Kathleen Turner, Matthew Rhys, Ron Rifkin, Steven Weber, Billy Crudup, Jane Kaczmarek, David Selby, Julian Sands, Tate Donovan and Dule Hill are just some of the stars lined up to perform in an exciting lineup of 10 plays for L.A. Theatre Works' 2010-11 Season.
Celebrating 25 years of recording plays for radio, the LATW season includes contemporary hits from both On Broadway (ENRON by Lucy Prebble, The Graduate by Terry Johnson) and Off (Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; New Jerusalem by David Ives; Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan), as well as new work (Charles Morey's newly revised adaptation of Dracula) and beloved classics (A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Lou Bellamy; The Three Sisters, directed by Dakin Matthews; and The Death of A Salesman, directed by Eric Simonson).
Each play in the series will be performed live in front of an audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, with all performances recorded for future broadcast on public radio and distribution to over 8500 libraries across the U.S. The L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection, with over 450 titles, is the largest archive of its kind in the world.
"With this season, L.A. Theatre Works continues its mission to present and preserve the best of English-language theater," says artistic director Susan Loewenberg. "We aim to recreate the original casting whenever possible, so we're thrilled to record Kathleen Turner and Matthew Rhys in The Graduate, Tate Donovan in Lobby Hero, and Emily Bergl in Becky Shaw."
The schedule for the 2010 - 2011 L.A. Theatre Works season is as follows:
OCTOBER
ENRON by Lucy Prebble, directed by Rosalind Ayres, featuring Steven Weber as Jeffrey Skilling - A rapid-fire, sophisticated thrill-ride that propels the audience through one of the most infamous financial scandals in history. Using a clever mix of humor, pathos, and music, the big biz machinations of Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling and Andy Fastow are laid bare as razzle-dazzle entertainment, casting a shocking new light on the state of today's economy and how we got here. October 20-24 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
NOVEMBER
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Lou Bellamy - The gripping and explosive tale of one family living and learning together on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s, A Raisin in the Sun was the first authentic voice of an African American playwright to hit the Broadway stage. In this award-winning drama, the Younger family searches for a way to grab their piece of the dream, even in the face of prejudice and discrimination. Since the play's premiere 50 years ago, Lorraine Hansberry's towering masterpiece has moved audiences and broken down barriers wherever it has played. November 17-21 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
DECEMBER
The Graduate by Terry Johnson from the novel by Charles Webb and the screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, directed by John Rubinstein, starring Kathleen Turner and Matthew Rhys - Cult novel. Landmark Hollywood film. Theatrical sensation. Kathleen Turner and Matthew Rhys reprise the roles they created in the original London production, the hilarious coming-of-age story about an innocent college grad who is seduced by an older woman. December 8-12 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
JANUARY
The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, directed by Michael Hackett, featuring Julian Sands - Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th Century masterpiece is a sparkling comedy of manners that made its debut in 1777 - but its comic look at human frailty and hypocrisy is as relevant today as it was then. Brimming with witty dialogue, mistaken identities, supposed infidelity, eavesdropping and scandal, both real and invented, The School For Scandal is a delightful, madcap and maliciously catty romp. After all, slander and gossip never go out of style. January 12-16 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 2pm).
FEBRUARY
Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo, featuring Emily Bergl - A Pulitzer Prize finalist and smash Off-Broadway hit, Becky Shaw is the latest comedy from Obie Award-winner Gina Gionfriddo (After Ashley, writer/producer of Law & Order). When Suzanna (Bergl, reprising the role she created in NY) decides to set her best friend Max up on a blind date with her husband's mysterious co-worker, Becky Shaw, she sets into motion a series of cataclysmic events forever changing all of their lives. Mixing sharp wit and humor with the taut suspense of a psychological thriller, Becky Shaw is a comedy of romantic errors that keeps audiences at the edge of their seats guessing what will happen next. February 9-13 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
MARCH
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, directed by Eric Simonson, featuring Jane Kaczmarek - The tragedy of a typical American - a salesman who at the age of sixty-three is faced with what he cannot face: defeat and disillusionment. Death of a Salesman is considered by many to be both the playwright's masterpiece and a cornerstone of contemporary American drama. Miller's work is revered for its bold realism and riveting theatricality, a play that deals in weighty emotional issues without descending to melodrama. March 16-20 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
APRIL
The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, directed by Dakin Matthews, featuring Ron Rifkin - A bittersweet, serio-comic family drama set against the decay of the privileged class in Russia at the turn of the twentieth century. The Prozorovs - Olga, Masha, Irina, and their brother Andrei - who spent their refined and cultured youth in Moscow, have been living for more than a decade in a small, colorless provincial town where their now-deceased father, a military general, had been transferred. Over time, their shared dream of returning to the more urbane life in the capital erodes, as the ordinariness of daily living gradually tightens its grip on them. April 13-17 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
MAY
Dracula by Charles Morey from the novel by Bram Stoker, directed by Rosalind Ayres, featuring David Selby - Before Twilight, before True Blood, only one vampire commanded "the children of the night." In this blood-thirsty tale of unholy terror, Count Dracula slips into Victorian London with a cargo of his native Transylvanian soil - so he can rest between victims. The city seems helpless against his frightful power, and only one man, Dr. Van Helsing, can stop the carnage. But to do this, he must uncover the vampire's lair and pierce his heart with a wooden stake. May 18-22 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
J UNE
Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan, featuring original Off Broadway cast member Tate Donovan and Dule Hill - A wryly comic, intriguingly layered modern morality play about crime and personal responsibility. Jeff is a security guard on the night shift in a New York apartment building. When his supervisor lies in a murder investigation, Jeff's loyalty is put to the test. Will Jeff do the right thing for the wrong reasons or the wrong thing for the right reasons? June 15-20 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
JULY
New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656 by David Ives, featuring Billy Crudup, Andrea Gabriel and Alan Mandell - Young Baruch de Spinoza is a successful merchant, would-be philosopher, and heir apparent to Saul Mortera, chief Rabbi of Amsterdam. But Amsterdam's Jews have made a fateful arrangement with the city: they've agreed to "police" their own for unorthodox beliefs. When Spinoza is accused of atheism, Mortera summons him to the synagogue to answer for himself. No written record survives of what happened inside Temple Talmud Torah on July 27, 1656, but this eloquent and masterful drama opens the temple doors on a dispute about philosophical and theological ideas that still reverberates today.
July 13-17 (Wednesday at 8 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm, Sunday at 4 pm).
Performances of "The Play's The Thing" are recorded live at t he Skirball Cultural Center, located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, in the Santa Monica Mountains just off the San Diego (405) Freeway (exit Skirball Center Drive). Tickets range from $20.00 to $48.00. On site, secure parking is free. Assisted listening devices are available. For reservations and information, call the L.A. Theatre Works Box Office at (310) 827-0889 or go to www.latw.org.