OUT OF THE BLUE Announced At Hollywood Fringe

OUT OF THE BLUE is a new play written and performed by Peter Massey, premieres June 11-29 as part of the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival at the Los Angeles LGBT Center (Davidson/Valentini Theatre), 1125 North McCadden Place, Los Angeles CA 90038. It tells the comedic and heartfelt story of a diligent husband's crawl down the Hallway of Mid-Life, heading for the door marked Senior. Guided by an astrologer-therapist, he cures old age with New Age.

Why this play? Just Google "senior" and hit "images". What do you get? Happy people playing outdoors in designer casual clothes and HD sunshine. Is that reality? In OUT OF THE BLUE, our hero has not such an easy time. The story begins when his brain makes an unexpected shift and new thoughts appear that have never, ever been there before. A curtain opens on his next stage of life, and there's nothing but blackness. He wants change but can't leave his high-stress job for fear his world - and that of his aging husband - will explode around them both. The pressure puts him near suicide. He must fill in the empty blackness that lies before him if he wants to bring hope back to his life and his marriage.

He searches for help and stumbles on an aging wise-woman who magically blends psychology and astrology. With her guidance and the help of ancient Planets, Signs and Houses, he fills in the blackness of his future, mines the birth-marked resources buried in his horoscope, and embraces whatever may come in the last third of life.

The story is spiked with comedy from start to finish, because the ironies of life only increase with time and experience. It delivers the raw anger of aging, the grief of releasing the last promise of youth. It's also a heart-centered romance, as the protagonist gains a precious new friend and rediscovers the strength of the man he married.

Written and performed by Peter Massey, Directed by Debra De Liso

Los Angeles LGBT Center (Davidson/Valentini Theatre), 1125 North McCadden Place, Los Angeles CA 90038. TICKET PRICE: $20 - www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5738. FREE WORKSHOP - Theatre for the Chronologically Gifted

On Sunday June 16 following the opening performance of OUT OF THE BLUE will be a panel discussion and audience talk-back. There are more than a few artists at the Fringe who are "chronologically gifted" - that is, they have many years of life experience that are being shared on stages throughout the Festival. The workshop will consider how artists and everyone can use theatre and other storytelling as we mature, and the value of sharing history - both personal history and all that we've witnessed and been a part of.

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