SCENE IN LA
BY
STEVE ZALL AND SID FISH
With Summer here at last, it's time to break out the suntan lotion and hit the beach, then invite your family and friends over for a barbeque followed by an evening at the theatre to enjoy one of these fantastic shows:
“Small Craft Warnings” Monk, compassionate but firm, is the bartender who rules at his eponymous bar, and his regulars are part of society’s underbelly: Leona, a woman with a mobile home who seeks gay men for companionship and straight men for sex; Bill, her latest lover, who has literally made a career of living off women; Steve, resigned to his life as a hash-slinger in a second-rate joint; Violet, his sometimes girlfriend and a helpless waif; and Doc, a physician who’s been decertified because of drunkenness but won’t stop practicing. Then there’s the visitors: Quentin a washed-up screenwriter; and his prey, Bobby, a young boy bicycling from Iowa to Mexico. The action of the play takes place in a single evening. Of the lives observed here, the destinies of a couple of them will be altered significantly that night. Written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Michael Murray, it runs through June 12 at Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park in West Hollywood. For tickets call 800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com.
"A Chorus Line" In an empty theatre, on a bare stage, casting for a new Broadway musical is almost complete. For 17 dancers, this audition is the chance of a lifetime. It's what they've worked for - with every drop of sweat, every hour of training, every day of their lives. It's the one opportunity to do what they've always dreamed -- to have the chance to dance. Written by Michael Bennett and directed by Bob Avian, it runs through June 13 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets call 800-982-2787 or visit www.BroadwayLA.org
“Skylight” Kyra had broken off her six-year affair with Tom to save his marriage to Alice, Kyra’s close friend. But Alice has now passed away. Tom and Kyra had been loving and passionate with each other. Now, there should be nothing keeping them apart, but it’s not so simple. Tom is a world-renowned restauranteur, with the attendant material comforts and an extra helping of the arrogance conveyed by a surfeit of wealth and privilege. Kyra has settled into a more meager existence, living in a freezing flat in a down-market part of London, taking the bus across town to teach kids in a school in a poor neighborhood (because that is where she is most needed). Written by David Hare and directed by Ken Meseroll, it runs through June 20 at the Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.fremontcentretheatre.com.
"Two Figures" about a complicated yet passionate love affair between a 17 year-old girl and her 33 year-old teacher...and all the taboos that go with it. Written by Matthew Chester and directed by Matthew Schwartz, it runs through June 20 at the Powerhouse Theatre in Santa Monica. For tickets visit www.powerhousetheatre.com.
“The Maids” Two servants who are also siblings, Solange and Claire, fantasize about killing Madame, their employer, having already contrived to have Madame’s lover, Monsieur, temporarily jailed. The sisters engage in a series of sadomasochistic rituals, taking turns as perpetrator and intended victim in role-playing games. Written by Jean Genet and directed by Armina LaManna, it runs through June 27 at The Eclectic Company Theatre in Valley Village. For tickets call 818-508-3003 or visit www.eclecticcompanytheatre.org.
"Spike Heels" reveals a comedic approach to issues of sexual harassment, the control and use of women, self-determination and identity, and changing expectations of men in a feminist era. Written by Theresa Rebeck and directed by Robert Marra, it runs through June 27 at Theatre 68 in Hollywood. For tickets call 323-960-7770 or visit www.plays411.com/spikeheels
“Carmen Miranda- The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat.” World Premiere engagement of a new musical, it highlights notable musical production numbers from the popular entertainer's career. Written by Sam Mossler and directed by Beto Araiza, it runs June 4 through June 27 at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets call 323-960-7740 or visit www.Plays411.com/carmen
"Baby" tells the story of three couples as they deal with the painful, rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences of the experience of expecting a baby: college students in their twenties, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; thirty ‘somethings’, having trouble conceiving but willing to try; and middle-aged parents, looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college when a night of unexpected passion lands them right back where they started. Written by Sybille Pearson and directed by Cate Caplin, it runs June 4 through July 11 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-700-4878 or visit www.thegrouprep.com.
