Theatre Archives ⋆ Page 2 of 3 ⋆ Brett Ryback

OSF Breaking Down Barriers

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival proves once again that it is America’s foremost regional theatre company with the launch of its facilitator training program on inclusion and equity issues called artEquity.

As organizations continue to seek new ways to connect with their changing audiences, it will become increasingly important for artists and organizations alike to learn how to break down barriers of gender, race, and class. The problem is that these barriers are often invisible to the artists and organizations. That’s why this type of training is so integral to making real and lasting change. Continue reading OSF Breaking Down Barriers

MURDER Receives OCC Nomination

MURDER FOR TWO was honored yesterday with a nomination for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Musical Off-Broadway. This is in addition to my co-star Jeff Blumenkrantz’s recent Lucille Lortel nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

I’m very proud of our little show, and if you haven’t yet seen it – then what are you waiting for?

Yesterday was also an exciting day because we participated in the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids Easter Bonnet Competition. I was selected as the member of our cast to wear our bonnet. Go figure.

Note: this is NOT the bonnet I wore, and also this is not how I felt wearing it.

Jeff and I had a fun time hanging around the Minskoff theatre with the, um, cast members of The Lion King.

But the really cool part of the evening was when I unexpectedly ended up on stage with Bryan Cranston, Idina Menzel, Fran Drescher, and Denzel Washington.

And I just have to thank the cast of After Midnight, who was so nice to allow me to get into a pic with Bryan Cranston after they won some award for something or other.

Ridiculously Talented at 54 Below

Next Monday, Tony Award-Winning Composer/Lyricist William Finn will host an evening of songs at 54 Below featuring the music of Brett Ryback.

The concert, titled Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should will take place next Monday, December 16th, at 9:30pm at 54 Below.

Performers will include Elizabeth Stanley, Alysha Umphress, Taylor Trensch, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and many more.

Following the concert, there will be an open-mic, where I will feature some BRAND NEW, NEVER BEFORE HEARD MUSIC.

Come see us! Tickets are $30-40, with a $25 Food/Drink Minimum.

(If you subscribe to my mailing list before next Monday, I’ll send you a code to get $5 off the cover charge in the main dining room!)

Day Off: Into the Woods Style

My day off from MURDER FOR TWO at New World Stages is Tuesday – which is an odd day off for a stage actor, Monday being the typical day, or sometimes Sunday.

Typically, I’ll spend the day at home – writing, catching up on TV, drinking beer, and cooking for the week.

If you’re the cast of the INTO THE WOODS movie, however – you apparently spend your day off filming a music video with Paul McCartney at Abbey Road. Which, y’know, six of one…

MURDER Moves!

The New York Times has officially announced that Second Stage’s Summer Box Office Hit, MURDER FOR TWO, will move to New World Stages Beginning in October!

If you missed the show over the summer – this is your chance to see it!

Get on my mailing list to stay tuned for news and updates.
I can’t wait to jump back into the hilarity with my partner in crime, Jeff Blumenkrantz.

Meanwhile, I’m currently BROADWAY BOUND in Los Angeles!

Broadway Bound in La Mirada

I’m thrilled to share the news that I will be playing Stanley Jerome in McCoy/Rigby’s production of Neil Simon’s masterwork BROADWAY BOUND in La Mirada.

I’ve long been a huge fan of Simon’s work and this is the first chance I’ve gotten to play one of his characters. The semi-autobiographical story centers around the Jerome family as they all move on from their home in Brighton Beach.

Eugene and his older brother Stanley are working toward becoming comedy writers for CBS amidst family troubles that threaten to tear the home apart.

Ian Alda, with whom I performed in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, plays my brother Eugene.

The rest of the cast includes Gina Hecht, Cate Cohen, John Mariano, and Allan Miller.
Jeff Maynard directs.

We have a short run of performances from Sept. 20 – Oct. 13, 2013.
(W-Th: 7:30pm, F: 8pm; Sa: 2pm & 8pm; Su: 2pm.)

Get your tickets at the Box Office at 562-944-9801 or ORDER ONLINE.

