There's a week left until the holiday rush officially begins. So why not relax this weekend, get some cultcha and see some local theatre. Here are our five picks for the week: Grand Delusion This black comedy listens in on a secret meeting of world leaders just before WW I. The Lost Studio. 130 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 960-4441. Tickets are $20. Opens Saturday at 8 pm. Runs Fridays and Saturdays at......

There's an eclectic mix of comedy, drama and spoken word in this week's theatre picks. Shut Up and Eat Your Groundlings The Groundlings’ latest sketch show hits the stage this weekend. Groundlings Theater. 7307 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 934-4747 ext. 37. Tickets are $21.50. Opens Friday at 8 pm. Runs Fridays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 8 and 10 pm until Nov. 24. L.A. Voz L.A. Voz (Los Angeles Voice) is a series......

Sorry for the lateness of this column...computer problems just bite. Anyway, this week's theater picks are filled with abuse, angst and comedy -- but not necessarily in the same show: Lost Angeles Ten Gen Xers – including a scientist who’s gotten himself a date with a beautiful woman whom he had been stalking and a woman who’s scored a MySpace date with “the world’s hottest lesbian” – are trying to find their way in the......

It may be a tad chilly outside -- it's 68 degrees, break out those parkas! -- but LA's theatre scene is heating up. Here are LAist's five theatre picks for the week: Evil Knievel, the Rock Opera Yes, the stunt-daredevil motorcycle master now has a rock opera tribute. The music has a decidedly 70s sound. Bootleg Theatre. 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. 213-389-3856. Tickets are $25-$30. Opens Saturday at 8 pm and runs Thursdays and......

The heatwave of 07 might be waning, but the local theatre scene is getting hot hot hot. Here are LAist’s five theater picks for this weekend: Butterflies of Uganda: Memories of a Child Soldier Butterflies of Uganda tells the story of Mary, who as a young Acholi girl was stolen from her home in Northern Uganda and forced to fight as a soldier in the Lord's Resistance Army. The play explores an already strained......

We know lots of people are heading out of town for a jumpstart on the Labor Day holiday. But if you’re sticking around -- maybe check out one of LAist’s theatre picks this week: 365 Days/365 Plays: Week 42 The staging of Suzan-Lori Parks’s massive experiment of writing a play a day continues this week in the hands of the Angry Bubble Productions. Audience members will be taken in 20 at a time for......

You want a little more variety in your life? How about checking out the diverse theater scene around town? Here are just five of the shows opening this weekend: Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical Yes, you read that right. The ’70s porn classic comes to the stage at the Key Club. Key Club. 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 310-274-5800. Tickets are $35-$55. Opens tonight at 8 pm. Runs Thursdays in August. Godislav A young......

There's some great productions opening around town this weekend -- here's a sampling: Bad Seed Buzzworks Theater Company puts on a comic remake of Bad Seed, written by Maxwell Anderson in the 1950s and banned for its homosexual references and other Freudian theories. It’s the story of an 8-year-old murderess born without pity. We can’t wait for this one! Lounge Theatre. 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. 323.960.5563. Tickets are $25-$30. Opens Saturday at......

This might be a holiday week(end), but LA's theatre scene never rests. Here are this week's five picks: The Catskill Sonata Veteran writer/director/actor Paul Mazursky directs this play about a bohemian (read: leftist) group of writers, artists and musicians who gather at a Catskill hotel in the 1950s. But times are a' changing this particular summer because of McCarthy's blacklist. Matrix Theater 7657 Melrose Ave., L.A Opens Saturday at 8 pm. Runs Fridays and......

Here are the five productions opening this weekend that are currently piquing LAist’s interest: 7 Glimpses of Utopia Tonight only, the Skid Row-based theater group LAPD (Los Angeles Poverty Department) presents a picture of utopian possibilities in downtown L.A. LAPD'ers and others were asked to identify and invite someone they knew who was doing something "laudable, and important, something that represents the best of the current and future downtown." National Center for the Preservation......

There are other ways of supporting your actor friends around town – besides leaving a good tip at restaurants. LA is home to a great number of renowned theater groups and local community productions. Some of the shows are much better than Cats and way cheaper than anything on Broadway. So here are five plays opening this weekend whose descriptions are piquing LAist’s interest: A Nice Family Gathering Written by Phil Olson and directed......