The Alamo at Ruskin Group Theatre

In the blue collar Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn sits a rundown neighborhood institution called The Alamo; the last great American bar. The owners, Munce and Carmen, along with some of their regulars watched, from the roof, as the World Trade Towers fell, taking down their relatives, friends, and neighbors. Today, with an aging clientele, the place is fighting to keeps it’s doors open and the only hope seems to be the arrival of artist/gentrifiers who are moving into the neighborhood and wanting to adopt the bar as an entertainment hangout. Bay Ridge locals and Alamo regulars don’t want to surrender their bar, much less their neighborhood, to these young neo-carpetbaggers without a fight. Touching on themes of, nativism, racism, and war, The Alamo paints a humorous and dramatic portrait of eight working class Bay Ridge natives who always seem to find themselves on the front lines of change in America.

During their second decade of bringing Los Angeles audiences outstanding entertainment, Ruskin Group Theatre continues to celebrate the essence of arts and humanity, within the microcosm of theatre. Supporting new writers and the development of new plays is an important part of the Ruskin season.

Ian McRae’s The Alamo was inspired by an op-ed piece called “The Hard Lessons Of Iraq” by David Ignatius, published in The Washington Post on the tenth anniversary of the invasion. The ten-minute piece found a slot at the Actor's Theatre in New York and The Eight Tens At Eight in Santa Cruz, California, which propelled him to create this full-length play. Ian was an apprentice with Sanford Meisner and has taught at The Neighborhood Playhouse School Of The Theatre. He was a member of Cucaracha Theatre in NYC where several of his plays were produced.

“The Alamo is an authentic and touching portrayal of an Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn. Both funny and dramatic, it features vivid characters whose lives haven’t turned out quite the way that they had hoped. Each of them carries scars of the past (from Vietnam to 9/11, and choices long gone) as they fight for their place in a world under the assault of millennial gentrification. I love this play, because Ian McRae writes with such passion, compassion, and humor, about a forgotten group of people—blue collar Americans” – Kent Thompson; Director

Our Cast: Bobby Costanzo (Joey), Eileen Galindo (Carmen), Nancy Georgini (Claudine), Milica Govich (Mary), Julia Arian (Micaela/Alternate), Kelsey Griswold (Micaela /Alternate), John Lacy (Dominic), Jack Merrill (Tick), and Tim True (Munce)

The production team includes John Ruskin and Michael Myers (Producers), Mike Reilly (Production Manager), John Iacovelli (Scenic Design), Edward Sales (Lighting Designer), Chip Bolcik (Sound Design), Emily N. Smith (Costume Designer), Paul Ruddy (Casting), and Nicole Millar (Stage Manager)

The Alamo opens at 8pm on Saturday, February 24th and continues Fridays – Saturday at 8pm, Sundays 2pm through March 31, 2018. Ruskin Group Theatre is located at 3000 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Tickets are $27 - $30 and can be purchased in advance by calling (310) 397-3244 or online at www.ruskingrouptheatre.com . Free parking available on site.