WOMEN BEHIND BARS Comes to The Montalban

"Just Pow!" Productions announces the cast and creative team for the
new Los Angeles production of Tom Eyen's camp classic, Women Behind Bars, directed by Scott Thompson, running for two consecutive weekends January 24th - February 2, 2020, at The Montalban in Hollywood.

Advance tickets are now on sale at The Montalban's website: https://www.themontalban.com/womenbehindbars, or by calling 323-461-6999.

Headlining the cast are pop culture icon Traci Lords as "Gloria" and RuPaul's Drag Race fanfavorite star Eureka O'Hara as "The Matron", the role made famous by the legendary Divine; RPDR and RPDR All Stars personalities Thorgy Thor as "Ada" and Chi Chi DeVayne as "Jo-Jo"; drag legend and star of Trick, Girls Will Be Girls, and Will and Grace, Miss Coco Peru as "Louise"; John Waters' muse and star of Pink Flamingos, Serial Mom, Female Trouble, and Hairspray, Mink Stole as "Granny"; Los Angeles cabaret performer and star of Whatta Lark, Poppy Fields as "Blanche"; and internationally-renowned Marilyn Monroe tribute artist, Suzie Kennedy as "Cheri". Also rounding out the cast are adult film superstar, Wesley Woods as "The Man"; Adrienne Couper Smith as "Mary", the innocent who is ultimately corrupted by the system; and Tatiana Monteiro as the fiery Guadalupe.

The creative team includes Scott Thompson, Director; Matthew Herrmann, Company Manager; Paul Black, Scenic Designer; Suzan Ortmeier, Costume Designer; Fred Barton,
Composer; and Sound Designers/Technical Directors E. M. Gimenez and Todd Reynolds.

WOMEN BEHIND BARS is a camp play by Tom Eyen, parodying the prison exploitation films produced by Universal, Warner Brothers, and Republic Pictures during the 1950's. Among the range of women within the prison are an innocent young woman, a chain-smoking streetwise tough girl, and a delicate Southern belle reminiscent of Blanche DuBois. These women are overseen by the prison's sadistic matron and her tough sidekick. The original production at the off-Broadway Astor Place Theatre opened on May 1, 1975 and was revived in 1976 at the Truck and Warehouse Theatre in New York with Pink Flamingos star DIVINE as the Matron.

It quickly developed a cult following and became a success. The play was revived in Los
Angeles in 1983, directed by Ron Link and featuring Lu Leonard, Adrienne Barbeau, and Sharon Barr. The Los Angeles production ran for almost a year, first at the Cast Theater and then moving to the Roxy. Sally Kellerman and Linda Blair later joined the cast. The New York Times described Women Behind Bars as "an extraordinarily interesting work from one of America's most innovative and versatile playwrights."

The Montalban in Hollywood will be the setting for this production of Women Behind Bars, featuring an elaborate production design - including a two-tiered jailhouse set complete with multimedia video screens and innovative costume designs - making it perhaps the largest production in the show's history.

"Just Pow!" Productions is a new theatrical entertainment company based in Los Angeles that was formed by Scott Thompson and Christopher Graham. Thompson is an award winning director, choreographer, writer, and producer who has been working in theatre for thirty years, directing and choreographing over 100 professional productions nationwide. He has worked with a "who's who" of contemporary Broadway stars, both in full musical productions and in concerts from LA to New York's Town Hall and Lincoln Center. Among his numerous awards are five Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, two San Francisco Critics Circle Awards, and the Los Angeles Ovation Award for his direction and choreography. His work has been seen on HBO Television and worldwide via his work for Princess Cruises. Graham is another 25+ year veteran of the theatre, beginning his career as an actor/singer/dancer, appearing in numerous professional productions across the country. For six years, he was a director/choreographer and producer with the critically-acclaimed Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, where he worked with luminaries of the Broadway stage and stars of film and television. Since 2011, he has been one-half of the award-winning cabaret act, Mack & Poppy, as his alter-ego, "Poppy Fields". Christopher recently won the 2018 Best Actor, Comedy award at the International Web Television Awards for his performance as "Whatta Lark" on the web series Whatta Lark!