The critically acclaimed, award-winning Elephant Theatre Company, David Fofi, Artistic Director, has announced its 14th season, which will kick off on May 22 with the world premiere of Supernova by Timothy McNeil, followed by the world premiere of Parasite Drag by Mark Roberts and concluding with the West Coast premiere of The Little Flower of East Orange by Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Supernova tells the story of Mabel Davies, a not-so-simple housewife in Des Moines, Iowa, who has spent years living for everyone else. Following the appearance of a magazine with a dog-eared page on her kitchen table, and the events that follow, Mabel finds her life changing in extraordinary ways. A 'supernova' is defined as an extremely luminous stellar explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy before fading from view. Supernova ponders fate, destiny, love, and radicalism. Playwright Timothy McNeil is a member of the Stella Adler Academy faculty, and his play Anything had its world premiere at the Elephant in 2008. That production received four LADCC Award nominations, winning three, and was also nominated by GLAAD as best production of the year. Three of McNeil’s other plays have been produced locally: Los Muertos, Margaret, and Crane, Mississippi. Directed by Elephant Producing Director Lindsay Allbaugh, Supernova opens May 22 and runs through June 27 at the Elephant Space.
Parasite Drag is a drama about a small town Illinois family and the stories that haunt them. Estranged brothers Gene and Ronnie are forced together to make arrangements for their sister, a homeless drug addict dying of AIDS. At first glance, the two men seem to be polar opposites. But as their sister's tragedy forces open old wounds, we see that they are very much alike, united forever by a dark, tragic past. Mark Roberts began his career as a stand-up comic and actor. His credits include appearances on Seinfeld, Friends, The Practice, The Larry Sanders Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and The Naked Truth. Now a producer on the CBS television series Two and a Half Men, Mark's other plays include Couples Counseling Killed Katie, Welcome to Tolono, Where the Great Ones Run, and Rantoul and Die, which, after receiving its world premiere in Los Angeles last year, will open in Chicago this fall. Parasite Drag, directed by David Fofi, will open on August 13 and run through September 18 at the Elephant space.
The Little Flower of East Orange, first produced at New York's Public Theater in the spring of 2008, is an unconventional family drama centering around Therese Marie and her anxious, angry children. The events of the play unfold mostly in Therese Marie's hospital room, where she very well could be on her death bed. She contends with visits from a patronizing doctor, a friendly police detective, and an assortment of apparitions, most notably the ghost of her father. She also fights to maintain her dignity as her son Danny, recently out of rehab, insists on making her confront the ugly secrets of her past. Stephen Adly Guirgis is the author of such plays as Our Lady of 121st Street, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, which was produced by the Elephant in association with VS. Theatre Company in 2008. That production won four LADCC Awards, two Garland Awards, and received two LA Weekly Award nominations. The Little Flower of East Orange, directed by David Fofi, will run November 5 through December 18 at the Lillian Theatre.
The Elephant's 2009 productions of The Idea Man by Kevin King and Block Nine by Tom Stanczyk (performed in repertory by two different casts, one all male and one all female) were nominated for a total of six LA Weekly Awards (winning three for Block Nine), and four Ovation Awards, winning one for Best New Play (The Idea Man).