SCENE IN LA
BY
STEVE ZALL AND SID FISH
August 2012
We know that summer is already filled with lots of fun and exciting things to pass the time with, but don’t forget all the fun and exciting shows running this month at our local venues, including:
OPENING
“Marilyn: Forever Blonde!” It is 1962 and Marilyn Monroe is in the midst of a photo shoot. She is 36-years-old and while she is still beautiful, she has lost a little of the girlish charm that made her Hollywood's biggest star in the 20th Century Fox prime of her early twenties. Divorced for a third time and living alone, frustrated by Hollywood and tired of the label "sex symbol," Marilyn longs to be respected for her talent and loved for who she really is rather than the character she has created for the silver screen. She wonders what it would be like to do it all over again. Written by Sunny Thompson, and directed by Greg Thompson, it runs August 2 through August 5 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.elportaltheatre.com.
“I, Caligula” When a group of inmates, confined to a mental asylum, attempt to mount a musical production of the story of Caligula, mayhem ensues in the form of a comical Greek tragedy. The inmates “real” lives parallel and intermingle in unexpected ways with the lives of the characters they portray. Written and directed by Kai Cofer, with music by Cody T. Gillette, it runs August 3 through August 26 at the Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 323-822-7898 or visit www.icaligulathemusical.com.
“Modern Drama” Woman betrays Man. Man writes play to get revenge. Play becomes a success. Man and Woman find themselves trapped with each other. Then a stranger comes between them and changes everything in this comedy of manners about infidelity and retribution. Written and directed by Bill Sterritt, it runs August 3 through August 26 at the Studio/Stage in Hollywood. For tickets call 323-463-3900 or visit www.studio-stage.com.
“An Incident at the Border” Olivia and Arthur are sharing some time together in the park when they’re interrupted by a man in uniform, who uses a roll of tape to bifurcate the bench upon which they are sitting. The relations between two neighboring countries have become hostile, borders are being redrawn, and Arthur suddenly finds himself in a different country from Olivia, on the other end of the shared bench. When Arthur attempts to join Olivia, he is stopped by the guard, who asks for his papers, which, naturally, he doesn’t have, the borders having been newly drawn. Olivia expects Arthur to assert himself and join her anyway. But can he? There are, after all, two opposing armed forces to thwart him. Written by Kieran Lynn, and directed by Tracy Woodward, it runs August 4 through September 9 at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica. For tickets call 310-392-7327 or visit www.edgemarcenter.org.
“The Fools” Exploring such human foibles as hypocrisy, selfishness, jealousy, vanity and arrogance through the eyes of 17th century France and the antics of archetypical Commedia dell'arte humor, it asks the burning question, "Which of us are the bigger fools-those of us who play our foolish games upon the stage…or those of you who pay your hard earned francs to watch us do it?". Written by Moliere, adapted and translated by Evelyn Rudie, with music by Franz Josef Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and directed by Chris DeCarlo, it runs August 4 through September 30 at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Santa Monica. For tickets call 310-394-9779 or visit www.santamonicaplayhouse.com.
“The Matchmaker” The story follows the widower Horace Vandergelder who seeks the services of a matchmaker, Dolly Gallagher Levi, to match him to a new wife. While Dolly tries to match herself to Vandergelder, and convince him to allow his niece to marry her artist love Ambrose Kemper, she must keep Vandergelder from proposing to Irene Molloy. All performances are open to the public and free. Written by Thornton Wilder, and directed by Alexander Wells, it runs August 4 through August 19 at the Dr. Paul Carlson Memorial Park in Culver City. For tickets call 310-712-5482 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
“Sweet Thursday” Doc, a marine biologist, returns from the war to his lab in the heart of Cannery Row. To the chagrin of the boys at the Palace Flophouse and the girls at the Bear Flag Bordello, he’s a changed man. As a community, they take up the cause of helping Doc get back to his old self. Maybe the answer lays in Suzy, the newest girl at the bordello, who just doesn’t seem to be much of a hustler. Written by John Steinbeck, adapted from the novel by Robb Derringer and Matt McKenzie, and directed by Matt McKenzie, it runs August 4 through September 30 at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice. For tickets call 310-822-8392 or visit www.pacificresidenttheatre.com.
