L.A. Theatre Works

Sundays at 7 PM on KFCF 88.1 FM

February 26	"Relativity" Written By: Cassandra Medley Cast: Judyann Elder, Deidrie Henry, Jason Ritter Director: Stuart K. Robinson Synopsis: Kalima, a brilliant young African-American biogeneticist, finds her cutting-edge research brings her into ideological conflict with her mother, Claire, who runs a foundation dedicated to "melanin science". Claire fervently believes that the pigment melanin makes African-Americans genetically superior. The broadcast includes a conversation with Dr. Stanley Nelson, Professor and Vice Chair of Human Genetics within the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
March 4	"Photograph 51" Written By: Anna Ziegler Cast: Miriam Margolyes, Matthew Arkin Director: Michael Hackett Synopsis: The story of one of the twentieth century's most unfairly marginalized scientists. Miriam Margolyes stars as Rosalind Franklin, the woman responsible for the breakthrough image of the "double helix" so familiar to us all as DNA. The broadcast includes a conversation with Franklin's biographer Brenda Maddox.
March 11	"Mrs. Warren's Profession" Written By: George Bernard Shaw Cast: Shirley Knight, Kaitlin Hopkins Director: Nicholas Rudall Synopsis: A young socialite is reunited with her long-estranged mother. But as the two women struggle with their newfound intimacy, young Vivie must come to terms with the reality of her mother's life. The broadcast includes a conversation with Eda Holmes, the Associate Director of the Shaw Festival Theatre in Ontario, Canada.
March 18	"Dinah Was" Written By: Oliver Goldstick Cast: Yvette Freeman Director: Gordon Hunt Synopsis: In a white fur coat, "The Queen of the Blues" sits on her luggage outside a Las Vegas hotel. It's 1959; the legendary star can't enter the hotel without a white escort. So Dinah Washington, in her inimitable style, takes a long pull from her flask and kicks up a fuss. Yvette Freeman reprises her Obie Award-winning performance and performs songs made famous by Dinah Washington. The broadcast includes a conversation with playwright Oliver Goldstick.
March 25	"Copenhagen" Written By: Michael Frayn Cast: Alfred Molina, David Krumholtz, Shannon Cochran Director: Martin Jarvis Synopsis: Two brilliant friends look back on a secret meeting during the Second World War, and find themselves pulled apart once more by the tide of history. The story of the meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg - joined by Bohr's wife Margrethe - won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Play. An L.A. Theatre Works premiere broadcast. This play is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world.
April 1	"Mary Stuart" Written By: Friedrich von Schiller, in a new version by Peter Oswald Cast: Alex Kingston, Jill Gascoine Director: Rosalind Ayres Synopsis: Murder, jealousy, intrigue, and imprisonment: the story has all the makings of a classic tragedy. And in fact, the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I of England and her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, often played itself out on a theatrical scale. But the fragility and human suffering at the heart of the story are what drives Friedrich Schiller's classic play. The broadcast includes a conversation with Jane Dunn, the author of Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens.
April 8	"Neat" Written By and Starring: Charlayne Woodard Director: Stuart K. Robinson Synopsis: Actress and playwright Charlayne Woodard stars in an autobiographical story about her journey on the road to self-revelation ... and the influence of a most unlikely family member. The broadcast includes a conversation with Charlayne Woodard.
April 15	"The Cocktail Hour" Written By: A.R. Gurney Cast: Bruce Davison, Keene Curtis Director: Robert Robinson Synopsis: A playwright has composed a new work about a subject he knows best: his aristocratic, besotted family. When he goes home to get their approval for this touchy project, they object ... and as they down their martinis, the recriminations fly. The broadcast includes a conversation with playwright A.R. Gurney.
April 22	"Completeness" Written By: Itamar Moses Cast: Jason Ritter, Mandy Siegfried Director: Stephen Sachs Synopsis: A pair of brainy graduate students falls in love while tackling some of science's biggest unsolved questions. But can their book-smarts help them through the innate uncertainties of romance? The broadcast includes a conversation with Dan Rockmore, the Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Dartmouth College.
April 29	"Betrayed" Written By: George Packer Cast: Sevan Greene, Waleed F. Zuaiter Director: Pippin Parker Synopsis: Journalist George Packer came to Baghdad in 2003 as a staff writer for the New Yorker and, from his experiences there, produced Betrayed, a play based on the real-life struggles of Iraqi interpreters working for American forces. Emboldened by optimism and the promise of a new era in their homeland, the translators, Adnan and Laith, are forced to cross continually between the Green and Red Zones, each time risking their own lives and those of their loved ones. The broadcast includes a conversation with George Packer.