Trump in Space, winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival Encore! Producer’s Award, returns for a run of Friday nights at The Second City Hollywood Studio Theatre. The book and lyrics are by Gillian Bellinger and Landon Kirksey with music by Tony Gonzalez and Sam Johnides. Frank Caeti is the director.

8pm FRIDAY NIGHTS ONLY!

Trump in Space is Star Trek meets Avenue Q meets Trump, a musical battle of good vs. bad and ideals vs. opportunism. This original musical is an epic space adventure filled with all the sci–fi tropes we love and all the politics we love to hate. Four hundred years in the future, the fallout of the Trump administration has left humans stranded without a planet. Captain Natasha Trump, a direct descendant of President Donald J. Trump, races to find humanity a new planet because the earth blew up!

Said Shari Barrett of BroadwayWorld.com, “Laughs abound with each farcical situation based on political satire to the max – with great ensemble harmonies throughout.” Trump in Space proudly occupies a spot on the StageRaw.com Top Ten.

Running time is one hour.

The cast includes Gillian Bellinger, Landon Kirksey, Mary Lou, Scott Palmason, Nicole Pellegrino, Joy Reguilano, Jessie Sherman, Jim Shipley, and Rob Warner.

https://www.secondcity.com/shows/hollywood/trump-space-musical/

The world premiere of THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE, written by Jami Brandli and directed by Ann Hearn, opens Friday, March 23 at 8pm and runs through Sunday, May 26 at the Road Theatre on Lankershim, located in the historic Lankershim Arts Center, 5108  Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.

Performances are Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm.

Some family holidays are bound to erupt in flames…

The Keen family is dealing with the recent tragedy concerning their daughter, Dana, a navy corpsman in the Iraq War. Larry copes with a tumbler of scotch, or five, Barbara sets an extra plate setting and Samantha, their teenage daughter, secretly uses Twitter to create a protest. Then Nasser, an Iraqi refugee, arrives at their door unannounced on Christmas Eve.  As the family fights over whether or not to keep Nasser’s “gift”, tempers fly and secrets are revealed. Will the Keens be pulled further apart or will they find grace and redemption in this intriguing family dramedy?

THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE will feature Meeghan Holaway, David Gianopoulos, Kaitlin Huwe, Kara Hume, Erica Mathlin, Chet Grissom and Stephanie Erb.

JAMI BRANDLI (Playwright) plays include: Technicolor Life, S.O.E., M-Theory, Sisters Three, Medusa’s Song, Through the Eye of a Needle, BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) and more. BLISS receives its 2018 joint world premiere with Moxie Theatre, Promethean Theatre and Moving Arts.  Technicolor Life premiered at REP Stage as part of the 2015 Women’s Voices Theater Festival and recently received its Australian premiere at The Depot Theatre. Winner of John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award, Holland New Voices Award and Aurora Theatre Company’s GAP Prize; Finalist for 2016 PEN Literary Award for Drama.  Jami is represented by the Robert A Freedman Agency and Fourth Wall Management and teaches at Lesley University’s low-residency MFA program. www.jamibrandli.com.

More  info visit www.RoadTheatre.org

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The Southern California premiere of Nambi E. Kelley’s visceral, groundbreaking stage adaption of Richard Wright’s racially charged novel, Native Son, at Antaeus Theatre Company, directed by Andi Chapman.

Performances of Native Son open on Thursday, April 19 and continue on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m., and Mondays at 8 p.m. (dark Monday, April 23 and Monday, May 28) through June 3. There will be one additional Thursday evening performance on May 31 at 8 p.m. Previews begin April 12

Set in 1930s Chicago, where opportunities for African-American men are elusive, Kelley’s adaptation focuses on the inner workings of the protagonist’s mind as a series of unleashed events violently and irrevocably seal his fate.

Jon Chaffin stars as Bigger Thomas, suffocating in rat-infested poverty on Chicago’s South Side, with Noel Arthur as “The Black Rat” — the manifestation of Bigger’s double consciousness. When a job as the family chauffeur brings him into the white world of wealthy Mrs. Dalton (Gigi Bermingham), her free-thinking daughter, Mary (Ellis Greer) and Mary’s Communist boyfriend, Jan (Matthew Grondin), circumstances spiral out of control. The ensemble also features Mildred Marie Langford, Ned Mochel, Victoria Platt and Brandon Rachal. (Unlike most Antaeus productions, Native Son is single-cast.)

Double consciousness, according to W.E.B. Du Bois, refers to the effects of white racism — to “the sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.”

