DISPOSABLE NECESSITIES

Rogue Machine Theatre, holding forth in Venice at The Electric Lodge maintains their intimate romance with productions that challenge not only their audiences, but their teams of artists, as well.  Neil McGowan's World Premiere of Disposable Necessities is no exception. 

Darrett Sanders, Ann Noble, Billy Flynn and Jefferson Reid 

McGowan imagines a future where ... for a price.. one may simply slide the essence of one's self into a new body: a new 'module' and there in lies the tale.  We can almost hear the voice of Rod Serling as the story unfolds. "This is the dimension of imagination. " 

Once one agrees to accept the premise that in the year 2095 or so.. It's unclear exactly how far into the future McGowan has transported us...  Christine Cove Ferro's clever costumes and the conceit that humans may shop at their local Life Forever Industires for new and improved "modules" comes easily to life.  That "modules" may be reactivated to contain essentially the 'soul' of the shopper, we are thrust into a world that stands on the shoulders of the world we live in today.  We identify ourselves to one another with a simple exchange of taps: one hand to another.

Novelist Daniel Totten (excellent Darrett Sanders)

simply taps his temple to activate a projection screen and by 'swiping' with his fingers in the air, he may recall images of past modules: his family in happy times. His implanted hearing device blocks external sounds to enjoy virtually any music at any time. It's the  implanted internet: always on line.

This topsy turvy world turns again when Alice Totten (Billy Flynn) arrives. It's unclear at first  that this man, twenty years Daniel's junior, is actually Daniel's wife. Al is the mother of his children, Chadwick (hilarious Jefferson Reid) and Dee (angry Ann Noble) from years ago when she had a functioning female body, of course.  We learn that Alice has transferred into the body of a young man for professional reasons.  Why Daniel, a successful novelist with a canon of books popular some fifty years ago has agreed to such a switch is enough to make a heterosexual male squrim. Now in his current module,  in his fifties, Daniel, for health reasons, has been forced to go 'on the wagon,' an issue that vaguely becomes a motivation for later events.  Each of McGowan's characters is self contained and with the exception of Dee,  is even blasé when it comes to simply 'youthening' by switching modules. 

Claire Blackwelder and Darrett Sanders

 We meet Philip Faine (sexy  Claire Blackwelder) Daniel's long time male pal stirring the pot with his introduction and announcement that living with a healthy Trust Fund has enabled him take a flyer and spend time living as the opposite sex! He enjoys himself immensely!

The question McGowan poses is, "Who (sic) would you like to be next?"  Director Guillermo Cienfuegos keeps his cast apace: all on the same page. The problem is how to resolve the issues of a troubled daughter, Dee, and to what extent is an 'eternal life' actually a good thing?  The play's attempt to resolve this issue dwindles with late exposition. A troubling 'deus ex machina' is introduced to bring the issue full circle.  In these days of re-examination of gender roles and self identification as male or female;  gay or straight or some other self identity that may even be fluid, the idea of how important youth and power based on one gender role or another deciding when is a good day to die, crash! Then things magically reignite with what becomes, to me,  a compromised conclusion. Should this story be all wrapped up in a neat little package?

Thought provoking and well done for what it is, it's up to the audience to decide if a trip to LFI might be an answer. Whom would you be next?

Photos by John Perrin Flynn

Disposable Necessities 

by Neil McGowan 

Directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos

Rogue Machine Theatre

(in the Electric Lodge)

1416 Electric Ave

Venice, CA 90291

Opening at 8pm on December 14, 2019

Sunday 12/15 3pm, 

Monday 12/16 8pm

(No performances 12/20-12/28)

Sunday 12/29 7pm

Monday 12/30 8pm

Schedule 2020: 

Saturday 1/4 8pm, 

Sunday 1/5 7pm, 

Monday 1/6 8pm

Continuing Saturdays at 5pm, 

Sunday at 7pm, 

Mondays at 8pm

(No performance on Monday, 1/13)

Through February 3, 2020 

Tickets and information:

Reservations: 855-585-5185  

http://www.roguemachinetheatre.com

 

EAST WEST SUGAR PLUM

For listeners to KPCC 89.3 FM, the name of Sandra Tsing Loh may be familiar. Her off the wall  commentary, just the sound of her voice, always bring a smile.  

