Warren Davis News

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.

David Hunt Stafford (pictured) is the Artistic Director and Managing Director of Theatre 40, posts he has proudly held since 2000 at the professional theater company located on the campus of Beverly Hills High School. I decided to speak with David about the current plays running in rep during July and August: Doris and Ivy in the Home, in which he appears, and One Moment of Freedom which he produces; and the group’s ongoing Reading Series showcasing new and well-known plays read by company members.

Doris and Ivy in the Home, a comedy, written by Norm Foster and directed by Warren Davis will play at Theatre Forty, 241 S, Moreno Drive, in the Mary Levin Cutler Theatre (same venue, new name), Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Theatre 40, the professional non-profit theatre company of Beverly Hills, is roaring back with a season of eight plays. 

A reading of The Rosenberg Case comes to Theatre 40 this month. The play is written by Dennis Richard and directed by Louis Fantasia. The performance is set for Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.

Internationally recognized Black American Social Dance Tradition-Bearer, LaTasha Barnes, presents The Jazz Continuum.

Jacob's Pillow presents the world premiere of a new work by legendary club dancer Archie Burnett entitled Life Encounters on the Henry J. Leir Stage from July 28 - August 1.

This event is free and will be performed as a Zoom reading on Monday, June 7, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. PDT

How a director envisions a production makes all the difference in its prestation to an audience, starting with casting and continuing through rehearsals and all technical aspects of the show. I spoke with Branda Lock on bringing her vivid imagination and directing skills to George Bernard Show’s PYGMALION, filled with unique Lock-inspired changes to the casting which promise to shed new light on this classic tale of class struggles in Shaw’s time.

Jacob’s Pillow has announced the full artist line-up for its 2021 summer Festival—the first to feature both onsite and online programming. Onsite events run June 30-August 29, with online streaming through September 23.

Bill C. Davis passed away on February 26, 2021 after a brief illness. Bill was a playwright, author, actor, director and political activist, and was best known for his play Mass Appeal, which premiered at Manhattan Theatre Club and subsequently moved to Broadway in 1981.

Theatre 40 is launching a shortened season of its long standing Adult Education Theatre Appreciation Seminars this month. This Semester's theme is 'THE OTHER: plays concerning the relationships with those different from ourselves'. The presentations are virtual, online.

We're in the middle of a pandemic and the theatres are closed. Rather than waiting for months until everything re-opens in order to entertain you, West Coast Jewish Theatre will be placing visual records of several of their past productions online for your enjoyment. First up will be its 2017 World Premiere production of the acclaimed play Fugu, presented online via YouTube.

Actors Co-op's production of Lee Blessing's “A Body of Water” with the world premiere of Blessing's new ending, directed by Nan McNamara, produced by Crystal Jackson, opened to a SOLD OUT house Friday night.   The play runs now through March 15, at Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre in Hollywood, California.

The Award-winning Actors Co-op Theatre Company will present 'A Body of Water' written by Lee Blessing with the world premiere of Blessing's new ending, directed by Nan McNamara, produced by Crystal Jackson. The play will run February 7 through March 15, at Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre in Hollywood, California.

The two-time Telly Award-winning film version of The Blank Theatre's production of The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) is now available for free streaming on YouTube (https://youtu.be/jhnBy9fKvHk). Conceived, adapted, and directed by Daniel Henning, the play had its world premiere in Los Angeles on October 1, 2016.

Told in three separate one-act stories, the World Premiere of Leda Siskind's play THE SURVEILLANCE TRIOLOGY explores the ways in which private citizens have become victims of ever-present eavesdropping by forces able to be kept secret until the damage has been done. Directed by Amanda Conlon at Theatre 40, ultimately you may just walk out at the end wondering just how you are being watched and for just what purpose, especially when you turn your cell phone back on and begin interacting with it.

MOVING ARTS presents its Los Angeles premiere of E. M. Lewis' intriguing APPLE SEASON. Directed at a languid pace by Darin Anthony, the sparse explosive scenes really make their mark with the experienced acting chops of Rob Nagle and the vivid, versatile intensity of Liza Fernandez. This three-hander, as a part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, relates the unpleasant situation of siblings Lissie (Fernandez) and Roger Fogerty (Justin Huen ) as they grapple with the death of their abusive Father from Hell.

MOVING ARTS presents the Los Angeles premiere production of APPLE SEASON, written by E. M. Lewis and directed by Darin Anthony (BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!)). APPLE SEASON is produced by Moving Arts at Atwater Village Theatre as a part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Other partnering theaters are New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ) and Riverside Theatre (IA). Mr. Anthony and E. M. Lewis are long time collaborators, he has directed three premiere productions of E. M. Lewis' work, plus two “Car Plays” and a one-act for the Samuel French Ten Minute Play Festival in New York. APPLE SEASON will preview on Thursday, July 11 & Friday, July 12 at 8pm; will open on Saturday, July 13 at 4:00pm and will run through Monday, August 5, 2019 at the Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. in Los Angeles, 90039.