Lotsa news out of Westwood where the Geffen Playhouse is closing a slick revival of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo," just opened the Neil LaBute adaptation of Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” (Welcome to L.A., Lily Rabe!) and has some rather cool sounding programing on deck both for the summer and beyond.
Chronologically, then, the U.S. premiere of “Yes, Prime Minister” written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn (and directed by Lynn) gets the star treatment with Michael McKean, Dakin Matthews, Stephen Caffrey, Tara Summers, Time Winters, Brian George and Jefferson Mays. Lynn, also a film director, had previously worked with McKean (of “best in Show” and the Christopher Guest film stable) in “Clue” (which, if you’ve seen that movie, is nothing to boast of from either party.)
The play sends up the British Parliamentary bigwigs as they scramble to stay afloat during a hellish weekend and nearly see the collapse of the Euro, confront the energy and debt crises, shelter an embarrassing illegal immigrant and generally try to keep their lips stuff and upper, what what? The play was a West End hit, and it’s kind of amusing that for the American premiere, Lynn has not cast a single Brit.
Not that the folks he has cast are slouches. It will be interesting to see whether the production can hold onto Jefferson Mays, the Tony Award-winning star of “I am My Own Wife.” Mays just wrapped up a tour de force turn playing eight roles in the new musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” which played first Hartford Stage and, in March, at San Diego’s Old Globe. There’s pretty strong buzz that this one’s Broadway-bound, and one would think that Mays would be needed back east pronto.
Then again, maybe “Gentleman’s Guide,” if it goes to Broadway, doesn’t get underway until the fall, and it might make for a geographically pleasant respite for Mays to spend portions of June and July in Los Angeles instead of in New York.
“Yes, Prime Minister” begins previews June 4 and runs through July 14 in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen.
The 2013-14 season begins in September with the West Coast premiere of Gina Gionfriddo's “Rapture, Blister, Burn,” about three generations of women navigating work, romance and family. Peter DuBois directs a cast which will include Amy Brenneman (“Judging Amy,” "Private Practice") who hasn’t done much stage acting since her days with the Cornerstone Theater Co. (TV stardom and family commitments can tend to tie a person up.) The production runs Aug. 13-Sept. 22.
Next up is a “new adaptation” of the Frederick Knott thriller “Wait Until Dark.” Movie fans might remember the1967 film adaptation with Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna about a group of thieves terrorizing a blind woman in her apartment, only to have the tables turned on them. The director is Matt Shakman who previously directed “Good People” at the Geffen in 2011. Not quite sure whether Shakman is also the party responsible for writing the adaptation. “Wait Until Dark” is a community theater staple, but it could be interesting to see what a professional company makes of it. Oct. 8-Nov. 17.
Toward the tail run of “Wait Until Dark” in the Cates, the West Coast premiere of “Play Dead” will open in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. Created by Todd Robbins and Teller (of Penn & same), “Play Dead” is a look at life, death and the spaces between with illusion, storytelling and other wonders of weirdness including nudity. Robbins stars. They’re recommending 18 and older on this one. (Nov. 5-Dec. 15).
Well, they had hoped to craft a recurring holiday tradition out of Donald Margulies’ “Coney Island Christmas” and the play will be back for an encore – with Bart DeLorenzo again directing – around the yuletide. The irony of course is that the play is based on a Grace Paley story about a young Jewish girl who is tabbed to play Jesus in her school’s Christmas play, much to the consternation of her immigrant parents. To this critic’s mind, Margulies has written much richer stuff than this particular work (he’ll showcase his latest at season’s end), but clearly the play drew decent audiences as well as reviews. (Dec. 3-24, Cates Theater).
Now, the Harold Pinter event of the season will likely take place this summer in – alas – Berkeley - as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen take on “No Man’s Land” for a pre-Broadway engagement at the Berkeley Rep. Still, it’s a very intriguing proposition to put Oscar winning director of film, stage and opera William Friedkin (“The Exorcist,” “The French Connection”) at the helm of Pinter’s “The Birthday Party” (Feb. 4-March 16, 2014Cates). A couple of toughs show up in a seaside town to throw an out of work pianist a birthday party. Dark humor and mayhem ensue as only Pinter can depict it.
Randall Arney, who used to be the Artistic Director of the Steppenwolf Theater company before coming west to run the Geffen, returns to Steppenwolf to stage Greg Pierce’s “Slowgirl” first in Chicago and then in Westwood. A two character play about a 17 year old sent to Costa Rica to live with her uncle,” "Slowgirl" features former “CSI”-er (and Steppenwolf company member) William Petersen, (March 4-April 13, Audrey Theater).
The Audrey will also be the scene of the world premiere “Death of the Author” by Steven Drukman. Set in the groves of academe, “Death of the Author” finds a young professor suspecting a student of plagiarism and setting off a chain of events as he intends to set things right. No director or actors yet for this one. (May 20-June 29).
And Margulies returns to close out the season with a world premiere of “The Country House” presented by special arrangement with the Manhattan Theatre Club. MTC, like the Geffen, is a frequent home of Margulies plays, and that theater will likely get it after the Geffen. Daniel Sullivan directs the tale of Margulies’s homage to Anton Chekhov’s pastoral comedies. This one concerns a family of actors gathering in the Berkshires during the Williamstown summer season. (June 10-July 24, Cates Theater).
The Geffen also has one TBA slot.
