Six Shows Not To Miss: Fall Theater Preview

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This is Anthony Byrnes Opening the Curtain on LA Theater for KCRW.

It's not like we have real seasons in Los Angeles . . . theatrically or meteorologically, but somehow the end of summer always surprises me. It seems to come so quickly and then there's a mad dash to pack it all in and plan the fall.

The producers and presenters of LA theater seem to feel the same way and have crammed some really amazing theater into the next couple of months. So while you're busy planning the last beach hurrah - keep the calendar out long enough to pencil in these 6 shows you're not going to want to miss.

Let's start by the beach at the Getty Villa.

The Getty is welcoming back Anne Bogart and SITI Company to tackle Aeschylus' Persians. SITI performed the hauntingly, tragic Trojan Women outdoors at the Villa in 2011 and if you've never seen the company don't miss this chance. I wish I could say it will be a cheery evening but the ravages of war don't quite turn out that way. At the very least it will be profound and beautiful. It starts this weekend and plays weekends through September.

Next head down the coast to South Coast Rep for a literally magical adaptation of The Tempest. Remember Prospero and his enchanted isle? Well, Aaron Posner and Teller - of Penn & Teller fame, have turned Shakespeare's classic into a shipwrecked magic show complete with songs by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan and movement by Matt Kent of Pilobolus. This show's generated a lot of buzz and should be worth the drive south. It plays through September 28th.

Not urban enough for you? Head downtown to REDCAT to catch two weekends in September with the British-German ensemble - Gob Squad. Think standard REDCAT fare - irreverent, witty, multimedia . . . bunny masks. They're performing a different piece each weekend: Super Night Shot the first and Western Society the second. Just be careful or you might end up in one of their pieces.

Okay, if you're not already up to your neck in theater - the Theatre at Boston Court is doing Beckett's Happy Days (sorry, couldn't resist). Andre Belgrader is directing Brooke Adams and Tony Shaloub in this existential allegory. It should be a hot ticket, pun and global warming reference intended. Guess when it's playing? Yup, September through October 12th.

Then we get a little break till November 5th when Elevator Repair Service returns to REDCAT. This is the brilliant New York company that transfixed audiences with Gatz and The Sound and the Fury. This time they're extending their literary talents to the Supreme Court case Barnes v. Glen Theatre in Arguendo. For those of you who aren't historical connoiseurs of the Supreme Court docket - this was the first amendment case brought by a group of go-go dancers fighting for the right to dance nude. I literally cannot wait.

To round out your fall - UCLA is giving us our annual slow dose of Robert Wilson. This time it's Robert Wilson, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe - November 14 and 15. 'Nuff said.

Six shows - you shouldn't miss. So soak up the summer this weekend because we've got a busy fall in the theater.

For info on the shows and to join the conversation, check out: kcrw.com/theater.

This is Anthony Byrnes Opening the Curtain on LA Theater for KCRW.


Banner Image Credit: Lucie Jansch

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