“All the King's Men” Following the journey of Jack Burden, this journalist and idealist in 1930’s Louisiana meets rising political star Willie Stark and quickly becomes his right-hand man. Stark soon becomes one of the state's most powerful and ruthless figures, lifted onto the shoulders of the poor and the neglected – the people who he gave a voice when no one else would – and carried into the Governor’s mansion. As Burden becomes entrenched in Stark’s career, it also becomes evident that he is lost in his own life, searching for anything or anyone to believe in. Through his eyes, it is revealed that even the best of men have hidden truths, corruption is timeless, and power can be used to create or destroy the lives it touches. Written by Robert Penn Warren, adapted by Adrian Hall, and directed by David Chrzanowski, it runs August 9 through September 15 at the El Portal Theatre’s Forum Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-508-4200 or visit www.nolaprods.com.
“War Bride” It is the fall of 1945. Private Alvin Rhodes is returning home to his mother Catherine in Merced, CA. He has an injury that he doesn’t want to discuss and a new wife, a Japanese nurse named Yumi. Yumi is greeted with suspicion and fear, even outright hatred. The bombs were dropped only two months prior and Japanese Americans are still unjustly interned at Manzinar, not far away. She is shy and withdrawn, but with the help of Catherine’s old friend Richard, a Japanese/English dictionary and 1000 paper cranes, her story is slowly revealed. Written by Samantha Macher, and directed by Nancy Dobbs Owen, it runs August 11 through September 16 at the T.U. Studios in North Hollywood. For tickets call 800-838-3006 or visit www.skypilottheatre.com.
“The Grönholm Method” How far would you go to get that dream job? Just what would you be willing to do? Four corporate warriors come together in one room to compete for one senior management position using “The Grönholm Method”, a system meant to separate the weak from the strong. But the weak may not be as weak as they appear. A wicked comedy that feels like a thriller, it’s a fool’s game of betrayals, reversals, and manipulations that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Written by Jordi Galcerán Ferrer, translated by Anne Garcia-Romero and Mark St. Germain, and directed by BT McNicholl, it runs August 17 through September 30 at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank. For tickets call 818-955-8101 or visit www.falcontheatre.com.
“How Obama Got his Groove Back” Turns out that even Presidents get the blues, or—in Barack Obama’s case—the blahs. Fighting the Republicans is getting old, and while Barack finds running for president exciting, being president has gotten pretty tiresome. Remembering how he thrilled audiences when he sang at the Apollo Theater and at a White House blues concert, Barack decides to embark on a career as a soul singer and music educator, putting the country in Michelle’s capable hands. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney tries to spruce up his persona with improv classes in the hopes of becoming funnier and more relaxed with average folks. An unexpected White House encounter between Barack and Mitt leads to some unusual jousting, giving Barack second thoughts about his change-of-career plans. Written by Nicholas Zill and Derek Jeremiah Reid, and directed by Derek Reid, it runs August 18 through October 7 at the Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.fremontcentretheatre.com.
“Fishing” About a brilliant but caustic chef and his ennui-riddled manager as they attempt to hold together a hot new restaurant where sardonic waiters and kinky foodies are the least of their problems. Written by David Duman, and directed by David Marmor, it runs August 23 through September 22 at the Archway Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 213-237-9933 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/260879.
“The Blue Iris” Set in a burnt-out Karoo farmhouse ravaged by fire, a farmer, and his housekeeper sort through the debris of their lives and find themselves confronting memories long thought dead. It digs deep into the human heart, and the result is a love story full of tender, soul-touching, and surprising revelations. Written by Athol Fugard, and directed by Stephen Sachs, it runs August 24 through September 16 at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-663-1525 or visit www.fountaintheatre.com.
“Ghost-Writer” Something mysterious is happening. Acclaimed novelist Franklin Woolsey has died. But his devoted secretary remains poised at her typewriter - waiting to channel the words that will complete his masterpiece. This ghost story of literary proportions questions where we draw the line between fact and fiction, between this life and beyond. Written by Michael Hollinger, and directed by Caryn Desai, it runs August 24 through September 16 at the International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. For tickets call 562-436-4610 or visit www.internationalcitytheatre.org.
