LONG BEACH – The Long Beach Playhouse has released its 2014-15 studio season schedule, a five-production lineup described as “both intellectually stimulating and entertaining.” The schedule includes:

“In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play”

May 3-31, 2014

In a seemingly perfect, well-to-do Victorian home, proper gentleman and scientist Dr. Givings has innocently invented an extraordinary new device for treating “hysteria” in women (and occasionally men): the vibrator. Adjacent to the doctor’s laboratory, his young and energetic wife tries to tend to their newborn daughter-and wonders exactly what is going on in the next room. When a new “hysterical” patient and her husband bring a wet nurse and their own complicated relationship into the doctor’s home, Dr. and Mrs. Givings must examine the nature of their own marriage, and what it truly means to love someone.

“Chekhov Shorts: The Proposal, The Bear, and The Bet”

June 14-July 12, 2014

In The Proposal, a long time neighbor, Lomov, asks for Stepan’s daughter, Natalya’s, hand in marriage. After receiving the blessing, Natalya is asked to join them. Arguing the mundane, with Natalya,  Lomov collapses from exhaustion. After the proposal is accepted their marriage begins with yet another argument.

In The Bear, Popova has shut herself up since her husband’s death. Unable to pay her debt, she is embroiled in an argument with the landlord; Smirnov, whom she calls, among other things, A Bear. In the end Smirnov falls in love with Popova and a final kiss is arrived at after much argument.

The Bet” is a story with a twist ending about an attorney and a bank employee who concoct a bet with one another regarding whether or not life in prison was better than receiving the death penalty.

“No Exit”

July 26-Aug. 23, 2014

Two women and one man are locked up together for eternity in one hideous room in hell. The windows are bricked up; there are no mirrors; the electric lights can never be turned off; and there is no exit. The irony of this hell is that its torture is not of the rack and fire, but of the burning humiliation of each soul as it is stripped of its pretenses by the cruel curiosity of the damned. Here the soul is shorn of secrecy, and even the blackest deeds are mercilessly exposed to the fierce light of hell. It is an eternal torment.

“Twelfth Night; or, What You Will”

Sept. 6-Oct. 4, 2014

When Viola and her twin brother are separated at sea and she finds herself shipwrecked in the mythical land of Illyria, she must don the persona of a young man to survive.  This simple bit of deception produces mass confusion, multiple mistaken identities, countless betrayals, hilarious character assassinations, and a gender-bending love triangle that only that master manipulator of the English tongue, William Shakespeare, could have imagined.  Intertwined with numerous comic subplots, this timeless comedy, featuring such beloved scoundrels as Sir Toby Belch and Andrew Aguecheek, will keep both the aficionado and the Shakespearian virgin laughing and wishing for love to conquer all.

“Spring Awakening”

Oct. 18-Nov. 15, 2014

It’s Germany, 1891. The beautiful young Wendla explores her body and asks her mother where babies come from. Elsewhere, the brilliant and fearless young Melchior defends his buddy Moritz -- a boy so traumatized by puberty he can’t concentrate on anything. One afternoon in the woods, Wendla and Melchior discover a desire unlike anything they’ve ever felt. “Spring Awakening” explores the confusion and desperation that ensue when the onrushing tide of hormones meets the ignorance of children. Celebrating the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, poignancy, and passion that you will never forget.

The Long Beach Playhouse offers season tickets and single ticket options. A full subscription is $105 ($122 for premium), or $63 for students. Single tickets are $24 for adults, $21 for seniors and $14 for students.

Tickets can be purchased online at lbplayhouse.org or by calling (562) 494-1014.

 

 

**********

Published: May 8, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 04