"The Fantasticks" Applauded as "the perfect musical," it is an honest and captivating show about what it means to love, live, and laugh. Set to a classically beautiful score, the show includes such classics as "Try to Remember" and "Soon it's Gonna Rain." Written by Tom Jones and directed by Christopher Chase, it runs June 4 through July 11 at Theatre 6470 at the Complex in Hollywood. For tickets call 661-547-1173 or visitwww.thetribeproductions.org
“The Socialization of Ruthie Shapiro” is about the reminiscence of a mother and schoolteacher now in her 30s. She has a son in junior high. “I tell him these are the best years of his life.” Ruthie is an unpopular young Jewish girl at George Washington Junior High in Los Angeles. Her older brother, Ronnie, is athletic and popular, and doesn’t want to be seen with her. Ruthie finally makes a friend with a girl transplanted from Texas who is freakishly tall, and made more of an outcast because of her Texas accent. The two become close until one day something happens to present a serious challenge to the bonds of their friendship. Written by Barbara Nell Beery and directed by Susan Morgenstern, it runs June 4 through July 11 at Theatre West in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-851-7977 or visit www.theatrewest.org.
"All My Sons" The year is 1946. The Kellers, by all appearances, seem to be the quintessential “all-American” family, except for one terrible secret: Joe Keller, family patriarch, has concealed a great crime. Tensions mount as he attempts to hide the truth, fearful of how the repercussions will affect the lives of his loved ones, still grieving over the loss of son Larry, whose plane went down in the war. Written by Arthur Miller and directed by Kiff Scholl, it runs June 5 through July 25 at the Raven Playhouse in North Hollywood. For tickets call 323-960-4420 or visit www.plays411.com/sons
"Hamlet" Following the death of his father, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his uncle now occupies the throne and the queen’s bed. Spurred by the ghost of his father and surrounded by spies, Hamlet must avenge his father’s murder. Written by William Shakespeare and directed by Ellen Geer, it runs June 5 through October 2 at The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga. For tickets call 310-455-3723 or visitwww.theatricum.com
"A Midsummer Night’s Dream" transformed into an enchanted fairy forest inhabited by lovers both fairy and human - a world of wonder, magic and romance where comical misunderstandings and the pain of unrequited love are resolved, and all is reconciled through midsummer night revelries and the enduring power of nature. Written by William Shakespeare and directed by Melora Marshall, it runs June 6 through September 18 at The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga. For tickets call 310-455-3723 or visit www.theatricum.com.
"Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!" is a captivating theatrical experience incorporating a variety of theatre and storytelling techniques which illuminates the art form of ventriloquism as Johnson, along with a parade of characters, including an edgy puppet named “Bob” and a spunky, smart-mouthed monkey named “Darwin,” who is a direct reflection of Johnson’s wild side, relate their tales. Written by Jay Johnson and directed by Paul Kreppel and Murphy Cross, it runs June 11 through June 20 at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. For tickets call 949-497-2787 or visit www.LagunaPlayhouse.com.
"A Shayna Maidel" In 1946, a Polish immigrant living in New York is reunited with her sister who remained in Poland and lived through the Holocaust. A powerful, poignant, and emotionally charged tale of sustenance and hope, and the belief that from a broken and bitter past, a better future may be born. Written by Barbara Lebow and directed by Shashin Desai, it runs June 11 through July 11 at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. For tickets call 562-436-4610 or visit www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.
