Visceral Company's THE MYSTERY PLAYS to Open 12/6

The Visceral Company will provide a darker take on the holiday season by presenting THE MYSTERY PLAYS by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, directed by Christopher Basile.

Inspired by the yuletide tradition of the medieval mystery plays, the two interrelated one-acts in THE MYSTERY PLAYS wrestle with the most profound of human ideas and beliefs - but with a horrific twist. The holidays will never be the same for the unsuspecting people sent on their mysterious journeys into the unknown... and the unknowable.

In "The Filmmaker's Mystery," a director of horror films visiting his family for Christmas is the sole survivor of a terrible train wreck, only to be haunted by the ghost of one of the dead passengers. In "Ghost Children," which takes place at the same time, a lawyer returns to her hometown for the first time since her brother brutally murdered their parents and younger sister.

THE MYSTERY PLAYS will play Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm from December 6, 2013 through January 5, 2014, with two special Sunday matinee performances on December 29 and January 5 at 3 pm. All shows are at the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., Hollywood, CA. Tickets are $20 for all performances and are available at www.thevisceralcompany.com. This show is not recommended for young children.

The ensemble cast features Frank Blocker, Devereau Chumrau, Daniel Jimenez, Laura Julian, Michael Mraz, and Alex Taber. Lighting design is by Ric Zimmerman, set design by John Burton, and sound design by Dan Spurgeon (Visceral's artistic director).

THE MYSTERY PLAYS received the Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays in 2002. Aguirre-Sacasa most recently wrote the book for the new musical based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, currently running in London. He also wrote the screen adaptation for the 2013 remake of Stephen King's Carrie, as well as episodes of Big Love and Glee and several titles for Marvel Comics.

The Visceral Company, called "LA's premiere horror theatre troupe" by Fangoria magazine, is dedicated to presenting killer shows from darker places. We hope to encourage further onstage exploration of the horror, thriller and science fiction genres, which have been underrepresented in theatre, and to build an appreciation of theatre in the younger audiences that are traditionally drawn to them.

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