Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: July 6, 2025
By: Laura Deni
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A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER

The trip to the Regional Tony Award winning Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah included a "boxed lunch" with sandwich food choices. Opening my box I discovered a small apple about the size that belongs in an elementary school lunch box. There was a delicious, soft chocolate cookie and an old fashioned, ordinary individual size package of potato chips. Nobody ever said potato chips were healthy, but there are healthier versions - such as oven baked. Then there was the sandwich. A hoagie type roll sliced in two. One side was spread with horseradish sauce. One side of the roll was covered with an abundance of fresh greens. The other side contained the thinnest, saddest slice of tomato I have ever seen. That was it. After consuming this repast the group headed over to where - rumors were - that is where the the Greens Show was to be staged - only it wasn't.

No reason given. No replacement. No Greens Show.

However, a program passed out indicated that what we would hear was a "pre show orientation for the Balcony Bards Seminar Grove."

Heading inside, signs were posted that a rehearsal was in progress. It seems there were some cast changes and those performers needed to be brought up to speed. Once inside the theatre there was a most pleasant surprise - comfortable, padded seats!

Let the play begin. Only, it didn't.

Finally, two of the directors got on stage and explained that the cast wasn't finished dressing, but everything would soon be up and running.

Finally the lights went down and for a few seconds the audience thought we were going to see a performance. Suddenly, the lights came back up.

Eventually, or 35 minutes after the show should have started - it did.

Any show can have some glitches. The 35 minute wait was worth it.

b The Tony Award-winning musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in the Randall L. Jones Theatre is directed by Amanda Berg Wilson with music direction/conducting by Brad Carroll, who has called the play "clever, smart, hilarious, and infected with the British sense of humor" but the feeling and spirit of "American Vaudeville."


The cast is young, talented, eager, nimble, have appropriate facial expressions and know how to deliver lines. Each cast member also seems to have a personal fan base. It's refreshing to hear exuberant applause after each performer does a bit with each segment of hand flapping approval seeming to come from a different section of the audience.

In 1909, Lord Montague "Monty" D'Ysquith Navarro, Ninth Earl of Highhurst, is in jail. He says that he is writing his memoirs on the eve of his possible execution, and that his story could be called "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder". He begins his story. Low born Monty Navarro, discovered he's eighth in line for an earldom in the D'Ysquith family. All he had to do is get rid of the seven ahead of him. So his mind is filled with murder, mayhem, and romance.

The cast includes:
Monty Navarro: Rob Riordan
Sibella Hallward: Katie Drinkard
Phoebe D'Ysquith: Nicole Eve Goldstein
The D'Ysquith Family: Graham Ward
Miss Shingle/Woman 1: Melinda Parrett
Woman 2: Laura Brennan
Woman 3: Mikki Pagdonsolan
Man 1: Luke Sidney Johnson
Man 2: Frank Oden
Man 3: Zac Barnaby
Female ensemble swing: Taya Christiansen (understudy)
Male Ensemble Swing: Spencer Watson (understudy)

The creatives are:
Director: Amanda Berg Wilson
Choreographer: Diane Dresser
Music Director/On-stage Pianist: Brad Carroll
Voice/Speech/Text Coach: Gwendolyn Schwinke
Fight/Intimacy Director: Jason Spelbring
Scenic Designer: Jo Winiarski
Costume Designer: K.L. Alberts
Lighting Designer: Jessica Greenberg
Sound Designer: Scott O'Brien
Stage Manager: Tanya J. Searle
Assistant Stage Manager: Kathryn Elizabeth Whilden
Props Supervisor: Benjamin Hohman
Scenic Charge: Shiloah Grace Frederick
Technical Director: Grant Hilgenkamp
Zac Barnaby. Man 3 in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is also Featured Performer in The Greenshow - when there is one.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

ART AND ABOUT

BEYOND INFINITY: AMERICAN SPACE EXPLORATION EXHIBIT Discover the wonders of space at the new fantastic family exhibition Beyond Infinity: American Space Exploration, which opened on July 5, 2025 at the American Museum & Gardens and is on display through January 4, 2026 in Bath, England.

