Marc & Rose Hospitality joined forces for the third time with Shonda Rhimes-backed IAMA Theatre Company to host an unforgettable weekend celebration at the newly unveiled Casa Loma Beach Hotel. The Grand opening weekend party guests included Shonda Rhimes, Evan Ross Katz, Scott Foley, Adam Shapiro, Katie Lowes, and Jason George (full list below). On Saturday, October 19, 2024, VIP guests were greeted with a one-night-only, immersive theatre experience, THE INFINITE SWELL, created by IAMA Theatre Company. The performance was followed by a raucous party with bar sponsored by Madre Mezcal, Scribe Winery, and Calidad Beer and Pressed Juicery in collaboration with Los Angeles-based Bespoke Bar.
IAMA Theatre Company was founded in 2007 by a group of friends including actor Katie Lowes (“Scandal,” “Inventing Anna,” “This Is Us”) and her husband actor Adam Shapiro (“The Bear,” “Never Have I Ever,” “The Continental”). In 2016, Shonda Rhimes came on board as IAMA’s Patron of the Arts. This past weekend set the stage perfectly for a celebratory reunion: Rhimes attended with Lowes and Shapiro, as well as several other “Scandal” and Shondaland familiar faces, including dear friends and theatre lovers/actors Scott Foley (“Felicity,” “Scandal,” “Scrubs,” “The Unit”), Bellamy Young (“Scandal”) and Guillermo Diaz (“Scandal,” “Weeds,”).
Designed by acclaimed design firm Electric Bowery in collaboration with lauded graphic and branding firm LAND and ORCA outdoor design, the hotel welcomed Hollywood elite for its inaugural soirée, which doubled as a toast to IAMA immersive theatre which provides opportunities for new voices and boundary-pushing work.
Celebrities, artisans, and discerning locals stepped out of time and into the creative enclave known as Laguna Beach, whose coast first inspired turn-of-the-century plein-air painters and then sheltered the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s. Here, in this quirky oceanfront community, Hollywood’s golden-era elite, prohibition rum-runners, anti-establishment psychedelic pioneers, and adventure-soaked wave chasers all found a home nestled within seven square miles along the Pacific.
It’s this precise throughline of artistic pursuits that made Laguna the perfect backdrop for this spectacular convergence of hospitality and theatre. Revelers flocked to the all-new Casa Loma Beach Hotel to champion the arts, and appreciate the story of Laguna Beach, embodied both by the hotel and THE INFINITE SWELL the one-night-only performance by IAMA Theatre Company. With the production, guests experienced a colorful memorial devoted to the hotel’s fictional muse, Cappy, featuring six immersive scenes throughout the hotel, celebrating a life well-lived.
The re-imagined Casa Loma Beach Hotel is located at 211 N Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
NOTABLE GUESTS: Shonda Rhimes (television producer and screenwriter; founder of Shondaland); Scott Foley (actor; “Felicity” “Scandal,” “Scrubs,” “The Unit); Katie Lowes (actor,“Inventing Anna,” “Scandal,” “This Is Us”); Adam Shapiro(actor, “The Bear” “Never Have I Ever,” “The Continental”); Brandon Scott (actor and producer; “Dead to Me” “The Girls on the Bus,” “This Is Us”); Evan Ross Katz (writer, editor, and podcast host); Bellamy Young (actor, producer, and singer “Scandal”) ; Dan Bucatinsky (Emmy Award-winning actor, “The Baker and the Beauty,” “Scandal”); Guillermo Díaz(actor, “Scandal” “Weeds,” ); Marika Domińczyk (actor, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”); Zoe Perry(actor, “Young Sheldon” “Scandal”); Jason George (actor, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Station 19”); Sandie Bailey (chief design & digital media officer of Shondaland); Betsy Beers (television and film producer, Shondaland creative partner); Gloria Calderón Kellett (producer and writer, “One Day at a Time,” “Jane the Virgin”); Linda Lowy (casting director of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Friday Night Lights”); Lyn Paolo (costume designer; Shondaland); Micah Schraft (writer, producer, and director “Mrs. America,” “The Morning Show”); Marco Zamora (content creator, @want.zamora)
About IAMA Theatre Company
Founded in 2007, IAMA Theatre Company is a Los Angeles-based ensemble of artists committed to cultivating new voices, creating new works that push boundaries and take risks, and fostering an inclusive community that inspires a new generation of theatermakers and audiences. Designated by Playbill as “one of 20 regional houses every theater lover must know,” “an LA intimate theater gem” by KCRW, and a “creative force on the local theatre scene” by the Los Angeles Times, the award-winning company is dedicated to developing and producing new plays and musicals by emerging and established playwrights, including over 25 world, West Coast and Los Angeles premieres.
Recent and upcoming Broadway productions that first started at IAMA include Max Wolf Friedlich’s JOB the Play and Leslye Headland’s Cult of Love. The backbone of the company, IAMA’s ensemble members, have been featured in numerous, critically acclaimed TV shows and films as well as a vast array of theatre and live performances on and off Broadway, across the country, and around the world. IAMA is invested in challenging audiences with authentic experiences that reflect the complex modern world. For more information, visit iamatheatre.com.
About Casa Loma Beach Hotel
Casa Loma Beach Hotel is a celebrated oceanfront property perched on Laguna Beach’s iconic rocky ledges. Recently debuting a $15 million renovation in Fall 2024, the hotel is influenced by a laidback Mallorcan mindset and the vivacity of California’s coastal spirit. The hotel pays homage to Laguna’s creative legacy and bohemian sensibility—infused with the organic colors and calming comforts of the surrounding Southern California landscape, as well as the soulful spirit of the neighboring sea. The result is an inspired and thoughtfully designed retreat—featuring 70 guest rooms and suites, public spaces, and event venues—with a welcoming laidback ethos. For more information visit casalomalagunabeach.com.
About Marc & Rose
From desert oases guarded by ancient Saguaros to vistas of snowcapped mountains bathed in starlight, to rugged coastal cliffs overlooking sea-smoothed sands, the Marc & Rose Collection offers familiar luxuries, world-class design, sense of discovery, and a heartfelt welcome amidst some of the nation’s most dramatic landscapes and quaint communities. Inspired by unconventional founders, the hotel collection is a tribute to travel and exploration in all its forms. For more information visit marcandrosehospitality.com.
Photo credit (all) Marc Patrick/BFA.com: (Lead photo) IAMA Theatre Company members, Kacie Rogers, Tina Huang, Jenna Anne Johnson in INTIMATE SWELL, an immersive performance to celebrate the debut of the newly re-imagined, Casa Loma Beach Hotel, Laguna Beach.
