A great story, made even better! Alex Lyras stars in the Los Angeles premiere of Mike Daisy’s The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs in an update revised by the author that is “ethically made” and packs an even more powerful punch. Daisey’s powerful monologue examines the controversy of globalization through the rise and fall and resurrection of Apple, illuminating how Apple’s former CEO and his obsessions shape our lives. It follows the trail all the way to China to investigate the factories where millions toil to make iPhones and iPads, and shines a light on the human price we pay for our high-tech toys. “Anyone with a cell phone and a moral center should see this show.” – The New York Times
Adapted by Brendan Shea
Lewis Carroll meets Lady Gaga in this psychedelic update of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Angst-ridden adolescent Alice unwittingly trades places with Mary Ann, the Wonderland version of herself. Now Alice must travel through a fantastical teenage dreamscape, challenged by Carroll's canonical characters every step of the way. Transforming every time she eats or drinks, Alice is played by six different actresses, each evoking a different aspect of adolescence. Together, they paint an entrancingly surreal portrait of a teenage identity crisis.
On a cold, clear, moonless night in the middle of winter, all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, Almost's residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend almost in this delightful midwinter night's dream.
Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman star in ANNAPURNA, written by Sharr White and directed by Bart DeLorenzo. After twenty years apart, Emma tracks Ulysses to a trailer park in the middle of nowhere for a final reckoning. What unfolds is a visceral, profound and sometimes funny meditation on love and loss with the simplest of theatrical elements: two people in one room.
At The Flash is a fierce and funny show that condenses LGBT history into the story of five characters – a closeted man in the 1960s, a black drag queen in the 1970s, a club kid in the 1980s, a budding lesbian activist in the 1990s, and a family man/entrepreneur in the 2000s.
A Noise Within stages the West Coast premiere production of The Beaux' Stratagem, one of the last raucous Restoration Era comedies, adapted by two of the 20th century's most gifted American playwrights -- Thornton Wilder (Our Town) and Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor). George Farquhar's 1707 romp follows a pair of stylish young gentlemen who flee to the countryside from their London creditors, seeking wealthy and preferably attractive maidens to marry. But the road to romance and riches is filled with plenty of comic potholes. Described by Ludwig as "classic, formal, robust and hilarious," this latest version of The Beaux' Stratagem was actually first attempted by Thornton Wilder in 1939, who put it aside to work on the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Skin of Our Teeth. In 2004, Wilder's estate found Ken Ludwig, the popular playwright of Moon Over Buffalo and other comedies, to pick up the work, and almost 70 years later, the collaboration finally hits the stage in L.A., directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott.
Based on the writings of Bertolt Brecht. Conceived by George Tabori from various translations. Arranged and directed by Alistair Hunter. Musical director Gayle Bluemel. Presented by The Other Theatre Company. Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
The Kentwood Players perform Neil Simon's California Suite, a comedy told in four separate playlets. Four different parties from various cities travel to California during different time periods and stay in the same Beverly Hills Hotel suite, bringing their problems, anxieties and comic marital dilemmas with them. In "The Visitor From New York," Hannah loves living in New York, while her ex-husband, Billy, loves L.A. Can two happily divorced parents raise their only daughter while living 3000 miles apart? In "The Visitor From Philadelphia," Marvin awakens with a horrible hangover and a young woman he doesn't know beside him in bed. Moments later, Marvin's wife arrives. Can this fifteen-year marriage survive whatever it was Marvin did? In "The Visitors From London," Diana loses the Oscar to another woman and her husband to another man in the same night. This causes some inconvenient truths intrude on their marriage of convenience. And in "The Visitors From Chicago," four best friends are enjoying a dream vacation together -- until an ultra-competitive tennis match turns them into enemies.
CHESS is a musical with international themes of breaking down barriers between nations, and having a multicultural ensemble enhances its message for the 21st Century...EWP dares to tackle this large scale musical much like it tackled Sweeney Todd in its 1994 and 2006 productions: with creativity and ingenuity in its story-telling.
Cinderella and her two evil stepsisters are played by the lovely Ashleigh, Beau and Brooke Dawson. Beau -- a stage, television and film actress who recently graced The Little Theater in The Emperor's New Clothes -- is thrilled to be joined by her two sisters in this production.
Storybook Theatre presents its award-winning big top musical. It's the ultimate interactive play as the kids in the audience join the ringmaster, animal trainer and clown as they become the acts in the circus. Lots of songs as the kids learn that they have talents of their own when they put on their own show.
In COOPERSTOWN, it is the summer of 1962, and Jackie Robinson is about to be the first black player inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. That has a surprising impact on Junior Murphy, a black diner employee who can't get a promotion, and whose little sister has her own history-making plans for the weekend. When a Midwest minor-leaguer comes to town chasing his idol, a collision of race, family, love, and baseball turns a sleepy New York town upside down.
COPS AND FRIENDS OF COPS is a classic morality play, as much about what’s right and wrong, as it is a thrilling moment-to-moment suspense-fueled ride. It introduces us to five men: Paul, Dom, Emmett, Sal, and Roosevelt. Men of different ages and life experiences. On this night Paul walks into the bar with a secret. Dom, the bartender, just wants to get through his shift. Roosevelt’s had just about enough of his partner Sal’s bullying sense of humor. So begins this world premiere play occurring roughly in real-time about regret, loss, explicit and implicit racism, and wrestling with masculine identity in constantly-changing contemporary America.
Definitely not keepin it real. Without the fakers of the world, we would never appreciate the beauty of authenticity! Fakers. is comprised of some of the best sketches from The Second City resident stages and performed in Hollywood. Second City is the world's premiere comedy theatre and largest school of improvisation and sketch comedy.
A carnival midway of magic, mischief and theatrical thrills! Amanda Dehnert, celebrated throughout the American theatre for re-imagining classics, has added a multitude of visual delights and fantastical illusions to the original charm and beautiful ballads (like the haunting "Try to Remember") of The Fantasticks. When two scheming fathers conspire with the mysterious El Gallo to keep their daughter and son apart (to be sure they'll fall in love!) the dewy-eyed lovers venture into the real world. But as fantasy turns to reality, El Gallo is there to remind them that "without the hurt, the heart is hollow" in one of the most popular musicals of all time, which the Washington Post calls, "Fresh and alive again."
In “Fool For Love” (1983), Eddie, a rodeo stuntman, has hunted down May,- his “forever connection,” and found her in a motel in the Mojave Desert. She’s as drawn to him as he is to her , but if it were that simple, this wouldn’t be a Sam Shepard play. They’re together, then they’re apart, they’re together, and the fire and obsession and possession never abates. Eddie can’t leave other women alone and he can’t leave May alone and now there’s a Countess, elusive, dangerous and obsessed with Eddie (but Shepard leaves her outside in her Mercedes Benz during the play).
Eddie and May have an unhinged yearning and raw sexuality that goes beyond usual aspects of attraction, and there’s a secret that is revealed. It is “Rashomon,” with each one having a different view of their shared history. There is also an Old Man who is ever present in the play, and he has another version of the story. The Old Man supplies mysteries and answers. And the “gentleman caller” Martin arrives to give May a way to be released from Eddie---maybe. Fool For Love is about romantic obsession, although that may be redundant: Romance IS obsessive. It is feisty, muscular and sexually charged.
An original dream play that links the world of women in Toulouse Lautrec's paintings to the men who loved them. Through words, movement and love the divine feminine of the past gains strength as a surreal absinthe night of drinking opens up a world that will enchant, challenge, frighten and inspire. Join an in-house group of Bootleg artists as we explore the art, performance, love, life and the women who played roles throughout it all.
