Antaeus Theatre Company is highlighting the culture and history of six additional Los Angeles neighborhoods with Season Two of its "The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles" podcast series, set to launch May 20.
Over 45,000 Season One listeners were transported to South Central L.A. (90011), Downtown L.A. (90012), Westwood (90024), Pacific Palisades (90272), Santa Monica (90403) and Sun Valley (91352). Season Two will introduce audiences to the geographically, historically and culturally diverse locales of Echo Park (90026), West Hollywood (90069), Inglewood (90303), Pacoima (91331), North Hollywood (91601) and Monterey Park (91754).
90026: Echo Park, "$10 and a Tambourine" takes us to the Angelus Temple, the Pentecostal megachurch built in 1923 at the north end of Echo Lake by famed evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. Religion, power and celebrity are all up for grabs in this peek into the city's early days. McPherson (played by Eve Gordon) is forced to defend her past, her present and the future of Los Angeles itself when she entertains two visitors - one alive (Mike McShane as William Mulholland, chief engineer of the Bureau of Water and Supply) and one dead (Leonard Earl Howze as William J. Seymour, the African American holiness preacher who first invited McPherson to L.A.) in this compelling play by Mildred Inez Lewis. Directed by Gigi Bermingham.
In 90069: West Hollywood, "Brunch, Interrupted," we travel to WeHo, where nearly 40% of the population currently identifies as LGBTQ. In Sean Abley's provocative and hilarious play, Joe (Bill Brochtrup) and Moses (Parnell Damone Marcano) are an interracial gay couple "of a certain age" setting up for a fundraiser outside their favorite queer bar. Questions about privilege, code switching, daytime drag and who is really colonizing whom burst like an overstuffed piñata when the two are unexpectedly confronted by a new, straight neighbor (Anne Gee Byrd). Michael A. Shepperd directs.
Hollywood Park Racetrack is about to close its doors forever in 90303: Inglewood, "The Vig" written by Paula Cizmar and directed by Bernadette Speakes. But that doesn't stop new-to-town Lina from searching for a long lost relative - with nothing but a yellowing Polaroid and an old tip sheet. The odds for the future are long in this look at the dreams that drive people to reinvent themselves in the City of Angels. Featuring Ellis Greer, Don R. McManus and Keiana Richàrd.
Fascinating, little-known historical facts about 91331: Pacoima come to light in "Gold & Shine," written by Khari Wyatt and directed by Saundra McClain. A university professor stung by professional disappointment has a chance encounter with an old man and his mule that pushes her into a thrilling storm of family revelations, haunting visions and altered realities, where she discovers an answer to the question, "What do we owe to the past?" With Tamika Katon-Donegal, Dale E. Turner and Karen Malina White.
Watching the world go by from her balcony in 91601: North Hollywood "End of the Line," self-appointed "detective" Aimee-Lynn is a curious observer of the goings-on in her local NoHo neighborhood. But when a suspicious incident occurs on the street below, Aimee-Lynn's worldview is changed forever in this dramedy about the duality that exists right before our eyes - if we can see it. Written by Peppur Chambers, directed by Gregg T. Daniel and starring Tamarra Graham, Mildred Marie Langford and Rob Nagle.
The last stop on the journey is a visit to 91754: Monterey Park, the first city in the Continental United States with an Asian American majority, called the "nation's first suburban Chinatown" by the Los Angeles Times. In "Bingo Bitches," a raucous comedy by Elizabeth Wong, it's Bingo day at the local senior center, and Kwan Tai (Karen Huie) is introducing her old friend Wong Tai (Cici Lau) to the game and all of its rituals - including her lucky potato. But who will be the big winner when nemesis Mrs. Boodakian (Jade Hykush) turns up? Jennifer Chang directs.
Back at the helm for Season Two is audio producer, sound designer and Foley artist Jeff Gardner. Two-time Audiofile Award-winner Ramón de Ocampo returns as season host, and the series will once again feature original music composed by Ellen Mandel. Diego Tapia is the audio editor and Taylor Anne Cullen is the production stage manager.
The Los Angeles Times called Season One "a whistle-stop tour of the weirder corners of our diverse metropolis... quick and fun and surprising, and the production quality is exceptional." The LA Weekly found it "enchanting and original... deliver[s] Los Angeles to your laptop." And Splash Magazines wrote, "as informative as it is entertaining... tell[s] some little-known tales of Los Angeles' different neighborhoods."
Season One includes a virtual, interactive touring experience that highlights landmarks and small businesses in each zip code. A similar experience will be launched for Season Two on June 3.
Based in Glendale, California at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, Antaeus is an actor-driven theater company that explores and produces timely and timeless works, grounded in its passion for the classics. The company illuminates diverse human experiences through performance, training and outreach. It believes in the transformative power of live theater.
You can hear The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles podcast series at www.Antaeus.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
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