Sep 24 2010 5:30 pm
Friday, September 24, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the DRAMA BOOK SHOP. Bruce Kimmel is an actor, writer, director, composer, and two-time Grammy Award-nominated record producer. Kimmel wrote, directed and starred in the critically acclaimed cult movie hit, "The First Nudie Musical" co-starred Stephen Nathan, Cindy Williams and featured Ron Howard as well as a host of other instantly recognizable actors of the time. He also co-created (with David Wechter) the story for the hit film, "The Faculty", directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett and Elijah Wood. As an actor, Kimmel guest-starred on most of the long-running television shows of the 1970s and 80s, including The Partridge Family (recurring), Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, MASH, Alice, and many others. After seeing the first cut of his nudie musical, a high-powered executive at Paramount called Kimmel and said “Bruce, there’s Mel (Brooks), there’s Woody (Allen) and there’s you;” hence the title for his current book about his journey in entertainment during that time. Since 1993, Kimmel has been one of the leading producers of theatre music, having produced over 180 albums. He was nominated for a Grammy for producing the revival cast album of Hello, Dolly! and his album with jazz pianist Fred Hersch, I Never Told You, was also nominated for a Grammy. He has produced solo albums for Petula Clark, Helen Reddy, Jason Graae, Liz Callaway, Christiane Noll, Rebecca Luker, Brent Barrett, Sally Mayes, Judy Kaye, Judy Kuhn and many others. Kimmel’s label, Kritzerland (www.kritzerland.com) regularly releases Broadway music and soundtracks. His musical, The Brain from Planet X (written with David Wechter) has been seen in Los Angeles, New York, and the United Kingdom, and it frequently performed regionally. The Brain from Planet X is a spoof of 50's alien invasion movies and was featured at NYMF (the New York Festival of New Musicals) in 2007, and 2008’s Festival of New American Musicals with a run at The Chance Theater in Anaheim, California. Other plays and musicals include The Good One, Stages, Together Again, a musical version of The Comedy of Errors, Start at the Top and Feast all of which were produced in Los Angeles. In 2004, he wrote most of and directed all of a hit musical revue called What If at the Hudson Theater. In 2009, The First Nudie Musical came to the stage at The Festival of New American Musicals in Los Angeles, and has its eye on Broadway. Bruce Kimmel also recently directed concert acts for Kevin Spirtas, Linda Purl, Joan Ryan, and a new two-person show for Mr. Spirtas and Sean McDermott. In 2003, he was a writer/producer on season one of Penn and Teller’s "Bullshit" for Showtime. Mr. Kimmel is the author of eight novels – his acclaimed Benjamin Kritzer trilogy (Benjamin Kritzer, Kritzerland, and Kritzer Time), the mysteries Writer’s Block and Rewind, and his three Adriana Hofstetter mysteries, Murder At Hollywood High, Murder At The Grove, and Murder At The Hollywood Historical Society, as well as his collection of short fiction, How To Write A Dirty Book and Other Stories. “Bruce Kimmel takes you into his confidence (and into his heart) as your first-person tour guide on the thrill ride of his acting career, with several of this planet’s most ridiculous and unimaginable decades as backdrop for his story. His careening and caroming adventures move at a breathtaking pace and, as ever, Kimmel’s endearing, self-effacing tone evokes Saroyan and Salinger, even as his book is populated with more familiar names than a fruitcake has raisins. Daft, deft, constantly touching and ultimately moving, our hero’s effort to find his life, his love, and his “light” makes for a rare showbiz story that trades in tinsel and glitter for tenderness and hope.” “A sweet, funny, honest, real book about a real person’s trek through the unreal world of Hollywood.”--BRUCE VILANCH, writer/actor/ex-Hollywood Square “With simple eloquence, wry perception, and engaging—often touching—honesty, he chronicles juggling ambitions and obligations, dreams and disappointments while trying to make his mark on the world and find meaning in his life.”--CHARLES EDWARD POGUE, screenwriter of Dragonheart, DOA & The Fly Location:
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