Cast Updates for Vince, Eddie, and Paul

Since I’ve got three updates for you today, I’m going to combine them all into one post.  Let’s get started, shall we?

Vincent Ventresca in Flying Monkeys

While Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful is premiering today in theaters, Syfy will be premiering its own Oz knock-off tomorrow called Flying Monkeys (originally called Flying Terror).  The story is about a girl living in Kansas whose new pet monkey turns out to be an evil, flying shapeshifter.  I’m guessing that’s the only similarity to Oz, but we’ll have to see about that.

Vincent Ventresca in "Flying Monkeys"

Vincent Ventresca and Maika Monroe in “Flying Monkeys”

Vincent plays the girl’s father, James.  I’ve got to admit that I’m not crazy about seeing him take another role in a horror creature feature.  I think he’s too talented an actor to play second fiddle to a monster (or in this case monsters).  But I get that it’s work and sometimes you have to take what you can get until a better role comes along (like the role I’ve got for him in my movie 🙂 ).  Regardless, I’m glad he’s working and that we’ll get a chance to see him on our screens again.

Flying Monkeys airs tomorrow (Saturday, March 9) on Syfy at 9:00/8:00c.  Be sure to check your local listings.

Here’s a peak at the trailer:


Eddie Jones in Benched

Eddie Jones and Matt Fowler in "Benched"

Eddie Jones and Matt Fowler in “Benched”

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Eddie performing live on stage.  It was such a treat!  He’s an amazing actor, as well as a genuinely nice person.  So I was happy to hear that Eddie is back on the stage again in a play called Benched.

The play is about a disgruntled senior citizen named Max who “makes his way to his favorite bench in Central Park to consider what choices he may have left to make his life worth living.  He discovers the bench occupied by a stranger who seems determined to disrupt and interfere with whatever plans he may have for himself.”  The LA Stage Times has a nice write up about it.

If you’re in the LA area, I highly recommend that you take some time to see this play.  Watching Eddie perform live is never a disappointment.  And his wife, Anita Khanzadian, is directing the play too, so you get the talents of both halves of this husband and wife team.

Can you tell I’m a fan?  Well, it’s not hard to be with these two.  They are not only talented, but also just the nicest, sweetest couple.

Benched is playing a limited run through March 24.  You can see it every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. and every Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  It’s playing at the Avery Schreiber Theater, 11050 Magnolia Blvd., NoHo Arts District.  You can purchase tickets at the Interact Theatre Company’s website or call 818-765-8732.

For your convenience I’ve put Eddie’s performances as well as Vince’s movie on the Shoom Zone calendar.

Paul Ben-Victor in Vegas

Try as I may, sometimes cast appearances escape my notice until after they are over.  This is the case with Paul’s recent appearance in Vegas.  Fortunately, you can watch the entire episode on the official Vegas website.  But it may not be up for too much longer, so you might want to watch it while you can.

The episode is called “Two of a Kind” and in it Paul plays Abe Silver, a Hollywood producer.  This is the second time Paul has played a Hollywood producer; and the second time he has teamed up with fellow actor Michael Chiklis.

Here’s a little quiz:  Do you remember the name of the TV show in which Paul previously played a producer?  What TV movie has Paul appeared in with Michael Chiklis?

Paul Ben-Victor and Michael Chiklis in "Vegas"

Paul Ben-Victor and Michael Chiklis in “Vegas”

Paul has signed up for a four-episode stint on this show so we’ll get to see more of Abe Silver in the future.

Paul in a Stage Reading Tomorrow

Sorry this is so last minute, but I only found out about this yesterday.  For those of you in the LA area, Paul Ben-Victor will be performing Thursday, September 10 (tomorrow), in a stage reading of Last I Heard, Dave Rodriguez’s latest feature screenplay.  Also appearing in the reading is Paul’s wife Julie Ben-Victor.

Synopsis:  Mafia capo Joseph ‘MR. JOE’ Scoleri (Paul BenVictor), comes home to Queens, NY after serving almost 20 years in federal prison. He tries to re-connect with his daughter RITA (Kathrine Narducci) and establish a relationship with his neighbor BOBBY (Erik Palladino), who was a young boy when he went away, and is now married with a young son. He realizes through those relationships and other situations, that nothing is the same as it was before he went away.

The reading is from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Hayworth Theatre.  The address is:

Hayworth Theatre
2511 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA  
 

The admission price is a simple RSVP.  Can’t beat that price!  Send your RSVP to daver1988@gmail.com or you can RSVP on this Facebook event page.  This performance is one night only, so don’t hesitate if you want to attend! 

The Miracle Worker

Paul’s financee, Julie Austin Felder, is currently playing the role of Helen Keller’s mother, Kate Keller, in the stage production of The Miracle Worker.  The play is getting great reviews and so is Julie!