This special exhibition showcases innovation, collaboration, and the sublime magic of space that ignites awe in all of us. Exhibition features include a giant moon installation, amazing rocket and spacecraft models, games, facts, out-of-this-world stories and hours of interactive play, continuing the Museum’s year of exploration.

Exhibition highlights:

An immersive space experience with fun STEM and creative activities for the whole family

NASA astronaut and University of Bath alumna, Anne McClain, who is currently in space, has sent us a special message from the International Space Station and exciting items from her space travels, including her flight suit and space pajamas.

The chance to get up close to a giant moon installation and touch real lunar rock.

NASA’s space history and future, with inspiring technology and science, and some of the innovators, designers and astronauts involved.

Space zone with a range of play, including astronaut games, dressing up, dynamic build kits, create-your-own solar system and more.

NASA Vision: Exploring secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. NASA Mission: NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.

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BROADWAY BARKS: THE STAR-STUDDED DOG AND CAT ADOPTION EVENT

br> Hosted by those lovers of furry four footer Bernadette Peters and Beth Leavel.

Broadway Barks is thrilled to return to Shubert Alley on Saturday, July 12, 2025, for the 27th annual star-studded dog and cat adoption event. Co-founded by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, the event features adoptable animals from NYC area adoption agencies and rescue groups along with Broadway's biggest names who use their star power to help them find loving homes.

Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the adoption event begins at 3 p.m. with a meet and greet of all the adoptable pets; from 5-6:30 p.m. adoptees make their Broadway debut on stage alongside some of Broadway's favorite stars for the celebrity presentations.

Over the past 26 years, more than 2,500 dogs and cats have grabbed Broadway's spotlight and the hearts of all who come to the event. Approximately 85% of these furry friends have successfully found forever homes.

Broadway Barks is free and open to the public. Proceeds from the event benefit the participating shelters and rescue groups.

Celebrity participants already lending their support include:

Alana Arenas (Purpose) - - Jeannette Bayardelle (& Juliet) - - Natalie Venetia Belcon (Buena Vista Social Club) - - Erich Bergen (BOOP! The Musical) - - Emily Bergl (Just In Time) - - Jeb Brown (Dead Outlaw) - - Sophie Carmen-Jones (Chicago The Musical) - - Florencia Cuenca (Real Women Have Curves) - - David Cumming (Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical) - - Stephen DeRosa (BOOP! The Musical) - - Jacob Dickey (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Andrew Durand (Dead Outlaw) - - Kevin Earley (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Paige Faure (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Molly Griggs (John Proctor is the Villain) - - Claire-Marie Hall (Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical) - - Erika Henningsen (Just In Time) - - Natasha Hodgson (Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical) - - Mylinda Hull (Gypsy) - - Andy Karl (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) - - Julia Knitel (Dead Outlaw) - - Gavin Lee (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Kecia Lewis (Hell's Kitchen) - - Alexa Lopez (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Alison Luff (& Juliet) - - Jak Malone (Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical) - - Lesli Margherita (Gypsy) - -Peter Neureuther (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Greg Mills (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Hagan Oliveras (John Proctor is the Villain) - - Michele Pawk (Just In Time) - - Orville Peck (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club) - - Amanda Reid (Hells Kitchen) - - Jasmine Amy Rogers (BOOP! The Musical) - - Kyle Selig (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends) - - Steven Skybel (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club) - - Lili Thomas (Gypsy) - - Allie Trimm (Wicked) - - Jessica Vosk (Hell's Kitchen) - - Michelle Williams (Death Becomes Her) - - Daniel Yearwood (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends).

