Porters of Hellsgate Will Return With Two Productions in Repertory

he Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Company has announced their return to production after the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic with two productions in rep! The season title is "Reopening the Gates".

First up, All is True, or Henry VIII directed by newly minted Artistic Director Will Block, will open at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre on November 4th, and run until December 5th.

Block says of the play: "We've always reveled in revealing Shakespeare's less produced plays to be gems in their own right, even if they are less wieldy than their bigger name cousins. All is True is a biting political satire-a study in desperation and survival as various courtiers, clerics, and politicos strive for power in the vortex of Henry VIII's court. In the center of it, Henry's queen of 20 years, Katherine of Aragon, struggles to maintain power and security for herself and for the women of the court.

With his final history play, Shakespeare once again revisits his central thesis on monarchy- that absolute power corrodes absolutely. But where his previous history plays were huge sprawling operas, he chooses to close out his saga with an atonal jazz improvisation. We are so, so thrilled to share this timely and deeply odd play with LA audiences."

Leading the company are longtime company member Jesse James Thomas in the role of Henry, frequent collaborator Dawn Alden as Katherine of Aragon, and Associate Artistic Director Thomas Bigley in the role of Cardinal Wolsey. Rounding out the company are Sean Faye, Bri@any Pirozzoli, Ian Runge, Thomas Block, Michael Bigley, Julie Lanctot, Renée Torchio Macdonald, Adrian Zamora, Brendan Mulligan, and Anusha Shankar.

Coming off a thrilling and award winning world premiere run at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, the Porters are thrilled to announce an encore run of Charlotte Munson's tour de force one woman musi- cal Di Lady Di.

Searingly innovative and comedic, Di Lady Di eschews the fairytale glamor of the peoples princess to illuminate her struggles in a paternalistic society and dysfunctional family. Under pressure to sacrifice self and conform to oppressive external demands, the Queen of peoples hearts bravely relinquishes illusory dreams to emerge from her crucible-chrysalis as an empowered woman of influence, tran- scending celebrity and transforming the monarchy. Di Lady Di reveals what is under the looking glass, taking an unflinching gaze into the heart and mind of an icon in turmoil, evocatively expressing lessons learned from her private journey. Through beautiful, multi-layered harmonies and incisive lyrics, Di Lady Di celebrates the transformative possibilities of looking inward, overcoming familial trauma, and the ineffable power of a woman's intuition.

Charlotte Munson reprises her lauded performance from the 2022 Hollywood Fringe Festival, which critics hailed as "invenFve and original" and "a juggernaut of talent". Alicia Gibson takes the director's chair for the first time since her lauded production of Taming of the Shrew in 2019. Additional music was composed by Richard Munson. The projections are designed by Drina Durazo.

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