Welcome to the first episode of Julio Martinez’s LA Stage Insider for the week of March 2, 2022.
NEWS
Longtime KNBC meteorologist, comedian and (honorary) mayor of Toluca Lake Fritz Coleman will take the stage for a comedy concert, Sunday, March 20 at 3 p.m., at the El Portal Theater in NoHo to benefit the Toluca Chamber of Commerce Lake. His special guest is comedienne Wendy Liebman. For tickets and more information, go here.
LA Theater Works has announced that the complete LATW Arthur Miller Collection is now available for digital download for the first time. The world’s leading audio theater producer, LATW has recorded a total of ten Miller tracks, but only recently secured the rights to distribute them all digitally. Their works include:After the fall;”“All my sons“, with Julie Harris; “Broken glass; ” “the crucible“, featuring an all-star cast led by Stacy Keach and Richard Dreyfuss; “Death of a seller“, with Stacy Keach as Willy Loman; “Incident in Vichy; ” “The man who had all the luck; ” “The price; ” “The descent of Mount Morgan,with Brian Cox; and “A view from the bridge.” For more information and to order the complete Arthur Miller collection from LA Theater Works, visit latw.org/title/arthur-miller-collection.
FIRST
Two Roads Theater in Studio City hosts the Two Heads Are Better Productions premiere of the stage comedy, “Escape from the garden” (aka “Tracy in the Kitchen”), focusing on a fading star, who after her latest “bombshell” retreats to her kitchen, written by Sarah Hunter. The cast includes Sandra Cruze, Juls Hoover, Michael Selle, Aurelio Miguel Bocanegra and Victor Bill, directed by Marianne Davis. Opens March 11 and closes March 27. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3:00 p.m. The Two Roads Theater is located at 4348 Tujunga Ave, Studio City. Tickets and additional information available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/escape-from-the-garden-tickets-243218161067?ref=eiosor
AROUND THE CITY
Ensemble Theater Company (ETC) presents the third show of its 2021-2022 season, Nancy Travis (“Last man standing“The Kominsky method,” “three men and a baby“) with the role of “lilianaby David Cale and directed by Jonathan Fox. Lillian, a bookish middle-aged Brit, falls in love with Jimmy, a man who is almost half her age. As life continues to throw curious curve balls, Lillian rises to every opportunity, discovering a part of herself that was sleeping. “lilianabegins previews March 3, opens Saturday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m., and concludes Sunday, March 13 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.
Performances are Wednesday and Thursday (7:30 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (8:00 p.m.) and Sunday (2:00 p.m.). Tickets are available at the ETC box office at (805) 965-5400 or online at etcsb.org. ETC’s previously announced production of “carmen joneswill be presented in the fall of 2022.
Interact Theater Company in NoHo hosts six staged readings of Tony Award-winning plays, streaming the second Saturday of each month through June. On March 12, Interact Society members Anne Gee Byrd, Marc Velera, Stacey Farber, and Kacie Rogers will be featured in John Patrick Stanley’s 2005 Pulitzer Prize and Best Play Tony winner, “Doubt.” The production will air for 24 hours (12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. PT). Available exclusively on BroadwayOnDemand.com, free, but ticket availability is limited.
Open Fist Theater Company returns to in-person performances with a comedy about “sex, intimacy, and equality.” Lane Allison conducts”In the next room, where the vibrator playsby Sarah Ruhl for a March 18 opening at the Atwater Village Theatre. Performances continue until April 23. Set in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of electricity and based on the little-known historical fact that doctors used vibrators to treat “hysterical” women (and some men), the play centers on doctor. and his wife and how this new therapy is affecting their home. The cast includes Spencer Cantrell, Dionna Veremis, Stephanie Crothers, Alex Wells, Monazia Smith, Bryan Robert Bertone and Jennifer Zorbalas. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays (8 p.m.), Sun (6 p.m.) For reservations and information, call (323) 882-6912 or visit www.openfist.org.
Theater West presents two free cabaret nights featuring the talented members of its Musical Theater Workshop, singing love songs on Saturdays, March 12 and 19 at 7 p.m. The cast includes Sara Ballantine, Sandra Tucker, Paul Cady, Sara Shearer, Arden Teresa Lewis, Constance Mellors, Mimi Kmet, Anne Leyden, Michael Van Duzer, Heidi Appe, Rick Simone-Friedland, Tessa Bell and Robert W. Laur. Victoria Lavan directs. Theater West is located at 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, in Los Angeles. This is a FREE, ticketless event. Reservations are not necessary. Donations will be gratefully accepted. For more information, call (323) 851-7977 or visit the website: http://theatrewest.org.
MOJO SOLO
Echo Theater Company presents solo works by two of its members under the collective title. “alone together: Solos at the Echo.” Conceived, written and performed by Ann Noble“Little Parts hunts a baby daddy” will take place on Tuesday 8:00 p.m., March 15–April 5. Created and performed by Sky Paley“Antiman» visible every Sunday at 7:30 p.m., March 20–April 10. All performances are held at the home of the Echo Theater Company at the Atwater Village Theater, located at 3269 Casitas Avein Los Angeles. For reservations and information, call (310) 307-3753 or visit www.EchoTheaterCompany.com.
Arts in Reviewcelebrating the best of theater and cabaret in the Greater Los Angeles area, airing on KPFK (90.7fm) on Fridays (2-2:30 p.m.), streaming live worldwide in real time on www.kpfk.org. On March 11, Arts in Review welcomes Fritz Coleman.