Vets to Bring Postwar Experience EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN to Liberty Theater

On Veteran's Day, the Hollywood American Legion Post 43, Liberty Theater will present the world premiere of Everything In Between, in their Historic Cultural Monument Building at 2035 N. Highland Avenue.

Four generations of vets, dealing with their own difficulties, collaborate to help a young man coming home from the war in Afghanistan. Lance Porter is haunted by the loss and experiences that followed him back, as it is destroys his relationships and life, as he knew it. When his search for solace leads him to another bar, the cynical patrons threaten to lead him further down the rabbit hole.

"Invisible injuries, often with devastating consequences, follow our soldiers back home. I have always had a story in my head about different generations of Veterans, from all branches of the military, coming together to help one another heal. It's about the human condition we all share and the specific condition that veterans share, along with the hope that things are somehow going to get better," explains Rebecca Stahl, playwright.

John DiFusco (Director) is the recipient of a New York Drama Desk Award as well as a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly, NAACP Theatre, Drama-Logue, Robby, and Valley Theatre League Award. He began his professional career at the Odyssey Theatre with credits such as Peer Gynt, The Kid, The Caucasion Chalk Circle, The Balcony, and Mother Courage. John created and directed the landmark Vietnam play Tracers, which premiered at OTE. He directed the New York Premiere at The Public Theater, where it was published as one of "The Ten Best of 85/86." John has toured extensively and internationally with Tracers, which continues to be produced around the world. Locally, he has directed numerous plays including Hair, White People, Avenue X, Joan and the Zulus, Just A Song at Twilight, Will Strip for Food, Ali, and Rounds. John received the USAF Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service in Vietnam.

The American Legion was formed in 1919 to give all veterans a place to congregate together in fellowship as well as memorial. The Hollywood post raised funds with the help of A-listers Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Ida Lupino Clark Gable, Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, and the Marx Brothers who attended their boxing matches along side blue-collar patrons. The building described as "military in character and a dignified solution to the problem of combining a memorial and a clubhouse," by the Los Angeles Times was opened on July 4, 1929.

"We came back from Vietnam alone. The term PTSD was developed from our experience and this often created barriers between us and our fathers and uncles who had served in WWII. We were labeled drug addicts, losers, and crybabies. Rebecca Stahl captures today's Vet World where these gaps are non-existent. This is what attracted me to the play. In spite of any personal emotional baggage, older Veterans seeing a need and taking action," says director John DiFusco; Vietnam Veteran

Produced by the community veterans' organization, Hollywood Post 43 of the American Legion. Our cast, crew, and design team include U.S. military veterans.

Our Cast: Jaimyon Parker, Karl Risinger, J, Kenneth Campbell, Rachel Boller, CampbellDe Silva, Caron Strong, Tania Verafield, Fred Hirz, and Johnny D.

Everything In Between opens at 8pm on November 11th (Veteran's Day) and runs 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 3pm on Sundays through December 4, 2016 (no performance November 25th). American Legion Hollywood Post 43, 2035 N. Highland Avenue, Hollywood, CA. Tickets $25 (Military and veterans $15). Free parking onsite. For information and reservations: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2709880.

Photo Credit: Teri Green

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