by lisa lipsey
DAVID ELZER IS SEEING DOUBLES!
AND THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON AT THE CELEBRATION THEATRE.
JUSTIN LOVE Detail-oriented and passionate David Elzer is hard at work
on co-writing, co-producing, marketing and reviewing cater- ing options for the premiere of his musical comedy entitled Justin Love. The musical centers around a mega-star leading man with
a beautiful wife who—rumor has it—may or may not be gay. And, his lovely wife may or may not be under contract to stay married for a certain period. “The timing of the premiere is kind of ironic,” says Elzer, “These type of contract arrange- ments have been around since Rock Hudson, probably even before.” Elzer’s play begs the question, what if the rumors were true?
“How horrible to never live an open, full, free life—always hid- ing and lying. At a certain point in the process she has got to say, ‘I don’t think I fully realized the bargain I was getting into.’ How terrible for both of them. In our musical the rumors are all true and he actually starts to fall in love with someone and his wife also falls in love. The question remains—what’s more important—true love or power, fame and fortune? There are two or three people’s stories wrapped-up in one package.” His successful run as producer of The Marvelous Wonder-
ettes, Life Could Be A Dream and Having It All combined with his PR experience for a number of L.A. theatres made script
“There is something for everyone. On the surface it is a gay musical, but there is also a straight love story too—it’s going to be an entertaining night of fun in the theatre.”
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
writing a natural evolution. “I had the idea for this show and a couple other ideas. I sincerely admired my friend Patricia Cotter’s work on The Breakup Notebook; her songs were spec- tacular. So I took her for drinks and said, I want to commission you to help me write a musical and she agreed.” Of the musical Elzer says, “Justin Love has a contemporary
pop-rock feel—I am so gay boy, I love the new Jason Mraz album Love Is A 4 Letter Word, I love boy songwriters. He is unbelievable, his wordplay, he is the real deal emotionally, artistically and spiritually. Of course I’m eclectic, ‘70s disco to ‘80s rock and country music. I recently went through a Mary Chapin Carpenter phase. And some of the show’s songs are reminiscent of The Pretenders.” Certainly no stranger to Hollywood press relations, Elzer
entered the scene immediately after high school, hoping to be an actor; instead he fell into publicity. It all started at Co- lumbia Pictures, where he was hired with no specific title. He worked his way up, becoming an official publicist working on the video releases of Tootsie, Christine, The Big Chill and Gandhi to name a few. Next he landed a job outside the studio with a private publicist, “We represented people like Tom Cruise, Bette Midler and Warren Beatty, it was a heady, amazing time in my life.“ Justin Love brings Elzer full-circle with its examination of
Hollywood contracts and publicity, yellow journalism and romance. “There is something for everyone. On the surface it is a gay musical, but there is also a straight love story too—it’s going to be an entertaining night of fun in the theatre. The choreography by Janet Ralston is unbelievable. Not to men- tion the guys are really, really hot… the cast is totally hot.” So is there a world where you can have it all? Idealistically,
Elzer wants to say yes; “I’m hopeful that in the next decade more and more people in significant acting roles will say, ‘This is ridiculous,’ and live life as who they are versus the alterna- tive. I hope the Glee generation comes to the show and sees a sweet love story. One of the songs is titled ‘Someone Goes First.’ Every time I hear it performed, it makes me tear-up. It’s all about knowing what is right in your heart and doing what is right because it is right. The first person gets knocked down the hardest, but they make it easier for the next person. I think people will relate to that song on many different levels.”
Justin Love kicks off the 30th Anniversary of Celebration Theatre from Friday, September 7 through Sunday, Novermber 18. For tickets and more information call 323.957.1884 or go to celebration
theatre.com.
18 RAGE monthly | AUGUST 2012 RAGE monthly | AUGUST 2012 | AUGUST 2012
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