A breath of fresh air is in store this season at the Malibu Playhouse, as the Board of Directors has sought out local talent and creative visionaries to help out in what they hope will become the theater’s best season yet.
“We have local resources that nobody else has and they’re all in their own way giants in this entertainment industry,” said Diane Namm, who sits on the board of directors and has directed several Malibu Playhouse productions.
Her next venture is on Saturday, Dec. 13, when locals Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott will star in a one-night-only performance of A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters.”
“Love Letters” tells the story of Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, who exchange letters during a 50-year period while living apart.
“There’s always nuances [in the play] to be mined,” Ross told The Malibu Times. “As an actor, it’s really a great piece.”
Ross and Elliott, married for 36 years, have been friends to the Playhouse for many years, having also performed “Love Letters” for an intimate audience in Santa Monica last year to help raise funds while the Playhouse underwent renovations. The Dec. 13 performance will be only the second time the pair has been onstage together.
“I think that anytime you’re doing something live, that it’s different … It’s one time, and even if you do it every night, it’s going to be different. That’s what I think is exciting about theater,” said Ross, who has worked both onstage and in TV/film for more than five decades.
“There’s a connection between people onstage and the audience,” she added.
Ross and Namm first worked together in 2011 after Ross agreed to be in the Playhouse production of “Judgment at Nuremberg.”
It became the first of four plays Ross has done for the Malibu theater.
In her approach to “Love Letters” and directing in general, Namm said she focuses on letting the actors become their characters on the stage. “When they become the characters and the characters become them, then I know I’m done,” Namm said. “So we rehearse until that happens, and then once that happens, then it’s them … and since Katharine and Sam are married, there’s this extra layer of tenderness.”
Dick Van Dyke has signed on as creative executive producer and will be very involved in several productions, including consulting on the forthcoming “God of Carnage” and a Broadway musical tribute next spring.
“There are great plans afoot for the coming year … ‘God of Carnage,’ a spring tribute to Broadway musicals, along with guest speakers, celebrity readings, acting workshops and, of course, some sing-a-longs for the young at heart!” Van Dyke said.
Van Dyke’s wife, Arlene, has also joined the Playhouse’s advisory board to help with community outreach. She boasts years of singing and performing experience as well. Other advisory board members include Malibu residents Lou Gossett, Jr. and Gabby Reece.
Namm said the Board of Directors is planning to kick off a “Conversation With…” series in January, beginning with Ross, where attendees can listen to participants discuss their career and approach to the craft.
Malibu Cultural Arts Commissioner Graehme Clifford has been tapped to direct the February-March production of “God of Carnage.”
Other anticipated events include more children’s theater performances, aimed at inciting interest among local youngsters hoping to get involved in theater.
“It’s really magic to see something live, whether it’s a concert or whether it’s a performance of any kind, there’s something magic about being there as an audience” Ross said, adding that having her mother take her to children’s theater sparked her interest early on.
For Namm, the Malibu Playhouse signifies a potential epicenter of artistic culture in Malibu.
“We’re all vested in making sure that the playhouse is a vibrant, creative, living thing.”
To learn more about the Malibu Playhouse, visit malibuplayhouse.org.