“The Fantasticks” Next-door-neighbors Matt and Luisa grow up together and fall for each other. Their fathers approve, and conspire to bring them closer together. Once the young man and woman learn of their fathers’ approval, they reject their dads’ plan (as kids always do), and set off on their separate adventures to experience the world. Removed from the comfort of home, they are individually hurt a bit by the world, as the world can inflict pain and sometimes does. After a bitter taste of disillusionment, Matt and Luisa find their way back to each other, with a wiser, more mature, and deeper love for one another. Written by Tom Jones, with music by Harvey Schmidt, and directed by Charlie Mount, it runs August 31 through October 7 at the Theatre West in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-851-7977 or visit www.theatrewest.org.
CONTINUING
“Missing Dick” When DICK left town he left his best friend DAN and his girlfriend STEPHANIE behind. Now Dick is back. Or is he? Dick is now CHARLOTTE, a gorgeous sexy woman. And she has her sights set on Dan.... and maybe Stephanie... and maybe others. What transpires is a whirling gender-bending sex farce that questions everyone's ideas of sexual identity, sexual preference, and sexual mores. Surprises mount up, the plot twists and turns and within the dizzying bed-hopping goings on some heartfelt truths emerge. Written and directed by Gordon Bressack, it runs through August 4 at the Magic Mirror Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-732-1192 or visit www.themirrortheater.com.
“25 Plays Per Hour” The rebirth of the Super Short, 25PPH features 25 original plays with a handful of the company’s premiere actors playing over 50 characters…in less than an hour. Fusing comedy, drama and everything in between, this is speed theatre at its best! Directed by Jacob Smith and Josh Morrison, it runs through August 12 at the Theatre Asylum in Los Angeles. For tickets visit www.theatreunleashed.com.
“The Psychic Life of Savages” Concerns itself with a small circle of mid-century poets, all of them spectacularly brilliant, and all of them crazy as loons. Somehow, the ghost of Emily Dickinson also finds her way into the narrative. Written by Amy Freed, and directed by Angie Scott and Nate Edelman., it runs through August 16 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.thelatc.org.
“The Bat” The plundering Bat has been terrorizing the Long Island environs where the wealthy Cornelia Van Gorder has rented a splendid but isolated old home for four months. The house belongs to the Fleming family, and when Richard, the scion of the family is suddenly shot to death on a dark and stormy night, The Bat is not the only available suspect. Richard’s father had run the Union Bank, recently robbed, presumably by one of its employees who has gone missing. Could Richard have had something to do with the missing cash? And that’s just it: Cash, lots and lots of it. People have certainly murdered for less. It soon develops that the Fleming house is chock full of suspects, who lie, have secrets, and move about the place suspiciously: a beautiful girl, a newly hired gardener, the butler, the local doctor, the detective who’s missing when events of moment occur, an intruder, and a suddenly appearing amnesiac. Then, of course, there’s the possibility that The Bat himself might appear. Written by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood, and directed by Martin M. Speer, it runs through August 26 at the Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills. For tickets call 310-364-0535 or visit www.theatre40.org.
“Lorca in a Green Dress” The great Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca arrives in the “Lorca Room” in Purgatorio, a room of the soul, where he must spend 40 days of mourning following his murder at the hands of Spanish fascists. Five different actors portray aspects of the poet’s personality in a surrealistic landscape that questions what it means to die, to live, to create, and to love. Written by Nilo Cruz, with music by Christopher Davis and lyrics written by Nilo Cruz, and directed by Jennifer Sage Holmes, it runs through August 26 at the Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights. For tickets call 323-263-7684 or visit www.casa0101.org.
“Liza: Live in Concert” A specially crafted musical evening designed specifically for Peter Mac’s Supper Club inside the French Market. Liza has plenty of her signature hits on tap Including Maybe This Time, Cabaret, and New York, New York. She walks down memory lane reminiscing about her famous parents, working with Bob Fosse, first husband; Peter Allen. Start spreading the news…because Liza Minnelli is making her debut at Peter Mac’s Supper club inside the French Market. The show stars critically acclaimed and renowned Tribute Artist, Peter Mac. Mac is best known for his loving and sympathetic portrayal of Minnelli’s “Mama”, Judy Garland. This time Mac is taking over the role the lady who Fred Astaire once dubbed as “Hollywood’s Crown Princess”. Written and directed by Peter Mac, it runs through August 31 at the Peter Mac’s Supper Club inside the French Market in West Hollywood. For tickets call 310-871-7563 or visit www.friendofjudy.com.
So, keep it hot tonight by attending one of these great productions!