“This is the story of a young black man’s life in 1939 America, who from birth is compelled to pass through a tragic gauntlet of oppression,” states Chapman. “The play moves like a runaway train. The tension starts at the top and ratchets up from there.”

“Everything is told from from Bigger’s point of view, through his lens,” explains Kelley. “The adaptation is an exploration of the concept of double consciousness as it relates to the concept of one’s ability to fly or be free. Think of it as a mind-map.”

For more information,  go to www.antaeus.org.

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Theatre of NOTE continues its 2018 season with its production of For The Love Of (or, the roller derby play) by Gina Femia, directed by Rhonda Kohl.

For The Love Of will preview Tuesday and Wednesday, April 24 and 25 at 8pm, and will open on Thursday, April 26 at 8pm. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm.

When Joy gets on the Brooklyn Scallywags and meets the star, Lizzie Lightning, she and her long-term partner Michelle find their lives turned upside down. For The Love Of asks how much you’re willing to sacrifice – or lose – to follow your heart. Part of Theatre of NOTE’s “Year of the Woman,” this production, written and directed by women, features an all-female cast and all-female design team.

The cast of For The Love Of features Cassandra Blair, Crystal Diaz, Elinor Gunn, Liesel Hanson, Faith Imafidon, Cindy Lin, Nadia Marina, Lynn Odell, Alina Phelan, Nicole Gabriella Scipione, Yolanda Snowball, Jenny Soo, Nancy Stone, and Tania Verafield.

For The Love Of  features the talents of an impressive all-female design team, including Assistant Director Lauren Smerkanich, Set and Prop Designer Eli Smith, Costume Designer Vicki Conrad, Sound Designer Gillian Moon, and Lighting Designer Rose Malone. The production is stage managed by Aaron Saldaña with assistant stage manager Ellie Chaika.

For more info & $15 Discount Tix w code LAFPI: www.theatreofnote.com

Connect @TheatreOfNOTE

caryn desai directs the Los Angeles premiere of Cardboard Piano by Whiting Award-winning playwright Hansol Jung. Cardboard Piano opens May 4 at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, with two low-priced previews set for May 2 and May 3.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., May 4 through May 20

A secret wedding ceremony between the daughter of an American missionary and a local teenage girl is disrupted by violence when a child soldier fleeing the atrocities of war stumbles into their remote Ugandan church.  Set against the backdrop of the 21-year-long civil war in northern Uganda, Jung’s haunting drama confronts the religious and cultural roots of intolerance, as well as the human capacity for hatred, forgiveness and love.

“Religion can do two opposite things,” the South Korean playwright said in an interview. “It can destroy, hurt, and be an instigator of violence, but it can also be the only thing capable of controlling that violence.”

According to the Whiting Foundation, which last week awarded Jung with the 2018 Whiting Award for Drama, “The stories playwright Hansol Jung is committed to telling could not be more essential to this moment. She knits together the agonies of Korean history, the restless excitement and anxiety of the tech age, and the shapes of loss and longing.” Jung’s other plays include Among the Dead (Ma-Yi Theatre Company), No More Sad Things (co-world premiere at Sideshow Theatre and Boise Contemporary Theatre), Wolf Play and Wild Goose Dreams.

The ICT production stars Dashawn “Dash” Barnes (The Legend of Georgia McBride at the Geffen), Allison Blaize (Stupid Kid at the Road), Demetrius Hodges (The Wiz at Coterie Theatre in Kansas City) and JoJo Nwoko (Tarell in Season 4 of Showtime’s The Affair).

More info: InternationalCityTheatre.org

www.facebook.com/ICTLongBeach/
twitter: @ICTLongBeach and instagram: @ICT_LongBeach

Aleichem Sholom! The Wit and Wisdom of Sholom Aleichem written by and starring Evelyn Rudie & Chris DeCarlo.

Take a journey through the life, loves and laughter of the world’s most beloved Yiddish humorist, as you are treated to an in-depth look at the foolish philosophers, philosophical fools, comical shtetl folk and not-so-comical scoundrels that populated Sholom Aleichem’s real and fantasy worlds. This bold and bittersweet, raucous and romantic world-premiere musical comedy celebrates the great man’s 102nd yahrzeit, journeying through his loves and losses, the controversy surrounding his stories and plays, his fame and his failures, his passionate involvement in the creation of a new homeland, his travels, his travails and the tremendous joy and optimism that kept him going against all odds, and touched the hearts of millions of audiences and readers across the globe. The new musical stars veteran performer Chris DeCarlo, who once again assays the role of the beloved author, a characterization which has been enjoyed by more than a quarter of a million audience members, and Evelyn Rudie, who has created and portrayed more than three dozen Sholom Aleichem characters in over 2,000 performances to date. “Evelyn Rudie is an all-around theatrical wizard…Mr. DeCarlo’s characterization is faultless.” Casting Call This is the fifth offering in the Rudie-DeCarlo Sholom Aleichem catalogue of musicals. Produced by the Playhouse Jewish Heritage Program.

