PASCAL & JULIEN to Have US Premiere at 24th Street Theatre

Multiple award-winning 24th Street Theatre will present a uniquely touching story about fathers and sons and the birth of a friendship. Artistic director Debbie Devine helms the U.S. premiere of Pascal & Julien by Australian playwright Daniel Keene. The eight-week run takes place September 7 through October 27 at the company’s home, a converted carriage house in the West Adams historic district. To increase audience accessibility, all performances will feature Spanish supertitles. 

From the team behind the NAACP Theater Award-winning Rapunzel Alone and the Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award-winning Walking the Tightrope comes the story of a closed, isolated middle-aged man whose true self is able to emerge through his friendship with a child. Pascal (Paul Turbiak, understudied by Rick Segall) is a regular at the local café, spending his days huddled over a cup of coffee and a crossword. Thirteen-year-old Julien (Darby Winn, alternating with Jude Schwartz) is on the hunt for a new father to replace his own, who is distant and remote. Julien’s been keeping his binoculars trained on Pascal. Could this awkward, graceless adult be the right one? Audiences both young and old will be enthralled by this bittersweet story of heartache and connection. (Not appropriate for children under eight.)

“Because this kid has the crazy idea that Pascal would make a better father than his own, it completely changes this man,” says Devine. “Children feel the whimsy, they see the possibility. To a kid, nothing is impossible.”

“This is exactly the kind of work we like to do here at 24th Street,” she continues. “We’re always on the hunt for sophisticated stories that are not what most people think of as ‘family theater,’ but that will captivate audiences of all ages.”

Originally commissioned by Scéne Nationale de Toulouse in France, where it was presented under the title “L’Apprenti” in a translation by Séverine Magois and awarded the Prix Théâtre en Pages, the 24th Street Theatre production marks the play’s English language as well as its U.S. premiere. 

Over 80 productions of Keene’s work have been presented in Europe, predominately in France. Keene was the first (and so far, the only) Australian playwright to be produced in the main program of the Avignon Festival, and major productions and tours of his work include theaters such as the Théâtre de la Commune in Paris, Scéne Nationale de Toulouse, Scéne Nationale de Valence, Scéne Nationale de Bordeaux and the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. Seven volumes of his plays (French translations by Séverine Magois) have been published by éditions Théâtrales, Paris. More than a dozen of his plays have been performed and toured in France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg. 

The creative team for Pascal & Julien includes composer Bradley Brough; scenic designer Keith Mitchell; video designer Matthew G. Hill; lighting designer Dan Weingarten; sound designer John Nobori; costume designer Shannon Kennedy; and casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA and Richie Ferris, CSA. Spanish translation is by Jesús Castaños-Chima, who also assistant directs. The production stage manager is Christina Otarola. Jay McAdams and Jennie McInnis produce for 24th Street Theatre alongside line producer Abel Alvarado.

24th Street Theatre is a multiple award-winning professional theater company with a unique connection to its local inner-city community: the giant green doors to the theater are literally kept open to the street every day. Neighborhood residents, homeless people, local kids, students and visiting parents from nearby USC, and others stop in daily for coffee, conversation or to access educational, cultural and social service resources. Founded in 1997 as a more traditional theater, the community needs changed the theater’s focus from simply creating high caliber art to using that art to make a difference in the lives of the local neighborhood residents. With a mission to engage, educate, and provoke its diverse community and city with an eclectic array of high quality artistic programming, 24th Street Theatre serves over 10,000 people annually: 6,000 children and youth, and 4,000 adults, the majority of whom are low-income. The 24th Street brand, marked by resolute commitment to the integrity of the work and a heightened, minimalistic style, is reflected in its arts education programs as well as in its mainstage productions for families.

Pascal & Julien opens on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m., with performances thereafter on Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through October 27. There will be one additional performance, on Monday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m., and three previews: on Friday, Aug. 30 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 31 at 3 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 7 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $24 for adults; $15 for students, seniors and teachers; $10 audiences under 18 (not appropriate for kids under eight); and $2.40 for residents of the theater’s surrounding North University Park neighborhood. Preview performances are $5, and the performance on Monday, Sept. 16 will be Pay-What-You-Can. Content warning: fleeting use of profanity.

24th Street Theatre is located at 1117 West 24th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007 (at the intersection of 24th and Hoover). To purchase tickets and for more information, call (213)745-6516 or go to www.24thstreet.org.

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