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.

Set in New York during the Jazz Age, this new adaptation tells the tragic tale of self-made millionaire Jay Gatsby. Consumed with desire for his former lover, Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby draws new neighbor Nick Carraway into his desperate pursuit to win her back—and into their world of lavish wealth, wild parties, and free-flowing liquor.

Saigon has fallen, and two Vietnamese refugees meet in an Arkansas relocation camp before setting out on a rip-roaring road trip across America. Qui Nguyen tells the hilarious and only slightly not-true version of how his parents met and built a life for themselves in a new land. Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA James Bridges Theater in February 2020.

Was it a failure of imagination that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs? An inability to cope with change? In Dinosaur Dreams, a dark comedy filled with extraordinary wit and insight, Szentgyorgyi explores how we deal with change and loss.

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."

The price of accidental fame is hashed out in this comedy about a famous bank robber and the clerk who foiled his biggest heist. Ayckbourn’s 1988 play anticipates the popularity - and absurdity - of reality TV. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring: Rosalind Ayres as Jill Rillington; Jane Carr as Trudy Parks; Kenneth Danziger as Douglas Beechey; Martin Jarvis as Vic Parks; Ian Oglivy as Kenny Collins; and Yeardley Smith as Sharon Giffin. Directed by Robert Robinson. Recorded before a live audience in Santa Monica, California in February, 1994.

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.

What does it mean to be pretty? Do you really need someone to validate your appearance? Neil LaBute tackles our obsession with physical beauty head-on in a work nominated for multiple Tony and Drama Desk Awards. Our production, directed by the playwright, includes original Broadway cast member Thomas Sadoski, whose acclaimed performance also earned aTony nomination. Includes a backstage conversation with Neil LaBute and the cast. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast production.

"One of Shaw's most enduring works, Pygmalion is an insightful comedy of class relations and perceptions, as played out between a Cockney flower girl and the irascible speech professor who has taken her on as a pet project.

In a contest of intellect and wills, Abby Gersten, a tenacious civil liberties attorney, defends a right-wing Holocaust denier, arguing her case against a young, committed Jewish federal prosecutor. But Abby may have to sacrifice everything to prove that Truth and Justice do not always go hand in hand. Performed by a full cast starring Stephanie Zimbalist, Harold Gould, and more.

This witty masterpiece combines high comedy with social commentary as it deflates romantic misconceptions of love and warfare. First produced on the London stage in 1894, Arms and the Man is one of the most frequently acted and studied of Shaw's plays.

Having returned from World War II, Eugene Jerome and his brother Stanley pair up to break into the world of professional comedy writing. Inspiration strikes when they aim their sights on their dysfunctional family - and the network broadcasts it nationwide!

One of America's great dramatists rocked the worlds of Broadway and Hollywood in this moving drama about a desperately self-destructive alcoholic actor and Georgie, his long-suffering wife. A searing, emotional play of love and redemption.

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.

The first child of the great astronomer Galileo entered a Tuscan convent in her teens. He’d taught her much about the heavens as a child, and during her years as a nun she remained scientifically curious while maintaining close contact with her father, even as the Catholic Church condemned him for promoting a sun-centered universe. Many of the letters she wrote to Galileo survive, and served as inspiration for Jessica Dickey’s play, which takes us on a freewheeling, time-shifting journey through Florence, Italy. The recording includes a conversation with author Jessica Dickey.

A cruel conqueror has captured the Spanish city of Fuente Ovejuna. As his reign of terror builds, the townspeople look within themselves to find the courage to overthrow him. The eminent Spanish playwright Lope de Vega based his best-known play on a historical incident that took place in 1476. Written in the early 17th century, the play remains a timely meditation on honor and selflessness in the face of oppression.

A scathing examination of a wealthy Southern family and the greed that tears them apart. Regina’s brothers have inherited their father’s wealth, while after years of neglect, her dying husband is determined to see she gets nothing. It will take every ounce of her ruthless guile to outwit her relations and assure herself a gilded future.

The epic sweep of Turgenev's 19th century literary masterpiece is brought to the stage by one of Ireland's greatest living dramatists. Fathers and Sons captures the ongoing clash of generations and philosophies. Set in a Russian country estate, Friel's powerful and resonant adaptation examines the inevitable conflict between the urgency of youth and the entrenchment of age.

In 1950s Houston, an affluent couple is transformed by tragedy when their son dies under mysterious circumstances and the husband loses his job of 40 years. Shirley Knight recreates her Tony-nominated performance in this 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.

Since 1959, Chicago's Second City improvisational comedy troupe has played a critical role in developing some of the most successful comedians in the United States and Canada. Comedians such as Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, James Belushi, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, and Richard Kind, to name a few, have all performed with The Second City.