http://www.santamonicaplayhouse.com/aleichem-sholom.html

https://www.facebook.com/SantaMonicaPlayhouse

Rogue Artists Ensemble’s WOOD BOY DOG FISH

Written by Chelsea Sutton with Rogue Artists Ensemble
Original Music by Adrien Prévost
Directed by Sean T. Cawelti

In this delightfully macabre take on The Adventures of Pinocchio, the cricket is killed, a blue poltergeist haunts us all, the legendary Dogfish monster preys on our greatest fears and a little wooden puppet struggles to discover what it means to be real.

The Wood Boy Dog Fish experience begins one hour before show time, just inside the gates of the Garry Marshall Theatre. Audiences are immersed in the mysterious and quirky carnival world with games, food, drink and surprises before they even find their seats. Wood Boy Dog Fish is a visual feast that combines masks, highly expressive physical performance, dance, interactive sets, multiple puppetry traditions, projected media and sophisticated special effects and illusions – including 3D enhancement – to transport audiences inside an old carnival ride.

Previews: Saturday, May 12 at 8pm,
Sunday May 13 at 3pm & 7pm, Wednesday May 16 at 8pm

Regular Run: Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm and 7pm

https://www.rogueartists.org/

@Rogue_Artists

Facebook event: www.facebook.com/ events/1863812850296144/

“Sex” by Mae West

Margy LaMont, an entrepreneur as well as a prostitute, is the most successful sex worker in Montreal. That city becomes too hot for her when a society matron attempts to frame her for a crime she did not commit. She heads for the Caribbean, and later for a swank enclave in New York. She acquires lovers along the way, including Gregg, an English naval officer who has some entrepreneurial ideas of his own; and Jimmy, a younger man who will be the heir to a fabulous fortune, who is smitten with her. Between the police, criminals, hypocritical high-society types, and two men who really love her, Margy has her arms full.

Sometimes, sex is the answer. Sometimes, it’s the question. What will Margy do?

Directed by Sirena Irwin. Produced by Buzzworks. Starring Andrea Hutchman, Loyam Ewasu, Kandace Lindsey, Carla Valentine, Susan Edwards Martin, Davey Johnson, David Errigo, Wayne Wilderson, Perry Brown, Ryan Phillips.

Playing Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m.

http://buzzworks.com

Moving Arts announces its  inaugural play reading series “Season’s Readings” A thrilling new reading series created to connect audiences with new works Moving Arts is excited to share, during a valuable phase in the path towards a possible full production.

Season’s Reading will be held during the day on two consecutive Saturdays, May 12th & May 19th at Harmony Toluca Lake. With the help of the DCA we are pleased to be able to offer all tickets to Season’s Readings absolutely free.

Saturday, May 12th we will be presenting Early Birds by Dana Schwartz, and Eight Nights by Jennifer Maisel.

Saturday, May 19th we will be presenting The Escape Thingy by Deb Hiett, Model Minority by Chloé Hung, and Uptown by Dan Steele.

Four of these playwrights are alumni of the Moving Arts new play development program: MADlab, which is currently in its 5th year.

http://movingarts.org/

IAMA concludes its 10th anniversary season with the final installment of Leslye Headland’s viciously funny “Seven Deadly Plays” cycle: a black comedy that explores the sin of “pride.” Annie Tippe directs the world premiere of Cult of Love, a powerful look at one family’s feverish clash over who is right — and who is crazy. Previews begin May 18, with the press opening scheduled for Thursday, May 24. Performances will continue through June 24 at Atwater Village Theatre.

In Cult of Love, the Dahl family has gathered to celebrate Christmas in their rural Connecticut home. Raised as strict Christians and overachievers, the four adult children (along with their partners) have grown into varying degrees of belief and success. Their initially joyful reunion quickly reveals an American family riddled with competition, xenophobia and mental illness.

“I wrote this play seven years after the first six in the series, so it’s very different from the others,” explains Headland. “The play tackles being raised in a religious home and how that affects us in adulthood. Pride is the sin that most people don’t think they have, but are most guilty of. Anyone convinced that they know the ‘answer,’ that they are right and everyone else is wrong, is guilty of pride.”

