Kurtis Bedford

The world premiere of John Strysik’s Power and Light is currently running in rep at Theatre 40. Jeff G. Rack directs this story of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla in the beginnings of electricity with the cast of David Hunt Stafford, Eric Keitel, Warren Davis, John Combs, Richard Large, Bailey Castle, Mandy Fason and Kurtis Bedford. Jeff graciously made time out of his multi-tasking weekend to answer a few of my queries.

'Power and Light' is a new play about the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla in the development of electricity. Tickets are $35.

In this two-person character study, Joey Brant (R. Emmett Lee, who more than adequately took on the challenge of learning to speak Hebrew for the part) is a Jewish divorce lawyer in his 60s who never had a bar mitzvah ceremony. For reasons which become clear in the story, Joey's bar mitzvah ceremony must take place at the synagogue he attended five decades ago where his grandson Ben Goldman will carry on the family tradition with his own bar mitzvah in a matter of months. Joey, a thoroughly secularized man, must now re-connect with the faith of his ancestors, but promptly alienates the synagogue's regular instructor. But when Joey goes to meet with the temple's new rabbi for his bar mitzvah lessons, he is shocked to find a woman is now in charge.

Bar Mitzvah Boy. Southern California Premiere engagement of a new play.

Hank's Bar is a roadside joint on a desolate highway in the middle of nowhere. Hank the barkeep (played by Kurtis Bedford) passes the time when he has no customers by perusing a porn mag while pleasuring himself. He likes the bar's isolated location: It keeps him away from his ex-wife and kids. But Hank does have one customer this evening: Jonas (George Villas), a drifter who wants to drink, not chat. Jonas has been haunted by troubling dreams. He travels from place to place to escape his past. Into the bar strides Ruby (Kate Whitney), a sexy woman who informs them that her car has broken down nearby. Can she use the phone to call the auto club? A howling dust storm outside suggests that the three are going to remain at the bar for a while.

A mysterious traveler, a horny barkeep, and a sensuous woman are trapped in a dive bar with an abundant supply of bourbon, yet all three are strangers in a place hundreds of miles from anywhere else during a windstorm that keeps them trapped together in the only shelter. Sure, anything could happen, especially when the mystery of who they are begins to unravel and it becomes apparent one of them is after someone else there. But who is it and what do they really want? And what does a recurring nightmare have to do with it? Whatever happens, one thing is certain: There will be hell to pay.

Hank's Bar is a roadside joint on a desolate highway in the middle of nowhere. Hank the barkeep (played by Kurtis Bedford) passes the time when he has no customers by perusing a porn mag while pleasuring himself. He likes the bar's isolated location: It keeps him away from his ex-wife and kids. But Hank does have one customer this evening: Jonas (George Villas), a drifter who wants to drink, not chat. Jonas has been haunted by troubling dreams. He travels from place to place to escape his past. Into the bar strides Ruby (Kate Whitney), a sexy woman who informs them that her car has broken down nearby. Can she use the phone to call the auto club? A howling dust storm outside suggests that the three are going to remain at the bar for a while.

Hank's Bar is a roadside joint on a desolate highway in the middle of nowhere. Hank the barkeep (played by Kurtis Bedford) passes the time when he has no customers by perusing a porn mag while pleasuring himself. He likes the bar's isolated location: It keeps him away from his ex-wife and kids. But Hank does have one customer this evening: Jonas (George Villas), a drifter who wants to drink, not chat. Jonas has been haunted by troubling dreams. He travels from place to place to escape his past. Into the bar strides Ruby (Kate Whitney), a sexy woman who informs them that her car has broken down nearby. Can she use the phone to call the auto club? A howling dust storm outside suggests that the three are going to remain at the bar for a while.

Directed by Howard Teichman for the West Coast Jewish Theatre at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica on a beautifully detailed split-level set designed by Kurtis Bedford and lit by Ellen Monocroussos, Neil Simon's classic took on a more emotional dedication from the cast with Simon's passing on August 26, 2018 during the show's rehearsal process. But even though Teichman keeps the pace moving along at a steady pace, running at almost 3 hours with very little laughter, the play, though extremely well written and performed, does seem a bit long and drawn-out as there certainly were moments when it could have ended much sooner and still been as effective.

It's 1949, the war is over, and America is beginning a new chapter. Eugene Jerome and his brother Stan are being given a chance to audition as comedy writers for CBS in the emerging medium of television. If they succeed, they'll move out of the family home in Brighton Beach and into the Big City. Eugene, however, is distracted. He's fallen in love and thinks his new girl is The One. Stan has episodes of writer's block.

It's 1949, the war is over, and America is beginning a new chapter. Eugene Jerome and his brother Stan are being given a chance to audition as comedy writers for CBS in the emerging medium of television. If they succeed, they'll move out of the family home in Brighton Beach and into the Big City. Eugene, however, is distracted. He's fallen in love and thinks his new girl is The One. Stan has episodes of writer's block.

It's 1949, the war is over, and America is beginning a new chapter. Eugene Jerome and his brother Stan are being given a chance to audition as comedy writers for CBS in the emerging medium of television. If they succeed, they'll move out of the family home in Brighton Beach and into the Big City. Eugene, however, is distracted. He's fallen in love and thinks his new girl is The One. Stan has episodes of writer's block.

NEW YORK WATER, a comedy written by Sam Bobrick and directed by Howard Teichman, is being produced by Bill Froggatt and Howard Teichman for West Coast Jewish Theatre at the Pico Playhouse in West LA through December 17, 2017. The title refers to the quality of New York tap water for drinking: It's usually delicious, if you can get past the fact that rusty pipes sometimes impart to it an odd hue. The same applies to modern romantic involvements which start out great then change as you really get to know one another better or decide to travel in different directions.

Thousands of souls have their final resting place in Altadena's Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery but, once a year in the fall, the living invade the domain of the dead. That's when Unbound Productions' WICKED LIT takes over the grounds and creates a site-specific theatrical experience based on classic and original horror stories. It is unlike any other kind of theatre or Halloween event you've ever seen and it is seriously the coolest thing you can do in Southern California. Ask anyone who's done it.

Unbound Productions Executive Director Jonathan Josephson, Artistic Director Paul Millet, and Producing Artistic Director Jeff G. Rack have announced the details for WICKED LIT 2017, the company's 9th annual immersive theatre event that will for the 8th year take place at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, California.

Unbound Productions Executive Director Jonathan Josephson, Artistic Director Paul Millet, and Producing Artistic Director Jeff G. Rack have announced the details for WICKED LIT 2017, the company's 9th annual immersive theatre event that will for the 8th year take place at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, California. Tickets will go on sale this week.

Unbound Productions Executive Director Jonathan Josephson, Artistic Director Paul Millet, and Producing Artistic Director Jeff G. Rack have announced the details of the company's first fully-realized evening-length play: Holmes, Sherlock and The Consulting Detective, which will run for 19 performances between June 2 and July 1, 2017 in and around the historic Santa Anita Train Depot at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden (159 S. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007).

The story of FUGU, a world premiere play written by Howard Teichman and Steven G. Simon which Teichman also directs and produces, takes place at a time just prior to the United States' entry into World War II. Suggested by true events, it recounts the efforts of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara who assisted in getting 6000 Lithuanian Jews rescued from the clutches of the Nazis and relocated to Kobe, Japan, and the choices which had to be made to ensure their safety.