J’s Cultural Arts Theatre presents “THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940”
Boca Raton, FL – J’s Cultural Arts Theatre is proud to present John Bishop’s THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940, the fifth & last production of the inaugural season of the new Alan & Diane Lieberman Theater & the JCAT’s 12thseason, at the Feldenkreis/Hanono Cultural Center at the Michael-Ann Russell JCC/Sanford L. Ziff Campus in North Miami Beach, Florida. Running from May 7-19, 2019, THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940 is directed by John Ferry, with Lighting Design by Zachary Pitchman, Costume Design by Carole Barou-Mootoo. Lilian Andron Stage Manages. The production is presented through the MARJCC’s Cultural Arts Department.
THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940 is a backstage comedy-thriller that takes place at the estate of a wealthy “angel” in Chappaqua, NY, as the creative team responsible for a recent Broadway flop, in which three chorus girls were murdered by the mysterious “Stage Door Slasher,” assemble for a backer’s audition for their new show. The house is replete with sliding panels, secret passageways & a German maid – who is apparently four different people. All of them figure diabolically in the comic mayhem that follows when the infamous “slasher” makes his reappearance & strikes again.
Featured in THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940 are Lito Becerra, Debbie Bekefi, Linda Drozdow, John Ferry, Mark Firestone, Brian Goldberg, Penny Landau, Sonny Levitt, Peggy Linker & Shalia Sakona.
JOHN BISHOP (Playwright) wrote and directed THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940, his most widely produced play, which premiered on Broadway in 1987. As resident playwright for Circle Rep, he was known for straight-talking ruminations on masculinity& decline, including Borderlines, The Great Grandson of Jedediah Kohler & Confluence. His first play, which attracted the attention of Circle Rep, was The Trip Back Down, starring John Cullum as a failed stock-car racer who returns to the family he abandoned for his career & was produced Off-Off Broadway at the T. Schreiber Studio in 1975 & later transferred to Broadway. Mr. Bishop was also a director & while at Circle Rep directed Rafael Lima’s El Salvador and Joe Pintauro’s Beside Herself. In 1989, his screenplay, The Package, was made into a movie starring Gene Hackman & Tommy Lee Jones. He spent much of the 1990’s rewriting scripts for Paramount studios & was the co-author of the screenplay for the 1994 movie Drop Zone.
JOHN FERRY (Director) hails from New York, where he has directed numerous Off-Off Broadway & Regional productions including: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Nuts, Betrayal, Side by Side by Sondheim & The Country Girl to name a few. He & his wife relocated to South Florida a decade ago & he has since directed Clark Gable Slept Here, Lost in Yonkers, Steel Magnolias, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rumpelstiltskin, Don’t Drink the Water, Lend Me A Tenor, Inherit the Wind & Rumors.
In addition to his directorial endeavors, John is also an actor. He has performed in each of the contiguous United States in productions ranging from the National Tours of Charlotte’s Web & Ramona Quimby to Regional Theatre credits including: Sleuth, I Hate Hamlet, Deathtrap, Arsenic & Old Lace, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Broadway Bound, Godspell & A Shayna Maidel.
J’s CULTURAL ARTS THEATRE (JCAT) (Producer) is the performing theatre of the Michael-Ann Russell JCC, a year-round program for youth, teens & adults, where participants are part of a magical world of theatre, with a full season of productions, theatre camps & a wide range of classes & workshops in acting, improvisation & technical theatre. Now celebrating its 12th season, JCAT is committed to challenge, enlighten, educate & entertain its audiences through its multi-tier program. JCAT-Pro is a professional program that produces under Actors’ Equity Association Guest Artist Agreements. JCAT-Pro received a Carbonell Nomination for its first World Premiere production, Broken Snow, written by Ben Andron. Artistic Directors, Michael & Lillian Andron, received the South Florida Theatre League’s REMY Award for outstanding contribution to Community Theatre.
This production has been made possible by the generous support of Joyce Bloch & Joanne Don
+ DATES: May 7-19, 2019
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays @ 7:30pm,
Sunday @ 2pm @ 7pm
+ LOCATION: Alan & Diane Lieberman Theater @ the Michael-Ann Russell JCC
18900 NE 25th Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL
+ TICKETS: Advance: $25 ~ $15 (seniors/students)
At the Door: $30 ~ $18 (seniors/students)
+ RESERVATIONS: (866)-811-4111 https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/28215
+ INFORMATION: www.jcctheatre.com (305)-932-4200, ext. 150
Twitter: @JCATMiami ~ Instagram: JCATMiami
