Rachel Calof Makes L.A. Debut Downtown at Pico Union Project

LOS ANGELES - Oct. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- The Pico Union Project is proud to present the acclaimed one-woman show RACHEL CALOF: A MEMOIR WITH MUSIC, the astonishing true story of Jewish mail order bride Rachel Calof who moved from Russia to the North Dakota prairies in 1895. Rachel Calof will make its two-night Los Angeles premiere November 6 and 7, 7:30 p.m., at the Pico Union Project, a burgeoning nonprofit arts and cultural center committed to cross-cultural collaboration.

A touching and humorous chronicle of the unrelenting realities faced by a Jewish woman pioneer, Rachel Calof stars actress Kate Fuglei. It was adapted from Calof’s autobiography by playwright Ken LaZebnik, with music and lyrics by Leslie Steinweiss, and is directed by Ellen S. Pressman.

The production has been praised for Fuglei’s “tour de force performance”and described as an “engaging and captivating…and is an enthralling 80-minute experience.”

Craig Taubman, founder of the Pico Union Project says, “The story of Rachel Calof champions a woman of resilience whose life is an example of building harmony and mutual respect in a diverse world.”

Fuglei has appeared in the Broadway National Tour of Spring Awakening, as well as in leading roles at La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage in Washington D.C., The New York Shakespeare Festival and dozens of other theaters. LaZebnik’s plays have twice been awarded citations from the American Theater Critics Association and he co-wrote Robert Altman’s last film, A Prairie Home Companion. Ellen Pressman is an Emmy-award winning director. Composer and lyricist Leslie Steinweiss is currently writing and co-producing an album with his son Homer Steinweiss, of The Dap-Kings.

Rachel Calof: A Memoir with Music will be performed on Friday, November 6, 2015, and Saturday, November 7, 2015, at 7:30 pm at the Pico Union Project, located at 1153 Valencia Street, Los Angeles. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at   http://www.eventbrite.com/e/rachel-calof-tickets-16470106532.

Following the Los Angeles debut, Rachel Calof is heading to New York for three sold-out performances on Theatre Row during the United Solo Festival. A fourth New York performance is now added and tickets can be purchased at the rachel calof dot com website .