Comedy opens ICT theater season

LONG BEACH - The Tony Award-winning comedy "God of Carnage" opens International City Theatre's 27th season at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center when it opens for a four-week engagement Jan. 27.When two 11-year-old boys in Brooklyn's upscale Cobble Hill neighborhood have a playground fight, Henry's parents (Leslie Stevens and Greg Derelian) invite Benjamin's mother and father (Alet Taylor and David Nevell) for cocktails, hoping to discuss the situation civilly - to "practice the art of co-existence" rather than "slaughter each other with insurance claims." But the veneer of polite society quickly falls away, and the evening deteriorates into a laugh-out-loud train wreck of finger-pointing, name-calling, tantrums and tears. And that's before they break out the rum. French playwright Yasmina Reza's comedy, translated by Christopher Hampton, nabbed both London's Olivier Award for Best Comedy and Broadway's Tony Award for Best Play, and was recently released as a major motion pictured directed by Roman Polanski. ICT's 2012 season is in its 27th year and the first selected by caryn desai [sic] in her new role as artistic director. Subtitled "Adults Behaving Badly...Unless They Ain't," the lively five-play series contains two West Coast premieres: the political musical "The Fix" and Michael Hollinger's provocative drama "Ghost-Writer." The remaining two plays are Ken Ludwig's "Leading Ladies" and the musical revue "Ain't Misbehaving." "the enthusiastic response to our season announcement has energized us all," said desai, who was recently honored with a Long Beach Rosie the Riveter 'We Can Do It' Award. "Our orchestra section only has five rows, so we can guarantee that the audience will experience Reza's deliciously wicked comedy in an all together new way." Tickets to see "God of Carnage" start at $37 and can be purchased online at internationalcitytheatre.org or by calling (562) 436-4610.

********** Published: December 29, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 37