Off-Broadway Show Resurrected in Hollywood: Frankenstein - A New Musical Makes Its L.A. Premiere

A Long Beach based performing arts company ventures into Hollywood to present two back-to-back productions. Art-In-Relation presents, currently running at the Dorie Theater, Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party with dates from now through October 2nd. See the website, http://artinrelation.com for more details. The following weekend after Wild Party closes, opening October 7th, will be Frankenstein – A New Musical inside the Flight Theater at the Hollywood Complex.

While the show may be “a new musical” to many people, it is not new to Art-In-Relation as it was the first production the company produced back in 2014 – 7 years after the work had seen its original run Off-Broadway. Now, two years later, the two producers – Jonas Sills and Ray Buffer, create a new encore run, this time in Tinseltown, inside an intimate theater, for its Hollywood/LA professional premiere.

In this stage adaptation of Frankenstein, authors Mark Baron, Jeffrey Jackson, and Gary P. Cohen have sought to create a work that was uniquely faithful to Shelley’s original novel while offering a bold, new experience for modern theater audiences. To do so, they have broken with many of the conventions of musical theater to re-imagine the classic allegory as a “memory play” in which time and space is fluid, and in which people and places come instantly alive in the mind of the story’s protagonist, Victor Frankenstein--and vanish just as quickly. The result is a thrilling “mindscape” that brings the timeless myth of Frankenstein to life as never before.

THE STORY
A long time ago - north of the Arctic Circle, a sailing vessel comes upon a man adrift on a section of ice, “a wretch... near death.” His name is Victor Frankenstein, and he proceeds to tell the ship’s captain, Robert Walton, the horrifying tale of his twisted life. Victor is the scion of a prominent family of Geneva, Switzerland, where he enjoyed a childhood of wealth and privilege. As a young boy, he exhibits a brilliant mind and a gift for the natural sciences, and his parents, Alphonse and Caroline, dote on him adoringly. Their family soon swells to include Elizabeth--an orphaned waif whom Victor's parents adopt as their ward--and later William, Victor’s much-younger brother. Victor’s brother in spirit is Henry Clerval, his childhood friend, and he, Victor, and Elizabeth forge deep bonds of friendship from their earliest days.

Victor’s thirst for knowledge leads him on a quest to master the secrets of life and death. A tragic event galvanizes his mission: His beloved mother perishes of scarlet fever--but not before uttering her fondest wish: that Victor and Elizabeth one day be married. When grown, Victor seeks to further his study of the sciences at the University at Ingolstadt, Germany, but vows to one day return to Elizabeth to fulfill the promise of a life together. At the University, Victor’s ideas for unlocking the mysteries of life are met with scorn and ridicule by his professors, so he continues his quest in secrecy. He endeavors to create life where there was none--to reanimate the dead. At the public hanging of a criminal he finds the primary vessel of his grand experiment. He claims the body of the condemned man and sets to work.

For many months, Victor toils in a clandestine laboratory to create what he hopes will be the perfect human--a giant, fashioned from the body of the executed criminal and other limbs and organs purloined from gallows and graveyards. One November night, he harnesses the awesome force of an electrical storm to breathe life into his creation. But when his creature comes to life, it is not as the perfect human he envisioned, but as a hideous beast. Thus unfurls the timeless, cautionary tale of Victor Frankenstein, whose noble dreams of grandeur unleash instead a litany of terror and tragedy. Before it is done, everything in his privileged world will be torn asunder, as Victor and his creature are pit against one another in an epic and deadly war of wills that will lead them across the continent and ultimately to the ends of the earth.

THE TEAM
Bringing the story to the Complex Theater’s “Flight” stage in La La Land, is a powerful creative team, many doing multiple duties. Director/Producer Ray Buffer also appears as Frankenstein’s monster, “The Creature”, but is backed up ably by his understudy – Mark Lopez (ensemble) who will appear in at least 4 of the 19 performances as The Creature. Assistant Director and Stage Manager, Eric Bridges provides calm and organization in a complex production. Choreographer and ensemble member, Jocelyn Sanchez creates sublime movement that underscores the emotion and delivers surprises and depth. Jonas Sills not only is the Executive Producer, but Music Director as well as performer, playing Victor Frankenstein. Like Buffer, he is capably backed-up by a talented understudy, Zachary Franczak (who normally plays Captain Robert Walton) – and he will be playing Victor at least 4 out of the 19 performances. Making up the rest of the dynamic ensemble cast are Jon Peterson, Ciara D’Anella (Mother), Justin W. Yu (Henry), Kailey Hewitt (Elizabeth), Mallory Staley (Justine), Marc Oka (Blind Man), Colin Eaton & Bradley Bundlie (alternating as Young Victor/William), David Michael Treviño (Father), Megan Makin (Agatha), and additional ensemble, Stephanie Dietz, and Ashley De Silva. Lily Mitriv is the costume designer, Todd Kramer is providing Lighting Design, Byron Batista will be contributing wig and makeup design, and Eugene McDonald has created the sets. Heidi Ornelas-Sills is the House and Box Office Manager.

