Lauren Rubin

'For a Moment in Time' will have a debut reading for producers on March 17 at the Garry Marshall Theater in Burbank, California.

 Audiences now have a chance to see why the new, comedic musical, LIFE IN BOOBS, got a standing ovation from its first workshop this past October. With Books & Lyrics by Casey Christensen (The Donkey Show) and composed by celebrity vocal coach Rachael Lawrence (Grey's Anatomy, Glee), LIFE IN BOOBS highlights true trials and tribulations of boobs everywhere, with original songs, comedic vignettes and dramatic monologues. This extended workshop will be on Sunday, December 16th at 8:30pm at Pico Playhouse Theater in Los Angeles.

If you're over the age of 16 you most likely have some story about breasts, whether it be heartbreaking or hysterical. With Books & Lyrics by Casey Christensen (The Donkey Show), composition by celebrity vocal coach Rachael Lawrence (Grey's Anatomy, Glee), and conceived by Jennifer Goodman, Life in Boobs highlights true trials and tribulations of boobs everywhere, with original songs, comedic vignettes and dramatic monologues. This one-night only workshop will be on Monday, October 22nd at Vitello's in Studio City, CA and honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

For the 88th Kritzerland show we turn to one of the greatest composers of the 20th century - the one and only George Gershwin.  There is simply nothing like a Gershwin tune and we've got plenty of them - from the classics to the lesser-known Gershwin, with lyrics by brother Ira.  The songs are romantic, funny, moving, perky, and let us tell you you can strike up the band for our fantastic cast.  So, join us for this joyous, s'wonderful evening that you won't want to miss.  We may even have a surprise or two up our Kritzerland sleeves. Kritzerland is produced and hosted by Bruce Kimmel and co-produced by Doug Haverty.

For our 86th show we once again celebrate April Fools and all things April Foolish, one of our favorite shows to do. After a year and three months of doing the initial Kritzerland shows, we inaugurated the Sterling's Upstairs at The Federal room on April 1, 2012, so this is our sixth anniversary in the room. That, of course, is reason enough to come but it's also always a wild and wacky show.

Produced, hosted and narrated by record producer, author, composer, director, actor Bruce Kimmel, this brand new show features musical direction by Richard Allen and the performing talents of (in alphabetical order): Daniel Thomas Bellusci, David Burnham, Sharon McNight, Lauren Rubin, Hayley Shukiar, Sami Staitman and Robert Yacko. Quips Kimmel,

That Uppity Theatre Company will be hosting this year's event, National Coming Out Day, at the Missouri History Museum (5700 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO. 63112). The event will feature a myriad of local organization booths where attendees can get information about resources on their growing community. We will also offer a production of playback theatre around the theme of LGBTQIA, Allied Lives, and Coming Out Stories.

That Uppity Theatre Company will be hosting this year's event, National Coming Out Day, at the Missouri History Museum (5700 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO. 63112). The event will feature a myriad of local organization booths where attendees can get information about resources on their growing community. We will also offer a production of playback theatre around the theme of LGBTQIA, Allied Lives, and Coming Out Stories.

BUMPERSTICKER: THE MUSICAL conquers the Hollywood Fringe Festival with its terrific triple threat combination making it great for people who don't like musicals and even better for those who do. It's the right show in the right venue with the right cast, and a rousing good time from beginning to end.

On Sunday evening February 5 Kritzerland celebrated their 18th. show and second at Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's in Studio City with a family evening of great tunes from live action films entitled Reel Imagination saluting Michelle NiCastro, a magnificent singer who passed away last year. Five remarkable female singers Alet Taylor, Juliana Hansen, Melody Hollis, Lauren Rubin and Jane Noseworthy (left to right in photo above) joined music director extraordinaire Shelly Markham at the piano and Bruce Kimmel who introduced the songs in his own inimitable style with delightful anecdotes about the composers and his association with them through Kritzerland. Composer Richard M. Sherman, of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fame, made a special guest appearance singing and playing the kazoo on 'The Chimpanzoo' cut from Mary Poppins (photo above).

