Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield
From JorjaPedia
Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield is a musical by Honeypot Productions and Bunnyhop Productions.
World Premiere
Kirsten Holly Smith in
STAY FOREVER: The Life and Music of DUSTY SPRINGFIELD
Written and performed by Kirsten Holly Smith
With additional material by Patricia Cotter
Directed by Derick LaSalla
Music Director: Zachary Provost
Musical Consultant: Larry White
The Renberg Theatre
February 7-24, 2008
Press Release
Los Angeles, 22 January, 2008 – The legendary British singer Dusty Springfield possessed one of the most powerful and influential voices in the history of popular music. Her fearless and tumultuous career blazed a trail for generations of women in the music business and spread the popularity of soul and R&B music to the United Kingdom and around the world.
Now the dynamic singer/actress Kirsten Holly Smith brings the great Dusty Springfield vibrantly back to life through song and monologue in Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield, a moving and uplifting one-woman musical.
Co-producer Jorja Fox, star of CBS’s mega-hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, joins with Bunnyhop Productions and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center to present Stay Forever for a three-week run at the Center’s Renberg Theatre. Opening on Thursday, February 7, 2008, the show will play on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., as well as at 7 p.m. on Sundays, through February 24.
“Kirsten Holly Smith is breathtaking in this incredible piece about one of my all-time favorite performers,” says Ms. Fox. “How could I not get involved with this project if I have the chance?’ Also on the creative team are Emmy Award-winning writer Patricia Cotter, who was honored with the 2007 L.A. Stage Ovation Award for The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical; music director
Zachary Provost, a singer/songwriter who currently serves as music director for Josh Grobin, and music consultant Larry White, a top contemporary jazz artist who was Dusty Springfield’s own music director. Featuring Smith’s extraordinary performances of 13 Dusty Springfield classics (including “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Wishing and Hoping”), Stay Forever explores Dusty’s rise from misfit schoolgirl to international star, her decline in the 1970s and her spectacular comeback, all set against a rich backdrop of the era’s social and racial conflicts. Complete with a live band and backup vocalists, Stay Forever is the Renberg Theatre’s first big musical production.
Director Derick LaSalla has more than 25 years of involvement in all aspects of theater and television production as producer, director, casting director, choreographer, lighting, music, costuming and scenic design. He is a former Entertainment Show Director for the Walt Disney Company and currently is president of his own company, Showbeat Productions.
The band features guitarist Willis Clow, Shawn Constantino on sax, drummer Daren Hahn, bassist Eric Holden and vocalists Lelah Foster and Annette Moore.
Whether you love and remember Dusty Springfield or are discovering her amazing life and artistry for the first time, Kirsten Holly Smith will inspire you to experience the timeless brilliance of this legendary icon.
To see Kirsten Holly Smith performing as Dusty Springfield, log on to http://www.myspace.com/dustyspringfieldshow .
Ticket information
Tickets: $25 (Click Here)
Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, February 7-23, at 8 p.m. Sundays, February 10, 17 & 24 at 7 p.m.
Available at http://www.lagaycenter.org/boxoffice or call 323-860-7300.
Contact information
- Press contact: Leslie Brockett
- 323-401-4267/bunnyhopfilms@sbcglobal.net
- Jon Imparato
- Director, Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
- L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
- 323-860-7324/jimparato@lagaycenter.org
