BOP TO THE TOP WITH HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL JR. AT HILLCREST CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Allwayz On Stage production of

Disney’s HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL JR.

Playing at Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand OaksThousand Oaks, California, August 11-20, 2023 – Disney’s High School Musical JR. is playing at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts from Friday, August 11, 2023 through Sunday, August 20, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. (Friday and Saturday evenings), and matinees at 2:00 p.m (Saturday and Sunday afternoons). The fun-filled 60-minute musical, is based on the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie and the subsequent National Tour. The ALLWAYZ ON STAGE cast includes 31 performers ranging in age from 5 to 40 years of age, and features performers with all forms of ABILITIES.

The Creative Team is headed by The show’s director is Laurie Johnson, founder of ALLWAYZ ON STAGE. Musical Director Chrys Ryan Johnson and choreographer Julia Marley.

Wildcats everywhere! This up-beat throwback to the ins and outs of high school drama is a nostalgic romp for young and old alike! The audition notice is posted for East High’s spring musical and superstar athlete Troy and science whiz Gabriella secretly want to try out. Will their dreams be thwarted as they navigate the cliques of East High? Adapted for young performers, this musical includes favorite High School Musical songs such as “Get’cha Head in the Game,” “Stick to the Status Quo,” and “We’re All in This Together.” With its inspiring message of friendship, self-discovery, and teamwork, you’ll be singing and cheering along with High School Musical JR. all the way to opening night!

For more information or to purchase Tickets please visit www.ALLWAYZONSTAGE.COM.

Disney’s High School Musical JR. is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com. For more information about licensing High School Musical JR. or other Disney shows, please visit www.DisneyMusicals.com.

Since 2007, ALLWAYZ ON STAGE has provided young adults with DIVERSE ABILITIES the opportunity to actively participate and express themselves through the performing arts in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment. ALLWAYZ ON STAGE delivers quality musical theater performances with the help of dedicated, volunteer mentors from various segments of the entertainment industry. Along with our talented creative team & crew, these mentors provide additional hands on guidance and instruction, often performing side by side with our cast members to help make each performance its very best.

The annual productions have included; Shrek, Jr., Willy Wonka, Jr., The Lion King, Jr., My Son Pinocchio, Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast, Jr. and more. Spring and Fall workshops and Variety Shows round out the years.

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Local Press Representative Contact: Diana Judovits (310) 351-1157.

Shrek The Musical Jr

Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/14/22 – By Gordon Durich

https://thehollywoodtimes.today/shrek-the-musical-jr/

Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/14/22 – Where do you possibly begin to put into words a rave about a weird – in a good way- show about a big green ogre and a princess captive in a tower? 

Alwayz On Stage’s “Shrek The Musical Jr.” is a wild and whacky romp. Absolutely worth your time.

The ambitious adaptation of the madly popular successful Dreamworks movie hit — and subsequent equally popular spin offs – is playing through Aug. 21 at Hillcrest Center, Thousand Oaks.  And play they do!  The community theater company Alwayz On Stage, helmed by Laurie Johnson, is an all inclusive outfit, blending special needs folks with other performers. The largely ensemble cast is enthusiastic and hard working.  Director Chrys Johnson addressed the sold out Opening Night, sharing “They’re better than me!”

Set in the swamp of Duloc, and with a premise that is full of twists and turns, the show is comparable to “Spamalot” in its wry humor and vibe.

Costumes were sensational, especially “Gingy,” the Gingerbread Lady whose funniest line at one point is “bite me.”   Watch for the spectacular Dragon (Abigail Arnal and Siena Judovitz), the baby (Oaklie (Hubbard) and toddler Arlo Herrera.

Star is Alex Greene as ogre Shrek, giving full gusto and comedic turns in the pivotal role. Sassy and ever so amusing is Shrek’s self-appointed sidekick Donkey, played hilariously by always-on-stage Jacob Wayman, in his debut (Eddie Murphy who played Donkey in the movie version — eat your heart out).  Other players include feisty Princess Fiona, well portrayed by vocal star and soprano Ashley Mohan;  Lord Farquaad, played by Christopher Carroll who shows off his experienced chops as an actor; and Ana Sharp who hams it up appropo as Pinocchio.   Capy Studios creator Ian Wegher Thompson is the imposing Papa Bear and believable Bishop.  Olivia Burlingham had fun as the Wicked Witch.  Pied Piper and Puss in Boots puppets (manipulated by Marley Berman) are there.

