NO EXIT Opens 7/28 at Long Beach Playhouse

Jean-Paul Sartre's existential masterpiece No Exit opens at the Long Beach Playhouse on July 28. The play centers on three characters: two women and one man who are locked up together for eternity in one hideous room in hell. The windows don't exist; there are no mirrors; the electric lights can never be turned off; and no exit. The irony of this hell is that its torture is not of the rack and fire, but the burning humiliation of each soul as it is stripped of its pretenses by the cruel curiosity of the damned.

"No Exit has long been a favorite of mine. It challenges our perceptions and suggests that Hell just might be spending eternity with just a few select people," said Andrew Vonderschmitt, Executive and Producing Artistic Director of the Playhouse.

For this production, Vonderschmitt also serves as the play's director. His job will be to take the audience into the physical place of Hell, but more importantly into the tortured minds of the three people who find themselves imprisoned by the choices made during their time on earth. And to bring forth the personality traits that make them so troubling to one another.

"In a way these characters are like pinballs pinging off one another. There is no way to see out, no way to see a reflection that isn't filtered by the perception of the others in the room. The light is always on, there's no place to hide," said Vonderschmitt. "Manipulations, fabrications, denials all serve to illustrate the human failings of each character. In the end, we find that 'Hell is just other people.'"

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THIS PLAY:

• Pay what you can Thursday July 24 - community can see this production for whatever they can afford
• Two for One Preview Friday July 25 - Tickets are $12.00
• Opening Night Champagne Reception with cast on July 26- Tickets are $27.00

Adults are $24.00, seniors $21.00, and Students $14.00.

Tickets are available at www.lbplayhouse.org, or by calling 562-494-1014, option 1.

Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA, 90804, right across from the Long Beach Recreation golf course. The Playhouse is community-supported theatre with programs and events that cut across age, gender, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.

Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00-2:00 pm on scheduled matinees.

Photography: Mike Hardy

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