“Love, Lust and Other Wreckage” is the first local musician’s album to come to the stage.
Film/TV actor and Cheswick resident Gregory Johnstone stars in the two night production written by Amy Hartman. Angela Hsu makes her directorial debut.
The beginning aspects of it were all built around relationships, and the many facets…the good and the bad…and the ugly.”— Pittsburgh Veteran Musician John Vento
“Love, Lust And Other Wreckage.” Not only is it the title of Pittsburgh Musician John Vento’s critically acclaimed album, but it’s also the name of the two-nights-only stage play written by renowned playwright Amy Hartman and based on Vento’s tumultuous life journey. Vento’s story is the first local musician’s album to be adapted for the stage.
Cheswick resident Gregory Johnstone, best known for his TV/Film roles in “The Last Witch Hunter” and “The Great One,” will lead the cast, including Meg Pryor (Burn Notice, Pittsburgh), Laura Yumi Snell (Cumberbitch Anthem), Michelle Do (Girl Gone, Last Cigarettes), Nicole W. Ross and Vento. Respected acting coach Angela Hsu will make her directorial debut.
The multimedia production, featuring music from Vento, is scheduled for its debut on September 13th and 14th, 2019 at The Oaks Theater, 310 Allegheny River Blvd, Oakmont, PA 15139. Tickets are available at http://bit.ly/LLOWplayTickets.
According to the play’s website, “Love, Lust and Other Wreckage” is a new collaborative multi genre effort tells the simple story of one man’s struggle to trace back the fracture his life has become. He bounces inside a crooked journey of heart break, his own cruelty and lust for an insatiable compulsion to create music. After losing all, he must climb out from under the wreckage he’s created. This struggle leads him into a dark world of chaos, love, and discovery. But only for the high price of forgiveness. And it’s mostly all true. For more information, please visit http://llowplay.com/.
ABOUT JOHN VENTO: John Vento is often called a chameleon in the Pittsburgh music scene; and, while his critics may use the term as a pejorative, Vento views it as a compliment. He understands that they’re motivated by the frustration of their inability to lock him into a specific musical style. After all, the front man for the high-energy, hard-rockin’ band, the Nied’s Hotel Band, is also known for his introspective, brooding solo recordings. Rather than a drawback, however, Vento considers such diversity to be among his strengths; and his fans agree. They relish sharing his tumultuous trek toward achieving his artistic vision, which he accomplishes by channeling a blend of eclectic influences through his own, raw emotions. Vento is a Billboard Magazine Emerging Artist and a Top 25 iTunes rock chart artist. He has appeared on ABC, FOX and other outlets. For more information, please visit http://www.johnvento.com.
ABOUT AMY HARTMAN: Amy Hartman’s plays have been nominated for the American Critic’s Award, have been finalists at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Conference and the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and have been the winner of the Pittsburgh Playwright’s Festival in Black and White, and The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. Her works have been produced by The Playwrights Theatre of Pittsburgh, Open Stage April, the New Group Theater, North Carolina School for the Arts, and Barebones Productions. One play, Mazel was commissioned by The Holocaust Center and deals with the true experiences of the Eastern European Jewish survivors living in Pittsburgh; it premiered at The Pittsburgh Jewish Theatre. The play was further developed at Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey. http://llowplay.com/amy-hartman/
ABOUT ANGELA HSU: Angela is excited to be making her directing debut at the Oaks Theatre! Originally from the Bay Area, CA, Angela is an actress, singer, and director. She received her B.F.A. in music from Cornish College of the Arts, and trained at CAP21 Musical Theater Conservatory in New York, NY. She has performed on diverse stages on both the East and West coasts. In her private studio and within her role at management agency Smith Talent Group in New York, Angela has coached dozens of actors who have gone on to successfully book roles in movies, as well as television shows on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, and Broadway productions.http://llowplay.com/angel-hsu/
ABOUT GREGORY JOHNSTONE: Most recently he was Holmes #3 in Holmes and Watson at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, FL. He performed the same role with Kinetic Theatre in Pittsburgh. He has worked with many Pittsburgh theatre companies including the CLO Cabaret Theater, barebones productions, Quantum, The REP at Point Park, PICT, City Theatre, and The Public. His film/television credits include the award-winning short Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Furtive Festivity, One Dollar (CBS All Access), The Great One and The Last Witch Hunter. He trains with Cotter Smith in Active Analysis in Pittsburgh and trained with Terry Schreiber at T. Schreiber Studio in New York City. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6776281/
Love, Lust and Other Wreckage promo reel