plays Cain and Act I and Japheth in Act II. Natalia, Ryan, and the rest of the cast of Children of Eden had to conduct rehearsals for the show while Cabrillo was going through the turmoil of deciding its own future. The stress and emotional levels were high during this process, but there was a tremendous sigh of relief when the recent news that Cabrillo had once again been saved was announced to the cast. Opening night was an artistic triumph for Cabrillo, with the roller coaster of emotions regarding its viability hopefully receding into the past for the time being. As our interview continues, Natalia and Ryan talked about their characters and the motivations behind them.

Before his retelling of the Witches of Oz in WICKED, composer Stephen Schwartz took on a contemporary retelling of some of the most popular Biblical tales known to Man. CHILDREN OF EDEN uses these stories and characters to strike a universal chord in all of us. Beautiful music, story, humor, and imagery remind us of Spring, filled with new life bursting all around. CHILDREN OF EDEN opens today, April 8th, 2016, playing until Sunday, April 17th, 2016 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

Before his retelling of the Witches of Oz in WICKED, composer Stephen Schwartz took on a contemporary retelling of some of the most popular Biblical tales known to Man. CHILDREN OF EDEN uses these stories and characters to strike a universal chord in all of us. Beautiful music, story, humor, and imagery remind us of Spring, filled with new life bursting all around. CHILDREN OF EDEN opens on Friday, April 8th, 2016, playing until Sunday, April 17th, 2016 at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

As theatres across Ventura County begin a new year of musical shows, Panic! Productions will be celebrating those many countywide offerings with Coming Distractions on January 23 at the Newbury Park High School Performing Arts Center. A fund-raiser to benefit both Panic! and the high school's theatre department, the show will feature medleys of favorite songs and dance numbers from the wide range of musicals that will be mounted in the community during 2016.

Santa Susana Performing Arts Magnet High School in Simi Valley presents SHREK THE MUSICAL, running in their new 450-seat performing arts center for six performances over two weekends, concluding after today and tomorrow, May 1-2, 2015.

Santa Susana Performing Arts Magnet High School in Simi Valley is currently in rehearsal for SHREK THE MUSICAL, which will run in their new 450-seat performing arts center for six performances over two weekends, April 24-25 and May 1-2, 2015.