The Los Angeles Theatre Center plans full slates of productions for its spring and fall seasons. It’s calling its spring season East Of Broadway, a playful reference to the fact that Los Angeles Theatre Center is located East of Los Angeles’ (not New York’s) Broadway. The Los Angeles Theatre Center is located at 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013, in downtown L.A.’s Historic Core. It is a facility of the City of Los Angeles and is operated by the Latino Theatre Company.
There will be three main productions this spring, with additional supplemental programming :
April 16 – May 16, 2010: “Sick.” World Premiere. Presented by Playwrights Arena. Written by Erik Patterson. Directed by Diane Rodriguez. Pamela keeps digging herself deeper into the frightening- yet oddly soothing- world of hypochondria. But when one of her loved ones is faced with a real illness, she’s going to find that being sick isn’t always so easy. Fri. & Sat. at 8, Sunday at 3. Preview Thurs. April 15 at 8. In the 89-seat Theatre 4. General admission: $35. Students/seniors $15.
May 1- May 30: “Dementia.” Presented by Latino Theater Company. Written by Evelina Fernandez. Directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela. His name is Moises, but his friends call him Moe. He’s having a going away party because he’s dying of AIDS. He’s a theater artist working on a one man, uh….one woman show. He invites his closest friends over for his “going away for good” party, but his plans go awry when his best friend, who has given himself to the Lord, and his ex, who he hasn’t seen in 15 years, show up. All the while his alter ego, a torch singing drag queen, wants to take him for “the ride of his life.” When first produced in 2002, “Dementia” won the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Theater Production in Los Angeles, and garnered four Ovation Award nominations. Now back by popular demand, and more relevant than ever, this innovative play tackles topics taboo in the Latino community, including homosexuality, AIDS, teen pregnancy and euthanasia through the Latino Theater Company’s unique humor and style. Thurs-Sat. at 8, Sun. at 3. Previews April 29 and 30 at 8. In the 320-seat Theatre 3. General admission $35. Students/seniors $15.
May 7- June 6, 2010: “1951-2006.” World Premiere. Presented by Los Angeles Theatre Center. Written and directed by Donald Freed. A 50-year love story centered on the 4th floor of a brownstone on the east side of Manhattan. A time capsule of America from Joseph McCarthy through George W. Bush., from a very unexpected and original angle of refraction. Cast includes Debra DeLiso, Christopher Fairbanks, more. Thurs-Sat. at 8, Sun. at 3. Preview Thurs. May 6 at 8 p.m. In the 280-seat Theatre 2. General admission: $35. Students/seniors $15.
Supplemental programming includes:
June 18- June 27: “Transitions.” Written by Kellie Roberts. “Transitions” is a trilogy of short plays that deal with ordinary people struggling with a call from God in their lives, which is insisting that they move forward or else. Two weeks only! Fri. at 8., Sat. at 3 and 8, Sun. at 3 and 7. Preview Thurs. June 17 at 8 p.m. In Theatre 4. General admission: $30. Students: $20.
Also:
June 19: “The Slumber of Reason.” A new dance theater piece developed and produced by Latina Dance Project. Performed by Licia Perea, Juanita Suarez, Eva Tessler and Jose Garcia Davis. Directed by Tim Perez and choreographed by Mr. Perez with the company. Original music by Wes Hambright. Video by Jose Garcia Davis. The creative springboard for this full-length work is Spanish painter Francisco de Goya’s prints, “Los Caprichos.” With a stark intensity unprecedented in the history of art, these prints convey the contradictions of a historical period when religious fundamentalism and paranoia prevailed over reason. In Theatre 3. General admission: $35. Students/Seniors: $15.
Ongoing: Each month, on the second Thursday evening of the month to coincide with downtown’s Art Walk, Latino Theater Company presents Estado, an evening of concerts and cabaret acts, free of charge.
Subscriptions are available for $100, which include tickets to the main productions plus a 25% discount to the supplemental shows.
Feature image from the show Ruby, Tragically Rotund by Ed Krieger
