SCENE IN LA
BY
STEVE ZALL AND SID FISH
Don't forget to get ready for Mothers Day, and don't forget to check out all of the new shows opening this month in the local area, such as:
“Two Wrongs” a new play about a man and a woman trying to experience true love in the office of their therapist despite the obstacles they encounter and the additional ones that they create on their own. Written by Scott Caan and directed by Missy Yager, it runs through May 9 at the Lounge 2 Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-960-1057 or visit www.plays411.com/twowrongs.
"Squabbles" newlyweds still living in the glow of their honeymoon are starting their lives out together in a cramped New York City apartment, until one day, due to unfortunate circumstance, the groom’s mother and the bride’s father move in with them. Written by Marshall Karp, it runs through May 15 at Glendale Center Theatre in Glendale. For tickets call 818-244-8481 or visit www.glendalecentretheatre.com.
“Nightmare Alley” a con turned carnie and back again, falls in love with a young girl working for a traveling carnival, so they marry and set out to find fame and fortune as evangelists until his alcoholism tears them apart. Written by Jonathan Brielle and directed by Gilbert Cates, it runs through May 23 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. For tickets call 310-208-5454 or visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.
"E.O.: an Historical Farce of Truly Elizabethan Proportions" the “true author” of Shakespeare’s works must use a con man as a front when Queen Elizabeth commands a performance of Hamlet for her upcoming Spring Masque, but her decree that it must be funny forces him to twist the tragedy into a comedy and farce. Written by Michael Sadler and directed by Dan Spurgen, it runs through May 29 at the Tre Stage in Hollywood. For tickets call 323-960-5775 or visitwww.plays411.com/eo.
“Dementia” a man going through the terminal phase of AIDS, brings those nearest and dearest to him to his side for a Going Away For Good party, including his writing partner and his wife, his best friend, his niece, and even his ex-wife, although he is drifting in and out of dementia, having conversations with his altar ego, who is a glamorous torch-singing drag queen. Written by Evelina Fernandez and directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela, it runs through May 30 at Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets call 213-489-0994 or visit www.thelatc.org.
"The Sunshine Boys" two aging ex-vaudeville stars (who can’t stand each other) reluctantly re-team for a television network special. Written by Neil Simon and directed by Edgar Allen Poe IV, it runs through May 30 at the Luna Playhouse in Glendale. For tickets call 818-500-7200 or visit www.itsmyseat.com.
“The Rainmaker” in a Western rural community during a time of severe drought, a farm family tries unsuccessfully to get a husband for the not-so-beautiful daughter in the group, until an itinerant rainmaker shows up, promising to bring much needed rain and new hope to everyone. Written by N. Richard Nash and directed by Bob Hakman, it runs through June 5 at the Sierra Madre Playhouse in Sierra Madre. For tickets call 626-355-4318 or visitwww.sierramadreplayhouse.org.
"Jesse Boy" a Southern Gothic tale of one family, trapped by their own traditions, as their obsession with one of America’s famous icons helps to lift their spirits, and to invest in the dream that American pop culture promises. Written by Robert Mollohan and directed by Karen Landry, it runs through June 12 at Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica. For tickets call 310-397-3244 or visit www.ruskingrouptheatre.com.
"Crimes of the Heart" three Southern sisters cope with dead horses, dead careers, and a near-dead husband, by laughing it off. Written by Beth Henley and directed by Warner Shook, it runs May 7 through June 6 at the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. For tickets call 714-708-5555 or visit www.scr.org.
“The Importance of Being Ernest” Jack Worthing has invented a brother, Ernest, whom he uses as an excuse to leave his humdrum country life behind to visit the ravishing Gwendolen, cousin of his best friend Algernon Montcrieff. But Algernon, who also knows Jack as Ernest, catches on all too quickly that Jack earnestly isn’t Ernest. So Algernon decides to take the name Ernest when he visits the Worthing country manor where he meets Jack’s ward, the sweet and lovely Cecily who has spent so much time worrying about her poor caregiver’s wretched brother Ernest that she’s grown rather fond of the man she hasn’t met until now. Written by Oscar Wilde and directed by Drew Fitzsimmons, it runs May 7 through June 12 at the Westchester Playhouse in Westchester. For tickets call 310-645-5156 or visitwww.kentwoodplayers.org.
"Sugar Happens" the story of a nice Jewish girl who won't take no for an answer, and comes to Hollywood bound and determined to find love and superstardom, in spite of all odds and countless dead ends. Written by Sherry Coben and directed by Phil Ramuno, it runs May 12 through June 20 at the Sidewalk Studio in Burbank. For tickets call 800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com.
“1951-2006” focuses on the long relationship between an alcoholic writer paralyzed while in the military and a teacher, who has to look elsewhere to get her physical and emotional needs filled, although their affection for each other never falters over the span of five decades when they are called upon to endure and cope with their country’s needs prompted by the development of world events. Written and directed by Donald Freed, it runs May 13 through June 13 at Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets call 213-489-0994 or visit www.thelatc.org.
"Four Places" what starts as an innocent lunch between a septuagenarian Mom and her two adult children degenerates into a fierce game of cat and mouse which leads to a confession that will radically upset the lives of the entire family. Written by Scott Caan and directed by Missy Yager, it runs May 14 through June 13 at Theatre Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-960-4424 or visit www.roguemachinetheatre.com.
“More Lies About Jerzy” set in the early 1970s where world-famous media darling and controversial author Jerzy Lesnewski causes a scandal that rocks New York and Hollywood after a journalist accuses him of fabricating key points in his autobiography and plagiarizing parts of his best-selling novels. Written by Davey Holmes and directed by David Trainer, it runs May 15 through June 26 at The Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-960-7788 or visitwww.circustheatricals.com.
"The Will Rogers Follies" focuses on the life and career of famed humorist and performer Will Rogers, by using the Ziegfeld Follies, which he often headlined, as a backdrop, as he describes episodes in his life in the form of a big production number. Written by Peter Stone and directed by Orlando Alexander, it runs May 20 through July 10 at Glendale Center Theatre in Glendale. For tickets call 818-244-8481 or visit www.glendalecentretheatre.com.
“Disillusioned: Confessions of a Serial Magician” a boy grows from a dorky kid who wants to impress girls with magic into a dorky young man who wants to impress girls with magic making it clear that magicians have a variety of motives for taking up the magic wand. Written by Matt Marcy and directed by Nicole Blaine, it runs May 21 through June 19 at the Imagined Life Theater in Los Angeles. For tickets call 800-838-3006 or visit www.disillusionedshow.com.
“It Ain’t All Confetti” comedy legend of stage and screen, Rip Taylor, one of television’s most recognizable personalities, stars in this humorous and revealing spotlight on a career that has spanned five decades. Directed by David Galligan, it runs May 21 through May 30 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-508-4200 or visit www.elportaltheatre.com.
Dark skies are going to clear up, so grab your family and friends and head out to one of these fine venues tonight!
