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Stain
by Tony Glazer

"Hilariously revolting…snappily written…Glazer’s play’s will continue to be worth watching."--Variety

Stain follows 15-year-old Thomas through his quickly-crumbling life and the secrets his family tries to keep at bay. In this darkly comic piece about the complexities of family, Thomas is confronted with a choice that will either save or mark him forever.

Character Descriptions:
THOMAS - 15 years old.
ARTHUR - 40’s, Father of Thomas.
JULIA - 30’s, Mother of Thomas.
THERESA - 50’s Mother of Julia.
GEORGE - 15 years old, friend of Thomas.
CARLA - 32 years old, lawyer of Puerto Rican descent.

Comedy. 3m, 3f. Acting Edition, $10.95

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Hats! The Musical
by Marcia Milgrom Dodge & Anthony Dodge

Additional Material by Rob Bartlett, Lynne Taylor-Corbett & Sharon Vaughn

Songs by Doug Besterman, Susan Birkenhead, Michele Brourman, Pat Bunch, Gretchen Cryer, Anthony Dodge, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Beth Falcone, David Friedman, Kathie Lee Gifford, David Goldsmith, Carol Hall, Henry Krieger, Stephen Lawrence, Melissa Manchester,Amanda McBroom, Pam Tillis & Sharon Vaughn

“A classy music-and-comedy celebration! It will make a lot of people feel empowered. It does so with integrity, craft, and heart!”--Chicago Tribune

Exploding with fun, Hats! is a new musical about a 49.999 year-old woman who reluctantly faces the inevitable BIG 5-0…until she meets several remarkable women who show her about fun, friendship and forgetting about things that simply don’t matter anymore. HATS! features original music by a team of Grammy®, Golden Globe® and Tony® winning songwriters. It is a joyous, provocative, and hilarious evening for everyone who is 50, knows anyone who is 50 or plans to be 50.

Hats! is inspired by the experiences, philosophies, and mission of the Red Hat Society.

Character Descriptions:
LADY - Mid-to-late 70s.

MARYANNE’s mother. Widow & loving grandmother.

BARONESS - Age 52. Divorcee. Corporate success. Affluent. From Texas.

CONTESSA - Late 50s. Hispanic. Packed with attitude with a tendency to exaggerate. Married.

DAME - Mid-50s. An empty-nester. Wife & mother of 3.

DUCHESS - 65. African-American. Big-boned with sass and ego. Great marriage.

PRINCESS: Late 50s-to-early 60s. Breast cancer survivor. Divorcee. Absentminded and forever optimistic.

MARYANNE: 49.999. Teacher. Married. Struggling with her impending 50th birthday.

Comedy. 7f. Acting Edition, $10.95

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Crooked
by Catherine Trieschmann

“The work of a big accomplished writer’s voice…a gem of a discovery.”--The New York Times

“Gorgeous almost beyond belief.”--The London Times

“This is a wonderfully neat play, at once simple and complex, grappling with big issues - matters of faith, fantasy and the flesh - while keeping its sneakers firmly planted on the suburban topsoil of adolescent angst and domestic frictions.”--The Daily Telegraph

Fourteen year old Laney arrives in Oxford, Mississippi with a twisted back, a mother in crisis and a burning desire to be writer. When she befriends Maribel Purdy, a fervent believer in the power of Jesus Christ to save her from the humiliations of high school, Laney embarks on a hilarious spiritual and sexual journey that challenges her mother’s secular worldview and threatens to tear their fragile relationship apart.

CHARACTERS
Laney Waters - 14, has dystonia, which causes one of her shoulders to draw up, as though she has a slightly hunched back.

Elise Waters - 40s, Laney’s mother

Maribel Purdy - 16, Laney’s friend, chubby and radiant

Dramatic Comedy. 3f. Acting Edition, $10.95

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Beachwood Drive
by Steven Leigh Morris

“...intelligent...[a] theatrical presentation of human connection in the digital age...mines the strange dynamics of unexpected pairings...Lena Starostina is just the right mix of beautiful and faded - her stillness sets her apart: at times it reads like fierce self possession, at others like a consuming loneliness...compelling and mysterious...”--The New York Times

“...there’s a sobering authenticity here, much of it provided by the first-class cast directed by Alan Mandell. [Lena] Starostina’s Nadya is the center of this reality, with a conviction that never falters. [Peter] Brouwer’s detective provides theatrical flavoring to the harshness, while [Brenda] Thomas’ Hansonia is even able to inject a little charm into these grim events”--Back Stage

“Equally tender and vulgar scenes with a love-struck john, play-sessions between Nadya’s daughter and a well-meaning neighbor, and a confrontation with an LAPD detective, expose the darkness of everyday exploitation. Based on a true police case, the audience is forced to consider desperation and life in modern-age slavery.”--Flavorpill.com

Based on police case-files, Beachwood Drive is a smart, character-driven drama that tells the story of Nadya, a Ukrainian prostitute and single mother smuggled into Los Angeles. Nadya attempts to free herself from the snares of both the Russian Mafia and the Los Angeles Police Department after she’s arrested in a sting operation. The mystery of Nadya’s disappearance unfolds Rashomon-style, as the story is retold from four different perspectives: first, that of Hansonia, Nadya’s African-American novelist neighbor who baby sits Nadya’s 10 year-old daughter; the story gets re-imagined through the eyes of Rocky, Nadya’s Native-American client, a meat-packer and family man from El Monte, grappling with an identity crisis; Crowell, a crusty vice detective with literary aspirations has his take; and finally, there’s the angle of Vera, the Russian woman running the prostitution ring who is both protector and monster. Before its New York premiere, Beachwood Drive was invited to perform in the Lublin International Theatre Festival, it was also developed in Los Angeles by Playwrights Arena and Theatre of NOTE, with the assistance of the LAPD and the U.S. Department of Justice. It’s an unflinching, erudite and dramatic look at slavery in its many forms. In New York, it triggered vigorous discussions from organizations opposing human trafficking and rights abuses.

