(Long Island, N.Y.) Entertainer Willard Morgan rocked an avant-guard audience with a special preview of his new theater production “Saint Hollywood,” in the East Village.
“Saint Hollywood,” a multimedia performance musical written and co-conceived by Willard Morgan and Jerrold Ziman, begins previews at Ideal Glass, 22 East 2nd Street on Thursday April 14th at 8 p.m. This unusual production combines installation art, media art and a live interactive performance. “Saint Hollywood” takes the audience on a genre-bending ride into the belly of the Hollywood beast. “Saint Hollywood” stars Willard Morgan and features video design by Alex Koch and Lucia Jessum Lee. Scenic design was created by Anna Kiraly, lighting by David Tirosh and installation design by Darlene Ken. “Saint Hollywood” is provocatively directed by Jenny Lee Mitchell. The show opens Off-Off-Broadway on Thursday May 12th at 8 p.m. Performances for the world premiere’s open-ended engagement are Thursday through Saturday.
The synopsis of “Saint Hollywood” involves a New York comedian who is just about to abandon his Hollywood dreams when suddenly he is offered one last breakthrough gig. The audience wonders if this will be his big break or the final gig. After careening through Los Angeles from club to coffee house to open mic dive, Willard continues working his material for the perfect killer set and suddenly stumbles into Tinsel Town’s most celebrated martyrs of the Church of Eternal Fame, a gallery of extraordinary Hollywood eccentrics who stimulate his creativity and ignite his imagination further propelling his journey. Fascinated by their wondrous and tawdry shrines, Morgan is on the verge of joining their saintly order himself. Does Morgan measure up to their standards? Clearly this could be his day of reckoning that his friends, associates and colleagues’ individualism may be just beyond his reach.
A hysterical and audacious musical peep show into Hollywood celebrity, depravity and divinity, “Saint Hollywood” features songs by Morgan performed with an innovative, live-mix sound design created by the production’s music director John Sullivan. Onstage performers include DJ Eunice Wong and the live-mix video VJ Lucia Jessum Lee. Costume designs are created by Uta Bekaia and the production management is by Robert Signom III.
Willard Morgan is an innovative actor, director and producer. Morgan recently debuted “Saint Hollywood” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has appeared in numerous independent film features, theatre and comedy club stages in New York and Los Angeles. His comic personal documentaries have screened at festivals from Nashville, Tennessee to Milan, Italy, including Festival Fever which received the prestigious Sony Visions comedy award, the Best Short award at the Florida International Film Festival and the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. “Me and Michael,” his most controversial comedy feature, turns the camera on Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who ironically titled Morgan a ‘stalker.’ He co-produced Babak Shokrian’s feature, “America So Beautiful,” that recently opened in Paris, Los Angeles, and New York. Other producing credits include the Broadway debut of “The Runner Stumbles” and Off-Broadway production of “Say Goodnight, Gracie,” both directed by Austin Pendleton. “Misguided Tours,” his comedy travel show, is currently still in development. Morgan is also known for his stage performance as Jelvis, the Jewish Elvis.
Willard recently inherited the multimedia performance space, Ideal Glass which is a laboratory and staging ground for cross-boundary experiments in theatre, music, performance, installation art and media art. For information visit www.idealglass.org.
“Saint Hollywood” begins previews on Thursday April 14th at 8 p.m. with an opening set for Thursday May 12th. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
For more information on purchasing tickets please visit www.theatermania.com and for more information about the show please visit www.sainthollywood.com.
On March 4th filmmakers, actors and movie industry enthusiasts attended a special screening of the film “Rotten Luck” at Anthology Film Archives located at 32 Second Avenue New York, NY produced by Dangio Films and directed by Joseph Meli.
The synopsis of the film involves Prizefighter Duke Dealieso excellently portrayed by Mario Bokara, Jr. who fails to take a dive. Instead he produces a 2nd Round Knockout creating a jolt in the crime world provoking crooked fight promoter and local mobster ‘The Boss’ played by James Ciccone, who is determined to set an example. The Boss orders Duke beaten to death; but The Boss’s not too intelligent henchmen and employed goons Frank played by Actor Bill-Lee Lanndis and Gary played by Joe Meli botch the job. Duke plans a secret getaway using the Boss’s car which later develops into an insurance policy for Duke. The pattern of circumstances provokes an all-out manhunt which is even more compounded when Duke encounters the attractive seductive vulnerable Eve played by Xiomara Medina. During the course of the film it turns out that Eve is a fugitive from a Colombian drug cartel. Eve along with her ten-year-old niece Candy played innocently by Kiani Celis is on the run and seeks Duke’s assistance in getting away from an assassin hired by the drug Cartel. Audiences are gripping the edge of their seat wondering if this sexy couple will elude the Mob and Cartel, or is Rotten Luck in their near future?
Director Joseph Meli’s love of films began as a youngster growing up in Italy watching classic films from the golden age of Hollywood. The star of the film, Mario Bokara Jr., is new to acting but has been working for ten years as a professional wrestler.
Also new to acting in films is the beautiful sultry Xiomara Medina. Xiomara is an accomplished singer and songwriter. Xiomara’s humble beginnings began in her native San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the age of six Xiomara was expressing interest in music and the performing arts. Later Xiomara wrote and produced both her single “Borinquen” a song dedicated to her birthplace along with a sensational video that can be seen on youtube.com. Her triumphant success with “Borinquen” gave her the opportunity to share the stage with Puerto Rican legend Jose Feliciano and renowned NY Yankee player Bernie Williams among other celebrities throughout the tri-state area.
Xiomara’s recent experience includes dancing on MTV’s programs “Global Grooves” and “Jams,” hosting PDA Tournaments Series for ESPN Deportes and acting in comedy sketches for Telemundo’s late night comedy show “No te Duermas” in Puerto Rico. She also has proved her talents in acting appearing in local theater plays for “Arriba el Telon.” In San Juan, Puerto Xiomara was employed as a disc jockey for Fidelity 95.7 FM.
Later she was contacted by the all female group Aphrodite and wrote their first single, “Sex in New York City” The song was licensed and used in the smash-hit TV show “Sex and the City” during its successful run on TBS network.
For more information please visit www.xiomusic.com.
Not so new to acting in films is James Ciccone. James has appeared in a variety of television and motion picture productions; from the CBS television soap As the Word Turns to turning the Paparazzi away from Martin Scorsese in Shine a Light. In the recent lead role of Angelo Vatrano in a comedic Independent feature film “How I Killed My Roommate” James portrays a frustrated gangster in search of retirement from the mob to pursue a career in films. The movie is scheduled to be released in Spring 2011. In addition to starring in films, James’ credits extend to writer, producer and director. His recent body of work entitled “Neighborhood Nonsense” is viewable as a TV Web Series.
Mr. Ciccone learned his theatrical craft by attending the High School of Performing Arts on 46th Street in New York City and graduated from Marist College with a minor in theatre. He holds both master and doctorate degrees from NYTS and now instructs and teaches for St. Johns University, Metropolitan College of New York, and the CUNY system.
For more information on Mr. Ciccone please visit www.jamesjciccone.com.
Mr. Bill Lee Lanndis has a history of working in films for over twenty years dating back to his original film “Party Girls” as Benny in 1990. His more recent accomplishments are “Sunday Serenade,” “New York Stories 2010,” and “Urban Market” directed by Tim Schuebel.
For more info please visit www.bill-leelanndis.com and for more info on Dangio Films please visit www.dangiofilms.com.
