Capital Stage continues to turn up the heat with its latest production, “True West,” one of actor/playwright Sam Shepard’s best known and most popular works. On the surface Shepard’s story is a pretty simple and straightforward one. The story is set in an older home in a Southern California suburb 40 miles east of Los Angles. Think Rancho Cucamonga, Lancaster or even Riverside County. Mom is off to Alaska and has asked dutiful son Austin to house sit the modest childhood home he grew up in, primarily to keep her beloved plants alive. In walks bad brother Lee, who stirs things up only as a Sam Shepard bad boy character can. Shepard is very much an actor’s playwright and Capital Stage is v

photographs by Barry Wisdom |  Capital Stage continues its inaugural season at its new J Street home with Sam Shepard's iconic 1980 work "True West," opening March 24, 2012, for a four-week run. Discounted previews are set for March 21-23. Originally produced by San Francisco's Magic Circle Theate in 1980 during Shepard's tenure as the company's resident playwright, "True West" is a character study exploring the relationship between the Ivy League-educated Austin, a screenwriter, and his older brother Lee, a shiftless, beer-swilling ne'er-do-well. Set in the suburban Southern California home of their mother, for whom Austin is house-sitting, their life-long conflict comes to a head when

Capital Stage’s move from the Delta King to the heart of Midtown, while a great deal of work, seems to have gone smoothly. The new theater certainly fulfills the part of Capital Stage’s mission about performing “in an intimate, close up setting.” Capital Stage chose “Superior Donuts” by Tracy Letts to open its seventh season. It is the first in a theater designed by them to produce the type of shows they like to do. Letts is now best known for “August: Osage County” a major Broadway hit bigger than life in every way. “Superior Donuts” tells the story of Arthur Przybyszewski a classic hippy from the 60s. Arthur now runs the rundown North Chicago donut shop inherited from his Polish emigra

She welcomes you in. Shyly at first, but before long she starts treating you like an old friend - sharing recipes, gossip and the important events in her life. This is Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Mass. At least, this is the Emily Dickinson of William Luce’s 1976 play “The Belle of Amherst.” Luce spent two years doing extensive research into Dickinson’s life, reading several biographies, diaries, letters and Dickinson’s extensive collection of poetry. In writing “The Belle of Amherst” Luce changed some of the facts in a manner that would probably be described as “for dramatic reasons.” When “The Belle of Amherst” premiered on Broadway in '76, it starr

Due to popular demand, the Capital Stage Company production of MASTER CLASS has been extended. 4 more performances have been added Thurs. Apr. 14 and Friday Apr. 15 at 8:00pm, Saturday Apr. 16 at 7:00pm and Sunday April 17 at 2:00pm.  If you haven't seen Janis Stevens' electrifying performance as Maria Callas here are your last chances. SacPress review. Tickets and more info.

Maria Callas died more than 33 years ago yet her recordings still set standards in the opera world. Famous for her temper, rivalries with fellow divas and her longtime affair with Aristotle Onassis, she was hot copy in the press while alive and long after her death. She had a tough life before her triumph as an one of the most revered figures in opera of all time. She lived and studied in Greece through World War II. Callas had her premiere at the La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy, considered to be the most prestigious opera house in the world in December, 1951. Seven years later, she was let go. She died at a young 54 years of age. Maria Callas was the consummate diva. Award-winning

"reasons to be pretty" at Capital Stage is the third in a trilogy of plays by provocative contemporary American playwright, screenwriter and director Neil LaBute. Capital Stage previously staged "The Shape of Things" (2006) and "Fat Pig" (2007). These three plays are LaBute's examination of the modern day obsession with physical beauty. The play opens with a bang. As LaBute describes the scene in his script: "Lights burst on. At home. Two people in their bedroom, already in the middle of it. A nice little fight. Wham!" We don't know what Greg said. Greg doesn't seem to know what he said. Steph seems quite clear what Greg said -or at least what her best friend Carly couldn't wait to tell

On Friday night, the stage came to life with "Children of Light," a Greek drama about Elektra (Brittaleigha Baskerville), the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra (Janis Stevens, who also directed). The play is writer Rick Foster's somewhat modernized take on Elektra's story of love, power and murder and he has injected just enough modern wit and sarcasm so that the audience can connect with the play, which is set in ancient Greece. The story of Elektra and her family has been told by the Greeks for centuries and it is Euripides' version that most interested Foster. He explores her loyalty to her father as she plots the murder of her mother (the Queen), who murdered Elektra'