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

Clifford Odets’ masterpiece, starring Mark Ruffalo, Jane Kaczmarek, Richard Kind, and Ben Gazzara, brings to life the struggles of a working-class family aspiring to the promise of the American Dream. Even as they endure the country’s worst economic nightmare, three generations of an immigrant family are crowded into a Bronx tenement, fiercely determined to stay afloat, no matter what the cost.

The passion of a coal barge captain's daughter and a handsome sailor takes a tumultuous turn when secrets from her past are revealed. Nobel Laureate Eugene O'Neill won the second of his four Pulitzer Prizes for this heroic classic.

David Mamet's gift for storytelling and forging poetry from both the plain-spoken and profane turns an ill-conceived scheme to steal a rare coin into a triumph of dramatic art. In a junk shop, three men of different generations plan their heist. But their fates, like the nickel's worn image of the beleaguered buffalo, may have been sealed long ago.

This poignant Obie Award-winning comedy unfolds in New York City on the day the Pope is expected to visit. Hearts are palpitating in the sleepy borough of Queens, but not entirely on account of His Holiness. Bunny Flingus, a femme-fatale from Flushing (or thereabouts) is stirring things up in the quiet, unfulfilled life of aspiring songwriter Artie Shaughnessy. Artie longs to leave his unhappy marriage, elope with Bunny, and write a hit song that will top the charts.

Are we stuck with our memories–or can we fix them? Pia is a neuroscientist whose research focuses on changing the way we process traumatic experiences. Will Pia’s emotionally distant mother–who survived the Khmer Rouge in 1970’s Cambodia–benefit from her daughter’s work? Or are some things just too terrible to remember?

A notorious author shares a train compartment with a long-time reader. But can they connect with each other through a silent tide of self-doubt and second-guessing? From the playwright of Art. Sir David Suchet and Dame Harriet Walter star in L.A. Theatre Works' performance of Yasmina Reza’s The Unexpected Man. Translated by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Gordon House.

Shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria, Viola assumes the role of a male page to Duke Orsino. The Duke sends Viola, now disguised as ‘Cesario’ to press his suit with the beautiful Olivia–who promptly falls in love with Cesario. Confusion reigns until the truth is untangled and true love triumphs.

Simon Templeman stars as brilliant mathematician Alan Turing, the man who cracked the German Enigma code and enabled the allies to win World War II. Shortly after, Turing was to find that the country he saved cared less about his genius and more about his sexual orientation.

How much would you pay for a painting with nothing on it? Would it be art? Marc's best friend Serge has just bought a very expensive - and very white - painting. To Marc, the painting is a joke, and as battle lines are drawn, old friends use it to settle scores.

With friendships hanging in the balance, the question becomes: how much is a painting worth?

Modern parallels abound in the plight of Cambridge-educated mathematics wiz Vivie Warren, who discovers that her comfortable upbringing was financed in unspeakable ways. George Bernard Shaw pits a clever heroine against a memorable gallery of rogues in this superbly intelligent (and still shocking) comedy, banned for eight years from the English stage.

John Lithgow and B.D. Wong here recreate their original roles from the Tony Award-winning production. Inspired by an actual espionage scandal, a French diplomat discovers the startling truth about his Chinese mistress.

There’s something Constance Middleton’s friends are dying to tell her: her husband is having an affair – with her best friend! Despite their hints, Constance remains ever cool, and seemingly oblivious. Or is she? In this biting comedy of manners, marriages and mistresses, Constance – a not-so-desperate housewife - has some ideas of her own about extra-marital activity that surprise everyone in the end!

Neil Simon's hilarious, semi-autobiographical Tony Award-winning play stars Josh Radnor and Justine Bateman. This production features an exclusive interview with the prolific playwright.

Academy Award-winner Athol Fugard, one of theatre's most acclaimed playwrights, finds humor and heartbreak in the friendship of Harold, a 17-year-old white boy in 1950s South Africa, and the two middle-aged black servants who raised him. Racism unexpectedly shatters Harold's childhood and friendships in this absorbing, affecting coming-of-age play. The play, initially banned from production in South Africa, is a Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding New Play.

Moving Bodies is a chronicle of the brilliant life of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Richard Feynman. From his role in the development of the atomic bomb to his controversial testimony at the investigation of the Challenger disaster, Feynman casts a long shadow across the worlds of physics and mathematics. Through playwright Arthur Giron's eyes, we see how Feynman became one of the most important scientists of our time.

Starring James Marsters, this classic comedy of manners from 1773 is still widely performed and studied. Love, lies, and dysfunctional families. Sound like your last family gathering? Try this one on for laughs. Two randy young gents, Charles and George, set out to woo the alluring and upper-crust Kate and Constance. But inexperienced Charles is shy and clumsy around upper-class ladies, so it’s the barmaid who catches his eye. But is she really who she seems?

Sir Laurence Olivier. Orson Welles. Vivien Leigh. Joan Plowright. Kenneth Tynan. When these champions of the theatre get together to rehearse Ionesco's Rhinoceros, mere mortals best step aside. With lightning wit and scathing insight into the true nature of genius, Austin Pendleton's new play opens the private worlds of these very public people, exposing their warmth, their egos, and their glittering madness.

Jimmy Porter barely ekes out a living running a candy stall by day and playing jazz trumpet by night. Although he usually takes his frustrations out on his emotionless wife, Jimmy's scathing tongue and self-loathing seem destined to destroy everything. Set in the UK at the dawn of the '60s social unrest, this savage morality tale spawned the phrase “angry young man".

Hilary believes fervently that consciousness is more than the sum of our biology. When she receives a position at a prestigious think tank, she develops a novel experiment to prove that humans are intrinsically altruistic, but the results are something she never anticipated.

Fasten your seatbelts for a rapid-fire, sophisticated thrill ride that propels you through one of the most infamous financial scandals in history! With a spicy blend of humor, pathos, and music, the big biz machinations of Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andy Fastow are laid bare as razzle-dazzle entertainment. Lucy Prebble’s Enron casts a shocking new light on today’s economy and how we got here.