LA Theatre Works

L.A. Theatre Works is a non-profit media arts organization based in Los Angeles whose mission for over 25 years has been to present, preserve and disseminate classic and contemporary plays. Through the 10-play live in-performance The Play's the Thing Series in Los Angeles and in-studio recordings, world class actors are recorded in state-of-the-art sound, transforming classic and contemporary stage works into intimate, compelling, and sound-rich audio plays.

Program Listings:
May 21, 2013
Fallen Angels
Written by: Noël Coward
Cast: Annette Bening, Judith Ivey, Joe Mantegna
Director: John de Lancie
Synopsis: Jane and Julia are comfortably married to their plain and dispassionate husbands. But when a mysterious French dandy reappears from the ladies’ carefree younger days, their bland domesticity is thrown into hilarious disarray. The broadcast also includes a short monologue, “Bed Among the Lentils” by Alan Bennett, starring Martha Lavey.

May 28, 2013
Doctor Cerberus
Written by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Cast: Simon Helberg
Director: Bart DeLorenzo
Synopsis: Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) stars as a teenage misfit coming of age in the comforting glow of late-night horror movies. But when reality begins to intrude on his fantasy world, he realizes that hiding in the closet is no longer an option.

June 4, 2013
8
Written by: Dustin Lance Black
Cast: Kevin Bacon, George Clooney, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brad Pitt, John C. Reilly, and an all-star cast
Director: Rob Reiner
Synopsis:  In the state of California, Proposition 8 has been passed to ban same-sex marriage …and two of the country’s biggest lawyers have joined forces to strike it down.  The broadcast includes conversations with George Clooney, Martin Sheen, and other cast members about the role of theatre in social change; an interview with David Boies and Ted Olson, the two renowned lawyers that led the charge against Proposition 8; and a conversation with playwright Dustin Lance Black and director Rob Reiner.

June 11, 2013
Lips Together, Teeth Apart
Written by: Terrence McNally
Cast: Hugo Armstrong, Kristen Johnston, Steven Weber, Missy Yager
Director: Bart DeLorenzo
Synopsis:  Take two heterosexual couples and surround them with gay vacationers at Fire Island on the Fourth of July. What could go wrong? Find out in playwright Terrence McNally’s masterful dark comedy which brings to life ghosts of the past as it lays bare secrets of the heart.

June 18, 2013
Earth and Sky
Written by: Douglas Post
Cast: Ed Begley Jr., Annette Bening, John Mahoney, Steven Weber
Director: John de Lancie
Synopsis:  A young woman’s brief romance has met an untimely and brutal end. And when she sets out on her own to solve the crime, she finds that the truth may be too terrible to face. Earth and Sky is paired with Susan Glaspell’s groundbreaking one-act play Trifles, a powerful exploration of gender relationships, starring Amy Madigan and Steven Weber.   The broadcast includes a conversation with playwright Douglas Post.

June 25, 2013
Breaking the Code
Written by: Hugh Whitemore
Cast: Simon Templeman
Director: Rosalind Ayres
Synopsis:  Simon Templeman stars as brilliant mathematician Alan Turing, the man who cracked the German Enigma code and enabled the Allies to win World War II. But Turing was to find that the country he saved cared less about his genius and more about his sexual orientation.

July 2, 2013
Art
Written by: Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton
Cast: Bob Balaban, Brian Cox, Jeff Perry
Director: Peter Levin
Synopsis:  Marc's best friend Serge has just bought a very expensive – and very white – painting. To Marc, the painting is a joke, and as battle lines are drawn, old friends use it to settle scores. With friendships hanging in the balance, the question becomes: how much is a painting worth? A Tony Award winner for Best Play and Olivier Award winner for Best Comedy.   The broadcast includes a conversation with translator Christopher Hampton, and interviews with Brian Cox and Bob Balaban.