SCENE IN LA
BY
STEVE ZALL AND SID FISH
October 2013
Carving your pumpkin into a scary face could be lots of work, so relax and take in a great show at one of our local venues, such as:
OPENING
“Trust” As the newly crowned prince of Rock n' Roll, Cody is living a charmed life, which leads his fiancé Becca to seek her own adventure in the strangers around her. Enter Gretchen to design Becca's wedding dress, and perhaps provide something else she’s been missing. As their friendship grows, Gretchen reveals the intimate time she shared with former rock icon Leah Barnett, who has somehow found her way into Cody’s life. Meanwhile, Public Radio announcer Roy is trying to find that one woman who understands him. His seemingly endless quest eventually leads him to their friend Holly, a young bohemian who would rather spend her nights with famous people new and old. As the song says, “love is all you need”, but in a world fueled by passion and beauty, maybe something much more vital and fragile is the key: Trust. Written by Steven Dietz, and directed by Scott Marden, it runs October 3 through November 9 at the Upstairs at the Crown in North Hollywood. For tickets visit www.theatreunleashed.com.
“We Got Lucky” Brad and Aaron are two best buds, twenty-somethings with some common interests (namely women, beer, women, whiskey, women, partying, women and the beach). Aaron’s the party-hearty one, with a gift for making people welcome while he celebrates the moment. Brad has more serious aspirations. While he also loves to party, he has goals as an independent filmmaker. They’re living the Southern California dream. Whatever happens, they’re always there for each other. Sounds like the perfect bromance, right? Well, hold on. As time goes by, they grow up a bit. Each meets a particular woman who causes them to question how they conduct their lives. Adult love changes everything. Written and directed by Allen C. Gardner, it runs October 4 through November 3 at the Working Stage Theater in West Hollywood. For tickets call 800-838-3006 or visit wegotlucky.brownpapertickets.com.
“Stories About the Old Days” takes place in a poor African-American church in Detroit where a man and a woman struggle to overcome the nightmares of the past with hope and humor. Written by Bill Harris, and directed by William Arrigon, it runs October 5 through October 27 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-763-5990 or visit www.thegrouprep.com.
“War Horse” the powerful story of young Albert’s beloved horse, Joey, who has been enlisted to fight for the English in World War I. Joey is caught in enemy crossfire and ends up serving both sides of the war before landing in no man’s land. Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home. What follows is a remarkable tale of courage, loyalty, and friendship, filled with stirring music and songs and told with the some of the most innovative stagecraft of our time. Written by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford, and directed by Bijan Sheibani, it runs October 8 through October 13 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets call 800-982-2787 or visit www.HollywoodPantages.com.
“The Liar” farce that asks whether truth really matters at all in an age obsessed by the surface of things. When the charming and handsome pathological liar Dorante enters Paris, he impresses everyone who hears his stories. But as his lies multiply, will Dorante be able to keep them straight and still manage to get the girl? Written by Pierre Corneille, adapted and translated by David Ives, and directed by Casey Stangl, it runs October 10 through December 1 at the Antaeus Company in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-506-5436 or visit www.antaeus.org.
“Bernadette Peters” The incomparable Bernadette Peters will make her Segerstrom Center Cabaret Series debut performing an evening of beloved Broadway songs, including selections by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and many more. Throughout her illustrious career, the award-winning star has dazzled audiences and critics with her array of memorable performances. For this glorious evening, Peters will be joined by a full orchestra in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Throughout her illustrious career, Bernadette Peters has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances on stage and television, in concert, and on recordings. One of Broadway’s most critically acclaimed performers, Bernadette has won numerous accolades including three Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, two Grammy Awards, three Emmy nominations and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She just recently had a recurring role on NBC-TV’s series SMASH and appeared on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies and A Little Night Music. Peters received both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Song and Dance. She earned her second Tony Award for her performance in Annie Get Your Gun. She also received Tony nominations for her memorable performances as Momma Rose, in Sam Mendes’ critically acclaimed revival of Gypsy, for The Goodbye Girl, Stephen Sondheim’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George, the Jerry Herman/Gower Champion ode to the movies, Mack and Mabel and the Leonard Bernstein/Comden and Green musical On The Town. In addition to these honors, Peters earned a Drama Desk nomination for her memorable portrayal of the Witch in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. While Peters is best known for her work in the theatre, her career also boasts an impressive list of television credits including, guest starring roles on ABC-TV’s Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty in addition to starring in Lifetime TV’s Living Proof. Peters has lit up the silver screen in 17 films throughout her distinguished career. She received a Golden Globe Award for her memorable performance in Pennies From Heaven. Among her film credits are The Jerk, The Longest Yard, Silent Movie, Annie, Pink Cadillac, Slaves of New York, Woody Allen’s Alice, Impromptu, It Runs in the Family, and the soon to be released independent film, Coming Up Roses. Peters has recorded six solo albums; including the Grammy nominated Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sondheim, Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall and I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, in addition to numerous original Broadway cast recordings. Peters devotes her time and talents to numerous events that benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Her “pet project” Broadway Barks!, co-founded with Mary Tyler Moore, is an annual, star-studded dog and cat adoption event that benefits shelter animals throughout the New York City area. Her two children’s books, Broadway Barks and Stella is a Star, feature original songs written and performed by Peters. All of her proceeds benefit Broadway Barks! Written and directed by Bernadette Peters, it runs October 11 only at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. For tickets call 714-556-2787 or visit www.SCFTA.org.
