L.A. COMES TO TWO MUSES THEATRE WITH THE MIDWEST PREMIERE OF THE NEW MUSICAL: AT THE BISTRO GARDEN

Two Muses Theatre opens its fourth season with the new musical, At the Bistro Garden. Book by Deborah Pearl. Music and lyrics by David Kole. Directed by Jules Aaron, with musical direction by Daniel Bachelis and choreography by Allyson Smith. The writer, composer and stage director have all come to Michigan from L.A. to polish up the show and work with the Michigan cast on its Midwest premiere with performances September 26 through October 19.

At the Bistro Garden is a sharply funny and touching look at the lives of three friends from Beverly Hills who lunch weekly at the famous Bistro Garden restaurant, circa 1987. Their friendship keeps them from shattering and helps them get through infidelities, betrayals, a daughter going astray, love lost, and love found.

Winner of the 2005 ASCAP Best New Musical award, the show was previously workshopped in L.A. Guest director Jules Aaron proposed the musical for Two Muses Theatre because “it’s a terrific women’s show with four really well-developed female characters, so it matches the philosophy of the theatre, and with the show’s humor and pathos it will be very enjoyable for the Two Muses audience. “ The book was written by Deborah Pearl and conceived by David Kole who had just completed Panache!, a musical version of Cyrano de Bergerac. Kole invited Pearl to sing on the demos of five songs he had composed for his new musical. Pearl then came on board to further develop the characters and write the book.

The creative team from L.A. brings many interesting stories to Michigan. Grammy and Emmy Award-nominated composer/arranger/conductor David Kole began his professional career at age 12, performing on guitar at Detroit’s Ford Auditorium. His works for film and television are many and varied, including Challenger, The Karen Carpenter Story and All Dogs Go to Heaven. Deborah Pearl worked a decade as a writer/producer on sitcoms including the critically acclaimed Designing Women, and her numerous credits include both film and stage.

Also a professional singer and recording artist, she recently released the jazz-charted cd Souvenir of You and has sung backup for numerous artists, including Linda Ronstadt and Neil Young. Jules Aaron has directed over 250 productions (80 World or West Coast premieres) Off- and Off-Off-Broadway in regional theatres, and national tours. He has directed Julianne Moore, Billy Zane, Bruce Davison, Michael Lerned, Gary Sandy, Debbie Shapiro-Gravitte, Lee Meriwether, Ralph Waite, Marian Mercer, Richard Kline, John Vickery, and Jane Carr, among many others.

Two Muses Theatre, recent recipient of an operational grant from Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) and the NEA, performs in the intimate 150-seat theatre inside Barnes & Noble Booksellers, located at 6800 Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield (south of Maple). Performances are Sept 26-Oct 19 on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:00pm. Advance tickets are available for $23 for adults and $18 for students and senior citizens and are available at the door for an additional $2. Group discounts are also available. Doors open 30 minutes prior to each performance. There is ample free parking and handicap accessibility. For tickets and information, please call 248-850-9919 or visit www.twomusestheatre.org.

Founded in November 2011 by Diane Hill and Barbie Amann Weisserman, Two Muses Theatre is a nonprofit, professional theatre dedicated to increasing opportunities for women in theatre. All funds raised from performances and educational workshops go directly into maintaining the theatre and contributing to charitable organizations centered on women and families.

Photo: At the Bistro Garden, BJ (played by Diane Hill) gossips with best friends Abigail (Amy Lauter) and Cheyenne (Carrie Jay Sayer) while the Maitre D (John DeMerell) listens in.