City of Angels

City of Angels, an award-winning musical that premiered on Broadway in 1989, features 1940s Hollywood glamour, a jazzy score and a stylistic take on the classic film noir.  Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book, City of Angels is “flat-out funny…there is no end to the cleverness,” says The New York Times.

In this double story line, Stine is a novel writer who is adapting one of his books for the screen. Faced by the Goldwyn-esque director/producer Buddy Fidler, and held to high standards by his oft-betrayed wife Gabby, Stine finds it difficult to stay true to his writing or himself. In the parallel world of his screenplay, private detective Stone attempts to unravel the mysterious case of a missing daughter that soon turns into a web of deception and reversals.

This dangerous and seductive Los Angeles is filled with intrigue, femme fatales, a scheming millionaire and wisecracking gangsters, but Stine’s reality is no less treacherous. Self-promoting starlets, the egomaniacal Fidler (not to mention a sexy secretary) are all hurdles in the way of finally getting his writing to the silver screen. With the movie scenes in black and white and reality in color, City of Angels is a musical comedy that takes a look at artistic compromise, love versus lust and the Golden-Era of Hollywood film making.

The cast includes Gregg Hammer as Stine, Ben Sargent as Stone, Carly Menkin as Gabby, Jeff Aiken as Buddy Fidler, Courtney Walton as Oolie, Lesley McKinnell as Alaura Kingsley, and Adam Saucedo as Lieutenant Munoz.

Bruce Goodrich is scenic designer, Deborah Dufour is costume designer, Susan Hallman is lighting designer and Lori Dunn is makeup designer.