Guess Who?  photo by Jenny Graham

As I thought of clever ways to tout this highly energetic romp, the lyrics of an often relevant  1960s song by The Young Bloods came to mind:

"Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another... "  Right Now!!

No sooner has Sandra Tsing Loh burst upon the venerable East West Players stage than she has the entire audience turning to one another to introduce ourselves.  We are all in this together! There is no escape! So... for goodness sakes let's have a party!  Audience participation and Loh's no holds barred narrative never flag.

With Shannon Holt and Tony Abatemarco (and  Friar McCollister as Frosty, the Snowman who warms up the audience with "Does it smell like carrots in here" jokes)  Loh bounces joyfully through the story of her desire as a little girl to take part in a local production of The Nutcracker. Holt and Abatemarco bring her other characters to life in such a way that if their having a great time is not infectious, there must be some Grinch in your DNA.

 

TonyAbatemarco, Shannon Holt, Sandra Tsing Loh  
 Photo by Jenny Graham

Make no mistake,  this show will include you and get your chestnuts roasting with undeniable energy bringing your Holiday Spirit to Life... Or Else!  

Directed by Bart DeLorenzo with super scenic design by Keith Mitchell and great costumes by Angela Calen, this is an opportunity, thanks to the wit (and wisdom?) of Sandra Tsing Loh, to launch the Season with Joy.  Take the Metro. Walk a block or two through Little Tokyo to save on parking and take in the local flavor of Los Angeles. 

Sugar 

Plum 

Fairy 

by Sandra Tsing Loh

East West Players

120 Judge John Aiso St. 

 Los Angeles, CA 90012

Thursdays through Sundays

Closes December 23, 2019 

Tickets and Information

 www.eastwestplayers.org

(213) 625-7000

UNRAVELED at the Sherry

NoHo hosts a handful of storefront theatres.  Having just lauded the wonderfulness of what these tiny spaces do for art and the theatre community, I was drawn to see a west coast premiere at The Sherry.

Jennifer Blackmer's "Unraveled"  brings reflections of sad stories that almost every person we know may face at one time or another. Time  marches on.  In fact, what may be the "illusion" of time emerges as the theme of the play. Joy (Meg Wallace) is a professor of Physics and Philosophy, an interesting mix that fuels the progress of the story.   Her opening speech turns on the idea that not unlike Billy Pilgrim in Vonnegut's "Slaughter House Five" we may slide back and forth in time, which she actually does,  encountering her mother at different episodes in their lives together. 

 Front: Meg Wallace, Carolyn Crotty  Rear: Kathy Bell Denton, Heidi Shon

Joy's elderly mother, George (Kathy Bell Denten) has been diagnosed with cancer  and suffers from chemotherapy induced dementia. When Joy is drawn back to her childhood we meet Young George: Carolyn Crotty.

As the story advances... and retreats in time, Joy travels  back to significant memories in her life. The closely bonded mother and daughter wind down the ever challenging road to the inevitable. 

Director Steve Jarrard shows great empathy for Blackmer's story.  It's evident that the level of experience of each of the cast members varies considerably.. Anna (Heidi Shon), the nurse caretaker for the elderly George, moves smoothly. More static is Michael, Joy's assistant/lover  (Drew Lee Davis Wheeler).

Unraveled by Jennifer Blackmer

The Sherry Theater

11052 Magnolia Blvd.

North Hollywood, CA 91601

Nov. 15-Dec. 8

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 7 p.m.

Tickets and Information: 

(323) 860-6569

https://unraveled.bpt.me

 www.collaborativeartistsensemble.com

SALVAGE at The Lounge

There's something to be said for Tim Alderson who, after fifteen years of fermentation,  rounded up some pals and put on a show. By his own admission, he is not a playwright. However, there's the bones of something happening here.

In my recollection, it may have been Hoyt Axton at The Troubadour  who went through a pint  of Southern Comfort while on stage. And, for sure, Janis Joplin was known for her love of that sweet spirit.  It's powerful stuff. When Preacher (David Atkinson) enters from the john, unplugs the juke box where Floyd Whitaker's "Rise from the Ruins" may have been played a hundred times or more in Johnson's dusty bar, he returns to his table where his custom Martin D-45 accompanies a mostly empty bottle of Southern Comfort.  Having watched Hoyt deal with a pint, I wondered how the man managed to stay vertical.  