According to Tippe, Cult of Love is an intimate portrait of a closely-knit family forced to confront their differences as the children grow apart from their parents, their religion and one another.

“When difficult conversations and conflict are avoided in the name of love, resentments are left to fester,” she says. “This play offers a hard look at how love unattended can become toxic. Yet it’s obvious that Leslye loves these characters deeply. Their interactions are as incredibly funny and joyful as they are harrowing.”

Each of the “deadly” plays reframes an ancient sin in the context of contemporary culture. The first six, all produced and premiered by IAMA, include Cinephilia (“lust”), in which two cinephiles cling to their obsessions with film and sex as a way to validate their relationship; Bachelorette (“gluttony”), a wicked black comedy about female friendship and growing up in an age of excess; Surfer Girl (“sloth”), one woman’s haunting recount of her transient voyager lifestyle, from one idolized couch to the next; Assistance (“greed”), a biting, high-octane satire about our attraction to power and what we’re willing to sacrifice to stay in its orbit; Reverb (“wrath”), in which history threatens to repeat itself as troubled lovers purge mutual pain by inflicting it on each other; and The Accidental Blonde (“envy”), a disturbingly humorous look at jealousy, work and success in the cyber-stalking generation. A film adaptation of Bachelorette, written and directed by Headland, starred Kirsten Dunst and Rebel Wilson and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Headland’s other film credits include writing/directing Sleeping with Other People and penning the remake of About Last Night. TV credits include pilots for HBO, Netflix and NBC, Terriers, Blunt Talk, SMILF and the upcoming reboot of Heathers. She is currently in production for the Netflix series Russian Doll, which she co-created with Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler.

“Producing the first six of Leslye’s ‘Seven Deadly Plays’ helped define IAMA’s voice,” proclaim company co-artistic directors Stefanie Black, Christian Durso and Katie Lowes. “We are thrilled to complete the series which started IAMA by sharing the seventh powerful play with our Los Angeles audience in honor of our tenth anniversary season.”

Cult of Love opens on Thursday, May 24 at 8 p.m., with performances thereafter taking place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. through June 24. Three preview performances take place May 18 through May 20 on the same schedule. All tickets are $35, except May 24 (opening night) for which tickets are $40 and include a post performance reception, and previews, which are $20. Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave in Los Angeles, CA 90039. Parking is free in the Atwater Xing lot one block south of the theater. For reservations and information, call 323-380-8843 or go to www.iamatheatre.com.

YOU ARE THE BLOOD by Ashley Rose Wellman

Directed by Christopher James Raymond

Shelby Boden is a cynical stand-up comedian trying to survive in the shadow of her father, a man who’s done bad, bad things. When she discovers that her father is marrying Sylvia, an eccentric young performance artist that writes to criminals, morbid curiosity leads these two women to develop a strange, charged friendship. With the looming and dangerous presence of the bloodshed in their bloodline, the entire Boden family is left contending with damages that could be irreparable.

Writer Bio
Ashley Rose Wellman is a Los Angeles playwright with an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts. Her plays have been read and/or produced at Pasadena Playhouse, Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles (EST/LA), Rogue Machine Theatre, TossPot Productions, Midnight Summit Ensemble, Red Cup Theatre Company, the Last Frontier Theatre Conference PlayLab and Mainstage, and the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Her play You Are The Blood was named a Finalist for the 2017 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, a Finalist for the Blue Ink Playwriting Award, and a Semi-Finalist for the 2017 Princess Grace/New Dramatists Award. Her play Hot Tragic Dead Thing is a current Finalist for the 2018 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, and her play That Long Damn Dark was a Semi-Finalist for the 2016 O’Neill. She is a member of the New West Writers Group at EST/LA, and is a founding member of the Barelight Writers Project.

Twitter & Instagram:  @TheBlankTheatre  theblanktheatre  #BlankLRS #LRS #TheBlank

Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/events/2006873362898193/

I’M TOO FAT FOR THIS SHOW
written and performed by Kate Huffman
Directed by Scout Durwood

When: May 23rd & 30th 8pm

Following her international sold-out tour, Kate Huffman (Fresh Off the Boat, Castle) is bringing “one of the most commanding solo shows around today” back to Los Angeles for two final shows. This shockingly hilarious, brutally honest solo show covers decades of OCD and eating disorders, but with comedic precision, it defies preconceived notions and connects performer and audience in the mutually experienced dilemma that is LIFE. 18 characters, multi-media effects, and gut-busting humor allow all people with any kind of neuroses or negative self-talk to laugh at themselves.