SPREADING THE WORD

THE OLD GLOBE IN SAN DIEGO is pleased to announce the appointments of three Resident Artists to join the Globe’s artistic staff for a two-year residency for BIPOC artists. Playwright Keiko Green (The Old Globe’s Empty Ride - Globe-commissioned world premiere, Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play – world premiere), scenic designer Lawrence E. Moten III (The Old Globe’s All’s Well That Ends Well, The Comedy of Errors, Henry 6), and director Eddie Torres (The Old Globe’s El Borracho – world premiere, Familiar) will provide their artistic insights and counsel to Globe leadership. Each of these successful artists have a celebrated history of collaboration with the institution. The artists will started their two-year residencyon July 1, 2025.

These three individuals will make a significant impact on the artistic life of The Old Globe as they contribute their voices, artistry, and perspectives to every area of the theatre’s artistic operations. They will be involved in the process of how plays are selected for production, helping to democratize the process of selecting plays and to center BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) works and artists in the life of the Globe. Resident Artists will attend season planning meetings; read plays under consideration and share their opinions of them; weigh in on creative teams being assembled for productions that are under serious consideration; offer ideas for additional material to consider in theatre’s programming; and introduce playwrights, directors, and designers to the Globe; and they are invited to submit projects on which they are primary creatives. “In 2021 The Old Globe welcomed a cohort of artists to become residents. They were: The Old Globe’s first cohort of Resident Artists included Patricia McGregor, David I. Reynoso, Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, and James Vásquez.

Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.

The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional nonprofit regional theatres. Now in its 90th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community by creating theatre that lives beyond the stage. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages.

SUSAN SARANDON will make her London stage debut with Andrea Riseborough at The Old Vic. They'll lead the cast of Tracy Letts’ powerful, time-hopping drama Mary Page Marlowe.

SOHO PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR 2025 LIGHTHOUSE SERIES A first of its king competition, designed to showcase the best new talent and writers across the New York City area. From the 15 semi-finalists, audiences have chosen six finalists. Round 2 begins July 6! Each night is built as an eclectic and diverse experience with themes and performances ranging from drama to comedy, and everything in between. From this group an overall winner is picked to receive a full production at SoHo Playhouse in 2026.

SoHo Playhouse is located in New York City. Each evening’s run time is approximately 90 minutes.

2025 Lighthouse Series Final Round
GROUP A
Performances on Sunday July 6, July 7, July 9 and July 10.
BRODY WENT MISSING Written by Matt Stephens. Cast includes Ben Anderson, Ryan Barker, Andy Fitch, Florence Friebee, Marcus Haugen, Steve Malden, Janice McIntyre, Levi Penley, Scott Richey, Julia Scroeder, Matt Stephens, Richard Templeton, Carl Thompson and Liam Welsh.

HOW TO BUILD A GATE Written by Electra Artemis and directed by Sydney Dennison.Cast includes Kate Low and Megan Piggott.

GROUP B Performances on Friday July 11, July 12, Sunday July 13 and Tuesday July 15.
GOLEM OWNED A TROPICAL SMOOTHIE Written by Ethan Crystal and Garrett Poladian. Cast includes Jennifer Barnhart, Ethan Crystal, Julian Diaz-Granados, Carson Higgins, Lea Nardi, Garrett Poladian, SLee and Terrence Williams Jr.

THE GHOST OF BOB DYLAN SHOWS ONE OF US GREATNESS Written by Annie Stein and directed by Nicky Longo. Cast includes Sam Colt-Simonds, Anna Davis, Branwyn Ritchie and Jack Teitelbaum.

GROUP C
Performances on Thursday July 17, Friday July 18, Saturday July 19 and Sunday July 20.
HUNGRY WOMEN Written by Melissa Maney and directed by Iris Dukatt. Cast includes ChiWen Chang, Zoe Dean, Ming Peiffer and Bre Tomey.

HOT PUSSY TIME MACHINE Written by Alexander J Daniels and directed by Engels Perez. Cast includes Agnes Enkh, Troy Michael, Olivia Reburn and Zoë Tanton.

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BARNUM!

