On February 20th, 2016 director Paul Hannah will premiere his newest project “The Love Shack” at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre located at 743 S. Lucerne Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90005. The gospel musical is expected to be filled with exuberant singing, joyful dancing and strong character performances. The story centers around Melvin Love, a famous R&B singer raised in a group home in Chicago. At the early age of 13, Melvin started a successful career singing R&B music and was later called to ministry. After retiring from a career singing R&B, he opened a church the House of Love. After ten years as Senior Pastor at the church, affectionately know as the Love Shack, Melvin was challenged by a stranger accusing him of having too much entertainment and not enough substance in his ministry. In a hilarious twist of circumstances, he chooses to take extreme measures to resurrect his service and finally put his old singing act to rest to maintain he integrity of his church.
Known for his independent films surrounding love and betrayal, Paul Hannah was inspired by his latest project with a commitment to delve into “true ministry to encourage and inspire people” through his storytelling. His influence from Black theater runs deep, having written his first play at the age of 12 Hannah wanted to get back to his musical talents by providing original songs for the play. He feels that Black theater is so rich and has enabled him to pursue his passion in providing the highest quality production with “The Love Shack” which he calls “quality theater that feels broadway-ish on a small scale.” The concept originally came to him two years as a straight to television project. He recalls the story of legendary singer Al Green and thought it would be “cool to have someone go from R&B soul to becoming a pastor with all the detractors.”
Within the past 6 years, Hannah has written, directed and produced over 20 films. He found that the transition from film to theater was not too difficult since he has always focused on telling the story and depicting strong characters. While writing the script for “The Love Shack,” Hannah had his leading man in mind and enlisted platinum-selling 90’s R&B Blackstreet quartet member, David Hollister as Pastor Love. Other cast members include Anne Nesby, Eric Dawkins, Candace Glover, Trisha Man-Grant and more. The film is written by Paul Hannah and executive produced by Kimberley T. Zulkowski, which the duo will be releasing the faith-based film “Grandma’s House,” a personal story about Zulkowski’s grandmother as matriarch of the family during a tough time. The film is set to be released in late spring and stars Loretta Devine, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Flex Alexander and Stephen Bishop.
For information or to purchase tickets for The Love Shack gospel musical, visit their website: http://theloveshackplay.com/
