Announcing: Elephant Theatre Company Presents ‘The North Plan’ by Jason Wells, Opening April 27 at 8pm

ELEPHANT THEATRE COMPANY
PRESENTS THE LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF
THE NORTH PLAN BY JASON WELLS
DIRECTED BY DAVID FOFI

SECOND PLAY OF 2013 SEASON
OPENS APRIL 26 AT THE ELEPHANT SPACE

The critically acclaimed, award-winning Elephant Theatre Company continues its 17th season with the Los Angeles premiere of The North Plan by Jason Wells, directed by Elephant Co-Artistic Director David Fofi. Preview performances begin Wednesday, April 24, and opening night is set for Saturday, April 27. The North Plan will run through June 1.

When a ruthless splinter group seizes power in Washington, a bureaucrat for the State Department runs off with the new regime’s top-secret Enemies List. With Department of Homeland Security agents trailing him, he finds himself trapped in a police station in a small Missouri town. His last hope for survival is in the people around him: an unsympathetic police chief, an ambivalent administrative assistant, and a fellow prisoner ­ a motor-mouthed local who’s turned herself in for drunk driving. The North Plan is a sharp, dark, dystopian comedy set in the here and now.

Playwright Jason Wells is a winner of the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award, and a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/New Play Award, both from the American Theatre Critics Association. His other plays include Men of Tortuga and Perfect Mendacity. The North Plan debuted at Steppenwolf’s First Look in Chicago in 2010, and had its official world premiere at Portland Center Stage in Oregon. Of the play, the Chicago Tribune said, “A black and darkly entertaining comedy … fun, smart, involving, and just disturbing enough for a Saturday night on the town.”

The cast of The North Plan will feature (in alphabetical order) Kerry Carney, John Forest, Chris Game, Gregory Hoyt, Dominic Rains, Stan Roth, Bernadette Speakes, and Salvator Xuereb. The design team includes Joel Daavid (set), Matt Richter (lighting and sound), and Michael Mullen (costumes). Rebecca Schoenberg is the production stage manager, and Lindsay Allbaugh serves as producer.

There will be three lower-priced preview performances of The North Plan on Wednesday, April 24, Thursday, April 25, and Friday, April 26 at 8pm, and opening is Saturday, April 27 at 8pm. The regular running schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, through June 1 only. Tickets for previews are $20, regular performances are $25, and opening night tickets are $35 (which include a post-performance reception with the cast). The Thursday, May 2 performance will be ‘Pay What You Can.’ Also, there will be an added ‘Play Care’ performance on Saturday, May 25 at 2pm, at which parents can bring their kids, who will be looked after by experienced child caregivers (at no extra charge), while the parents watch the show.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.ElephantTheatre.org, or via phone at (855) NO-FORGET [663-6743]. For more information on the Elephant Theatre Company, visit www.ElephantTheatre.org. Visit the Elephant on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @elephanttheatre.

The Elephant Space is located at 6322 Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of Vine, in Hollywood. Street parking is available.

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04-08-13

Announcing: World Premiere of “Alabama Baggage” Opens March 9 at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood

WORLD PREMIERE DRAMA
ALABAMA BAGGAGE BY BUDDY FARMER
DIRECTED BY PAUL MESSINGER
SET FOR SIX-WEEK RUN AT THEATRE ASYLUM
OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 9

LuluBelle Productions is set to present the world premiere of Alabama Baggage, a new drama written by Buddy Farmer, and directed by Paul Messinger, at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood. There will be one preview on Friday, March 8, and opening is Saturday, March 9 at 8pm, and Alabama Baggage will play a six-week engagement through April 14 only.

In a small town, in the wee hours of the night, a chance encounter between two strangers in a graveyard will forever change their lives. When buried secrets are unearthed, shattering revelations have them questioning what they each thought they knew to be true. Alabama Baggage draws a fine line between life and death, as it examines mercy, forgiveness, revenge and redemption.