Jim Stanek stars as P. T. Barnum

music by Cy Coleman, Lyrics by Michael Stewart, book by Mark Bramble.

Directed by Brett Smock Producing Artistic Director.

Music Director Daniel Mullarney Happy 215th Birthday, P.T. Barnum!

Born on July 5th, 1810, Phineas Taylor Barnum would come to be known as "The World's Greatest Showman."

Combining the razzle-dazzle of Broadway with the magic of the circus, Barnum tracks the rise of Phineas Taylor Barnum as he and his wife, Charity, create "the greatest show on earth." Joyful, hilarious, and heartfelt, Barnumis a Tony Award-winning musical with something for audiences of all ages, from Tom Thumb to Jumbo the Elephant, and all the clowns, acrobats, and performers in between.

The production stars Jim Stanek as P.T. Barnum. Kelly McCormick as Charity Barnum. Chrissy Albanese as Jenny Lind.

Featuring (In alphabetical order) Parker Aimone, Lauren Emily Alagna, Alicia Albright, Gabriel Bommarito, Kailee Regan Brandt, Sawyer Coffin, Claudia Cooper, Andrew Fleming, Trey Harrington, Sophie Hillman, Scotty Jacobson, Karma Jenkins, Mason Derrick Lewis, Mitchell Lewis, Crystal Sha'nawm Katie Scarlett Swaney, Carlita Vinciguerra.

The musicians include: Robert Bridge (Percussion) is a Professor of Music at Onondaga Community College and adjunct faculty at Lemoyne College and Syracuse University.
Patrick Carney (Trumpet) holds a Master’s degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Texas at Austin.
David DiGennaro (Trombone / Tuba) works for Homer Central Schools where he has taught high school concert band for the past twenty-eight years. He also conducts the pit band, jazz band, marching band, and is music coordinator for the district.
Michael Fittipaldi (Bass) is a member of the Syracuse Orchestra and the Albany Symphony.
John Jeanneret (Woodwinds) is an accomplished performer, composer, and music educator. A native of Central New York, he is a graduate of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, the University of North Texas, and is completing a doctorate in music education at Boston University.
Gillian Knoll (Guitar / Banjo) has a BA in Guitar Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College, and is a current graduate student of Boston University and music teacher at Balmville Elementary School.

The creatives are: Nick Alteri (Production Stage Manager) Milo Bue† (Scenic Designer) Amy Cohen (Circus Consultant) Megan Larche Dominick, CSA (Casting Director) Tiffany Howard (Costume Designer) Kyle Jensen (Sound Designer) Ben Kapilow (Assistant Music Director) Terysa Malootian (Assistant Stage Manager) Dan Ozminkowski (Lighting Designer) Marshall Pope (Props Designer) Mary Tyler (Hair & Makeup Designer) Ryan VanDenBoom (Choreographer) Callista Veaughn-Payne (Assistant Stage Manager).

Performances through July 26, 2025 at the REV Theatre, Nerry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn, NY.

Made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

BERTA, BERTA Written by Angelica Chéri.

Directed by Andi Chapman.

Starring DeJuan Christopher and Kacie Rogers.

"Berta in Meridian and she living at ease; I'm on old Parchman, got to work or leave. The Echo Theater Company presents the West Coast premiere of Berta, Berta a sensuous love story by Angelica Chéri that was inspired by a prison chain gang song from Parchman Farm.

DeJuan Christopher and Kacie Rogers star in Chéri’s unique, magical and heart-wrenching "fictional origin story" of the song "Berta, Berta." In 1920s Mississippi, Leroy has committed an unforgivable crime and is ready to accept his punishment: incarceration at notorious Parchman Farm. He has just one final wish before he’s caught – a chance to make amends with his long lost love, Berta. Their reunion swells from a quarrelsome conjuring of the past to an impassioned plot to escape their impending fate.

The song was incorporated by August Wilson in his play, The Piano Lesson. Chéri first came across it while watching a production, and found herself haunted by it.

