L.A.'s Actors' Gang to Present Gulliver's Travels in July

The Actors' Gang will combine puppets, music, songs and theater magic to create a new adaptation of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels for the stage. 

Keythe Farley (co-author, Bat Boy The Musical) as Gulliver is joined by Chris Bell, Corey G. Lovett, Vanessa Mizzone, Molly O'Neill, Steven M. Porter and Malcolm Foster Smith in Swift's fairy tale for adults, adapted by company member Joshua Zeller and directed by P. Adam Walsh.  Gulliver's Travels opens Saturday, July 7 and continues through September 8 at The Gang's home in Culver City's Ivy Substation, with low-priced previews beginning June 28.

"In Jonathan Swift's eighteenth century social satire, Lemuel Gulliver, a ship's surgeon, encounters a series of mishaps on the way to recognized ports, and ends up instead on several unknown islands living with people and animals of unusual sizes, behaviors and philosophies that lead him to a new understanding of humanity and his world," as press notes describe.

"Although in its abridged form Gulliver's Travels is known as a classic children's adventure story, it's actually a biting work of political and social satire by an Anglican priest, historian, and political commentator.  Published anonymously in 1726, Gulliver's Travels was intended, according to Swift, 'to vex the world, not to divert it.'  Although much of the novel is an acidic attack on the vanity and pretense of contemporary courts, statesmen, and political parties, Swift saved his ripest satire for the foibles of human nature, thus ensuring that Gulliver's Travels remains relevant today - a timeless classic that mocks all humankind.  Some of Swift's targets include man's pride, hypocrisy, ingratitude and cruelty; war; lawyers; money; and imperialism."

The Actors' Gang version will feature set and lighting design by Francois-Pierre Couture and original music by Ara Dabandjian. Costume design is by Shannon Kennedy; sound design is by Jason Tuttle; and puppets are by John Burton.

Says Zeller, "We're bringing a heightened sense of reality to the story in a demented, Monty Python-like way that's true to the book."

The Actors' Gang, founded in 1982 by a group of renegade theater artists, has over 90 productions and more than 100 awards to its credit, and consistently wins acclaim for its interpretations of Shakespeare, Bruchner, Brecht, Moliere, Aeschylus, Ibsen and Chekhov, as well as new work.

Performances of Gulliver's Travels take place Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, July 7 through September 8.  Five preview performances take place on Thursdays, June 28 & July 5 at 8 pm; Friday, June 29 at 8 pm; Saturday, June 30 at 8 pm; and Sunday, July 1 at 3 pm.  Tickets are $25.00 Friday through Sunday ($20.00.for students and seniors) and $15.00 for previews, except Friday July 7, a gala performance for which tickets are $95.00 and include a catered post-show reception with the cast.  All Thursday evening performances are Pay-What-You-Can.  The performance on Friday, July 13 will be sign-language interpreted and audio described for the hearing and sight impaired.

The Actors' Gang is located in the Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Boulevard (near the intersection of Culver and Venice Blvds.) in Culver City.  For reservations and information, call The Actors' Gang Box Office at 310-838-GANG (310-838-4264) or go to www.theactorsgang.com.