Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Danny Darst in LA for premiere of his play


Hit country music songwriter Danny Darst, aka playwright Daniel Dean Darst, has arrived in Los Angeles on the eve of the World Premiere of his first play, the dramatic and evocative EXIT 10.
The gritty poignant, semi-autobiographical tale of alter ego, Mike Talburt, is interwoven with Darst’s original music.

EXIT 10 opens at Theater 68 in Hollywood on Friday, December 3rd and runs through January 23, 2011.

In advance of the play’s opening, Danny will be performing tunes from his new album, “DANNY DARST (songs from Exit 10 the play)” at venues throughout Los Angeles. The album features 8 original songs from the play plus two bonus tracks.

Multi-hyphenate singer/songwriter/actor/poet and now playwright, Danny Darst has deep roots in the country music scene. He had his first #1 hit in 1974 with the tune, Roll on Big Mama, recorded by country music great, Joe Stampley.

A longtime studio musician and writer with nine top-five singles to his credit, he crossed over into film and television, writing the theme song for the series “Oregon Trail” and composing music for Russ Myer’s film, Supervixens. He went on to compose and perform music for films such as Melvin and Howard for acclaimed director Jonathan Demme.

It was Demme who gave him his first opportunity to act in 1980 with the film, Handle with Care. The following year, he made his theater debut in the 1981 production of 2 By South in an ensemble company, which included Leo Burmester, Alfre Woodard and Cliff de Young. Danny appeared in the role of a musician, performing several original songs and earning the acclaim of the New York Times, which called his performance “a chilling, hallucinatory embodiment of the protagonist’s phantom dreams.”

The play was directed by legendary film director Robert Altman in his own theatrical directing debut. The experience of working with the legendary director led to a lifelong friendship in which Danny was both collaborator and confidant. Darst and Altman wrote the #1 hit song, Black Sheep, which was recorded by John Anderson. Danny subsequently acted in Altman’s OC and Stiggs, Short Cuts and Cookie’s Fortune. Additional films with Jonathan Demme include Silence of the Lambs, Swing Shift and The Manchurian Candidate.

EXIT 10 has been a long time coming. In spite of Darst’s close association with the iconic Altman, he never showed him the play. Four years after Altman’s death, Darst requested that Altman’s eldest son, fellow road warrior and poet Michael Altman, begin his own careet as a director with EXIT 10.

Danny Darst will preview some of the songs from EXIT 10 the play before the show opens on Friday, December 3rd (all dates below) with a live musical performance and a preview of the record on KCSN.

Live Previews:

Saturday, November 13th --Ranch Party @ EB's Bar
in the Farmers Market, 3rd and Fairfax (West Patio of the Farmers Market.)
8pm/ All Ages/ Free show

Tuesday, November 16th “Melody in the Round” @ Taix Lounge
Danny Darst will be singing and exchanging stories with favorite local roots performers Tony Gilkyson and Dan Janisch
1911 Sunset in Echo Park
10:30 pm/ 21+/ Free show

Wednesday, November 24th Molly Malones
575 South Fairfax Avenue in Hollywood
8:00 pm/ 21+/ $8.00

On Air:
Saturday November 27th KCSN’s “Americana Matinee” with Kat Griffin
3pm
http://www.kcsn.org/americana_matinee.html

Listen live: http://www.kcsn.org/listen.html

For more information and to purchase tickets to the World Premier of EXIT 10, please visit http://www.exit10theplay.com/

Please see below for performance dates and times.

EXIT 10 is presented at Theater 68 in Hollywood at 5419 Sunset Boulevard (near Western Avenue)
Rooftop Parking is Available.

Performance Dates:
Friday, Saturday, Sunday December 3-5
Friday, Saturday, Sunday December 10-12
Friday, Saturday, Sunday December 17-19
Friday, Saturday, January 1-2
Friday, Saturday, Sunday January 7-9
Friday, Saturday, Sunday January 14-17
Friday, Saturday, Sunday January 21-23

Friday and Saturday Curtain 8PM
Sunday Curtain 7PM

No comments: