Showing results by publisher "L.A. Theatre Works" in Drama & Plays

Razor-sharp wit inflames a competitive game of survival in the salons of 17th century France where, in this world of "finest appearances," one man's blunt honesty shatters his society's delicate web of manners. Often considered to be Moliere's Hamlet, this is a wickedly scathing satire.

A brand spanking new bedroom farce about three couples who say what they oughtn't, do what they shouldn't, and deliver terrific one-liners while doing it. Ben and Nancy have a midnight therapy session over some unfortunate pillow talk; Grace and Gene take surprising sides over the one-night-stand issue; and therapist Mark finds his romantic rendezvous with an older man rudely interrupted.

In this biting comedy of errors, the hapless Arnolphe is undone by his own double dealing and double standards. The School for Wives was first performed at the Palais Royal theatre on December 26, 1662, and is considered by many to be Moliere's masterpiece. Richard Wilbur's subtle verse translation illuminates the great master of comedy at his wittiest.

In Michael Hollinger’s look at the discordant backstage world of classical music, The Lazara Quartet has just fired one of its members, and his replacement is wary of the group’s reputation for personal, violent quarrels. And as they prepare for a command performance at the White House, they’re haunted by their former colleague’s sudden disappearance.

Fast-forward to 2076, the nation's Tri-Centennial, when guns are outlawed and displayed in the city zoo. Find out what happens when the last seven existing guns, including Billy the Kid's Colt.45 and Andrew Jackson's Dueling Pistol, escape to see what they were really made for and why they can never be free. Starring Yeardley Smith, Edward Asner, and Tyne Daly!

A full-cast dramatization of one of the great classics of contemporary Western literature. Dorian Gray, an effete young gentleman, is the subject of a striking portrait by the artist Basil Hallward. Gray’s narcissism is awakened, and he embraces a lifestyle of hedonism and casual cruelties. Increasingly consumed by his own vanity, he is forced to confront his true inner-self, in a manner that is as shocking as it is terrifying.

During a winter storm a busload of weary travelers are forced to shack up at a roadside diner until morning. Inge was renowned for his in-depth character studies, Bus Stop is no exception and offers a warm play about the intersecting lives of eight ordinary people.

desperate L.A. professional couple, unable to have children, arrange to buy the unborn baby of a dirt-poor Louisiana pair. Emotions run high and relationships hang by a thread in this passionate and heartbreaking Off-Broadway drama by Mad Men writer Jane Anderson.

A high-school reunion triggers cultural hostilities between a bully and the man he once victimized. A full-cast performance featuring Amy Morton, William Petersen, Linda Reiter, and Marc Vann.

Jamie Lee Curtis and JoBeth Williams star in this delightful Broadway hit which chronicles three Jewish sisters from Brooklyn as they gather in London to celebrate a birthday.

Stacy Keach stars in this shocking tale of a Polk Street dentist and his wife in 1899 San Francisco. Frank Norris’ powerful insights into the depths of the human soul make this a story of compelling narrative force. This seminal novel about murder, obsession and the destructive effects of greed features an all-star cast including Stacy Keach, Edward Asner, Ed Begley Jr., Bud Cort, Hector Elizondo, Teri Garr, Katherine Helmond, Helen Hunt, Amy Irving, Carol Kane, Marsha Mason, Richard Masur, Judge Reinhold, and more.

Santos & Santos centers around a morally ambivalent Mexican-American law firm that subsidized its well-meaning political battles with drug money. A chain reaction of tragedy ensues when the youngest and well-meaning "good brother" betrays his older siblings.

Adapted directly from the actual transcripts, Unquestioned Integrity examines the notorious Senate Confirmation hearings, when law professor Anita Hill charged Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment.

Smith's edgy and funny The Watts Towers Project focuses on Simon Rodia, the Italian immigrant who spent 33 years building his towers: only to walk away from them, never to return. Smith blends his own childhood, the life of Rodia, and the last quarter-century of L.A. history to create (in the words of Back Stage West) a "wonderfully eclectic piece".

Coming of age in America by way of the baseball diamond, left-hander Henry Wiggen grows to manhood in a right-handed world. From his small-town beginnings to the top of the game, Henry finds out how hard it is to please his coach, his girl, the sports page and himself - all at once. Starring Edward Asner, Amy Pietz, and a full cast!

The first of Ayckbourn's darkly comic masterpieces involves a relentlessly cheerful handyman in a disastrously fractured marriage. Two couples develop an unlikely friendship in this painfully funny portrait of British suburban life.

Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for drama, Dinner with Friends examines the lives of two couples and the repercussions of divorce on their friendship. With wit, compassion, and consummate skill, playwright Donald Margulies weighs the costs of breaking up...and of staying together.

Julia and Fred and Willy and Jane are happily married and the best of friends, until a postcard arrives with news of the imminent arrival of a certain handsome Frenchman. Gay, debonair, and utterly sophisticated.

Molly Sweeney, by the great Irish playwright Brian Friel, tells the story of married couple Molly and Frank, who live in a remote Irish village. Molly has been blind since birth, but now a surgeon - Mr. Rice - believes he may be able to restore her sight. In a series of interwoven monologues, Molly Sweeney takes us into the minds of three people with very different expectations of what will happen when Molly regains her vision.

In a rundown house in Philadelphia live two orphan brothers: the reclusive, frightened Philip and the violent pickpocket thief Treat. Into this savage and ferociously funny world enters Harold, a shadowy underworld figure of power and influence who irrevocably changes the precious balance between the two brothers. This is a Steppenwolf Theatre Company Production, starring Kevin Anderson, Terry Kinney, and John Mahoney.