"What’s so striking about Berta, Berta is that people from all over have sung this for decades and have no idea who the man is who originated this song or who the woman is who is the subject of this song," she explained in an interview. "Every man who sang this song had his own Berta. He had the same longing, disenfranchisement, and captivity. Where did this song come from? I had to write an origin story."

Parchman Farm remains an infamous prison in Mississippi that the Innocence Project calls "a prison modeled after a slave plantation." In the years following emancipation, working prisoners to literal death was so commonplace that “not a single leased convict ever lived long enough to serve a sentence of ten years or more,” wrote David M. Oshinsky in Worse Then Slavery, his epic history of race and punishment in the deep South. According to a recent article in the UK Guardian, Parchman was also "the site of some of the most remarkable music in American history… Singing through the turmoil was not just common but routine at Parchman, whether inmates were musicians or not."

The creative team for Berta, Berta includes scenic designer Amanda Knehans, lighting designer Andrew Schmedake, sound designer Jeff Gardner and costume designer Wendell C. Carmichael. The production stage manager is Bianca Rickheim. Chris Fields, Kelly Beech, Marie Bland and Joy DeMichelle produce for the Echo Theater Company.

The Echo Theater Company presents the West Coast premiere of Berta, Berta which opens on Saturday, July 19, with performances through August 25. Atwater Village Theatre is located in Los Angeles, CA.

HOW MY GRANDPARENTS FELL IN LOVE A World Premiere Musical by Cary Gitter & Neil Berg.

Directed by SuzAnne Barabas.

Starring Harris Milgrim and Becca Suskauer.

Set in 1933, Poland. Charlie, a Polish-born Jew who emigrated to America a decade earlier, returns to his hometown of Rovno in search of a bride. There Charlie meets Chava, who works at a hat shop and hopes to become a scholar. However, Chava’s ambitions for the future and the growing clouds of European anti-Semitism threaten both their dreams.

July 17 - August 10, 2025 at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, NJ.

THE SEAGULL: MALIBU an evocative retelling of Anton Chekhov’s timeless masterpiece by Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer.

Directed by Ellen Geer.

Starring Siena Asencio, Susan Angelo, Willow Geer, Steven C. Fisher, Christopher Glenn Gilstrap, Katherine Griffith, Tim Halligan, Caroline Quigley, Daniel Reichert, Franc Ross, Rajiv Shah.

Set against the backdrop of a country transitioning from the ideals of the free-love era to the self-centered "Me Generation," this production will transport audiences to the sun-soaked, yet tumultuous shores of 1970s Malibu to explore the societal and artistic upheavals of a culture in flux.

It’s the 1970s, and American culture is transitioning from the ideals of free-love to the self-centered "Me Generation." At the Malibu estate of New York transplant Thad (Tim Halligan), budding writer Constantine (Christopher Glenn Gilstrap) prepares a performance of his new play — a theoretical, avant-garde observation of the changing world and climate. But his ideas are dismissed as absurdist fantasy by Nina (Caroline Quigley), the show’s young star with whom Constantine is in love, and by his ego-driven audience: his mother, the aging actress Irina Arkadin (Susan Angelo); Arkadin’s much younger lover, the acclaimed novelist Trigger Hale (Rajiv Shah); groundskeeper Ivan (Franc Ross); Ivan’s daughter, the morose Masha (Willow Geer) and his wife, Paulina (Katherine Griffith); and the local teacher, Ted (Steven C. Fisher). Only the philosophical Dr. Dore (Daniel Reichert) sees the merit in his argument.

With the crashing waves of Malibu as both a literal and metaphorical backdrop, Chekhov’s tragicomic masterpiece about fame, art and unrequited love is emblematic of the societal and artistic upheavals of a culture in flux. As in the original, the beautiful, sun-soaked locale belies the turbulent emotions of its inhabitants: Constantine loves Nina even as Trigger pursues her. Nina, longing for fame, is hypnotized by Trigger’s success. Irina clings to her fading youth and celebrity — and to Trigger. Masha loves Constantine, while Ted loves Masha. Paulina yearns for Dr. Dore, and Thad longs to return to the lights of New York City.