LA Splash says:  “…with the wonderful Julie Austin Felder playing mother, Kate Heller…both giving impassioned performances of parents realizing the greatest of fears, the sickness of their beloved child, Helen Keller.”    

Socal writes about Julie:  “…Both actors delved profoundly into their character and the peculiarities of the age lingos and accents and succeed in making the Kellers fully believable. Him, stern, patriarchal… and paternalistic, her, concerned, emotionally involved and… maternalistic.

Lynne Bronstein at Stage Happenings says:  “Julie Austin Felder also is outstanding as Kate Keller, maintaining a balance between soft-heartedness and underlying strength.”

Julie Austin Felder in "The Miracle Worker"

The Miracle Worker can be seen every Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. from now through June 28 at the Edgemar Center for the Arts.  The Center is located at 2437 Main Street, Santa Monica, California  90405.  Tickets are $25.

Order Tickets Online

Paul Ben-Victor in “Sin, a Cardinal Deposed”

I just found out that Paul Ben-Victor is part of a staged reading of Sin, a Cardinal Deposed.  This is a play that apparently started March 5, but according to the theatre website has three more showings.  The thing that’s tricky about this reading is that it has an alternating cast and I couldn’t find any cast information about upcoming shows, so you take your chances as to whether Paul is actually performing the night you attend.

Synopsis:

In Suffolk Superior Court, lawyer Orson Krieger treads a fine line between respect and contempt.

He relentlessly pursues answers from the elusive Cardinal Bernard Law, the Archbishop of Boston, for his failure to protect the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests in his archdiocese.

Every question, every answer, every word of this play was taken from two hearings and one trial.

All the characters are real.

A review of the staged reading can be found at Blog Critics Magazine.

The reading is held every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. at the Hayworth Theatre, and runs from Thursday, March 26, to Thursday, April 9.  Tickets are normally $20, but this week’s performance is a special benefit for SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and the ticket price is $50.

The Hayworth Theatre
2509 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA  90057
Website:   http://thehayworth.com

Reservations
(323) 960-4442
Order Tickets Online

“Sexy Laundry” Extended Again

Sexy Laundry, the play starring Paul Ben-Victor and Frances Fisher, extends its highly successful run yet again.  The play now runs through April 26, 2008 at The Hayworth Theater in Los Angeles.  Shows run from Thursday to Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and some of the shows are completely sold out.  To buy tickets visit Brown Paper Tickets.

The critics continue to give the show rave reviews:

“Fisher and Ben-Victor are masterful in their roles, they have us in stitches one minute and teary eyed the next. Blumsack’s dynamic direction allows the characters to live and breathe.” 
-LA Weekly

“Played for all it’s worth.” 
-LA Times

“Captivating”….. Likened to an intertwining of Martha and George (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?”) “Intuitive staging by Gary Blumsack” 
-Variety

“The cast is superb.” 
-City Beat

“Hilarious…. Moving…. Fisher and Ben-Victor make a dream team” 
-LA Scene

Here’s a little video I found giving us a glimpse of Paul in action.

“Sexy Laundry” Extended to the End of March

Sexy Laundry, the play starring Paul Ben-Victor and Frances Fisher, has been extended through March 30, 2008 at The Hayworth Theater in Los Angeles.  Shows run from Thursday to Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 7:00 p.m.   So if you’re in the area and haven’t had a chance to see it yet, it’s not too late.

The show continues to get rave reviews.  The California National Organization for Women had this to say about the play:

It was the most laugh-out-loud funny, touching and moving play I have seen in quite awhile. This dramedy is about a long married couple trying to put the spark back into their marriage on a weekend in a hotel. Both Paul Ben-Victor (Henry) and Frances Fisher (Alice) give outstanding performances.

For tickets go to Brown Paper Tickets.

Variety Praises “Sexy Laundry” Performances

Paul Ben-Victor, as well as co-star Frances Fisher, have received high praise from Variety for their performances in Sexy Laundry.  It’s great to see Paul recognized for his talent!  Here are a few excerpts from the article:

Canadian scripter Michele Riml is fortunate to have such accomplished pros as film/stage vets Frances Fisher and Paul Ben-Victor inhabiting the personas of sexually challenged mid-lifers Alice and Henry…

Fortunately, Fisher and Ben-Victor are more than up to the task of realizing all the emotional twists and turns while investing a rollicking humor into the Alice/Henry travails.

It is a tribute to Ben-Victor’s craftsmanship that Henry’s emotional turnaround in the perplexing final scene makes the scripter’s feel-good ending actually seem plausible.

Read Variety’s Sexy Laundry Review