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Broadway World: HOTBED HOTEL to Open Conejo Players 67th Season

Broadway World is featuring our upcoming comedy play Hotbed Hotel, which will open our 67th Season!

“Hotbed Hotel is a delightful, very fast-paced farce. Terri (Cassie Kelso-Bucey) and Brian Cody (Drew Orlando) are hoping to sell their “One Star Hotel” in the Florida Keys to the only man, Mr. Lewis (Don McGreevy), who has expressed interest in buying it. They are not expecting him for a couple of weeks, and are caught off-guard when they receive a phone call informing them that he will be arriving in the afternoon. Unfortunately, they have so few guests they are afraid that Mr. Lewis would feel that the hotel is a bad investment. So, Terri and Brian devise a plan to make the hotel appear busier and more prosperous than it actually is. Their staff will masquerade as paying guests, thereby giving Mr. Lewis the impression that the hotel is overflowing with loyal customers and vacationers. Their plan has one hitch, their entire staff consists of a maintenance man and a sexy housemaid. What could possibly go wrong?”

The show opens on Friday January 10, 2025!

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Ventura Breeze: Glass Menagerie Classic Endures

Shirley Lorraine from the Ventura Breeze gave The Glass Menagerie a glowing review!

“Director Elena Mills has assembled a quite capable cast to bring this classic to life. The setting is impeccable, employing clever scrims to highlight certain memories. All four of the actors are excellent in their roles. Pacing is rapid and dialogue is crisp. The tone of frustration, anger and impatience bubbles to the surface throughout. Even the gentleman caller, who is often seen as the most empathetic character in his gentle approach to Laura’s shy demeanor, is played with an abundance of bravado”

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Broadway World: The Conejo Improv Players Return Next Month

Broadway World featured an article about our upcoming Conejo Improv Players show.

“The performance is on Saturday, August 3 at 8pm. The Conejo Improv Players will present a hilarious night of improvisational comedy featuring skits, scenes, and music — made up entirely on the spot from audience suggestions. Enjoy an evening of interactive comedy that blends the comedic stylings of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Saturday Night Live in a hilarious show you won’t want to miss!”

 

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VC Star: Thousand Oaks theater company to perform ‘Rent,’ display AIDS project’s quilt panel

The VC Star talked to RENT director Shawn Adams-Lanz and actor Brennen Klitzner for an article about the show for both their print and online publications.

“Conejo Players Theatre’s production of Rent features an element not typically seen in the rock musical about AIDS. A 12-foot-by-12-foot panel from the nearly 40-year-old AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on stage as the cast sings “Seasons of Love.” Rent will be performed Friday through July 7 at the theatre at 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks.”

 

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The Acorn: Viva la vie bohème

Thank you to The Acorn Thousand Oaks for covering RENT and our partnership with the National AIDS Memorial.

“In some 20,160 minutes from publication date—far fewer than the 525,600 mentioned in its iconic song—the classic musical “Rent” will take the stage at Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks. Set in the East Village of New York City in the early 1990s and based loosely on the classic Puccini opera “La Bohème,” “Rent” follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to create and survive in NYC’s Lower East Side under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.”

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Conejo Players on the Stage Playaz Podcast

We are thrilled that the Conejo Players Theatre and the cast of Sleeping Beauty were featured guests on the Stage Playaz Podcast.

Official Description: Join your favorite co-hosts, CC Adeva and Nate Eshaghpour as they feature a performing arts gem in the community. The Conejo Players Theatre is going on its 66th anniversary and it remains one of THE most popular venues people go for entertainment. Meet the Executive Producer Beth Eslick and learn what makes the experience at Conejo Players Theatre unique. Enjoy the perspective of three Sleeping Beauty cast members, Carmen Hortiales (Briar Rose), Evan Trafican (Prince Owain), and Alia Ashworth (Spider King) from their current production, Sleeping Beauty (Charles Way adaptation), as they give you a glimpse into their characters and express their gratitude and love for being a part of the Conejo Players Theatre family.

 

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VC Reporter: Deadly good fun: ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ at Conejo Players Theatre

Tim Pompey from the VC Reporter calls A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder “good, dark fun” in his review of our musical comedy.

“Suppose you love British comedy, especially the cheeky kind. In that case, you’ll quickly fall in love with this Tony-award-winning musical that is the complete package of jokes, sex, men in dresses, upper-class snobbery, murder and lively chorus lines — light opera, to be more accurate. The chorus warns the audience of what’s to come in the prologue. They aren’t kidding. But still, it’s like a glorious train wreck. You can’t stop watching.”

 

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The Acorn: A song in his heart, poison in his pocket

The Thousand Oaks Acorn came to our opening night of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder and critic Cary Ginell gave the show high praise!

“The story is Gilbert and Sullivan meets-Monty Python, a delightful blend of comic patter songs and tragically funny “accidents” perpetrated by Monty on the members of the D’Ysquith family who stand between him and his ultimate goal…  This irresistible, delightfully mad musical is the cure for anyone’s ills.”

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The Acorn: ‘Outrageous’ play will have you in stiches

The Thousand Oaks Acorn visited ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ recently, and the critics are raving!

“The outrageous humor in ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ isn’t as much in the pratfalls and missteps as in how the cast feebly tries to deal with them as they occur,” said theatre critic Cary Ginell. “Thinking (or hoping) the audience won’t notice, they gamely proceed with the story with straight faces all around, which results in them compounding their humiliation. The more deliberate the pacing, the funnier it gets, and the show is a laugh riot from start to finish.”

“’The Play That Goes Wrong’ is comic mayhem at its best and is not to be missed.”

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The Acorn: One Night Only, The Nameless Star “twinkles”

The Thousand Oaks Acorn sat down with the team from the upcoming free staged reading of The Nameless Star to get the scoop on this one-night-only event.

According to Elena Mills who translated and adapted the story for the stage, “This play always has been one of my favorites,” Mills said. “The story is about real people and real-life situations, without a fairy tale ending, which is nice, but usually untrue. ‘The Nameless Star’ is a romantic comedy with every character being created beautifully. We easily can guess about each one’s life story.”

Click below to RSVP and secure your free ticket, or to read the whole story.