Leonard Earl Howze, Christopher Fordinal, David Atkinson

There's a beauty of an old Epiphone hanging on the wall.  It may have belonged to the legendary Floyd Whittiaker?  Salvage is a dive bar where Mr. Johnson (over the top Leonard Earl Howze) grumbles in the otherwise empty joint.  Preacher's opening song "I'm So Tired of It All" won't be hitting the charts any time soon, but it is heartfelt, even if shy a notch or two from Kris Kristofferson. 

À la recherche du temps perdu, to coin a phrase, unfolds.  In search of lost times. The past.

The dust and memories of Preacher are brightly interrupted when a kid with a chipboard guitar case, Harley (Christopher Fordinale), literally bursts through the door and asks in a louder voice than either Johnson or Preacher are prepared to handle, "Is this the bar where Floyd Whittaker killed himself!?"   

Thus unfolds a tale of tragedy and hope.  Uninvited, Harley, pulls his more basic Martin out of its modest case and makes an effort to jam with the crusty old Preacher's walkin' blues  lament.  He fails. 

Undaunted, Harley manages to open to the older man and reluctantly, stories begin.  

Harley's wife, Destiny (Nina Herzog)

Christopher Fordinal, Nina Herzog Photos By Ed Krieger

shows up and learns that Harley is on his way to the pawn shop to hock his Martin (that took him three years to save up to buy) in order to be a responsible father.  Depending on your vocabulary, one might mistake Fate for Destiny.  Without making  a big deal out of it, we see that Destiny refers to following one's own pathway while Fate is more simply just what happens. Destiny, Harley's wife, is more than just a gal with whom Harley has chosen to make a life. Destiny is a sign post, the mother of their expected child soon to arrive. The turn of events discloses how the lives of Johnson, Preacher and Harley and Destiny all come together at the crossroads of the Salvage Bar. 

Preacher talks about 'redemption'.. a nickel for an empty Lone Star bottle and maybe the redemption of a soul, though the ending of this play still leaves some questions.  

Imperfect in a perfect way, I'd have moved the action of the entire show back up stage about eight feet.  Sight lines.  Fine performances deserve an audience.  This is a world premiere worth sitting in on. 

SALVAGE by Tim Alderson

A World Premiere
Directed by Damian D. Lewis

The Lounge Theatre 

6201 Santa Monica Blvd 

Los Angeles, CA 90038

Opened Saturday, November 16, 2019

Runs 8pm Fridays & Saturdays

3pm on Sundays 

Closing:December 15, 2019

Tickets and Information:

323-960-7712 

or www.Onstage411.com/Salvage 

 

Great Bad Habits

Shoebox, hat box, store front, sardine can?  All the names of little theatre spaces that have popped up in Los Angeles come to mind as we are shoe horned into the Ruskin at the Santa Monica Airport.  This is the heart of what theatre, to me, is all about.  

Most of what I know about Catholic nuns has been through art and theatre and the movies.  Christopher Durang's "Sister Ignatius Explains it All for You" went up with "The Actor's Nightmare" years ago and that was a revelation. Amy Adams and ever lovin' Meryl Streep cast "Doubt" into the world while Whoopi Goldberg rocked "Sister Act."  The only nun I ever met was Corita Kent after she had left Immaculate Heart and her world of teaching. She may have been a living saint.  In Stephen Mazur's mostly comic play the nuns are real people, each with a story.

 

Alley Mills, Jacquelin Lorraine Schofield, Jacquelynne Fontaine, Mouchette van Helsdingen, Lee Garlington                               Photo by Ed Krieger

When we meet Sister Helga ( Mouchette van Helsdingen), Sister Anthea (Jacquelin Lorraine Schofield), Sister Maggie (Lee Garlington), Sister Claire (Jacquelynne Fontaine) and the Mother Superior (Alley Mills) at St. Cyril's the atmosphere is a bit relaxed (after the business with the snakes or the gas or whatever it was), but the stereotypes still ring true with a twist.  The Sisters are a mixed bag: a little nip, a little drag, a smartypants, a musician living and teaching in  a convent in trouble. 

The elementary school that the nuns maintain is in a dicey part of town.  Planning for a Christmas Pageant is on the docket but the diocese isn't much interested in forking over funds to help keep the school alive. 

In a very episodic trip from the convent to  the office of the spunky old bishop, Father Theodore (if Meryl is "everlovin'" Orson Bean is double that with a twist!) who loves the bread baked by St. Cyril's nuns daily but is not inclined to be of much help. 