WINNER of the Hollywood Fringe Festival’s Encore Producer’s Award and nominee for both the Soaring Solo Award and a Valley Theatre Award, the show speaks to #MeToo by examining the overlap between body objectification and sexual harassment, thus offering a new and honest look at body image and eating disorders. And thanks to the witty and brilliantly executed comedy, Huffman manages to tear down dividing walls of shame and silence and connect.

AUDIENCE REACTION:
“Must be seen by everyone, no matter sex, age or career.”
”A masterpiece of courage, self-assessment, and truth.”
“I don’t think I’m the same person after seeing it!”
“A moving experience and very, very, very funny.”
“One of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen.”
“The STAR QUALITY you find in performers just having fun up there… INFECTIOUS.”
“You can’t leave without reflecting on the universal experience of being a woman in this society.”
“THIS IS HOW IDEAS SHOULD BE SHARED.”

katehuffman.com
https://www.facebook.com/ImTooFatforThisShow/

Boston Court Pasadena presents the West Coast premiere of Her Portmanteau written by Mfoniso Udofia and directed by Gregg T. Daniel.

In Her Portmanteau, a family rifles through their literal and emotional baggage in this taut and poignant drama about relatives, legacy, and connection. This family drama, penned by first generation Nigerian-American storyteller Mfoniso Udofia, chronicles the triumphs and struggles of a tenacious matriarch and two daughters. The mother and one of her daughters have called the United States home for many years. And the other daughter’s arrival raises heart-wrenching questions about the power of place, family bonds, and how we define our relationships over space and time. Director Gregg T. Daniel adds, “Mfoniso’s play is a moving examination of the decisions we make and the consequences of those decisions.”

The production stars Joyce Guy (Abasiama), Omozé Idehenre (Adiaha) and Délé Ogundrian (Iniabasi).

Previews: May 24 – June 1, opens Saturday, June 2 at 8:00pm

Plays Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00pm; Sundays at 2:00pm

PUBlic Discourse Night: Thursday, June 7 (all tickets include a drink token for T. Boyle’s Pub to enjoy after the show)

Community Matinee: Saturday, June 9 (all tickets for the 2pm performance are $5)

BostonCourtPasadena.org

@bostoncourt

Skylight Theatre Company Launches a Second World Premiere this Season:
Hostage by Michelle Kholos Brooks, directed by Elina de Santos

Worlds collide in this drama, revisiting the backlash that a family endures when it has the courage to make the political become very personal. Based on true events, a mother deals with the aftermath of traveling to Tehran to gain the release of her son, a marine held captive during the Iran hostage crisis.

In our increasingly polarized society, perhaps there is inspiration to be gathered from the idealism of an everyday person,” says Michelle Kholos Brooks. “A mother, having the courage to stand outside politics for the love of her son.”

Michelle Kholos Brooks is an award-winning playwright whose work is currently being staged across the U.S. and Canada. Hostage was a finalist for the Woodward/Newman Drama Award, the Fratti Newman Political Play Contest, and was a Showcase finalist for the National New Play Network. Hitler’s Tasters, winner of the 2017 Susan Glaspell Award, made its world premiere at Centenary Stage Company this year, and will be produced by New Light Theatre Project in New York, October 2018. Kalamazoo, co-written with Kelly Younger, won the 2014 Riva Shiner Comedy Award, Bloomington Playwrights Project. It has been published by Dramatists Play Service and produced across the country. Family Planning made its world premiere at the Colony Theatre and was a finalist for the 2014 Riva Shiner Comedy Award. Chair was a finalist for the Firehouse Theatre’s Festival of New American Plays.

The cast includes Vaneh Assadourian (Tehran Mary), Jack Clinton (Kenny), Zachary Grant (Kevin), Christopher Hoffman (Richard), Tracie Lockwood (as Barbara), and Satair Pouvasei (Ebrahim)

Skylight continues their popular series, “Beyond Conversation.” The weekly post Sunday matinee discussion panels allow audiences to gain deeper insights into the contemporary themes of the play. Curated by Josh Gershick, scheduled topics include: Women of the Revolution: 40 Years Later, How Hollywood Affects Our Perception of Muslims, Tehrangeles: Iranians in Los Angeles, and more.  Full list of guest speakers, dates and topics on Skylight’s website: www.skylighttheatre.org

HOSTAGE opens at 8:30pm on Saturday, May 26th and continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30pm; 2:00pm on Sundays; and 8:00pm on Mondays through June 24, 2018.

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