L.A. Theatre Works

Sundays at 7 PM on KFCF 88.1 FM

June 16	"Earth and Sky" Written by: Douglas Post Cast: Ed Begley Jr., Annette Bening, John Mahoney, Steven Weber Director: John de Lancie 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 23	"Breaking the Code" Written By: Hugh Whitemore Cast: Simon Templeman Director: Rosalind Ayres 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.
June 30	"Art" Written by: Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton Cast: Bob Balaban, Brian Cox, Jeff Perry Director: Peter Levin 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.
July 7	"The Real Thing" Written By: Tom Stoppard Directed by: Rosalind Ayres Starring: Simon Templeman, Joanne Whalley Henry may be the wittiest playwright of his generation, but he's hopelessly naive when it comes to understanding love and infidelity. Writing about betrayal is one thing, living with it is another. After Henry leaves his wife for another woman, he's confronted with being the cuckold himself. Both dazzlingly clever and emotionally naked, Henry's search for the "the real thing" in art and love demonstrates beautifully why both are worth the effort in the end.
July 14	"Park Your Car in Harvard Yard" Written by: Israel Horovitz Directed by: Mark Ward Starring: Judith Ivey, Jason Robards Jacob Brackish, the toughest, meanest teacher ever to set foot in Gloucester High School is dying at home. His advertisement for a housekeeper to look after him during his final years is answered by a mousy 40-year-old named Kathleen, a woman Jacob has forgotten he flunked years before. Judith Ivey and Jason Robards recreate the roles they originated on Broadway in this humorous and moving play. The broadcast includes a conversation with playwright Israel Horovitz.
July 21	"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Written by: William Shakespeare Directed by: Martin Jarvis Starring: Hector Elizondo, Glenne Headley, Simon Helberg, Stacy Keach, and David Krumholtz, and leading an all-star cast Shakespeare combined his love of theater with Greek mythology and the supernatural to create what is arguably his most influential and imaginative work. From love potions to bizarre transformations to the unforgettable play within a play, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a non-stop delight, and remains one of the milestones of the Bard's career. An L.A. Theatre Works premiere broadcast Support for this recording of A Midsummer Night's Dream is provided by the Rosenthal Family Foundation.
July 28	"Romance" Written by: David Mamet Directed by: Neil Pepe Starring: Ed Begley Jr., Gordon Clapp And "Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight" Written By: Peter Ackerman Directed by: Gordon Hunt Starring: Jeffrey Donovan, Richard Kind, Mandy Siegfried David Mamet's Romance leaves no stone unturned in its quest to satirize the social taboos of the late twentieth century. And Peter Ackerman's Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight is a riotous comedy in which all of our secret beliefs, desires, and superstitions are laid bare.
August 4	"Becky Shaw" Written by: Gina Gionfriddo Directed by: Bart DeLorenzo Starring: Emily Bergl, Matt Letscher, Marsha Mason, Mandy Siegfried, Josh Stamberg A dysfunctional family has lost its patriarch, and it's up to their adopted son Max to save them. But when his step-sister Suzanna tries to help Max find love, it quickly becomes apparent that no good deed goes unpunished. An L.A. Theatre Works premiere broadcast
August 11	"Molly Sweeney" Written by: Brian Friel Directed by: Kyle Donnelly Starring: Jenny Bacon, Robert Breuler, Rick Snyder Molly Sweeney, by the great Irish playwright Brian Friel, tells the story of married couple Molly and Frank, who live in a remote Irish village. Molly has been blind since birth, but now a surgeon - Mr. Rice - believes he may be able to restore her sight. In a series of interwoven monologues, Molly Sweeney takes us into the minds of three people with very different expectations of what will happen when Molly regains her vision.
August 18	"Deed of Trust" Written by: Claudia Allen Directed by: Sandy Shinner Starring: Tyne Daly, Sharon Gless And "The Gin Game" Written by: D.L. Coburn Directed by: Nick Olcott Starring: Katherine Helmond, Harris Yulin Set in rural Michigan in the 1930's, Deed of Trust is a gentle and poignant comedy of a dysfunctional family long before that term was used. And The Gin Game is a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about personal responsibility and society's mistreatment of the aged.
August 25	"The Rivalry" Written by: Norman Corwin Directed by: Eric Simonson Starring: Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn Academy Award-nominees Paul Giamatti and David Strathairn star in Norman Corwin's electrifying dramatization of the history-making Lincoln-Douglas debates, which began 155 years ago this week. This fierce rivalry between rising legislator Abraham Lincoln and incumbent Senator Stephen A. Douglas tackled some of the day's most passionate and controversial issues - above all those of slavery and the American concept of freedom. The broadcast includes a conversation with NPR's "Political Junkie" Ken Rudin about famous Presidential debates.
September 1	"Working" Written by: Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso Directed by: Scott Schwartz Cast: Orson Bean, Harry Groener, Kaitlin Hopkins Studs Terkel's Working is for anyone who has ever punched a clock, a cow, or a supervisor -- or wanted to. This rousing musical is based on Terkel's interviews with American workers, which was first published in 1974. It is an exploration of what makes work meaningful to people in all walks of life, with songs and stories about real experiences, bringing to life the soul of the American worker. The broadcast includes a profile of author Studs Terkel.