“Don’t Dress for Dinner” Bernard's plans for a romantic rendezvous with his chic Parisian mistress are complete with a gourmet caterer and an alibi courtesy of his friend, Robert. But when Bernard's wife learns that Robert will be visiting for the weekend, she decides to stay in town for a surprise tryst of her own … setting the stage for a collision course of mistaken identities and outrageous infidelities, with more twists than a corkscrew. The cook is Suzette, the lover is Suzanne, the friend is bewildered, the wife is suspicious, the husband is losing his mind, and everyone is guaranteed a good time at this hilarious romp through the French countryside. Written by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Hawdon, and directed by Todd Nielson, it runs October 11 through November 3 at the INTERNATIONAL CITY THEATRE Long Beach Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. For tickets call 562-436-4610 or visit www.internationalcitytheatre.com.
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” takes us from Victorian drawing rooms to the grim alleyways of London as it examines the inner struggles of our lives and the ties that bind them dangerously close. What is the nature of the beast that lives in all of us? A smart and suspenseful new take on Stevenson’s look at the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, and directed by Mary Jo Duprey, it runs October 11 through November 17 at the ACTORS CO-OP David Schall Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets call 323-462-8460 Ext. 300 or visit www.actorsco-op.org.
“Fast Company” Mable Kwan is the best grifter who ever lived. She’s a tough cookie who raised her kids to be just like her: Son Francis is the top roper around and H is the number one fixer. But daughter Blue is the one who surprises them all by putting together the score of the decade. Will the entire family get in on the action or will one of them walk away with it all? Written by Carla Ching, and directed by Bart DeLorenzo, it runs October 11 through October 27 at the South Coast Repertory Julianne Argyros stage in Costa Mesa. For tickets call 714-708-5555 or visit www.scr.org.
“Legally Blonde the Musical” tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner. She discovers how her knowledge of the law can help others, and successfully defends exercise queen Brooke Wyndham in a murder trial. Written by Heather Hach, with music by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and directed by David F.M. Vaughn, it runs October 11 through October 27 at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton. For tickets call 714-589-2770 or visit www.3dtshows.com.
“Aspirin & Elephants” a buoyant dead serious comedy about love and survival that asks the question, "Are men really more trouble than they're worth?" Warmth, pathos, and lots of jokes abound as a mother and father take their daughters and sons-in-law on a happy anniversary cruise and quickly find themselves awash in a sea of stormy relationships. Written by Jerry Mayer, and directed by Chris DeCarlo, it runs October 12 through January 26 at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Santa Monica. For tickets call 310-394-9779 or visit www.santamonicaplayhouse.com.
“Sunny Afternoon” This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy before a crowd of onlookers in Dealy Plaza on the streets of Dallas, Texas. At the center of it all was Lee Harvey Oswald, arrested that afternoon as the suspected assassin, and was murdered himself two days later while in the custody of the Dallas Police, fueling fifty years of fervent debate and controversy. Was Oswald merely a patsy as he claims? Was he part of a larger conspiracy? Sunny Afternoon examines the mysteriously unrecorded 48 hours Oswald was in the custody of Police Captain William Fritz, who has only a limited amount of time to pry the answers from Lee before he is to be transferred from police headquarters to county jail and an appointment with his own destiny. Sunny Afternoon plays like an 86-minute Twilight Zone episode. Even though we know how things end for Lee, the play, propelled with the force of a locomotive, comes to a startling conclusion. Written and directed by Christian Levatino, it runs October 12 through November 24 at the Theatre Asylum in Hollywood. For tickets call 800-838-3006 or visit www.gangbusterstheatre.com.
