City of Angels (Portage Theatre)

A witty, steamy, and riotously funny take of the classic film noirs of the 1940s, City of Angels was hailed by Liz Smith of the New York Daily News as “One of the most innovative, brilliant, perfect, breathtaking, entertaining pieces of theatre I have ever seen.” Winner of the 1989 Tony Award for Best New Musical, City of Angels was written by legendary screenwriter Larry Gelbart (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; Tootsie; M*A*S*H) and is complemented by Cy Coleman’s sizzling jazz score.

Michel A. Fudala, who is the show’s director and music director, feels City of Angels is quite possibly one of the finest and funniest musicals ever written. “City of Angels is two musicals in one, where two seamless and very funny plots mesh into one amazing story. One half deals with the heartburn of writing a Hollywood screenplay; the other half is an enactment of the screenplay as it endures endless rewrites, forced upon the writer by an unscrupulous studio honcho. These alternate realities being told at the same time create a sensational world, where real time characters are performed in color, and the fictional characters are dressed in shades of black and white, just like a vintage 1940s film noir.” Assistant director and vocal director Sharon Hand adds, “The characters are pure Hollywood cool, from the femme fatale and the bad little sister to the vindictive cop, egomaniacal director, millionaire cuckold, and cultured thugs. And the music–wow! We’re so lucky to have incredible performers in the cast, and we are having a blast doing this show!”