From the “Big Bright Beautiful World” to “Freak Flag,” choreographer Julia Marley did a sensational job, especially working with special needs capabilities.The song “Morning Person” by Fiona was relatable.

Sets by Ben Deschaine were clever and creative.

Allwayz on Stage provides individuals of diverse abilities the opportunity to actively participate and express themselves through the performing arts in a safe, supporting nurturing environment.  Allwayz on Stage founder is Laurie Johnson.

Website is www.Allwayzonstage.com.  Follow on Instagram and Facebook.

Alternating casts include Ogre Cast and Duloc cast.

Pure imagination is troupe’s golden ticket 

PLAY PREVIEW /// ‘Willy Wonka Jr.’
 December 02, 2021 

By Cary Ginell
originjazz@aol.com

https://www.theacorn.com/articles/pure-imagination-is-troupes-golden-ticket/

When the pandemic shut down all live theater in 2020, most companies went into hibernation. Some occasionally produced live Zoom productions, but the only local troupe that actually stepped up its activities was Allwayz On Stage, a theater company designed for young adults 16 and older with diverse abilities.

Started by the Johnson and Costanzo families, whose daughters Breezy and Sammy were best friends, the company was an outgrowth of the girls’ love for performing, first informally in their backyards, and now at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. An army of volunteers, parents and friends work as mentors, teachers and crew members for the company’s regular shows.

For its first post-pandemic production, Allwayz On Stage is presenting “Willy Wonka Jr.” Fri. through Sun., Dec. 3 to 5, at the Hillcrest Center, 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.

Laurie Johnson, founder and president, is ensuring that all participants are vaccinated, with regular testing and precautions in place, coordinated by Tracy Costanzo. Actors remove their masks only for performances, and audiences will be required to be masked at all times.

Making his directing debut with the company is Chrys Ryan Johnson, who normally works as music director. As usual, the entire Johnson and Costanzo families pitch in with whatever is required in any capacity.

During the long layoff, Laurie Johnson knew that she needed to keep everyone engaged, so she put a regular weekly program into action.

In a recent interview, she said, “We didn’t do anything for about a month, and then I said to myself, ‘We’ve got to get these kids together,’ so what I did was to hold four different types of workshops every week. On Mondays we had a Zoom fitness dance workshop that Julia Marley taught and, let me tell you, that girl was there every week.

“On Wednesdays, one of the dads, Frank Sharp, would teach writing classes. We’d have 10 or 12 in the class at a time. On Thursdays, we held acting classes and put on workshop-style shows like ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘High School Musical’ for the parents. When we did ‘Peter Pan,’ I sent everyone green tablecloths so they could add backgrounds when they did their Zoom sessions, and I taught them how to change the backgrounds so they could be in the nursery for one scene and then change so that they were in Never Land for the next. I also got some of them ring lights so that they’d be well lit when they were doing their parts from home.

“On Friday nights, we would have a social Zoom, and we did that for 70 Fridays in a row. Sammy Costanzo, who loves to put together play lists, was designated ‘DJ SamJam,’ and she’d take requests and play music to keep everyone dancing and active. I have to tell you, it was really wonderful. They were able to share their stories and their likes and get to know one another in a way that they couldn’t do at a rehearsal.

“What these kids accomplished— and some of them have Down syndrome and other issues—was amazing. I was shocked, honestly, at how well everybody did.”

“Willy Wonka Jr.,” based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book about an enigmatic candy manufacturer, stars newcomer Ashley Mahon in the title role. The “golden ticket winners” are Eden Judovits (who is in the mentor-in-training program) as Charlie Bucket, Breezy Johnson as Violet Beauregarde, Ana Sharp as Veruca Salt, Nikolay Sharp as Mike Teavee and mentor Kevin Herrera as Augustus Gloop.

Chrys Johnson summed up the activities that have kept Allwayz On Stage together and active: “The journey to get here has been all about keeping a ‘pure imagination,’ a childlike sense of wonder, a willingness to play and discover and never letting that go.”

Animal magnetism 

August 15, 2019

 By Cary Ginell
originjazz@aol.com

 https://www.toacorn.com/articles/animal-magnetism/

Cast members of “The Lion King Jr.” definitely felt the love last Friday night.

The enthusiastic crowd that packed the Hillcrest Center for the Arts’ Black Box Theatre in Thousand Oaks on Aug. 9 roared with approval at the conclusion of the Tim Rice/Elton John musical and gave the performers a standing ovation.