“Wild in Wichita” Joaquin is an elderly Mexican gentleman and Carmela is an elderly Puerto Rican lady. They both find themselves in a senior care facility in Wichita, Kansas (of all places!). Joaquin has had heart episodes and Carmela has been arthritic and clinically depressed. Joaquin has been much married and Carmela has lived alone much of her life. Yet, some things cannot be denied, Joaquin is charmed by Carmela and sets about to win her heart. Their adult kids don’t like this one bit. Love and desire, however, cannot be defeated merely by the passage of years. Written by Lina Gallegos, and directed by Denise Blasor, it runs October 12 through November 3 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.thelatc.org.
“It’s The Biz” set in Hollywood in the 80’s, when money, sex, abuse-inviting substances, and power flowed like rivers. It’s also a time when agents and casting directors would still meet with the talented and the beautiful face-to-face, to potentially discover and tap that next bonanza of big bucks. Wally Bryant is an established and influential agent in this world. He has a new young associate, Marty, who really wants to be a screenwriter, but sees the agency as an entry point. Both of them are really good talent agents. They manage to find the genuinely accomplished, even as they trudge through a swamp of puffed-up egos, artistic temperaments, personality disorders, and frantic deadlines. One even has an intimate relationship with a client, not a best-business practice. Young naïve Marty grows up quickly as he sees the effects of Wally’s destructive actions on the business and the people that Wally cares about the most. But most importantly, Marty learns that he has the talent to make it on his own. Written by Michael Grossman, and directed by Paul Fredrix, it runs October 19 through November 24 at the Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica. For tickets call 323-960-4443 or visit www.plays411.com/thebiz.
“Macbeth” Shakespeare’s classic drama of better ideals overwhelmed by misguided ambition, and the runaway exercise of unchecked imperial power leading to extravagant bloodshed and then, revolution. Why has it become Shakespeare’s most currently popular drama? Because it resonates with people living in the 21st Century. And how. While textually faithful to Shakespeare, Savage Players plans a “poetic, austere staging” that encompasses the audience and blurs the traditional lines of stage and audience. The production aims to create an intimate, intense experience for the audience in which we are no longer able to separate ourselves from the world of Macbeth. Written by William Shakespeare, and directed by Alex Levy, it runs October 19 through November 17 at the Live Arts Los Angeles in Los Angeles. For tickets call 310-853-0712 or visit www.savageplayers.com/tickets.
“Priscilla Queen of the Desert” tells the uplifting story of a trio of friends on a road trip of a lifetime, who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed. An international hit with over 500 dazzling, 2011 Tony Award-winning costumes, it features a hit parade of dance-floor favorites including “It’s Raining Men”, “Finally” and “I Will Survive”. Written by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, with music by Stephen ‘Spud’ Murphy, and directed by Simon Phillips, it runs October 22 through October 27 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa. For tickets call 714-556-2787 or visit www.SCFTA.org.
“Evita” Eva Perón used her beauty and charisma to rise meteorically from the slums of Argentina to the presidential mansion as First Lady. She won international acclaim and adoration from her own people as a champion of the poor, while glamour, power, and greed made her the world’s first major political celebrity. Evita Perón’s passionate and tragic story is told through Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most dazzling and beloved score, including “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” “Buenos Aires,” “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” and “High Flying Adored”, together with “You Must Love Me”. Written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, with music by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and directed by Michael Grandage, it runs October 23 through November 10 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets call 800-982-2787 or visit www.hollywoodpantages.com.