"All Cake, No File: The Johnny Cash Prison Tribute" Jewell Rae is a celebrity chef, home economist, and host of the popular syndicated live cooking show, "Tastes Like Home." Her love of music, boxed cake mixes, and convicted felons inspired this production, during which she bakes and serves guests of the California state prison system - all the while accompanied by Johnny Cash tribute band With A Bible And A Gun. Written by Donna Jo Thorndale and directed by Shira Piven, it runs June 11 through July 31 at The Actors' Gang in Culver City. For tickets call 310-838-4264 or visit www.theactorsgang.com
"The Jesus Hickey" the daughter of a tough Irish laborer becomes a national superstar when it is discovered that a "hickey" on her neck is shaped in the image of Jesus. Written and directed by Luke Yankee, it runs June 12 through July 18 at The Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 310-358-9936 or visitwww.katselastheatre.com
"The Three Musketeers" When a young dreamer named d'Artagnan leaves home for Paris to become a member of the famed royal guard, The Musketeers, he encounters a trio of comrades who embody the motto, "All for one and one for all." Written by Alexandre Dumas and directed by Ellen Geer, it runs June 12 through October 3 at The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga. For tickets call 310-455-3723 or visitwww.theatricum.com.
“Angelos” a young Chassidic man tries unsuccessfully to rob a neighborhood barbershop for enough money to escape his restrictive life style and pursue a woman he fancies, but his victims find him more cute than dangerous, and rather than turn him in to the police, they conspire to help him woo the girl of his dreams. Written by Tony Perzow and directed by R.S. Bailey, it runs June 17 through July 11 at Studio/Stage in Los Angeles. For tickets call 310-807-4842 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com
“Transitions” A program of three thematically related stories. In the first, a young woman whose fiancé has died is haunted by his singing voice from beyond the grave. She is seemingly inconsolable, until her half-sister presents her with solace from an unexpected source. Next, there are two septuagenarian sisters, feuding for years and in particular over the disposition of a family heirloom. Now in their late seventies, time is running out for them to affect reconciliation. In the final story, a 38-year-old woman realizes that she is at the same age as her mother when her mother died. She has artistic dreams, but will she be able to realize them, or will she die too soon, like her mom? Written by Kellie Roberts and directed by Dwain A. Perry, it runs June 18 through June 27 at Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets call 213-489-0994 or visit www.thelatc.org.
“Arcadia” In 1809 a young girl of exceptional mathematical abilities is being tutored by a teacher with an overactive libido when a duel over a ladies honor causes a suitor to suddenly vanish from town, while a mad hermit who lives on the grounds for decades after, working out mysterious mathematical equations. In the present day, the descendants of the estate who are likewise eccentric attempt to unravel the mysteries of what exactly occurred on the estate in 1809. Written by Tom Stoppard and directed by Barbara Schofield, it runs June 18 through July 31 at the Sierra Madre Playhouse in Sierra Madre. For tickets call 626-355-4318 or visitwww.sierramadreplayhouse.org
"Twelfth Night" Music, dancing, courtship, love, hookahs and swordsmanship abound in Shakespeare’s gloriously gender jumbled romantic tale Twelfth Night. This roller coaster romp follows the misadventures of the lovesick Viola (disguised as the young boy Cesario) who gets caught in a vexing love triangle with the dashing Duke Orsino and the lovelorn Olivia. These lovers, their fools and the puritans take part in a madcap trip that ends only with the discovery that there are always greater journeys just around the corner. Written by William Shakespeare and directed by Jeff Soroka, it runs June 18 through July 31 at The Sherry Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-849-4039 or visit www.theatreunleashed.com
"Opus" Talent and temperaments collide in this amusing and compelling behind-the-scenes look at a "high-strung" string quartet. A world-famous ensemble threatens to unravel as it prepares for a high-profile performance at the White House when its most talented member goes missing and a young woman is hired to take his place. Written by Michael Hollinger and directed by Simon Levy, it runs June 19 through July 25 at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets call 323-663-1525 or visit www.FountainTheatre.com
"In the Heights" tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood - a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. Written by Quiara Alegría Hudes and conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda, directed by Thomas Kail, it runs June 22 through July 25 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets call 800-982-2787 or visit www.BroadwayLA.org
Forget your troubles come on get happy, we're going to chase all your blues away - shout hallelujah come on get happy, go out and see a show today!