Angels on the Stage

After nearly 30 years, award-winning Montecito artist Mara Abboud is set to launch her new stage show Hidden Angel and invited 100 friends to a reading at the rustic Alhecama Theatre.

The two-hour musical – a gritty production about five bag ladies on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the early-1970s infiltrated by a guardian angel – features a book and lyrics by Mara (sister of fashion designer Joseph Abboud), a score by British musician Donald Gould, brother-in-law of actress Jane Seymour, and direction by the Ensemble Theatre Company’s Brian Shnipper.

“I’ve always had a passion for writing and spent three months in Surrey, just outside London, working with Donald on the lyrics and music,” says Mara. “I hope to have the world premiere in the next 12 to 18 months at the New Vic as we hone the work.”

Among those turning out for an entertaining sneak peek were Jelinda DeVorzon, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Nina Terzian, Dana Newquist, Peter and Kathryn Martin, Arlene Montesano, Diana Starr Langley, and Sybil Rosen.

Clearly earning its wings…