Character Descriptions:
HANSONIA - 40s, African-American female novelist and arts writer for a Los Angeles-based alternative newspaper.

NADYA - 30s, female immigrant from Odessa, Ukraine, now a prostitute in Los Angeles

ROCKY - Mid 30s male, Latino meat packer from El Monte, California; descended from Tongva branch of the Gabrielino Indians, the indigenous tribe that dominated the Los Angeles area prior to the incursions of the Spanish in the mid 1700s.

VERA - 40s, female immigrant from Moscow, runs an escort service in Los Angeles

WILLIAM CROMWELL - 70s, a fatigued Caucasian homicide investigator for the Los Angeles Police Department; has tried in vain numerous times to retire

KATERINA - Nadya’s 10 year-old daughter

Drama. 2m, 4f. Acting Edition, $10.95

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Scream Queens - The Musical
Book, Music & Lyrics by Scott Martin

"A sassy musical revue; an affectionate funny tribute…with something for everyone."--Los Angeles Times

"Campy and full of shtick, affection and great fun!"--The Hollywood Reporter

"SCREAM QUEENS may leave you cheering. An infectiously high-spirited homage."--Los Angeles Daily News

"With an almost Rocky Horror Show-like presentation, complete with out-of-this world musical numbers and crazy costumes, Scream Queens keeps the audience laughing…cheering and clapping."--UCLA Daily Bruin

"They sing -- they dance -- they die!"

A hotel ballroom, 1998, and six voluptuous B-movie "Scream Queens" revive their fading acting careers by presenting a musical revue for their fans at a science fiction and horror film convention. From young newbie to seasoned grand dame, the Queens strut their stuff in song and dance to prove "I Got All of the Talent I Need." For 90 minutes of hilarious musical mayhem, they take the audience into the world of no-budget movies with awful scripts, fake monsters and gooey "Special FX." They even involve the audience in a screaming contest and zombie talent search.

As each Queen reveals her personal story, we share their hopes and dreams, from Tonya's love of her idol "Fay Wray" to Alexis' advice that "Everybody Starts at the Bottom" to DeeDee's secrets of Scream Queen longevity: "Don't Open That Door." British screen veteran Nadine savors her joy of being "Still In Demand" while Bianca celebrates the lifetime achievements of "Roger Corman" and Richelle laments her own elusive "Happy Endings." They also screen original clips from their direct-to-video "scary movie" spoofs such as "Revenge of the Psycho Bimbos" and "Malibu Vampire Vixens," all hoping to attract the attention of a popular young horror film director lurking in the audience.

The Scream Queens will have you convulsed with laughter and begging for the inevitable sequel.

Character Descriptions:
ALEXIS - The smart one; early 40s; alto; compassionate, sisterly, levelheaded. She has a college degree, invests carefully and acts as the politician, often refereeing amongst the other Queens. She also has the good business sense to produce her own videos.

BIANCA - The loveable one; late 30s; mezzo; very buxom, good-natured with practical mid-western earthiness. She’s happily married with children but never lets the spotlight intrude on her private life. Her occasional clumsiness is due to the size of her breasts and her refusal to wear her eyeglasses in public.

DEEDEE - The trashy one; mid-30s; mezzo; intense, edgy, tough on the outside but lonely and desperate within. She wears extreme make-up, hair and clothes to hide her natural beauty, and will do anything to, for and with anybody (including a popular porno video series) to get ahead and be noticed like her idol Traci Lords.

NADINE - The British one; mid-50s; alto; sensual yet aloof. She’s the senior “Scream Queen” who has seen and done it all, having played everything from a corpse to a vampire princess to a prehistoric tribal maiden to a Playboy centerfold – almost. She’s a semi-recovered alcoholic and sneaks a quick drink from a small flask whenever she thinks no one is looking.

RICHELLE - The cute one; mid-30s; alto; perky, a girl-next-door smile with a girl-on-the-corner body. She was the most popular “Scream Queen” of the late 20th century and is very anxious to revive her career. She has appeared at many dozens of these conventions and originated the idea for tonight’s show.

TONYA - The sincere one; late 20s; mezzo; sweet, charismatic, still somewhat naïve. A former Tri-State cheerleading champion, she is the most serious actress of the group and really believes that her B-movie career will lay a foundation for respectable stardom.

Musical Comedy. 6f (ages 28 - 50+). Acting Edition, $10.95

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Keep Your Pantheon
by David Mamet

In Keep Your Pantheon, an impoverished acting company on the edge of eviction is offered a lucrative engagement. But through a series of riotous mishaps, the troupe finds its problems have actually multiplied, and that they are about to learn a new meaning for the term "dying on stage."

Comedy . 11m. Acting Edition, $10.95.