Mazur's episodic script includes a few too many short scenes and an intermission. Reducing some of the 'olios' that feature cute character exposition and just getting the story told with no intermission may keep the narrative rolling.

It's a dark and stormy night when Maria (Heaven sent Kelsey Griswold) collapses at the door of the convent and melds into the Christmas plot slightly predictably She has the voice of an angel and becomes the catalyst for dealing with the cranky old bishop. 

With movie and television credits, Mazur's story is apt and fun with audience participation whether we want to or not, which may be a Catholic tradition.  Every character has a personal story to tell and the result is a charming couple of hours with a Christmas surprise.  Of course, heading out to the Santa Monica Airport is worth the journey that will send an audience into the night with a smile and a huge laugh as it all resolves, including the curtain call.

Alley Mills and Orson Bean Photo by Ed Krieger

Full   disclosure. I met Orson Bean years ago and have loved his stories and his hundreds of appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.. and maybe Jay Leno.  With his wife, Alley Mills, the two of them banter like anything as the Mother Superior and Father Theodore lock horns.  This charming couple ignites the evening.
 ******
Friday, February 7, 2020
It is with great sadness that I learned that Orson Bean has died just outside the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice. He was quintessenntially unique, present, funny and kind.  At the age of 91, he and Alley closed this show they helped to produce just two weeks ago.  Sincere condolences to all who knew him.  Flights of Angels..

BAD HABITS by Stephen Mazur

A World Premiere

Directed by Mike Reilly 

Opening at 8pm on Friday, November22, 2019  8PM Fridays and Saturdays 

 2pm on Sundays

Through January 26, 2020

 (No performances Nov 29 & 30; Dec 27 -Dec 29,2019;Jan3 -Jan 5,2020) 

Ruskin Group Theatre

 3000 Airport Avenue

 Santa Monica, CA 90405

Tickets and Information:  

(310) 397 3244 

http://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com

 

BURIED CHILD / A NOISE WITHIN

It has taken me a week to ponder and digest the current  production of Sam Shepard's 1979 Pulitzer Prize winning  play "Buried Child" at A Noise Within in Pasadena.  The elements are engaging and knowing some of the circumstances of Shepard's life: his childhood and his passions interfere a bit with getting a solid take on director Julia Roderiquez-Elliott's production.  I've read that this production may not be the same script as the original.

Unfortunately, I've learned that ANW company stalwart, Apollo Dukakis, who portrayed  Father Dewis, the apologetic paramour of Halie (wonderful Deborah Strang) in the play has left the cast.  In the performance I attended, Father Dewis in what may have been a missed cue, took a violent fall to the floor.  Dukakis continued and finished the show, but his tumble put him out of the play, which is a shame.

Apollo Dukakis, Frederick Stuart, Deborah Strang, Geoff Elliott Photo by Craig Schwartz

Siblyl Wickersheimer's appropriate set is seedy and reflective of the dire situation at hand.  Dodge (Geoff Elliott) is dying. For reasons that are unclear, a reading lamp shines directly into the eyes of the audience. Dodge sits, sneaking shots from a concealed bottle and shouting back and forth with Halie who is upstairs preparing for her tryst with Father Dewis. 

Shepard's symbols that lead to Dodge's unapologetic revelation of the disposal of an unwanted child, which may have been the result of an incestuous connection between his son Tilden (Michael Manuel) and Halie  are vague but revealing. Tilden has suffered a trauma: never explained,  that has returned him from New Mexico  back to the family farm in Illinois. His entrance with an armful of corn that has mysteriously appeared behind the house when Dodge declares that there have been no crops since 1935, shows both his physical and mental infirmity.  Time slips and slides.

Another brother, Bradley (Frederick Stuart) comes to cut Dodge's hair.  Bradley has, inexplicably, cut off his own leg with a chain saw, leaving him sporting a wooden prosthesis. The haircut literally wounds Dodge. Talk of a statue for a third son, Ansle, now dead, shows that the other sons have never been favored by Halie.

