2Cents Theatre Presents IN THE BOOM BOOM ROOM, Begins Today

2Cents Theatre, the producers of the critically-acclaimed, sold-out production of the hit musical Rent in conjunction with a multiple award-winning team, now brings to Los Angeles a 40th Anniversary production of David Rabe's historic IN THE BOOM BOOM ROOM, with choreography by Alli Miller ("Cherry Poppins Caburlesque") and directed by 2Cents Artistic Director Kristen Boulé. IN THE BOOM BOOM ROOM will preview on Friday, July 4 at noon and will open on Saturday, July 5 and run through Sunday, August 3 at the Hudson Backstage, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.

Chrissy arrives in early 1970's Philadelphia with dreams of achieving stardom as a dancer. As she struggles to understand her place in the world, what her true purpose is, and why she is really here, she seeks guidance from those around her in any way she can. But walls are thin and words are deceiving, as no one she meets is quite who they seem. Her childhood of poverty and abuse haunts her subconscious, as she follows her stars, trying to unveil memories lost and secrets kept. A job at a go-go club called Big Tom's Boom Boom Room leads her through encounters with twisted and troubled characters as she deals with love, sex, racism, domestic abuse, homophobia, obsession and mental illness. David Rabe's brutal tale of self-exploration entertains the misunderstood individual, the ways in which we misguide one another and how fate and self-control seem inevitably so far apart.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

DAVID RABE (Playwright) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist whose work was known for its use of grotesque humour, satire, and surreal fantasy. Rabe was educated at Loras College, Dubuque, and Villanova University, Pennsylvania. He completed his graduate studies in theatre after serving in the army, and his experiences as a draftee assigned to a hospital-support unit in Vietnamprovided a key influence on his early career as a playwright. Rabe's first play, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1969), depicts the ruthlessness of the Viet Cong and the brutalization of American troops and shows the effects of the war on combatants and noncombatants alike. In Sticks and Bones (1972; film 1973), a blinded, distraught veteran returns to his middle-American family; he cannot deal with his anger and sorrow, and they eagerly help him commit suicide. The work was Rabe's first to be mounted on Broadway, and it won a Tony Award for best play in 1972. Streamers (1975; film 1983) concerns violent racial and sexual tensions and prejudices in an army camp in Virginia, and The Orphan (1975) is a contemporary reworking of Aeschylus's Oresteia trilogy. The four dramas were later collected in The Vietnam Plays (1993).

Rabe's subsequent plays include In the Boom Boom Room (1975), about the degradation of a go-go dancer in Philadelphia; Hurlyburly (1985; film 1998) and Those the River Keeps (1991), two related dramas about disillusionment in Hollywood; A Question of Mercy (1998); The Dog Problem (2002); The Black Monk (2004); and An Early History of Fire (first performed 2012).

Rabe himself wrote the film adaptations of Streamers and Hurlyburly. He also contributed screenplays for the movies I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can (1982), starring Jill Clayburgh, whom he had married in 1979; Casualties of War (1989), a Vietnam War drama; and The Firm (1993), a legal thriller based on theJohn Grisham novel. His other works include the novels Recital of the Dog (1993), a work of black humour; Dinosaurs on the Roof (2008); and Girl by the Road at Night (2009). A Primitive Heart (2005) is a collection of his short stories.

KRISTEN BOULÉ (Director) is the Founding President and Artistic Director of 2Cents Theatre Group. She has thus far directed most of their mainstage productions, including RENT, The Last Five Years, and the immersively interactive Rocky Horror Experience. She also runs their Sorted Sundays cabaret series, a variety of performances happening on various Sundays throughout the year. Most recently, she produced their Acting Out INK Fest, a 3-day women playwrights Festival featuring 22 plays, 18 playwrights, 18 directors and over 50 actors. She is currently immersed in this exciting exploration into the world of David Rabe and his Boom Boom Room and is incredibly grateful to be surrounded by such a wonderful array of talented and dedicated artists. Boulé's own unique musical Dreams in Variation began this journey into LA theatre several years ago, and now with 2Cents she hopes to continue to develop a unique community for artists with constant opportunity to create and explore.

The CAST of IN THE BOOM BOOM ROOM features: Kate Bowman, Cris D'Annunzio, Theresa Tilly, Eric Geller, Juan Lozano, Kristina Miller, Corby Sullivan, KC Lindley, Paulina Gamiz, Autumn Ericson and Jessica J'aoime.

IN THE BOOM BOOM ROOM features an award-winning design team. The set design is by Tom Buderwitz. The lighting design is by Jenna Pletcher. The costume design is by Lauren Joy Goss. The prop design is by Raveen Battee.
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
IN THE BOOM BOOM ROOM will preview on Friday, July 4 at noon and will open on Saturday, July 5 and run through Sunday, August 3 at the Hudson Backstage, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm; Sundays at 7:00pm. Ticket prices are $25.00 for all performances. Tickets are available online at www.2centstheatre.com or www.plays411.com/boobboom or by calling (323) 960-7785.

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