The Arts Come Alive in Jam-packed Ventura LIVE ‘25

If all 30-plus shows that make up Ventura LIVE ‘25 at the Rubicon Theatre sold out the venue’s 110 seats, the total audience wouldn’t even reach the capacity of a single concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl. But the breadth and depth of talent coming to the intimate theater in downtown Ventura from August 20 to September 18 might not be matched by a whole season of concerts at our town’s jewel of an amphitheater. 

The festival features performances by a whole host of Broadway stars, concerts by tribute bands, films, new play readings, comedy sets, a magic show, and even a famed ventriloquist; a smorgasbord that traverses genres and styles all over the entertainment map. 

That’s the whole point, said Karyl Lynn Burns, Rubicon Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director.

“There’s just something about a festival concept that provides total immersion, and lets the art affect you in a different way,” she said. “These one-night events allow us to offer a really great variety of programs that will hopefully bring new audiences in to the theater. We want to broaden and deepen our reach in the community and have the theater become a community hub for the arts.”

Rubicon tried out the festival with just a dozen performances last year and chose to more than double the schedule because audiences loved seeing something different every night. 

No problem. 

Typical RTC audiences will likely thrill to theatrical one-woman shows The Life and Times of A. Einstein, written and performed by Kres Mersky, and The Spirit of Harriet Tubman, starring its writer, Leslie McCurdy. 

They’ll likely love a pair of staged readings: Barbara Gural’s Franny – directed by former Ensemble Theatre head Jonathan Fox – concerns a humanoid robot created by an AI software engineer to be a companion for elderly persons; and Witnesses – a new musical based on the diaries of five Jewish teenagers whose words and dreams were captured in journals during the Holocaust – created by five different songwriting teams and Tony-winning writer Robert L. Freedman (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder). 

Rubicon regulars will probably also cotton to evenings starring Tony-winning actor and theater writer Levi Kreis featuring songs from his performances in Hadestown, Million Dollar Quartet and other musicals; Lauren Patten, a powerhouse performer who brought the house down with her Tony and Grammy-winning turn in the hit Alanis Morissette musical Jagged Little Pill; Double Standards from Davis Gaines, who performed the title role in The Phantom of the Opera over 2,000 times on Broadway, in Los Angeles and San Francisco; and Katerina McCrimmon, a Cuban American performer born and raised in the vibrant heart of Miami, FL. She captivated audiences nationwide as Fanny Brice in the Broadway tour of Funny Girl, earning high praise from Entertainment Weekly, who called her “the next greatest star” with a “once-in-a-generation voice.”

But there are also tribute shows honoring John Denver, Woody Guthrie, Michael Bublé, and Van Morrison. A little further to the left: The California debut of the suddenly timely Thank You, Tom Lehrer, a tribute to the witty mathematician turned sardonic songwriter (and back), with Bobby Underwood channeling Lehrer’s sharp lyrics on such songs of thoughtful citizenry as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” and “We Will All Go Together,” accompanied by pianist Zalmen Mlotek. Tom Lehrer passed away last month at age 97.

Then there are two comedy shows (The Book of Moron and RubiComedy) plus Frank Ferrante recreating his acclaimed stage portrayal of Groucho Marx; Magic Castle regular Jim Carney’s Carney Magic; and Country is Dead, featuring country-leaning Grateful Dead songs played by members of RatDog, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, Bobby & Phil [Lesh], Mark Masson, Shaky Feelin’, Cubensis, and others. 

Pushing the boundaries is Jay Johnson, best known as the offbeat ventriloquist on the classic TV series Soap, who will perform his show My Two and Only. Going way out there: Desolation Center, which features a screening of the documentary chronicling the early ‘80s DIY desert show that presaged Coachella and Lollapalooza, with a Q&A with the filmmakers and a live concert by Mike Watt (Minutemen) and Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction). 

“No doubt that punk is not the first-choice genre for people who come to see Broadway style musicals in our theater,” Burns said. “It’s about mixing in some programming that’s more inclusive to bring people with different interests into the space. What made it more of a jigsaw puzzle is fitting all those events inside of a single month.” 

To enhance the festival feel, Rubicon has arranged for food trucks on the street to combine with on-site craft beer, wine, and cocktails to be enjoyed while mixing with others on the theater’s outdoor patio before most shows. 

“It’s nothing fancy, just a space with twinkle lights and tables and chairs,” Burns said. “It makes things more fun.”

No help is needed for the third event, starring Lauren Patten, who the theater calls its “first daughter” due to her cherished history at Rubicon. That history began when she starred at 14 as the heroine of The Diary of Anne Frank. 

Her parents moved to Ventura for a while, but then Burns and her husband and co-founder James O’Neil officially became Patten’s godparents, as she continued to participate in many productions at the Rubicon. 

Patten went on to Broadway where she debuted in the Tony-winning musical Fun Home, and, while still in her 20s, won the Tony for Jagged Little Pill. 

“When she thanked Rubicon in her acceptance speech, it broke our hearts,” Burns said. 

Maybe one of the 30 shows at Ventura LIVE ‘25 will break yours.  

Visit https://rubicontheatre.org/ventura-live