The Kid From Brooklyn: West Coast Premiere of Danny Kaye Musical
El Portal Theatre, At Weddington St. (5269 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601)
- Full Price:
- $40.00 - $50.00
- Our Price:
- $20.00 - $25.00*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for The Kid From Brooklyn have expired.
The last date listed for The Kid From Brooklyn was Sunday February 24, 2008 / 3:00pm.
Currently at El Portal Theatre:
Luminario Ballet Premieres Flying and The Firebird Rising
- Full Price:
- $30.00
- Our Price:
- $15.00
Luminario Ballet presents the premiere of two exciting new works-in-progress at El Portal Theatre: Flying, choreographed by Cirque du Soleil choreographer Debra Lynne Brown, and The Firebird Rising, a contemporary ballet and cirque adaptation of Stravinsky's best loved ballet The Firebird. This thrilling program of new dance works also features pieces by the Lewitzky Dance Company, Judith FLEX Helle, LedZAerial and Jamal Story. In addition, aeiral choreographers Womack and Bowman will perform Apogee, a rope duet with Luminario Ballet, as well as Bianca Sapetto and Sita Acevedo's Vesica Pisces, an aerial chandelier duet. Learn More
185 Goldstar Member Reviews
Judith K.
Written on Jul 28 2008We loved it. Fantastically performed. For us, Danny Kaye was on the stage.
Lynne
Written on Feb 28 2008great show - the acting wonderful seats were very good
Richard M.
Written on Feb 26 2008We loved it! Brian Childers is just wonderful as "the" Danny Kaye---especially his hand movements, along with his speaking voice sounding just like Mr. Kaye. The rest of the cast was exceptional playing the various parts. Enjoyed this so much, we will probably go down to Palm Desert (their next venur) to enrich ourselves again.
RM
M W
Written on Feb 26 2008It was fun to find out more about Danny Kaye than I knew before. Brian Childers' voice was beautiful; much better than Danny's. Sorry Brian, but he did not make me forget who was on stage. There were flashes of Danny's wonderful, rubbery antics, but not enough. I guess Danny really was incredibly unique. I now want to go back to revisit some of his old movies.
More Information About The Kid From Brooklyn
Description
A new musical based on the life of the legendary Danny Kaye makes its West Coast premiere at the historic El Portal Theatre in the heart of North Hollywood, across from the Academy of Radio and Television on Lankershim Blvd. The production is directed by Peter Loewy; Brian Childers stars as Kaye, with Karin Leone as Sylvia Fine. (Brian Childers has been critically acclaimed nationally, and is the winner of the coveted Helen Hayes Award.) The book is by Mark Childers with musical direction by Randy Booth.
The show, first performed in August 2006 at the Broward Center Stage Door in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, uses some of Kaye’s most famous and most popular stage, television and film numbers to tell the story of his surprising and rich life, hitting on everything from the then-David Kaminsky's early adolescence in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn , to his ensuing days as a “Borscht Belt” entertainer – the place for Jewish vacationers and where many comedians got there start. The show continues onto his success as nightclub entertainer in the 1930s, his emergence as a Broadway musical star (1939-1941), and his singular career as the star of a series of vastly popular musical comedy screen vehicles produced by Samuel Goldwyn (1943-1948).
This intimate musical portrayal chronicles Danny Kaye’s career and his relationships on and off the stage and follows the rise of Kaye from an undisciplined improvisational comic to his success under the guidance of his wife, Sylvia Fine. In addition to the role of Kaye, a cast of three moves in and out of characters that were significant in Kaye’s personal and professional life. Favorite songs of the period are used to recreate the highlights of Kaye’s career. Backed by a five-piece band, the musical highlights include "Pavlova", "Tchaikovsky”, "Oh, By Jingo," " Minnie the Moocher" & many more!
The dramatic underpinning of this musical is Kaye's relationship with his wife and professional partner, Sylvia Fine. Fine wrote many of the witty, tongue-twisting songs Danny Kaye became famous for. Despite her devotion to him, she is portrayed as a domineering, smothering woman who so suffocated Kaye that she drove him into an affair with comedienne Eve Arden. Arden was professionally closely associated with Kaye from the time that they starred on Broadway (Cole Porter's Let's Face It), appearing as a regular on his radio program and playing major featured roles in most of his films with Goldwyn.
Although not chronicled in the musical, the last 40 years of Kaye’s life (more than a decade of further success in film, a decline in his film career, followed by extended success in television and a return to Broadway - the Rodgers-Harnick Two By Two), and long years of tireless work on behalf of UNICEF were memorable both on and off the stage and screen. He was the original UNICEF celebrity representative, a Goodwill Ambassador from 1954 until his death in 1987. And he proved a hard act to follow.
A strong advocate for social responsibility, Kaye logged thousands of hours as a pilot - a hobby he enjoyed immensely - on trips for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - once flying to 65 cities in five days putting Kaye in the Guinness Book of Records as the World's Fastest-Flying Entertainer. The United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cueller said at the October 27, 1987 tribute to Kaye that he was the man who first "heightened global awareness of the plight of unfortunate children throughout the world." Kaye was the spokesperson for UNICEF and was asked to accept the Nobel Prize on behalf of the organization. There is a permanent Danny Kaye Media Center in New York City at the UNICEF Headquarters. Danny Kaye's legacy, both as an entertainer and as a campaigner for children, is set to endure.