The costume designer for The Seagull: Malibu is Vicki Conrad, with lighting designed by Hayden Kirschbaum and sound by Grace Escandón. Nicole Bernardini is the prop master and Beth Eslick is the wardrobe supervisor. The production stage manager is Karen Osborne, assisted by Sky Wahl.

Theatricum’s repertory season: The Seagull: Malibu opens on Saturday, July 12 and continues to run in repertory through October 5. The Seagull: Malibu will run in rotation every weekend with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Strife, each of which open earlier in the season. Wine in the Wilderness, by celebrated writer Alice Childress, will join the repertory season on August 9. Unlike most theaters in the L.A. area that stage continuous runs of a single play, Theatricum will perform all five plays in repertory, making it possible, once they are all up and running, to see all five in a single weekend.

Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located in Topanga Canyon Blvd, CA.

THE WIZARD OF OZ stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved adventure. Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company Based upon the Classic Motion Picture owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed in all media by Warner Bros. Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg.

Background Music by Herbert Stothart.

Directed by Melissa Rain Anderson.

Dance and Vocal Arrangements by Peter Howard.

Orchestration by Larry Wilcox.

Featuring Michael Dalke (Tin Man), Thee Ricky Harris (Cowardly Lion), Alexis Kinney (Dorothy), Matthew McGloin (Scarecrow), and Alfie (Toto).

The timeless tale, in which young Dorothy Gale travels from Kansas over the rainbow to the magical Land of Oz, is a thrill for audiences of all ages.

July 9–August 17 on the Festival Stage of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

DENNIS F. HOLT a pioneering force in the media and advertising industry, whose visionary approach to business reshaped the landscape of media and advertising, died June 19, 2025, three weeks before his 90th birthday.

Dennis earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Southern California, where he played under the legendary coach Rod Dedeaux and studied public administration (Dennis would later be admitted into the USC baseball hall of fame). To support himself and family, he worked three part-time jobs and began selling radio airtime, laying the foundation for what would become one of the most influential careers in advertising. Dennis quickly rose through the ranks, eventually being tapped by RKO to run a one-person office in San Francisco. That led to a national role selling television airtime in New York, and soon after, he set out on his own. In the 1960s, Dennis launched U.S. Media, a groundbreaking agency that for the first time banded small buyers together to access prime-time advertising. That bold idea helped spark a multi-billion-dollar industry. In 1970, he founded Western International Media (now Initiative Media) in Los Angeles, which revolutionized media management and transformed how advertisers operated across multiple industries. Under his leadership, Western became the largest media management company in North America, with 40 subsidiaries, before Dennis sold the company in 1995. Dennis returned to his entrepreneurial roots in 2004 when he launched US International Media (USIM). With a vision of combining cutting-edge strategy with personalized service, he once again broke new ground - building one of the most successful independent media agencies in the nation.

Throughout his career, Dennis received many well-deserved accolades. He was named a Horatio Alger Award recipient as a member of the Class of 1998, an honor that recognized his perseverance through adversity, integrity, and commitment to helping others rise. He was designated a South Carolina Ambassador of Economic Development, awarded the Meritorious Service Medal from the State of South Carolina, and bestowed South Carolina's highest civilian and service awards: The Order of the Palmetto and The Order of the Silver Crescent. Dennis co-founded AdRelief, a charitable organization designed to help people during times of life crisis, and he also was a founding member of Rebuild LA, which formed after the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Dennis is survived by his beloved wife, Brooks, and his three children, Clayton, Alexis, and Ashley (Maxx), as well as his five adored grandchildren, Olivia, Chloe, Charlotte, Goldie and Levi.

Next Column: July 13, 2025
Copyright: July 6, 2025 All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
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Laura Deni