West of Broadway Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Hello Dolly With FOX 11's Amanda Salas Feb 01, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of West of Broadway Will and Lara talk with FOX 11 Entertainment Reporter Amanda Salas about the opening night of Hello Dolly at the Pantages Theater now playing until Feb 17th. The three rave about Betty Buckley's performance along with the entire fantastic production. They also discuss how they all met and their amazing friend Matthew Hoffman the founder of the inspiring charity Tuesdays with Matthew. Run don't walk to the Pantages Theater! We may see you there, because we are going back!

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Ragtime The Musical's - Bryce Charles Jan 28, 2019

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In this special "Mini Episode" of West of Broadway, Lara Scott talks with Bryce Charles who is starring as Sarah in Pasadena Playhouse's production of Ragtime. Bryce is ecstatic to be making her Pasadena Playhouse debut with Ragtime! She earned her BFA in Musical Theater from AMDA College and Conservatory. Regional Theater: Blues in the Night (dir. Sheldon Epps; The Wallis Annenberg). National Tour: The Book of Mormon (2nd National). TV: Encore, Blackish (ABC); Fuller House, Tales of the City (Netflix); Teachers (TV Land). Twenty years after its premiere, the great American musical returns to LA. Nominated for 13 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Ragtime tells the story of three families at the turn of the 20th Century in pursuit of the American dream. The award-winning score uses ragtime rhythms to paint a portrait of the people who built this country with the hopes for a brighter tomorrow.

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Wicked Tour & Upcoming season at Pantages and Ahmanson Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

It’s our first show of 2019, an this is going to be another incredible year of musical theatre here in Southern California….We love that there are so many CLASSIC shows this season that a lot of us will get to see for the first time… Lara talks about her experience at Wicked with her children and we also look back at the fantastic performance in Pasadena from the Lythgoe Family Panto's 'Wonderful Winter of OZ.) Then we discuss the amazing season to come at Pantages and Ahmanson! HELLO DOLLY (late January) KINKY BOOTS (February) CATS (late Feb) CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (March) FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (April) LES MISERABLES (May) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (June) RENT (July) the 20th anniversary tour Miss Saigon (late July) And then looking ahead to the fall…the national tour of FROZEN will roll into LA! And over in Downtown LA at the Ahmanson Theatre…. CINDERELLA (Feb) Matthew Bourne has transformed the fairy tale that we all know and love into a wartime romance! FALSETTOS (April) This is a Tony-award winner that is a funny and touching look at all the different possibilities of a modern family. INDECENT (June) The true story of a groundbreaking piece of theatre, GOD OF VENGEANCE, and the artists who risked their lives to perform it. THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (July) Just like the name suggests, this is a play about a play where everything is going wrong in a classic murder mystery: actors forgetting their lines, a leading lady who is unconscious, a corpse that can’t play dead… We wish we had more time to cover more theaters, but if there’s something coming up that you’re looking forward to anywhere in Southern California, please reach out to us! @larascottmedia on FB, IG, and twitter and WillArmstrongPR across all platforms. We can’t wait to hear from you! So Once again! Happy 2019! If you’d like to catch up on any of our previous episodes from 2018…or even 2017….check out WestOfBroadwayPodcast.com.

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Come From Away and More! Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