The depths of Shepard's issues with his own father and the symbolic destruction of Dodge, wasting away, but still the heavy handed patriarch, expand with the arrival of Tilden's son,  Vince (Zach Kenney) and his floozy girlfriend Shelley (Angela Gulner).  They have stopped by on their way to New Mexico where they expected to find Tilden. Initially, Dodge denies knowing Vince, but in time not only recognizes his grandson but as Dodge lays dying, bequeaths the house and in an eloquesnt laundry list some of the equipment to the boy. This then, anchors Vince to the land.

In an unexplained turn, Vince heads off with Dodge's money to secure a "bottle" for him. Meanwhile, Shelley declares in an obtuse way that she may belong here after all. When Vince returns, drunk and raging, the original script called for him to cut through a screen and destroy it when eventually entering the house. In Rodriguerez-Elliott's version, he climbs through a window.  

The archetypes that the Shepard provides: The patriarch, the matriarch, the prodigal son, the virgin/whore, the innocent/guilty son, the bully, the failure of religion.. are all fodder for heavy discussion. Reading the text and comparing it to the production at A Noise Within is enlightening and helpful. In all, the powerhouse performance of Strang's Halie and Dukakis's subtle approach to Dewis,  bring their characters fully to life.  Not to say the others are not doing good work, but this piece calls for a visceral commitment that Halie and Dewis project in the most committed way. 

Buried Child by Sam Shepard

A Noise Within

 3352 E. Foothill Blvd.

Pasadena, CA 

Through November 23, 2019

WAITING FOR WAITNG FOR GODOT.. Sacred Fools

Tonight I had the great good fortune to see old friends, Jenny O'Hara and her husband, Nick Ullett. Jenny is the first recipient of the coveted though never before awarded Sheehan Prize  for her outstanding work as an actor in the recent Fountain Theatre production of "Daniel's Husband" as well as creating the role of the loopy lady in Stephen Sachs' "Bakersfield Mist." Seeing the Ulletts was just a bonus to seeing this terrific show at the Broadwater. Jenny is up for some Ovation Awards, so I decided to just scoop them and laud her first! Congratulations, Jenny O'Hara!

Having reviewed Bill Irwin's "On Beckett" at the Kirk Douglas recently and being a fan of Waiting for Godot, I arrived ready to be entertained. Just the premise made me smile. Understudies on hand, in costume (more or less) andwaiting for their opportunity to shine. 

 Playwright, Dave Hanson's script, has captured the essence of the original Godot.  (Irwin pronounces it "God O"). The understudies Bruno Oliver as Ester and Joe Hernandez-Kolski as Val present pretty much as Laurel and Hardy and then chew the scenery in various ways, moving their essence of Godot along with similar angst.  These actors await The Director to show up to tell them it's their turn to go on. Val's Aunt Mary has come to every performance to support him and Val so wants to make her proud.  The actors wait. They don't go on. They should go. They stay. 

(L to R) Joe Hernandez-Kolski and Bruno Oliver. Photo by Jessica Sherman Photography

Banter and hijinx prevail without a hitch including some Buster Keaton moves with a way too small vest that vexs Ester throughout the show.  

We are taken to school by the intrusion of ASM (assistant stage manager)  Laura (deliberately low key Julie Marcino) who basically declares that actors are simply "deaf puppets" who become tools to the wonderfulness of what she does: calling the show!  To demonstrate how easy 'acting' is, Laura reads light cues to bring home the fact that backstage is equally important to those on the stage who strut and bellow.  

To demonstrate how an "actor prepares", Ester first becomes a gorilla: declaring that Brando may have prepared in a similar way,  emerging as Kowalski. then On the Waterfront, romping  through the gamut of not only many of Brando's roles, but famous lines from every movie you have ever seen in your life and then some.  Brilliant. 

I have a special place in my heart for store front theatre. The mostly grubby 'Theatre Row" area on Santa Monica west of Vine hosts speeding drivers laying rubber; honking impatiently from time to time. But!...  inside: the temple:  the exposed brick wall. The set by Aaron Francis, I was told, is the actual dressing room from the original Heliotrope Theatre that Sacred Fools used when founding the company.  Director Jacob Sidney has this essentially two hander well under control as it bustles a pace. This tight full length one act will charm fans of Samuel Beckett with familiar references and might introduce Godot to folks who may not have heard the good news.  

WFWFGodot is a must see. Parking is tough. The corner of Lillian and Santa Monica may have a number of productions going on at the same time, so plan to go early. The fancy bar on the corner looks terrific.

