July 9, 2006 at 3:00 PM

FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON (at 3 o'clock)

David Engel
Damon Kirsche
Elizabeth Ward Land
Christina Saffran Ashford

Gerald Sternbach - Musical Director
Lee Martino - Director

ABOUT THE SHOW

An afternoon of fun and entertainment with Broadway and LA's most loved performers.These dynamic performers will entertain you with songs from shows that they have performed in on both coasts including THE SCARLETT PIMPERNEL, CRAZY FOR YOU, RAGTIME, FOREVER PLAID, PLAID TIDINGS, KISS ME, KATE, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, SEUSSICAL: THE MUSICAL and many more.

ABOUT THE CAST

DAVID ENGEL is a two-time recipient of the Ovation Award for "Best Actor in a Musical" as Bobby in CRAZY FOR YOU with Tami Tappan Damiano  Other performances include: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, NEVER GONNA DANCE, KISS ME, KATE, SWING!, BLAME IT ON THE MOVIES & SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN.  He is best known for Smudge in FOREVER PLAID (original NY as well as London and LA (LA Drama Critics, Drama-Logue, Ovation Awards) and the more recent PLAID TIDINGS (Pasadena Playhouse).  He will be soon be filming FOREVER PLAID for HBO and DVD release.  Broadway: PUTTING IT TOGETHER (with Carol Burnett), SEUSSICAL: THE MUSICAL (Bass Wickersham) and LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (original as Hanna from Hamburg).  Other theatre:  THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (both stage and film),  CHILDREN OF EDEN, DAMES AT SEA, I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE, I DO! I DO! and SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM.  As a longtime member of Musical Theatre Guild, he has most proud of PASSION, FALSETTOS, MY FAVORITE YEAR and THE WILD PARTY.  Mr. Engel stars in ZOMBIE PROM, a musical short, where he shared an on screen romance with RuPaul.  Recently David completed work as the choreographer for the Moonlight Theatre production of SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL.

DAMON KIRSCHE Regional highlights include SHE LOVES ME (Kodaly) and ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Granit) with Reprise!; MY FAIR LADY (Freddy) and MY WAY at La Mirada; ROCKY HORROR SHOW (Brad) and THE FANTASTICKS (El Gallo) at Performance Riverside; TRIUMPH OF LOVE (Agis) – Long Beach ICT; FOREVER PLAID (Frankie) – Santa Barbara; CAMELOT (Lancelot) – Thousand Oaks; THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (DeLong) and INTO THE WOODS (Rapunzel's Prince) – Sacramento/California Music Theatre and THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (Percy) - Musical Theatre of Wichita. Damon was seen in numerous revivals with City Center’s Encores! series, including ON A CLEAR DAY…, STRIKE UP THE BAND and THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES OF 1936.
In concert, Damon has been a featured soloist at The Kennedy Center, Weill Hall, the 92nd St Y, Lincoln Center, the Berliner Dom and with the California Philharmonic.  Last season he appeared as archangel Logos in the latest incarnation of Eric Whitacre’s groundbreaking opera electronica, PARADISE LOST (http://www.paradiselosttheopera.com/). A member of LA’s Musical Theatre Guild, Damon was most recently starring in LI’L ABNER and earlier last season as John Wheeler in DO RE MI. Damon sings regularly with vintage swing orchestra Mora’s Modern Rhythmists at venues throughout Southern California including The Chandler Pavilion, The Orpheum, Avalon’s Casino Ballroom and aboard HMS Queen Mary, He is featured on the orchestra’s CD, “Goblin Market” and their upcoming CD: “Devil’s Serenade.”  Training: Juilliard.  Website: http://www.damonkirsche.com/.

ELIZABETH WARD LAND  - Broadway and Off-Broadway: Marie in THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (original cast, all three versions), PASSION, CITY OF ANGELS, featured soloist in THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER starring Michael Crawford at Radio City Music Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London, THE GREEN HEART (Manhattan Theatre Club), HELLO AGAIN (Lincoln Center) and CHESS. On National tours:  Edna in THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE opposite Hector Elizondo, THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, LES MISERABLES, and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Regionally, Liz has starred all over the country, most recently as Anna in THE KING AND I, Lucy in THE THING ABOUT MEN and Lilli Vanessi in KISS ME, KATE (Musical Theatre West); Betty Blake in THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES (Sacramento Music Circus and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma);  Helen Dubin in BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS (Coconut Grove Playhouse); Lady Capulet in ROMEO AND JULIET  (Goodspeed Opera House); Connee Boswell in THE BOSWELL SISTER (The Old Globe in San Diego); and The Evil Queen in SNOW WHITE (Disneyland). Concerts: BEST OF REPRISE!, A TRIBUTE TO DOROTHY FIELDS at the Mark Taper Forum (with the trio SHOUT SISTER), THE LEADING LADIES, AN EVENING OF RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN for Coto Candlelight Series, LERNER AND LOEWE with the Long Beach Pops, HOLLYWOOD REVISITED, A TRIBUTE TO COLE PORTER with Michael Feinstein at the Mark Taper Forum, and as the voice of the Newsboy in ADAM'S RIB with Anne Heche and Adam Arkin at L.A. Theatre Works. On TV:  CRUMBS, THE AMANDA SHOW, 10-8, ALL MY CHILDREN.  This fall, Liz will star the premiere of the new musical SISTER ACT at the Pasadena Playhouse and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.

CHRISTINA SAFFRAN ASHFORD (www.broadwayduo.com) Christina’s Broadway career is extensive, having starred as Kathy Seldon in SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, Maggie in A CHORUS LINE, Shoo Shoo in SOPHISTICATED LADIES, Rosa Bud and Edwin Drood in DROOD, and Zaneeta in THE MUSIC MAN. A true triple threat, audiences throughout the world have been thrilled by her leading performances in MY FAIR LADY, SHOWBOAT, SOUTH PACIFIC, PHANTOM, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, DAMN YANKEES, SOUND OF MUSIC, PAJAMA GAME, SHE LOVES ME, GREASE, COMPANY, MY ONE AND ONLY, CHESS, ME AND MY GIRL...the list goes on.  Concert work includes a multitude of styles from the lead chanteuse for Herbie Hancock, to soloist with symphony orchestras, “jazzing it up” with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and opening for Don Rickles with her own show at the Stardust Resort and Casino.  TV:  she has  played various roles ranging from vixen, to dancing prison inmate, to a singing nun.  Animated voices include:  Disney’s Aladdin, Mulan, Magic Flute, 102 Dalmations, Pocahontas II, Hunchback II, and Lady and the Tramp II, and is heard on Cinderella , Galaxy Quest, Polar Express, Christmas with the Kranks, and The Santa Clause II.  Christina’s original cast recordings include “Singin’ in the Rain”, “Masada”, “Fashion” and “Joan of Arc”.  Her solo CD entitled “Temporary Insanity” is now available at www.LMLMusic.com  Christina is the President of the Board of Retinoblastoma International (www.retinoblastoma.net), an active member of SGI-USA, and a member of Los Angeles’ esteemed Musical Theatre Guild.  She resides in LA with her actor husband, Matthew N. Ashford and her 2 daughters, Grace and Emma.