Discounted tickets are available from Goldstar!

DARLING at A.C.T.

From June 14-June 29th, DARLING will be performed by American Conservatory Theatre’s (A.C.T.) Young Conservatory (YC) at The Theater at the Children’s Creativity Museum (221 4th Street, San Francisco).

At A.C.T.’s Tony Award–winning YC, students ages 8 to 19 develop their talents, perform in professional-caliber productions, and gain the confidence to succeed—all in a creative, fun, and encouraging environment. The ten sessions of classes and eight public productions offered throughout the year are designed to develop talent and creativity, as well as communication and cooperation skills, for young people with all levels of theater background. Working professional actors and directors lead students in a spectrum of classes, including acting, directing, voice and speech, musical theater, audition, and improvisation.

Directed by YC Director Craig Slaight and Domenique Lozano, DARLING features a talented young cast from across the San Francisco Bay Area.

If you’re in the Bay Area, please take this opportunity to see DARLING!

Tickets are $20 and available by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or going online to www.act-sf.org/ycshows.

Getting Away with Murder

I’m so freakin excited to share this with you guys.

This summer, I will be heading to New York City to make my Off-Broadway debut in Second Stage’s production of Murder for Two by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair.

Mixing classic musical comedy with a dash of Agatha Christie, everyone is a suspect in this house of eccentric characters unfazed by the dead body on the floor. But this whodunit comes with a killer twist: one actor investigates the crime, the other plays all thirteen suspects, and they both play the piano! This madcap mystery will tickle the ivories and your funny bone.

I will be playing the young investigator, and musical theatre/Broadway mainstay Jeff Blumenkrantz will play…everyone else.

If you don’t know, Jeff is an established songwriter as well as a Broadway actor. One of his most famous pieces is “I Won’t Mind”, recorded by Audra McDonald. Which begs the question…between Jeff, Joe, Kellen, and myself – how many songwriters does it take to mount a two-person show in New York City? (Also – whoever at broadwayworld.com put Jeff and I shoulder-to-shoulder in that picture is a freaking genius. Can anyone say Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen solving a murder on the UWS?)

The production will be directed by Scott Schwartz (which adds another songwriter to the mix if you count his father Stephen) and is scheduled to run from July 10 – August 10th. So DO NOT miss this NYC. I mean YOU.

For tickets and more info click here.

Rodgers And Me

This April I am stepping into the skin of one of the founding fathers of the musical theatre genre – my genre. The Colony Theatre in Burbank presents the world premiere of Falling For Make Believe, about Lorenz Hart. I will play Richard Rodgers.

As iconic as the man’s music is, the man himself almost disappears behind his work – and it certainly was his intention to do so. He and his estate did (until very recently) their very best to fiercely protect the “Rodgers and…” legacy.

Exactly what he may have been protecting it from is the subject of the play, which opens up a fascinating window to the relationship between two partners who created magic, loved each other dearly, but ultimately couldn’t help the other in the ways they needed.

Come see Falling for Make Believe, by Emmy-Winner Mark Saltzman, directed by Jim Fall (Trick), at the Colony Theatre in Burbank. April 27 – May19th. For more information and tickets, call (818) 558-7000 ext. 15 or visit ColonyTheatre.org

I’ve Always Depended on the Kindness of Alison Fraser

Alison Fraser sings Tennessee Williams?

This sounds like a great idea.

I’ve long been a fan of Alison Fraser’s buzzy, unique sound ever since I heard her in The Secret Garden and Falsettos. I finally saw her onstage not too long ago in Gypsy and then School for Lies (a brilliant David Ives adaptation of Moliere at Classic Stage Company).

And now she’s going to The Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival to perform a one-woman show Only a Paper Moon: A Tennessee Williams Songbook.

As a big fan of Tennessee Williams as well, I SO wish I could see this.

My own experience at the Festival – premiering my one-act play WEÏRD, which won the festival a few years ago – was tremendous. New Orleans is a town with a beautifully unique personality, and being there is like being right in the middle of a Tennessee Williams play.