Playwright Buddy Farmer made his living as an actor in theatre, film, and television for over 20 years, and began writing and directing plays in 2003. His first play, Coaches: Off the Bench with Knute, Vince, and The Bear received critical acclaim in Los Angeles and on its subsequent tour. Farmer later adapted the Knute section of that play into a TV mini-series; that adaptation became the basis for the book he wrote for the new musical Knute Rockne, All American, which opened last year just outside of Chicago, garnering rave reviews and several Jeff Award nominations. His next project is a musical adaptation of his one-act play The Viagra Monologues.

Paul Messinger has worked as a director in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and various places in between. He has worked on children’s shows (The Christmas Princess), high dramas (Gentle Passage), and comedies (Ledge), among others. He also has an active career as an actor in episodics and commercials. Messinger serves as the director’s unit head for Fierce Backbone.

The cast of Alabama Baggage will feature (in alphabetical order) Will Blagrove, John Combs, Jody Fasanella, William Jones, and Ashley McGee. The set design is by Bill Cole, lighting design is by Leigh Allen, and costume design is by Shannon Kennedy. The stage manager is Ashley Koenig. Alabama Baggage is presented by LuluBelle Productions, and produced by Theatre Planners.

There will be one preview performance on Friday, March 8 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, March 9 at 8pm. Admission is $15 for the preview, and $25 for all regular performances. The running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm through April 14 only. Tickets are on sale now, and may be purchased online at www.plays411.com/baggage, or by calling (323) 960-7711.

Theatre Asylum is located at 6320 Santa Monica Boulevard, in Hollywood. Street parking is available.

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02-20-13

Announcing: World Premiere of “Therapy” by Jeff Bernhardt at Secret Rose Theatre, Opens March 2

WORLD PREMIERE OF
THERAPY
A NEW DRAMA BY JEFF BERNHARDT
SET FOR LIMITED RUN AT SECRET ROSE THEATRE
OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 2
FOR THREE WEEKS ONLY

Eleventh Street Productions in association with the Secret Rose Theatre has announced a limited engagement of Therapy, a new drama written and directed by Jeff Bernhardt, at the Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood. Opening is set for Saturday, March 2 at 8pm, and Therapy will play a strictly limited engagement through March 17 only.

Therapy tells the story of three therapists and the patient who changes them. Moira, Sandra, and Steven are the therapists, each with his/her own therapeutic style. When a new client, Lance, comes to Steven for all the wrong reasons, the emotional roller coaster ride begins, revealing unexpected connections and relationships. Therapy is a play about what happens when the professional world and the personal world collide, especially for the very people whose job it is to keep them separate.

Jeff Bernhardt is a writer, educator, and licensed clinical social worker. Bernhardt’s play Mixed Blessings had its world premiere in Los Angeles in January 2010, playing to sold-out houses. His book, On Sacred Ground, was published in 2012. Other writings have been published in the short story anthology Mentsh, as well as in the Los Angeles Times and the Journal of Jewish Communal Service. In addition, a number of his articles have appeared in The Jewish Journal, as well as other national publications. His dramatic readings Who Shall Live…?, Standing at Sinai, and Those Who Walked Beside Us have been performed throughout the United States.

The cast of Therapy will feature (in alphabetical order) Lynn Ann Leveridge, Marcie Lynn Ross, Luis Selgas, and Jed Sura. The set design is by Eloise Ayala, lighting design is by Brandon Hawkinson, and sound design is by Jeff Gardner. The stage manager is Jason Paul Evans.

Opening is set for Saturday, March 2 at 8pm. Admission is $25 for all performances. The regular running schedule is Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm, through March 17 only. Tickets are on sale now, and may be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/322663, or by calling (800) 838-3006. For information on group sales (15 or more), email jmbedsw@aol.com.

The Secret Rose Theatre is located in the NoHo Arts District at 11246 Magnolia Boulevard, in North Hollywood. Street parking is available, and there are several lots in the area.

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02-13-13