Scaled down, “junior”-sized productions of Broadway musicals are performed often in Ventura County, but this particular production— which wrapped up its fourshow run Sunday—was unique because it was being put on by Allwayz On Stage, a nonprofit that gives young adults with special needs a chance to participate in the performing arts.

The Allwayz On Stage troupe grew out of backyard productions put on by childhood chums Sammy Costanzo and Breezy Johnson in the 1990s and 2000s.

Costanzo and Johnson, who are in their 20s now, still perform with the ensemble, and their families remain a driving force behind the company.

Johnson’s mother, Laurie, tirelessly directs and produces the shows. She’s assisted by son Chrys, who serves as musical director and sound designer. Laurie’s husband, Jim, also pitches in, working on the set crew.

Costanzo’s mother, Tracy, is the choreographer and her father, John, works the lighting board. All of the performers’ families also pitch in. “It takes a village,” as the saying goes.

Costanzo and Johnson don’t need much guidance. They’ve been the Abbott and Costello of these shows since the troupe’s inception, usually playing off each other in comedic roles, such as when they played Lumiere and Cogsworth in “Beauty and the Beast” three years ago. In “Lion King Jr.,” they played meerkat/ warthog duo Timon and Pumbaa in one of the double-cast rosters. Not only did they know all their lines, they delivered them with humorous aplomb and timing that set the audience laughing every time they appeared on stage.

Wilson Alvarez was excellent as Young Simba, the boy cub banished from his father’s lion kingdom by his evil, ambitious uncle Scar (played with snarling perfection by Myles Aubuchon).

Siena Judovits played Simba’s playmate, Nala. Other key members of the opening-night cast included Abigail Arnal as both narrator and the Royal Mjuzi of the Pride Lands; Erin Schleich as Scar’s nagging, obsequious majordomo; and Brynn Moody as Nala’s mother, Sarafina.

Allwayz On Stage Presents Charming “Son of Pinocchio Jr.”

By Cary Ginell (originjazz@aol.com)

August 2017

If you were looking for a heartwarming theater experience last weekend, you couldn’t beat Allwayz On Stage’s latest production at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts. The company, launched a year ago by Laurie Johnson and Tracy Costanzo, offers stage opportunities for young adults 16 and over with special needs. Johnson and Costanzo’s daughters, Breezy and Samantha (Sammy), who have been friends since kindergarten, regularly put on shows in their backyards, but with last year’s successful production of “Beauty and the Beast,” their personal fairy tales come true by starring in a fully staged production, complete with sets, costumes, music, and choreography. Now 25 and 24, respectively, the pals headlined the cast in the company’s second production, “Son of Pinocchio Jr.,” which concluded a three-day run on August 13.

“My Son Pinocchio Jr.” is was written by screenwriter David I. Stern, the adaptation based on the Disney live action TV movie “Geppetto,” with a score with new songs by Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked,” “Pippin”) and two numbers from the legendary 1940 animated Disney film, “Pinocchio” (“When You Wish Upon a Star” and “I’ve Got No Strings”). 

As they did last year, Johnson (director) and Costanzo (choreography) joined forces again to stage the show, with their daughters playing the principal roles: Breezy as Geppetto and Sammy as Pinocchio. The story traces the familiar story from Geppetto’s perspective, beginning when Pinocchio becomes a real boy and going through flashbacks. To Geppetto’s dismay, Pinocchio engages in behavior not unlike that of real live boys; he’s incorrigible and uncooperative, leading Geppetto to call the Blue Fairy and ask for a refund on his wish, claiming Pinocchio is defective. 

Breezy and Sammy’s friendship is palpable, even when they are disguised by wigs and makeup. You could tell they heartily enjoyed the whimsical dialog during their scenes together: Geppetto: “Did you sleep well?” Pinocchio: “I slept like a log!” Geppetto: “You ARE a log!”

The Blue Fairy (played by Abigail Arnal) is one of two characters from the fable whose roles are expanded, along with Stromboli, the bombastic carnival owner and puppeteer (played by one of the company’s many adult mentors, Ben Deschaine, who also built the set). The Blue Fairy heads up a school of fairies-in-training (Brooke Baldauf, Amanda Counts, Erin Schleich and Megan Tresback), boasting of her “perfect record” of successfully granting wishes.   