A story of life, love, Promethean dreams and Faustian horror, Frankenstein explores the full gamut of human experience like no other novel ever written. Forget all you have seen in the movies--this is not a Hollywood scare-fest populated by lumbering ghouls and wild-eyed maniacs. This is Mary Shelley’s original, brilliant, romantic terror--a dark vision of what lies at the depths of the human soul and what happens when its full power is unleashed.

Performance dates are October 7th through 30th, 2016 with Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday’s performances at 8 pm, and additional matinée performances on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. The venue is The Complex – Hollywood – Flight Theater, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038. Tickets can be purchased by calling 323-320-2898 or by visiting http://ArtInRelation.com.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
Jonas Sills (Executive Producer/Music Director and Victor Frankenstein) has been described as having "tears on the voice" and he is drawn to a style and repertoire that invokes an emotional response, and spiritual introspection. His vocal style has been compared to such performers as Josh Groban, Michael Feinstein, Mandy Patinkin, and Mario Lanza, who he credits as his influences. Singing since a young age he has sung with various esteemed choral groups such as the California Boys Choir, Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, Pacific Chorale, Opera Pacific, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Stephen S Weiss Chorus, and countless churches, and other vocal groups. As a solo performer he has played roles with various theater companies in the Los Angeles area and beyond, working with professional companies including Musical Theater West, Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, Fullerton Civic Light Opera, Theater League, Jacgo Productions. He has also sung extensively in restaurants and other public venues in Southern California. As a conductor and teacher Sills has worked for 15 years as a public school music teacher for the Long Beach Unified School District at virtually every level with a focus on primary and middle school chorus. He has directed church choirs for the Unitarian and Methodist Churches as well as being the founder and artistic director for the Los Angeles Musical Theater Youth Chorus. In recent years Sills has been drawn to create his own art with his production company, "Art-In-Relation" (www.artinrelation.com) - producing two seasons of fully staged and professional productions in Long Beach. He is happy to make his home in downtown long beach where he has a unique store called the "BeeBop Shop" (in honor of my parents, Bernie and Barbara Sills) which specializes in serving the community with unique imported items, convenience store items, and music and arts classes. There with he thrives with his lovely wife, Heidi, two cats, Kitty-Man (21 years old!) , and Kinky, and countless fishes and turtles. He is proud of his performing daughter Emily who is 14 and incredibly busy with an emerging career of her own.

Mark Baron (Composer) has been working in the world of theater for the past 20 years. To date, Mr. Baron has musically directed and conducted close to 100 productions throughout the tri-state area. In addition to Frankenstein, Mr. Baron has penned the scores for the children's musicals Treasure Island, Cow and the Beanstalk, Wind in the Willows and The Reluctant Dragon all of which are produced regularly throughout the country. In 2006, Mr. Baron was the recipient of the New Jersey Star Ledger's Critic's Choice Award for Best Orchestrations for the show Baby, It's Cold Outside. He also arranged and orchestrated the scores for Missing Celia Rose (New York's Beckett Theatre), The Great Hall (New York's Sanford Meisner Theater) and The Kid From Brooklyn -- The Danny Kaye Story (National Tour 2006-2008). An extremely versatile pianist/keyboardist and bassist, Mr. Baron performs regularly with world-famous artists such as Aretha Franklin, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Gary US Bonds, Connie Francis, Joan Rivers, Peaches and Herb, Bobby Rydell, The Platters, The Drifters, Lou Christie, Johnnie Maestro as well as many others. Mr. Baron is currently the Musical Director and arranger for the famed 1960s vocal group The Duprees. His arrangements are featured on the group's five latest CDs, for all of which Mr. Baron also served as recording engineer. He currently resides in New Jersey with his wife Bernadette and his daughter Maggie.