It’s curtain up on another episode of West of Broadway, a celebration of musical theatre in Los Angeles with celebrity publicist and theatre veteran Will Armstrong https://www.instagram.com/willarmstrongpr/, along with radio host and theatre enthusiast Lara Scott https://www.instagram.com/larascottmedia/, On this episode we discuss the first national tour of the tony award-winning Broadway smash COME FROM AWAY which opened its los angeles engagement on November 28th at the Ahmanson theatre…and we were there!!! The story is centered around 9/11….and yet there are some very funny moments…it’s really beautifully done and not disrespectful at all…everyone that I could see around us seemed old enough to remember 9/11, and we all have so many stories around that—after the show, you and I were talking about where we were and what we were doing when we found out the first plane hit the world trade center…so there is a lot of emotion around this. And ultimately, the message is that out of tragedy something beautiful can be created. We are convinced you cannot see this show and NOT be changed when you walk out. All right let us know what you think after you see COME FROM AWAY: tix are available at https://www.centertheatregroup.org/ (and theatre is spelled T-H-E-A-T-R-E), and it’s playing through January 6th. ELF THE MUSICAL: Jennifer Lynn O’Hara, https://www.instagram.com/jenniferlynnohara/ one of our West of Broadway ensemble members, just checked out ELF THE MUSICAL! Tickets and Info: http://musical.org/elf-the-musical/ MARY POPPINS And we are joined in studio with friend of the pod and proud West of Broadway ensemble member actress, writer, and all around genius Wendy Rosoff https://www.instagram.com/wendy_rosoff/. Wendy of course last joined us for insight into Musical Theater Guild’s production of Sugar which she choreographed. but today she is giving us the details from exclusive star studded screening of the premier of the anxiously awaited feature film Mary Poppins returns. https://movies.disney.com/mary-poppins-returns

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A Bronx Tale and More! Nov 16, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of West of Broadway, Will heads to the red carpet at the Pantages Theater for Opening Night of A Bronx Tale where he gets to talk one on one with the stars! Then we join Will and Lara to review A Bronx Tale before we are joined by Theater reviewer and new WOB Ensemble member Melanie Hooks to talk about In a Booth at Chasen's running at The El Portal Theater and then we meet Elizabeth Lucin and Craig Sherman fill us in on the Color Purple playing at Greenway Playhouse!

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The Color Purple And Guys And Dolls Nov 10, 2018

Show notes

Join us for a conversation with Greenway Arts Alliance's Production of The Color Purple's very own April Nixon and Gabrielle Jackson. On stage here in LA until December 9th. After that, we catch up with West of Broadway Ensemble Member Jennifer Lynn O'Hara's review of Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center's production of Guys & Dolls!

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BroadwayLA Unplugged And In A Booth At Chasen's Nov 09, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of West of Broadway, Lara gets to hear about Will’s experience at the El Capitan Theater seeing the premier of the Disney film Nutcracker and the Four Realms. And then, they talk to Amanda Rafkin a Los Angeles-based composer, musical director, and pianist. She is the composer of the new musical The Lightning Howler, formerly titled 300 Bones, and is also the host, producer, pianist and musical director of Broadway LA Unplugged, a bi-monthly acoustic cabaret show. And then we’ll talk to Kelley Dorney and Brent Schindele the stars of IN A BOOTH AT CHASEN’S is a new musical about the real-life Hollywood romance of ron and nancy Reagan, playing at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood November 9 th through the 25 th.

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Disney Cruise Line And Lythgoe Family Panto Nov 07, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of West of Broadway Podcast we sit down with host Lara Scott to hear all about her exciting voyage aboard the Disney Dream. And then we catch up with Becky Baeling Lythgoe out of Lythgoe Family Panto to talk about her exciting new production The Wonderful Winter of OZ.

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Todd Murray Christmas Crooning Oct 17, 2018

Show notes

Today we have not 1 not 2 but 3 guests on West of Broadway! Lara and Will start things off with the founding artistic director of the Verdi Chorus Anne Marie Ketchum , We hop on the phone with Cabaret Legend Todd Murray to talk about his 2 new Christmas songs available on itunes and Sharon who is manager of ticket sales for the El Capitan Theater shares some valuable insider information about the legendary theater! It’s a fun one! Hope you enjoy!

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Love Never Dies, Karen Mason Sep 19, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of West of Broadway Lara and Will's Husband Bill discuss opening night of Beautiful the Carole King Story and we get a call from the DIVA Karen Mason while she's mid show of her production of Love Never Dies. Karen discusses her tour, cabaret and Hurricane Florence and then we wrap up with our very first report from our West of Broadway ensemble member Jennifer Lynn O'Hara.

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