Susan Stangl News

CINDERELLA WALTZ investigates the archetypal origins of the world's more popular fairy tale, contrasting the familiar and charming Perrault version with the darker, more ancient and disturbing tale recorded by the brothers Grimm. Grotesque farce and romantic fantasy blend in a fairy tale for adults. Make no mistake - this is not a typical children's telling in that the script is spattered with some very adult language as we follow the fractured Cinderella fairy tale of a poor servant girl mourning the death of her mother as she dreams of a life of wealth and royalty. And listen closely to see just how many references to other whimsical tales you can catch!

BROADWAY BOUND won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making part three the most serious of the Eugene trilogy plays in which we find Eugene and his older brother Stanley trying to break into the world of show business in 1949 as professional comedy writers while coping with their parents break-up and eventual divorce. Along the way, their material is broadcast on the radio for the first time, making the family upset to hear a thinly-veiled portrait of themselves played for laughs. Of course everyone else in their Brighton Beach neighborhood sees themselves in the characters, but that does lessen the hurt felt by their grandfather and parents when the show airs.

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at Theatre Palisades begins with Otto Frank returning to the family hiding place after his release from Auschwitz when the camp was liberated on 1-27-45. With worldwide celebrations of its 70th anniversary this week, now is the perfect time to experience the story never to be forgotten about Anne's two-year ordeal hiding with her family during the German occupation of the Netherlands. This is a story of life, not death - a true depiction of raw, daily survival during the Holocaust.

On Sunday, July 20, the Kentwood Players performance of SORDID LIVES had 4 very special guests in the audience: playwright Del Shores and original cast members Ann Walker, Newell Alexander and Rosemary Alexander. After enjoying the show, they visited with the Kentwood cast and posed for photos on the set.

Kentwood Players will present 'Sordid Lives' by Del Shores from tonight, July 11 to August 16, 2014 for a six-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm with Sunday matinees at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Kirk Larson and produced by Lori Marple-Pereslete and Virginia Mekkelson by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

This black comedy about white trash centers on a colorful family from a small Texas town who must come to grips with the accidental death of the elderly family matriarch during her clandestine meeting in a seedy motel room with a much younger, married neighbor. The woman's family must deal with their own demons while preparing for what could be an embarrassing funeral. This play is filled with adult situations and language

SORDID LIVES, a black comedy about white trash, centers on a colorful family from a small Texas town who must come to grips with the accidental death of the elderly family matriarch during her clandestine meeting in a seedy motel room with a much younger, married neighbor. The woman's family must deal with their own demons while preparing for what could be an embarrassing funeral. This play is filled with adult situations and language.

Mariah Bonner strikes quite a figure as the narrator of these 5 short plays by The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights (ALAP). Encouraging the audience to post on social media about the show, many in the audience were more than happy to oblige! Each of the 5 plays poses questions about sexual orientation, attraction, and how social media has affected our relationships. Each story is simple in the telling, but deep in human interaction.

Lots of laughter was in the air on Friday, January 10 at the Westchester Playhouse with the opening of BECKY'S NEW CAR, a modern comedy by Steven Dietz.

Kentwood Players welcomes Dylan Brody to the cast of "Becky's New Car" by Steven Dietz opening January 10 to February 15, 2014 at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Susan Stangl and produced by Larry Jones by special arrangement with Dramatist's Play Service, Inc.

Kentwood Players presents 'Becky's New Car' by Steven Dietz from January 10 to February 15, 2014 for a six-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm with Sunday matinees at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Susan Stangl and produced by Larry Jones by special arrangement with Dramatist's Play Service, Inc.

Culver City Public Theatre has announced that the curtain is going up on Saturday, July 13, 2013, for its 15th anniversary season, featuring six weekends of free, outdoor theatre at Dr. Paul Carlson Memorial Park in Culver City, CA.

The Secret Rose Theatre announces its presentation of "She Wrights - One-Act Plays by Women Playwrights" running January 13 to September 29. This production includes five one-act plays by five women writers.

Kentwood Players, founded by the late Arky and Jan Marcom, Elizabeth Thornberg and Betty Francis, in December 1949, performs out of the Westchester Playhouse, located near LAX. The company actually got its start, and its name, as members of the Kentwood Elementary School PTA in Westchester, motivated by a school play they performed there, decided to keep a good thing going.