Contact

• Daren Carollo (925) 944-1565
  daren@dloc.org
• Bob Rezak (925) 680-7089                                                               
   rrrezak@sbcglobal.net                                                         For Release

Performances in Lafayette, Antioch

DLOC Expands Its 2007-08 Season With Third Show --‘Songs For A New World’

“Songs For A New World,” an innovative show with a broad range of musical genres, will be presented as an East Bay premiere in Lafayette and Antioch April by the Diablo Light Opera Company (DLOC) as part of an expanded 2007-08 season.

The musical, described as “a blend of savvy showmanship and exciting contemporary sound,” will be performed at 8 p.m. on April 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12 and 2 p.m. on April 6 and 13 in the Town Hall Theatre, 3535 School Street at Moraga Road in Lafayette (www.thtc.org).

It will be repeated at 8 p.m. on April 26 at the El Campanil Theatre, 602 W. Second Street in Antioch (www.elcampaniltheatre.com).

Tickets ($15 students, $25 seniors, $28 general) are on sale at both venues.

The musical focuses on isolated moments in the lives of many characters in a variety of eras. Several characters in the show are spoofs of vague depictions of well-known historical and fictional characters, including Christopher Columbus, Mrs. Claus, and Betsy Ross.

The soaring score includes pop, gospel, jazz and classical music.

The cast includes Meghann May, Marisa Borowitz, Dave Abrams and Danny Cozart.

May won a Shellie award for artistic achievement for her portrayal of Maria in DLOC’s production of “West Side Story.”  She received another Shellie for her role in “The Rocky Horror Show” at Town Hall Theatre.  She has performed with numerous companies, including TheatreWorks, Center Repertory Company, 42nd Street Moon and Fantasy Forum.

Borowitz, a music and theater major at Las Positas College in Livermore, has appeared in many shows, including “Urinetown, the Musical,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Suessical the Musical."

Abrams performed last year in DLOC’s “Peter Pan.”  He began his performing career with the Belasco Theatre Company and DLOC’s teen theater group, Stars 2000. He has also appeared in several television commercials.

Cozart has appeared in many shows, including “Urinetown, the Musical” and “The Wizard of Oz” at the Pleasanton Playhouse, “The Miracle on 34th Street” at Town Hall Theatre, and “Peter Pan” at DLOC.

First performed in 1995, the show, composed by Jason Robert Brown, has been performed hundreds of times throughout the world.  “Stars and the Moon,” its centerpiece song, has been recorded by Broadway stars Audra McDonald, Karen Akers, Betty Buckley and others.

Brown’s other shows include “Parade,”  for which he was nominated earlier this year for London’s prestigious Laurence Olivier Award, “Urban Cowboy, “ “The Last 5 Years,” and “13.”

“Songs For A New World” is directed by Kevin T. Morales, Town Hall Theatre’s artistic director. Greg Zema makes his debut with DLOC as the show’s music director. 

Lawrence Pech, familiar to Contra Costa County residents as the former artistic director of Diablo Ballet,  is the choreographer.  He is the ballet master and resident choreographer for the San Francisco Opera, a position he has held since 1997. To date, he  has choreographed more than 45 ballets, 40 musicals and many self-produced evenings of original music, dance and theater.

The executive producer for “Songs for a New World” is DLOC’s Daren A. C. Carollo.

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