Skip the search for a restaurant for Valentine’s Day weekend. Instead, take the one you love, or even make it a family trip, to go see Empire, the latest production from The McCoy Rigby Entertainment Group. La Mirada’s Performing Arts Center hosts the first run of Empire, an entertaining and Broadway bound musical about the construction of the Empire State Building. This musical is entertaining, intriguing, and you as La Mirada residents get to be the first to enjoy this marvel!

Empire opens in New York City’s “Hey Day” of the roaring 20’s-- glitz, gold, glamor, wealth! All the magic and feeling you've read about in books by the likes of Fitzgerald, this is the time, striking while it's hot! But as quickly as that wealth may have come, it's quickly lost as America is hit by the stock market crash of 1929 and The Great Depression. What are the money makers who have held on to their money and still soaring high to do? Ask John J. Raskob and Al Smith-- a High Financer and the former governor of New York. Together, Raskob and Smith have one goal in mind-- build the largest building in the world to rule the New York city skyline. For such a task, they enlist architect, Michael Shaw, and Smith's "Can-Do" gal, Frankie Peterson.

Kevin Earley (far left), Stephanie Gibson (center) and the workers are featured in the musical “EMPIRE” - directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge and now playing at LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS.

To create a monument of such stature, Peterson tackles the workforce and Shaw the design. Together they gain the trust of their employees, a diverse migrant work force. We see the Al Smith building become a symbol of the power, magnitude, and enigmatic spirit of the people of New York, the “Empire State." Irish, Italian, and Mohawk Indian, all join in to earn an honest living and end up being the integral part of the story and reflecting the beauty of this building.

Enjoyable, lively, and a performance filled with romance and laughter, Empire is a delight and truly one of the most enjoyable productions to come to the La Mirada Performing Arts Center. Mesmerizing use of scenery projection and a cast pulling off dance numbers and acrobatics are all part of a special and nostalgic musical ready for Broadway.

Cast includes Kevin Earley, Stephanie Gibson, Tony Sheldon, Michael McCormick, Charlotte Maltby, and Joe Hart. Ensemble cast: Josh Walden, Cooper Stanton, Justin Michael Wilcox, Caleb Shaw, Tommy Bracco, Michael Baxter, Michael Starr, Juan Caballer, Joe Hart, and Caitlyn Calfas, Rachel Osting, Rachel King, Fatima El-Bashir, Tory Freeth, Christine Tucker, Richard Bulda, Jordan Richardson, Gabriel Navarro, Rodrigo Varandas, Katharine McDonough, Josh Walden, Tommy Bracco, and Juan Caballer.

Book, Music and Lyrics by Caroline Sherman and Robert Hull. Musical Direction by Sariva Goetz. Directed and Choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. Produced by Sue Vaccaro, Ricky Stevens, and The Rivet Gang. Production Stage Manger: Jill Gold. Assistant Stage Manager: Nicole Wessel. Flying Sequence Choreographer: Paul Rubin. Casting Director: Julia Flores. Scenic and Co-Projection Designer: David Gallo and Brad Peterson. Costume Designer: Leon Wiebers. Lighting Designer: Jared A. Sayeg. Sound Designer: Philip G. Allen.