Showing results by publisher "L.A. Theatre Works" in All Categories

Pulitzer Prize-winner Sam Shepard's classic comedy is a story of estranged brothers Austin and Lee. Shepard compares and contrasts the reality of the two brothers by forcing them to come to terms with each other, with themselves, and with family.

In five autobiographical vignettes, Charlayne Woodard tells the moving and inspirational tale of her African-American family through three generations of love, struggle, and triumph.

This poignant and poetic 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning play captures 1929 Florida at a time when cigars are still rolled by hand and "lectors" are employed to educate and entertain the workers. The arrival of a new lector is a cause for celebration. But when he reads aloud from Anna Karenina, he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics, and The American Dream prove a volatile combination.

A coming-of-age, coming-out cocktail with a twist of terror. Thirteen-year-old Franklin Robertson is trying to survive adolescence. His parents don’t understand him, his brother torments him, he has no friends, and he’s more interested in the high school quarterback than any girl. The one bright spot in his life is the glow of the black-and-white TV in his parents’ basement.....

Gulf War and Black are two one-act plays by acclaimed American author Joyce Carol Oates. This full cast production stars: Edward Asner, Stephanie Dunnam, Rif Hutton, Nan Martin, and Joe Spano.

An audio adaptation of the classic Shakespeare drama. Pericles is at the palace of Antioch with King Antiochus to solve the riddle that will win the King’s daughter’s hand in marriage. They are surrounded by the heads of men who have died trying before him. Pericles solves the riddle, learning the terrible truth about the incestuous relationship between the Princess and the King. Pericles flees Antioch, fearing Antiochus’ wrath.

Bad Axe is the story of a woman accused of murdering her husband at a military outpost in the Old West. Did hostile Indians force her to scalp him as revenge for his brutality, or did she kill him out of frustration with her plight as a soldier’s wife? An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring John Castellanos, Harry Hamlin, Amy Irving, Peter Jacobs, and Jessica Walter. Recorded before a live audience.

In Buk: The Life and Times of Charles Bukowski, Paul Peditto presents an often tragic, often funny look at the life of a great American poet, based on poetry and stories by Charles Bukowski.

George Bernard Shaw's warm and witty play continues to challenge conventional wisdom about male/female relationships. Candida concerns a beautiful married woman's choice between the two men who love her.

American expatriate Sidney Webb and Sister Margaret, his British colleague, work tirelessly to rehabilitate Cambodian children from the nightmare of prostitution. After a surprise raid on a brothel, an eager young U.S. lawyer places three liberated orphans under Sidney and the Sister's care. The girls begin the inspirational process of recovery under the loving watch of their new protectors. An excitingly original script by an emerging American playwright.

Written by José Rivera, recent Academy Award Nominee for The Motorcycle Diaries, Each Day Dies with Sleep is the story of a young woman's struggle to find an identity apart from the two men in her life: her father and her husband. Written in Rivera's typical satiric and super realistic style, this fantastical tragi-comedy leaps from coast to coast, and from one outrageous moment to the next.

The acclaimed comedy trio known as Culture Clash spent three months interviewing about 70 Miami residents for this mix of vignettes about urban renewal, crimes, hurricanes, and immigration, as well as where to get a plate of arroz con pollo served by a 6-foot tall drag queen.

Harry Shearer’s parody of a presidential election. In this fantasy, Bob Dole Jr. faces off against a wrestler named Greenberg, as they fight for one family’s votes by camping out in their living room. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Fran Adams, Ed Begley Jr., Judyann Elder, Arye Gross, Daniel Passer, Richard Masur, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, and Kenny Williams. Directed by Harry Shearer. Recorded before a live audience.

The controversial history of Chavez Ravine, the immigrant community that once existed on the site that is now Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, is explored with humor, brutal honesty, and pulse-racing music by the nation's premier Chicano/Latino theatre troupe, Culture Clash.

Terry Malloy, the "seemingly soulless street survivor," unwittingly lures a rebellious longshoreman to his death in Budd Schulberg's searing drama about the New York waterfront, the racketeering unions controlling it, and the kid who "coulda been a contender."

Taking Flight is a deeply compelling, humorous, and truly moving work that brings to the stage a mystical and poignant tale of a friendship tested by tragedy, and of the resilience of the human heart.

A pointed look at organized, merchandised religion; the dangers of pride and ambition; the battes for power between generations; and the redemptive power of faith. A face off for control between a legendary Baptist pastor and an ambitious young preacher.

Originally produced for Chicago Theatres on the Air, Shakespeare's Greatest Hits contains some of the most memorable scenes from the Bard's most profound works: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Othello, and many more. It was performed by Chicago's Shakespeare Repertory, including Amy Irving and Kevin Gudhal, in 1993.

A Chekhovian comedy from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lillian Hellman about the sad and funny frailties of human existence. As the summer of 1949 draws to a close, a group of middle-aged friends are gathering for their annual retreat at a genteel Southern resort. An acquaintance from the past thrusts himself into the yearly gathering, forcing them to re-examine their mundane yet seemingly idyllic existence, the opportunities they’ve lost, and the lives that have passed them by.

After Vladimir Lenin’s death, Stalin orders two Jewish scientists to preserve Lenin’s body for all time. If they succeed, the rewards will be considerable. If not, it’s the gulag - or worse. Based on real events, Vern Theissen’s nimble dark comedy exposes the absurdities of Soviet life under Stalin.