With Theatres Across The Country Closed As A Result Of The COVID-19 Pandemic, Veteran Stage Actor And Play Director
Darryl Maximilian Robinson Shares Notes, Photos And A Remembrance Of His Dual Roles Of
The Narrator And The Mysterious Man In
The 2014 Burbank Community Theatre Revival Of Stephen Sondheim's And James Lapine's Into The Woods Staged At The 1,200-Seat Hall of Liberty of Forest Lawn In LA!
Most people think ( and to be fair the majority of The American Population ignores or has no knowledge of The Stage due to a complete disregard for funding the arts in our public school systems ) that the best, most enjoyable and memorable theatre in this country can only be found on Broadway. This is a great misconception. And for those individuals around the country who have spent their lives as actors, actresses, playwrights, directors, choreographers, composers, lyricists, designers, teachers and producers creating magic on stage in local and regional theatre productions throughout the rest of this fine democracy, a great lie! Broadway is merely the place where the most expensively produced, shamelessly commercialized and highly over-publicized stage productions are mounted.
But The Theatre is more than 2,500 years old, and as an art form continues to defy convention. It did, after all, begin as a religious, spiritual presentation by The Ancient Greeks, and continues to have spiritual resonances to this day. Without question, Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's Into The Woods is a Broadway Tony Award-winning musical theatre masterpiece that turns our perceptions of established, heroic figures from famed fairy tales upside down. And as opposed to giving us anything that resembles "Happily Ever After," shows us the darkness, despair, loneliness and DEATH lurking deep within the human condition. Without question, one of the most beautiful, lush, green, tranquil and well-known final resting places IN THE WORLD is
The Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, California ( directly across the road from Warner Brothers Burbank Studios where such musical film classics as
James Cagney's Yankee Doodle Dandy and Rex Harrison in Lerner and Lowe's My Fair Lady were shot ).
In December of 2014, a group of unpaid, volunteer performers - actors, singers, musicians, technicians, designers ( many with paid professional stage, television, film and concert touring credits ) donated their time, energy and talent to create a small miracle that intrigued audiences had to travel to-and-fro past hundreds of gravestones and tombs to see ( which, incidentally, contributed mightily to the ultimate mood of the work ). Musical Theatre Pros
Robert Laurita and Mary Zastrow truly impressed and touched theatergoers as The Baker and The Baker's Wife. Opera Pros
Jessica Mamey as The Witch and
Jay Stephenson as The Wolf delivered strong renditions of their solos in the score. And skilled Performing Disney Cruise Lines Princess
Courtney Daniels delighted and charmed with her singing and acting as Cinderella.
Making his first appearance in a Sondheim work in his more than four-decade-long performance career,
Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project Founder and veteran and award-winning stage actor
Darryl Maximilian Robinson delivered to audiences both the humor and sadness found in his dual roles of
The Narrator and The Mysterious Man.
Under the strong leadership of diligent and hardworking Founder and Producer
Julia Swanwick and the truly gifted and inspired Director and Designer
Josh Shaw, a short-lived, but well-remembered and received non-Equity theatre company known as The Burbank Community Theatre ( with charming and highly-effective choreography by Broadway Performer
Heather Pond and dazzling 22-piece orchestra under the baton of skilled musical director
Ryan Luevano ) presented it's final and most memorable production Into The Woods on the stage of
The 1,200-Seat Historic Hall Of Liberty at Forest Lawn Cemetery in LA!
https://theatre.fandom.com/wiki/The_Burbank_Community_Theatre_at_The_Hall_of_Liberty_of_Forest_Lawn_in_Los_Angeles,_California_2014_Revival_of_Stephen_Sondheim%27s_and_James_Lapine%27s_musical_masterpiece_Into_The_Woods
https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/bio/Darryl-Maximilian-Robinson/
https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/100360-into-the-woods-at-the-hall-of-liberty-at-forest-lawn-2014
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4044376/bio
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