Jeffrey Jackson (Lyricist/Writer) is an artist whose talents and achievements traverse a wide spectrum of the arts. He began his professional career at a very young age in the world of advertising, where he founded his own agency and went on to write and direct award-winning television commercials and video programs for nationally-known clients such as Sony, Western Union, and Merck. He successfully parlayed that experience into the world of the performing arts -- first in film and then in the theater. He wrote, directed, and performed in an acclaimed short film, Our First Fight, which has toured film festivals around the world. His feature-length screenplay, White Collared, won the Best Screenplay award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and was acquired by a Sundance-winning film producer. He is currently in post-production on a hybrid movie/online game experience entitled Daemon 9, which he wrote and recently directed in Los Angeles. For the stage, his first work was creating book and lyrics for a faithful musical adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which ran Off-Broadway in late 2007 and starred Tony nominee Hunter Foster. The Associated Press praised it for "bringing the classic tale thrillingly to life." Gannett Newspapers called it "Dark but consistently engaging," and Bloomberg radio hailed it as "Riveting!" and "Totally exciting!" The original cast album was released on Ghostlight Records and the play has been published by Playscripts, Inc., through which it is currently enjoying ongoing stock and amateur-licensed productions around the world. His second play, Two Point Oh made its Off-Broadway New York debut in late 2013 at 59E59 Theaters, where The New York Times made it a "Critic's Pick" while lauding it as "smart, provocative and funny." The play was a finalist for the coveted Stanley Drama Award, winner of the Wilde Award for Best New Play and was listed by Culturequake as one of the year's 10-best Off-Broadway plays. Mr. Jackson is a member of both Actors Equity and the Dramatists Guild of America.

Gary P. Cohen (Writer) is the Producing Director of New Jersey's Plays-in-the-Park, one of the largest community theaters in the United States. During his 20 year tenure, he has directed over 50 plays and musicals, designed sets and lighting, and produced the last 20 seasons. As an author, he has written two books on theater: The Complete Guide to Community Theater and The Theater Director's Primer, both published by Heinemann Drama. As a playwright, Mr. Cohen has co-authored Off-B'way's Frankenstein, A New Musical and A High School Monster Musical with Mark Baron, as well as The Reluctant Dragon. A former William Morris agent, Mr. Cohen has also written and directed two 80's cult shot-on-video horror films: Video Violence and Video Violence II, currently on DVD.

Ray Buffer (Co-Producer, Director, and The Creature) has worked in professional entertainment for over 30 years, first performing professionally with the Palm Beach Opera as a teenager, and as a vocalist for church choirs in South Florida. While attending Florida Atlantic University where he earned his BFA, Buffer worked regularly in Equity dinner and regional theater productions in Florida. He also worked as an Equity stage manager for two years and under Equity agreements as a performer for Walt Disney World. In addition, he worked for other theme parks and attractions such as Universal Studios, Skull Kingdom, and Sea World. As a composer and lyricist, Buffer wrote “Parade of Fairy-tales” for production in Winterpark, Florida; a film score for “Dangerous Perceptions”; an opera “The One and Only;” a holiday production “The Christmas Carol”, and a musical version of Upton Sinclair’s “Singing Jailbirds” with co-writer, Robert Gross. Most recently Buffer created and ran a company in San Pedro, CA known as The Relevant Stage which ran for four seasons. In 2014 he co-founded Art-In-Relation with Jonas Sills. In addition, Buffer continues to work as a freelance actor, vocalist and director, where this year he directed “Fame The Musical” and “Footloose The Musical” for Mysterium Theater in La Habra – where he also appeared as Professor Harold Hill in a production of “The Music Man.” He has also performed with church choirs and chorales and seasonal attractions such as the Queen Mary – Dark Harbor and Chill. His Favorite roles include, Adam Pontifee in “Seven Brides for Seven Brother;” Jud Fry in “Oklahoma,” Reverend Shaw Moore in “Footloose the Musical,” and Stanley Sanders in “Smoke on the Mountain.” Ray thanks his girlfriend Brittani for her love, support and being his compass.

Mark your calendars now, and don’t miss Frankenstein – A New Musical, in Hollywood coming in October, 2016!

Originated in 2014, Art-In-Relation creates moving experiences for its audiences by introducing new and undiscovered works, as well as presenting established works in a new way. Founded by Jonas Sills and Ray Buffer as a Long Beach based company, AIR moved in 2016 to explore producing shows in Hollywood.

The Complex - Hollywood
6476 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038

This release was published on openPR.