ACTORS' GANG 'Aah! Scrooge Must Die!' Begins CA Performances 11/28

The Actors' Gang puts the "X" in Xmas with Aah! Scrooge Must Die!, a rambunctious and very raunchy retelling of Dickens' beloved classic tale. Leave the kids at home - this one is uproariously NC-17. Performances take place Saturday, December 6 through January 10 at The Actors' Gang in the Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Blvd. in downtown Culver City.

Written by company member Angela Berliner who also directs, Aah! Scrooge Must Die! is raucous, crazy, fast and funny in The Actors' Gang signature style that incorporates aspects of commedia, physical comedy, song and dance.

"In the book, Scrooge is redeemed in the end and regrets his ways," says Berliner. "But our version recognizes that a sociopath is still a sociopath. It's really his fear of death that causes Scrooge to change his ways, as opposed to a true reversal of spirit."

She adds, "Scott Harris, who plays Scrooge, is a madman. He sinks into the character so fully, but in reality he is the nicest guy. There's a monster like Scrooge somewhere in all of us - a dark side most of us aren't even aware of."

In addition to Harris, Aah! Scrooge Must Die! features Actors' Gang company members Pierre Adeli, Jeff Branion, Anne Rene Brashier, Seth Compton, Cindy D'Andrea, Elora Dannon, Emilia Herman, R.J. Jones, Steven M. Porter, Chris Schultz, Miriam Stark, Heather Thomas, Toni Torres, Sabra Williams and Justin Zsebe.

Angela Berliner has been a Gang member since 2001. Her play Little premiered with the company, and she is the force behind The Actors' Gang's critically acclaimed Summer-In-The-Park Shakespeare series for families for which she has written Pericles on the High Seas, Titus the Clownicus and last summer's King O'Leary.

Set and Lighting Design for Aah! Scrooge Must Die! are by François-Pierrre Couture; Sound Design is by John Zalewski; and Costumes are by Kate Poppen.

The Actors' Gang, founded in 1982 by a group of renegade theater artists, has over 100 productions and more than 100 awards to its credit, and consistently wins acclaim for its daring interpretations of Shakespeare, Buchner, Brecht, Moliere, Aeschylus, Ibsen and Chekhov, while also developing bold new plays that address the world today through a prism of satire, popular culture, and raucous stagecraft. The Gang is currently touring nationally with Michael Gene Sullivan's adaptation of George Orwell's 1984, directed by the company's artistic director, Tim Robbins, and recently completed international dates in New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. Other Actors' Gang productions that have toured to cities across the U.S include Tim Robbins' Embedded, Anne Nelson's The Guys, and Jessica Blank's and Erik Jensen's The Exonerated. The Actors' Gang actively reaches out to the community with its Free Summer-in-the-Park productions for families; Artist Residency in Local Schools program; by running lower, middle and high school after school programs with children from the community; by performing special matinees for local schools; and with accessibility performances for the hearing- and sight-impaired.

Performances of Aah! Scrooge Must Die! take place December 6 through January 10: Thursdays at 8 pm; Fridays at 8pm and 10:30 pm; and Saturdays at 8pm and 10:30 pm. There are no performances December 25 - January 1, and no late-night, 10:30 pm performances for previews or on Opening Night (December 6). Four preview performances take place at 8 pm on Friday, November 28; Saturday, November 29; Thursday, December 4; and Friday, December 5. Reserved seating is $25, except Opening Night (December 6) which is $50 and includes a catered reception; Students are $20; Previews are $15; all Thursday evening performances are Pay-What-You-Can.

The Actors' Gang is located in the Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Blvd. (near the intersection of Culver and Venice Blvds.) in Culver City. Two hours free parking is available throughout downtown Culver City; the Ince Parking Lot (corner of Culver and Ince) is directly across the street from the theater. In addition, several restaurants (Italian, French, Thai, Japanese, and more) are only a few blocks' walk from The Actors' Gang and offer a variety of dining options before and after the theater. The Ivy Substation is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call The Actors' Gang Box Office at 310-838-GANG (310-838-4264) or go to www.theactorsgang.com.

 

 

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