REAL HOUSEKEEPERS OF STUDIO CITY TO PREMIERE AT HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World Premiere of The Real Housekeepers of Studio City @ Hollywood Fringe Festival 2013

Summary: In a fantasy version of Studio City where all television characters live, a family’s Craigslist ad draws maids from sitcoms past and present. An original one-act musical guaranteed to make you tap your toes and tap into your TV nostalgia.

Calendar Listing
WHAT: The Real Housekeepers of Studio City, an original one-act musical with music by Joe Greene, book & lyrics by Heidi Powers & Tom Moore, directed by Ryan Bergmann.

WHERE: Hollywood Fringe Festival at Theatre Asylum – 6320 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90038

WHEN:  
Sunday 6/9 – 7:00 PM*
Monday 6/10 – 9:00 PM*
Friday 6/14 – 10:00 PM
Saturday 6/15 – 7:00 PM
Sunday 6/16 – 4:00 PM
Thursday 6/20 – 7:00 PM
Friday 6/21 – 11:30 PM
Saturday 6/22 – 2:30 PM
Thursday 6/27 – 10:00 PM
Friday 6/28 – 7:00 PM
*preview performances

PRICE: $10 – $15
TICKETS: www.therealhousekeepersofstudiocity.com

Music by Joe Greene
Book and lyrics by Heidi Powers & Tom Moore
Directed by Ryan Bergmann
Music Directed by Ryan O’Connell
Choreography by Janet Roston (Ovation award winner for Celebration Theatre’s The Color Purple)

Starring:
Lani Shipman (Third Street Theatre’s Falsettos) as Ashley
Ryan O’Connor (Host of Musical Mondays, finalist on Oprah’s reality competition Your OWN Show) as Scot
Jordan Kai Burnett (A Ring in Brooklyn, For the Record) as Olivia
Daniel Switzer (Musical Theatre West’s A Chorus Line, 3D Theatricals’ 9 to 5) as Ethan
Lorie Moore (Celebration Theatre The Color Purple) as Nell Harper and Florence Johnston
Gabby Sanalitro (Theatre of Note, Dexter) as Rosey the Robot and Consuela
Matt Musgrove (Grimm) as Lurch
Joe Greene (America’s Got Talent) as Edna Garrett
Harris Markson (Modern Family) as Tony Micelli
Chala Savino (One Life to Live) as Rosario Salazar
Gina Torrecilla (The Next Fairy Tale) as Zoila Chavez and Alice Nelson
Gregory Guy Gorden (Forbidden Zone: Live) as The Producer

You take the good – the feel-good characters of classic sitcoms. You take the bad – the ostentatious personalities of modern reality TV. You take them both, and there you have THE REAL HOUSEKEEPERS OF STUDIO CITY, an original one-act musical premiering this summer at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Composer Joe Greene says his inspiration for the show came from his love of watching reruns of vintage shows, “especially when they would have guest stars! The Brady Bunch had Davy Jones. Our show has a lot of guest stars – our housekeepers!” Greene pulls double-duty for the production, writing the original music as well as playing the iconic Edna Garrett from “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life.”

For co-writer Tom Moore, who also works as a reality TV editor, creating the show has been a way to tap into his passion for television. “I think that for all of us who grew up watching these shows on TV, there was always a little bit of fantasy about what it would be like to be in those families – to be a Brady or a Jefferson or a Jetson or an Addams,” Moore said. “The Real Housekeepers of Studio City indulges our fantasies by bringing the worlds of those shows into contact with the world we live in and seeing what happens.”

The juxtaposition of modern and retro is inspiring to costar Ryan O’Connor. “It’s both fresh and nostalgic at the same time,” O’Connor said. “It’s a crowd pleaser on all fronts, mixing modern humor for a Bravo generation with your favorite characters from simpler times in television.”

Developing the show has been a balancing act between poking fun and paying homage. For director Ryan Bergman, the show strikes a chord. “Being able to look back with a wink and pinch on the tush at the wonderful characters that gave us so many important life lessons is amazing,” Bergmann said. “Who didn’t, at some point in time, dream of Lurch and Rosey the Robot getting it on?”

Costar Lani Shipman, who is the fourth generation in a family of artists, has a special connection to vintage television – her mother acted in a number of vintage television shows, including Bonanza, The Munsters, and The Beverly Hillbillies. “Anyone who watched TV growing up MUST see this show,” Shipman said. “It’s like a jog down memory lane with adult humor thrown in for fun.”

Most of all, the show is a musical love letter to television – how it has changed, and how it changes us. “When we started writing our song ‘The Syndication of Your Mind’ for Alice of “The Brady Bunch” I remembered huddling with my family around our TV, connecting to each other and connecting to these fictional characters that were a part of our daily lives,” co-writer Heidi Powers said. “Even though my loved ones are grown or gone, I can always watch the characters we loved again and again in syndication.” And – of course – bring them to life on stage.

CONTACT:  
Heidi Powers
323.533.4906 
[email protected]

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