Itzin, Pietz, Weber Head LA Theatre Works' ENRON

Gregory Itzin, Amy Pietz and Steven Weber head the cast when L.A. Theatre Works presents Lucy Prebble's award-winning, savagely comic tale of greed and loss during financial meltdown, Enron. Five performances, directed by Rosalind Ayres, take place October 20-24 at the Skirball Cultural Center. All performances will be recorded for broadcast on L.A. Theatre Works' nationally syndicated radio theater series, which airs locally in Southern California on KPCC 89.3 every Saturday from 10 pm - midnight and can be streamed on demand at www.latw.org.

"The only difference between me and the people judging me is they weren't smart enough to do what we did," says Jeffrey Skilling (Steven Weber) in Prebble's rapid-fire, sophisticated thrill-ride that propels the audience through one of the most infamous financial scandals in history. Using a clever mix of humor, pathos, and music, the big biz machinations of Skilling, Kenneth Lay and Andy Fastow are laid bare as razzle-dazzle entertainment, casting a shocking new light on the state of today's economy and how we got here.

"I didn't want to write a play about finance that's boring," Prebble said in an interview. "They hired Cirque du Soleil to perform at their company parties. So, I thought, can we bring that flamboyance to the stage?"

"My aim was to show the theatricality of business and the illusions on which it thrives. Jeffrey Skilling had a messianic zeal and believed he could change the world by creating a virtual economy. Andy Fastow, his chief finance officer, was a fan of fantasy films and sci-fi, and gave Enron's shadow companies names like Raptor and Talon - an idea I seized on, so that on-stage raptors become a scary, sinister way of showing how Fastow's ideas spun out of control."

Lucy Prebble won the George Devine Award and the Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright for her debut play The Sugar Syndrome at the Royal Court in 2004. Enron, commissioned by the Headlong Theatre, premiered at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester, England and then moved for a six-week run to The Royal Court Theatre. The play transferred to the West End's Noel Coward Theatre in January 2010 where it continued to play to sold out houses even as it opened on Broadway in April. "[A] fantastic firecracker of a new play" (Daily Telegraph); "Nimble, funny, clear-eyed, inventive, informative, exhilarating and then sobering, relentlessly entertaining, surprisingly affecting, this is not to be missed." (The London Times); "Enron is an exhilarating mix of political satire, modern morality and multimedia spectacle." (The Guardian). Tim Walker, the Sunday Telegraph critic, gave it five stars, drawing parallels with the plot to that of King Lear; "While it isn't done any more to say this in the financial pages, I say it here with conviction: Enron is a strong buy," he wrote.

For three decades, L.A. Theatre Works has been the leading radio theater company in the United States, committed to using innovative technologies to preserve and promote significant works of dramatic literature and bringing live theater into the homes of millions.  L.A. Theatre Works' radio theater series can be heard locally in Southern California on Saturday from 10pm to midnight on KPCC 89.3 FM, and can also be streamed on demand at www.latw.org/.  The series can also be heard on the following stations (check local listings for broadcast times): 89.7 WGBH, Boston; 91.5 FM WBEZ, Chicago; 94.9 KUOW, Seattle; 90.1 WABE, Atlanta; 94.1 KPFA, Berkeley; 91.1 KRCB, North Bay (San Francisco); and many other stations nationwide.

Performances of ENRON take place on Wednesday, October 20 at 8 pm; Thursday, October 21 at 8 pm; Friday, October 22 at 8 pm; Saturday, October 23 at 2:30 pm; and Sunday, October 24 at 4 pm.  Tickets range from $20.00 to $49.00.  L.A. Theatre Works at the Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd, off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Santa Monica Mountains (exit Skirball Center Drive).  For tickets and information, call the L.A. Theatre Works box office at (310) 827-0889 or go to www.latw.org.

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