Upstairs at the Long Beach Playhouse 2018 Studio Season Announced

On April 28, the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre opens the 2018 season. Opened in 1963, the upstairs theatre has become the place audiences can come to see contemporary and more avant garde productions. The Studio's proscenium stage in the 98-seat theatre feels intimate and inviting. And although it's a smaller space no less attention is given to the quality of its productions.

"We do five shows for the Studio Season," said Madison Mooney, Playhouse Executive Director. "Even though the shows are a bit edgier than downstairs we always include some well-known playwrights in our offerings. This season we have both Shakespeare and Sondheim in our Studio.

"The season runs from April to November. The rest of the year we open the space to local independent theater groups. It's part of our commitment to the Long Beach arts community."

"I am very excited about this year's season," said Sean Gray, Playhouse Artistic Director. "One that is particularly rewarding to present is Twentieth-Century Way by Tom Jacobson. It's been produced on Broadway to great acclaim but the unique thing about this play is that it's based on actual historical events that happened right here in Long Beach.

"In 1914, Long Beach was struggling with its identity. City leaders feared their cherished Midwestern values were at risk. There were bootleggers selling alcohol, outsiders offering games of chance at the Pike and people whose lifestyles didn't comport with the norms as they perceived them. In this fear-stoked frenzy, the city hired bounty hunters to find 'social vagrants.' This was thinly veiled code for gay."

As has become the tradition, the Studio Season closes with a musical. This year it is Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. It's a time-bending imagining of a gathering of the nation's nine successful and unsuccessful presidential assassins. From John Wilkes Booth to Squeaky Fromme, the assassins sing their way through motive, means and all things murderous.

"This is a great season. If ever there was a year to become an annual subscriber, this is the one," said Mooney. "It's a great way to support the Playhouse and be entertained at the same time."

This year's shows are:

Crumbs from the Table of Joy

by Lynn Nottage

April 28 - May 26

From the fertile mind of Lynn Nottage who brought us the popular By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, comes this timeless tale of a family's struggles in 1950s America. The Crump family, having recently lost their mother, moves from Florida to Brooklyn in search of a better life. As they struggle to rebuild, they are faced with religious division, racism, and the stresses that come from political, sexual, and social differences. A cross between The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun, this insightful and poignant drama will surely speak to anyone where family love has gotten in the way of happiness.

Love/Sick

by John Cariani

June 9 - July 7

Set on a Friday night in an alternate suburban reality, the writer of Almost, Maine, John Cariani, brings us an evening of nine bittersweet romantic comedies. Simultaneously hilarious and heart-wrenching, these vignettes provide the audience with the full spectrum of being in love, exploring the joy and the pain surrounding relationships ranging from first meetings to long-term marriages. It seems that "happily ever after" may not be in the cards for all relationships, but brief successes may just make the effort worthwhile. Full of imperfect lovers and dreamers, LOVE/SICK is an unromantic comedy for the romantic in everyone.

Twentieth-Century Way

by Tom Jacobson

July 21 - Aug. 18

Based on the true story of two actors who hired themselves out to the Long Beach Police Department in 1914 to entrap "social vagrants" in public restrooms, this highly theatrical tour-de-force brings to life a little known episode in Long Beach history and the history of LGBTQ rights. As these two actors become absorbed within their play-within-a-play, they explore sexual identity, institutional corruption, self-deception, and the mysteries of the craft of the theatre. This timely look at another time warns of the dangers of a government infringing on the private right to love.

The Tempest

by William Shakespeare

Sept. 1 - Sept. 29

Trickery, romance, and revenge set the stage for one of Shakespeare's late masterpieces, in which sprites, goddesses, monsters, and fools hold court. In this fanciful classic that is often described as the darker twin to A Midsummer Night's Dream, a deposed noble turned sorcerer uses powerful magic to raise a great storm, shipwrecking the vessel bearing a group of conspirators onto the sorcerer's mysterious island home. There, attended upon by a daughter, a magical sprite, and a deformed servant, the sorcerer leads their enemies through a mysterious dream as circumstances transform vengeance to reconciliation and forgiveness.

Assassins

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by John Weidman

Oct. 13 - Nov. 17

What's the outcome when The American Dream of success, celebrity, and free speech becomes warped in a madman's mind? In this highly thought-provoking musical, musical genius Stephen Sondheim and playwright John Weidman bend time and space to allow the nation's nine successful and would-be assassins to meet, interact, and inspire each other to try to make their mark in the American history books. Using his signature blend of insightful lyrics and unforgettable music, Sondheim sheds a light on the peculiarly American phenomenon that is the presidential assassin. This disturbing, amusing, and ultimately insightful look at American culture will inspire and terrify you.

Prices are:

Friday: Adults are $20.00, Seniors $18.00, and Students $14.00

Saturday and Sunday: Adults are $24.00, Seniors $21.00, and Students $14.00.

Season Tickets for all five shows are $90 for Friday nights and $105 for Saturday nights or Sunday matinees.

Passport tickets are $99 for five shows, $72 for four and $57 for three

Tickets are available at www.lbplayhouse.org, or by calling 562-494-1014, option 1.

Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA, 90804, right across from the Long Beach Recreation golf course. The Playhouse is community-supported theatre with programs and events that cut across age, gender, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.

Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00 pm & Sundays from 1:00-2:00 pm on scheduled matinees only. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.lbplayhouse.org or call 562-494-1014.

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