'One Night With Janis Joplin' in Pasadena March 15

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran Executive Director), in association with Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich of One Night Productions, LLC, the Estate of Janis Joplin and Jeff Jampol of JAM, Inc. announced today that ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN will fill the fourth production slot in the current 2012 – 2013 season.  Hailed by critics in Cleveland as a “feel-good, fist-pumping, must-see” show, ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN has left audiences clamoring for tickets in Portland, Cleveland and Washington D.C.  Now coming to The Pasadena Playhouse in celebration of the Los Angeles area’s great Rock ‘n’ Roll history, performances will begin March 15 through April 11, with a press opening night on Sunday, March 17, 2013, at 5:00 p.m. at The Pasadena Playhouse.  Tickets are currently available with a 2012 – 2013 season subscription purchase. Single tickets will go on sale later this month.

ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, written and directed by Randy Johnson and starring the acclaimed performances of Mary Bridget Davies as Janis Joplin and Sabrina Elayne Carten as the Blues Singer, is a full-on concert experience and musical journey into the life and inspirations of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest legends.  With a voice like whiskey and a laugh like pure joy, Janis Joplin took the music scene by storm. 

 Simultaneously rough and vulnerable, Joplin was dubbed the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, proving music wasn’t just a man’s world anymore.  ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN also shines a spotlight on the great African-American blues artists who influenced Janis’ musical style and career, including Bessie Smith, Etta James and Aretha Franklin.  This new musical event features Joplin hits and classic songs such as “Piece of My Heart,” “Mercedes Benz,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Ball and Chain” and “Summertime” with a live on-stage band – creating a compelling portrait of an artist through the words and music of one of America’s greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll icons.

"The Los Angeles area premiere of this show is the perfect choice to complete our current season,” said Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps.  “I look forward to the rocking rhythms of Janis Joplin and her influences igniting The Playhouse as it has at theatres all over the country.  I hope that fans of the great Janis, both new and old, will join this celebration and be inspired by both her life story and her music."

“Every performance of ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, is like a family homecoming for me,” stated Laura Joplin, sister to Janis Joplin.  “I’m blessed with the opportunity to see, feel and re-create the intense pleasure of engaging with my sister again.  Janis may have died in 1970 but she comes alive again when she shares a funny story onstage, belts out her songs with her unique emotional wrapping and pushes me to share my emotional bonding in foot-stomping, hand-clapping and sing-along magic.  I would attend the show every night of the run for the thrill of feeling the power of those times and this woman.”

“Having the opportunity to continue this incredible production in Southern California with Sheldon Epps and the entire Pasadena Playhouse team is a thrill, especially on the heels of the wildly successful productions with Cleveland Playhouse and Arena Stage,” said producer Daniel Chilewich of One Night Productions.

ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN was produced this past summer by One Night Productions in partnership with the Cleveland Playhouse and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. (September 28 – November 4, 2012), following a previous opening at Portland Center Stage in 2011.  This hit musical has garnered multiple nominations for the 2012 BroadwayWorld.com Awards and recently won the 2012 Cleveland Critics Circle Awards for Best Regional Touring Production and Best Actress in a Musical (Mary Bridget Davies). 
 
The ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN creative team includes Len Rhodes (Musical Arranger), Justin Townsend (Set and Lighting Design), Jeff Cone (Costume Design), Carl Casella (Sound Design) and Darrell Maloney (Projection Design).

ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN will play from March 15 – April 11, 2013 with a press opening on Sunday, March 17, 2012, at 5:00 p.m.  Single tickets will go on sale later this month.  Tickets are currently available with a 2012 – 2013 Season purchase.  The Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101.  Season tickets and general information about ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN is available by calling The Pasadena Playhouse at 626-356-7529 or by visiting The Pasadena Playhouse Box Office, or online at www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org.  For more information on the production, visit the official show website at www.OneNightWithJanisJoplin.com.