“The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry” is a story set in the mid-19th Century town of Wewoka, Indian Territory (later Oklahoma), the first all-Black town in the U.S., established by Black Seminole freedmen who had migrated the Trail of Tears from Florida. Number Two, a Black man, and Trowbridge, a Seminole, shared a deep connection as youths in Florida. As adults, they’ve grown apart, marrying women and beginning families. Trowbridge becomes sheriff of Wewoka, and bests Number Two in a dispute over a parcel of land, making them enemies. As fate would have it, Number Two’s daughter and Trowbridge’s son fall in love, a love which cannot be denied, leading to murder and bloody vendetta. Complicating matters further, Wewoka seems cursed, enduring a drought that extends into decades. Constant vigilance is necessary, lest Wewoka be raided by the Creeks, who practice slavery. Emerging Christianity is in conflict with the ways of the old indigenous gods. The U.S. government wants to turn over Wewoka to the Seminoles, the freedmen’s former enslavers. Wracked by conflict and thirst, it will take a miracle to save Wewoka. Will that miracle arrive in time? Written by Marcus Gardley, and directed by Shirley Jo Finney, it runs October 24 through November 17 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.thelatc.org.
“Exit The King” Audience members will journey into a ruler's world coming completely undone over the course of 120 minutes. A hallucinatory, spectacular, absurd world makes its' terrifying death-spiral to reveal a truly shocking ending that will remain with you long after your exit. Written by Eugene Ionesco, and directed by Pat Towne, it runs October 25 through November 30 at the NoHo Actors Studio in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-763-1208 or visit www.exittheking.com.
“Homecoming Queen's Got a Musical” Something's not right at Betty Ford High, people are starting to drop dead, but no one has time for that because there a new a Homecoming Queen to crown! Like for sure! Join Julie Brown, as Julie Brown and her best friend Debbie Dickey (Drew Droege) as they count down the minutes and the student bodies, until Homecoming! Written by Julie Brown and Kurt Koehler, and directed by Kurt Koehler, it runs October 25 through November 10 at the Cavern Club Theater inside Casita Del Campo Restaurant in Silverlake. For tickets or visit juliebrown.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=4548.
“The Mystery of Irma Vep” this ridiculous romp begins on a dark and stormy night when Lady Enid and Lord Edgar arrive at their haunted estate. Including a vampire attack, a werewolf hunt, and a journey to an ancient Egyptian tomb, the laughs erupt as a mystery unfolds in this sidesplitting spoof of horror movies, classic literature, Victorian melodrama, Hitchcock and the conventions of theatre itself, complete with monsters, mummies, and damsels in distress. Written by Charles Ludlam, and directed by Jenny Sullivan, it runs October 25 through November 17 at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank. For tickets call 818-955-8101 or visit www.FalconTheatre.com.
“The Pain and the Itch” Worst Thanksgiving ever. Clay and Kelly share a perfect house and two perfect children in what seems to be a perfect life. That is, until Clay’s mother, Carol (a self-proclaimed socialist), his estranged brother, Cash (a staunch Republican) and Cash‘s Eastern European girlfriend (20 years his junior) arrive for Thanksgiving dinner. When something mysterious threatens to disrupt the perfect façade, the gloves come off and an awkward situation devolves into absolute chaos. Written by Bruce Norris, and directed by Jennifer Chambers, it runs October 26 through December 1 at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-960-5774 or visit www.plays411.com/pain.
CONTINUING
“The Player King” Darin Dams, in his solo performance, portrays the three famous men of 19th Century America’s most important acting family: patriarch Junius Brutus Booth; Edwin Booth, perhaps the greatest Shakespearean actor in American history; and his brother, John Wilkes Booth, best known as “the most handsome man in America” until one fateful evening when he pulled out a derringer and changed the history of the country forever. After John Wilkes Booth assassinates President Lincoln, Edwin is forced off the stage for a year. Will he ever be able to return to the stage? During this enforced hiatus, Edwin has time to explore the question “What does it mean to be an actor?” Written and directed by Darin Dams, it runs through November 2 at the MET Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/464197.
“The Lion in Winter” takes place in King Henry II of England’s castle at Chinon, France at Christmastime, 1183. King Henry has three surviving sons by his estranged wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine: Richard (The Lionheart), Geoffrey and John. Henry wants the kingdom to stay united after his death, but all three sons want to rule and it is likely to be torn apart by revolution. He favors the youngest, John, while Eleanor favors the eldest, Richard. Middle son Geoffrey hopes to play both ends against each other and come out on top. And, fuel is added to the yule log fire by King Henry wanting to have another heir by his mistress-in-residence, Alais. When King Henry and Eleanor maneuver against each other to position their favorite son in line for succession, they raise domestic turmoil to an art form. Written by James Goldman, and directed by Michael Cooper, it runs through November 16 at the Sierra Madre Playhouse in Sierra Madre. For tickets call 626-355-4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org.
Have a bootefull Halloween this year!