Another wonderful evening of song from Kritzerland, Bruce Kimmel's production label, at the Gardenia on Wednesday August 3, this time saluting the music of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, and congrats are in as this show marks Kritzerland's 12th consecutive show in its series at the Gardenia! Schmidt and Jones penned The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, among the most famous, and less so: 110 In the Shade, Collette Collage, Celebration and even a musical entitled The Bone Room. On hand to perform were musical director John Boswell and special guest Rex Smith, Lauren Rubin, Michaelia Leigh, Will Collyer, Camille Saviola, Michael Hawkins, 13 year-old Melody Hollis and even Guy Haines - I mean, Bruce Kimmel himself - singing. And I'm here to tell you, he didn't sound half bad! Kimmel as always introduced the evening with interesting composer trivia and anecdotes. The music showcased included well known tunes and lesser known or unfamiliar ones. Schmidt and Jones may not have had the popularity of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, or Kander and Ebb, but one thing is certain they sure did pen some eclectically beautiful songs!

Look below for photos taken from the opening night of FLEETWOOD MACBETH by the award winning Troubadour Theatre Company on July 8, 2011 at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, CA. FLEETWOOD MACBETH is a mash-up of the Shakespeare tragedy Macbeth with the music of Fleetwood Mac featuring the musical direction of Eric Heinly, choreography by Nadine Ellis and directed by (and featuring) Troubadour Artistic Director, Matt Walker.

On Wednesday July 6 Kritzerland at the Gardenia presented a salute to the lesser known music of Kander and Ebb - The Kander and Ebb Album - two of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. Think Chicago or Cabaret, and you need go no further. These two wildly popular shows still receive international mountings and provide us with some of the greatest Broadway pop tunes ever. Ahead of their time, Kander and Ebb produced shows with a substantially dark and biting edge not found in other composers' music and lyrics. Bruce Kimmel, whose Kritzerland recording company continues to enjoy enormous success worldwide, again served as narrator of the evening telling short, funny anecdotes about his encounters with John Kander and also detailing Kander and Ebb's failures as well as successes. Liza Minnelli's Broadway career soared because of K & E - it started with Flora the Red Menace in the 60s and continued through the next couple of decades with hits and flops such as The Rink and 1977's The Act, which began in LA as Shine It On. K & E certainly didn't fare too badly either with Liza's name on their bill. Think of what she did for the movie Cabaret with her Academy Award winning turn as Sally. However, such was not the case with their film New York, New York which received some pretty scathing reviews in the late 70s; the pair were none too pleased that a small musical The First Nudie Musical (Bruce Kimmel)fared far better than their multi-billion dollar disaster. It's always such fun for theatre lovers to hear about the down side of the business, and particularly via Kimmel's straight-forward, droll take on it.

The See You Next Tuesday Company of Los Angeles has added more performances of the new musical comedy, Bukowsical.

'Bukowsical!' premieres at FringeNYC August 11-18 at the Bleeker Street Theatre.

The Brain From Planet X had its world premiere in Los Angeles in December, 2006. 'An affectionate and hilarious send-up of bad 50s sci-fi movies, The Brain tells the story of an alien invasion circa 1958 - a Brain and its two alien cohorts, Zubrick and Yoni, arrive on Earth and plan to take over the San Fernando Valley - the first step on the road to their quest to take over the entire planet and to destroy the family unit,' state press materials.

Kritzerland has announced its next two releases: the original cast recording of The Brain from Planet X and the debut album from Joan Ryan.

Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy (LACCTA) will present the World Premiere of a new musical comedy, 'THE BRAIN FROM PLANET X,' with a book by award-winning writers, David Wechter and LACCTA alumna, Bruce Kimmel, who also wrote the Music and Lyrics for the show.