TARTUFFE, POPE! & More Set for Theatre Unleashed's 2014 Season

Theatre Unleashed is pleased to announce a full and exciting 2014 Season that is sure to continue the company's growth into one of the biggest and brightest on the L.A. theatre scene.

"This is going to be a great year for us," said Artistic Director Carlos Martinez. "We made some very big moves in 2013, including building our own home theater space, The Belfry Stage in North Hollywood. We also saw some of our most successful shows to date and we want to keep that momentum going. That's why this season we're presenting a variety of thrilling theatrical productions that we think will make some big noise on the L.A. theatre scene."

Theatre Unleashed 2014 Main Stage/Festival Season
Tartuffe - March/April - Theatre Unleashed opens 2014 with one of the greatest and most controversial satires of all time, Tartuffe. The religious fraud Tartuffe has fooled the wealthy but naive Orgon, who is ready to award him his daughter's hand in marriage. But the wily and wicked "imposter" has his sights set on even loftier goals, including seducing his host's wife, ruining the family name and taking over the household. Moliere's signature work, using Ranjit Bolt's daring and dynamite translation, is aggressively presented in association with Mad Magpie and helmed by classics master director Jeff Soroka, who explores in rapid-fire fashion the themes of obsession, control, gullibility, the absurdity of zealotry and above all, hypocrisy.

The Hollywood Fringe Festival - 25 Plays Per Hour - June - TU brings back its audience favorite! The rebirth of the Super Short, 25PPH features 25 original plays with a handful of the company's premiere actors playing over 50 characters...in less than an hour. Fusing comedy, drama and everything in between, these amazing pieces make for speed theatre at its best!

The Hollywood Fringe Festival - Friends Like These - June - TU re-introduces its provocative original work that has achieved critical acclaim in both L.A. and New York. Friends Like These takes a candid and poignant look at the staggering issue of violence in our high schools. Garrett is an outsider who spends most of his troubled existence in a fantasy world called Haven...that is until he meets Nicole, the popular cheerleader with a curious mind. As quickly as things begin looking up for Garrett, they come crashing down, forcing him to face both his past mistakes and his harsh present reality while he struggles for redemption. This gut-wrenching piece unswervingly explores the emotional trauma brought on by social mores during high school, forcing a confrontation with the causes and tragic consequences that left us staggered as a nation during Columbine and other high school shootings.

POPE! An Epic Musical - September/October - After the success of 2012's The Spidey Project, TU is very excited to bring another Justin Moran original satirical musical out for its West Coast debut. An idealistic young Pope is framed for a heinous crime and banished from the Vatican. The people, blinded by the media frenzy, allow a tyrannical archbishop to seize power. As this new Pope tightens his iron fist the people are disheartened and in despair and the world is crying out for a hero...can Pope reclaim his glory to become the hero the world needs?

KAWL Presents It's a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play for the Stage - December - TU is pleased to bring back the heart-warming tale and local holiday tradition. The show takes place at KAWL, a struggling 1940s radio station that good-hearted owner Michael Anderson is barely keeping alive. He calls on some old friends (with big personalities) and some less-than-professional station employees to offer up the touching masterpiece in what might sadly be the station's last live show. But it is the holidays, a time when miracles can happen...

Beyond the Main Stage, TU will also introduce new works in its many series, including the 24-Hour Theatre Events, Late Night Shows and a few other surprises along the way!

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