WAITING FOR WAITNG FOR GODOT

by Dave Hanson

West Coast premiere

Sacred Fools 

Broadwater Second Stage

Lillian and Santa Monica

Hollywood, CA 90038

Through December 14, 2019

Tickets and Information

sfreservations@sacredfools.org

All tickets $15.00.. period.

2044? The Actors' Gang / Tim Robbins

 

Bob Turton, Tim Robbins, Will Thomas McFadden a…shley Randall

A world in constant conflict? 

Dystopia? 

Dystopian:  adj: "relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice."

or

n. "a person who imagines or foresees a state or society where there is great suffering or injustice."

Google it! It's just a click away. Or, are we living in Dystopia today? Certainly, George Orwell.. at least in his writing of 1984 was a 'dystopian.'

In 1949, Orwell,  at the age of 46, foresaw twenty-five years into the future.   Rejected for military service in WWII. He was a middle aged Brit who feared for his country and for the world.   In 1945 he published "Animal Farm", a biting satire imagining a society where some animals were more equal than others. What a concept!

The foreshadowing that Orwell brings in Michael Gene Sullivan's excellent adaptation for the stage in no small portion echoes our world in 2019. 

Of course, we all recall: Big Brother!   

The torture of Winston Smith.  

A revolution resisting and under attack as an entire society falls under 24/7 surveillance.  

"Reason" to one person is not Reason to another. 

Old friends at each others' throats for core beliefs that have been somehow skewed.  

Torture. 

Indoctrination. 

"How many fingers am I holding up?" asks O'Brian to Smith.

The relentless barrage of propaganda in this Actors' Gang presentation, directed by Tim Robbins includes beautifully produced Breaking News Reports that boost the society of Big Brother. Hard to resist propaganda when backed by the Stars and Stripes, the proof that the story is real.

This Actors' Gang presentation is more than simply a play.  It's an immersive experience that involves the audience subjectively as well as objectively. It reflects a somewhat uncomfortable world from which we have just arrived right outside the theatre. The chilly parallel may be just a bit too real.

Two huge video screens at either end of the empty space present an ever changing 'eye' that watches us.  Four smaller 'telescreens' come to life as the voice of the mysterious O'Brian  booms.  Four Party Members (Tom Szymanski, Ethan Corn, Guebri VonOver and Bob Turton)  carry copies of Smith's dossier, his self damning diary. In time each PM will portray many different characters from Smith's confiscated diary.

Cihan Sahin's professionally produced telescreen commercials and news reports overwhelm us. The converted party members stand erect:  transfixed as the voice of O'Brian, booms or coddles from above.

To wax poetic seems at counter point to the dread predictions from seventy years gone by. Orwell,  a brilliant satirist, saw something in his crystal ball that the world is seeing now come to fruition. And, we're not done yet.  In 2019, thirty-five years post 1984, facial recognition has pegged me without my permission on Facebook. TSA "Security" at the airport becomes a nightmare if you dare to question authority.  Who are the Fascists?  

It might be like that old Pogo comic strip, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

What Robbins and his Actors' Gang do with this version of Orwell's 1984 (they have done this show many times in the past) employs new technology with old school Nuts and Bolts acting and directing.  As Winston Smith, Will Thomas McFadden, is discovered writhing in pain lying center stage;  the audience, inches from the action.  Party Members One, Two, Three and Four interrogate Smith in the Ministry of Love. Dressed in identical trim dark suits, no ties, these actors bring to life Smith's tormentors and morph to play a dozen others as the story progresses. 

Dedicated actors, the influence of style that smarts of Grotowski and Chaikin, quantum leap from Steven Kent and The Company Theatre allow deep character and text exploration at once bringing a chilling reality to life: allowing technique to shine without shame. 

This is not a fun show. The world around us today is literally on fire; questionable leadership in the USA finds us on a slippery slope, possibly circling the drain as a nation, though we are not completely the nation of Oceana ... yet.. The reminder that corrupt forces are not the stuff of fiction is what Robbins and The Actors' Gang bring to life and for those who care to see raw theatre done with perfection, supporting this prescient work should be a high priority. 

At the snack bar, the expensive treats are insulting. Chips at fifty bucks a pound!  

But, it goes to support the theatre. As it should. 

"1984" 

Adapted from George Orwell's novel by

Michael Gene Sullivan

Directed by Tim Robbins

The Actors' Gang

9070 Venice Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90232