Allwayz on Stage also provides initial acting opportunities for younger performers, and the show featured debuts by Isla Burditt, Owen Sayles, and sisters Eden and Siena Judovits. Eden, the littlest of the newcomers, was adorable as well as adept as she sang on key, nailed her lines, and executed her dance moves with the rest of the cast. (The girls were joined on stage by their parents, Danielle and Kevin, who played ensemble roles.)

The Allwayz On Stage mentors are professionals who have been working with the challenged actors since April. On stage, many serve as guiding partners to make sure the special needs actors hit their marks and prompt them if they forget a line. The latter instances were few and far between as everyone performed admirably and professionally, encouraged by the enthusiastic audience.  

Of special mention in the cast are mentors Julia Marley, a Cabrillo Music Theatre performer, and Ezra Shipin, an accomplished dancer who choreographed her own stunning ballet tableau during the song “Geppetto and Son.” Others included Emalee Burditt, Katie Gill, Chrys Ryan Johnson, Meghan Pool and Ryan Satterfield, who played Professore Buonragazzo, inventor of the “perfect child” machine, which produces “Body Snatcher”-like obedient children. Hmm. Not a bad idea.

Theater therapy 

Special needs actors shine in the spotlight

 August 18, 2016 

By Cary Ginell
originjazz@aol.com

https://www.toacorn.com/articles/theater-therapy/

BELLE’S OF THE BALL—Allwayz On Stage, a new theater troupe featuring special needs performers, is staging“Beauty and the Beast Jr.” at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. The cast, from left, includes Megan Tresback, Brooke Baldauf, Breezy Johnson, Erin Schleich and Sammy Costanzo.

Anew but different theater company makes its debut this weekend at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts.

Allwayz On Stage puts on shows featuring performers with special needs.

Laurie Johnson will direct the company’s first show, Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” which runs Aug. 19, 20 and 21 at Hillcrest in Thousand Oaks. Both Johnson and the show’s choreographer, Tracy Costanzo, have special needs daughters. Breezy Johnson, 24, and Sammy Costanzo, 23, met in their kindergarten class and have been friends ever since.

“We started doing little shows in our backyard in 1996,” Johnson recalled. “My son Chris was interested in building sets, so we had a stage with lighting towers and everything.”

In 2007, when the girls entered high school, Johnson started Johnson’s Backyard Productions with shows featuring Breezy, Sammy and their friend Nicole Spadaro. Soon they started adding other special needs kids to the shows.

“The first one was ‘High School Musical,’ just specific scenes, kind of like a little variety show, just for family and friends,” Johnson said.

With “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” Allwayz On Stage makes its debut for the general public.

“Everyone at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts has been super supportive,” Johnson said. “Scott Buchanan of the Hillcrest Center for the Arts is behind it all the way. A lot of these people perform with the CTFE (Conejo Theatre For Everyone), which does a show with the Young Artists Ensemble once a year.”

CTFE works within the Therapeutic Recreation Unit of the Conejo Recreation and Park District, providing year-round recreation, sport and leisure programs for children, teens and adults who have difficulty participating in recreation due to the presence of a disability.

Johnson has worked with special needs children for a quartercentury, while Costanzo works as a special needs teacher at Glenwood Elementary in Thousand Oaks.

“What made me really sad,” Johnson said, “was that when they finished doing ‘The Wizard of Oz’ with YAE last year, all the other kids were excited as they went into their next show, but our kids had nowhere to go. So that convinced me to start a company that is just for them.”

Unlike the CTFE shows, which use special needs actors in ensemble roles, Allwayz On Stage casts them as lead characters, including Belle (Miranda Berenstein), Cogsworth (Breezy Johnson), Lumiere (Sammy Costanzo) and Mrs. Potts (Nicole Spadaro). Working actors from the entertainment industry serve as mentors, with a few supplementing the cast, including Chris Johnson, a professional actor who will play Gaston.

“The youngsters in the program are not those with behavioral problems, which might cause undue stress,” Costanzo said. “These are mostly kids, most in their 20s, who have challenges with regard to mobility, communication and cognitive issues. Some might find choreography easier, some might be better singers. We tell them, ‘Bring your cool selves and your warm heart to rehearsal.’ It gets very inspiring and beautiful because they work so hard, month after month and they really do the best that they can do.”

Rehearsals for “Beauty” began in April and, according to Johnson, “Our core group is getting pretty good so maybe next year, we could start a month later! We see how much this has helped their growth, through communication, making friends and building relationships that last a lifetime.”