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Arts and Entertainment

This Week in Theater: Five Picks

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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 of Democracy
111 N. Central Ave.
Los Angeles
(213) 413-1077
Tonight at 7:30 PM
FREE

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Ray Bradbury’s Green Town
Green Town sounds like a combination of Our Town and the Twilight Zone. But does that really surprise you coming from Ray Bradbury? According to the press release, it's "a themed evening, a deft mix of fantasy and nostalgia set in the mythical town of Green Town, Illinois, probably suggested by Bradbury’s own birthplace, Waukegan. It’s an indeterminate time, somewhere around 1930 perhaps, in a Midwestern place where trees line streets surrounded by abundant flora, giving the locale its name. It’s a place where businesses are locally owned, and their proprietors are known to all, as are people’s neighbors. It’s a peaceful town….until fantastic events begin to intrude, of course. Young boys discover the secrets of time travel and, while they still can, visit the sights and sounds of decades past."

Fremont Centre Theatre
1000 Fremont Ave.
South Pasadena
(323) 960-4451
Opens Saturday at 8.
Runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 3 until July 22. (No show on June 29.)
$20

The Dreamer Examines His Pillow
John Patrick Shanley's (Moonstruck) play looks at life, love, art and women in this three-person production.

Beverly Hills Playhouse
254 South Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles
(310) 358-9936
http://camelotartists.com/
Opens Saturday at 8.
Runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 7 until July 22.
$20

Last Call at Moby Dick's
This sounds like Friends and The Big Chill...and it could be better than anything on TV right now. Ed Marill's comedy depicts six unlikely friends in their early 30s who reunite at the dive bar in Florida where they met during college.

McCadden Place Theatre
1157 N. McCadden Place
Hollywood
(323) 960-5521
http://www.lastagealliance.com/lastagetixCalendar.asp
Opens tonight at 8 pm.
Runs Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 PM until July 21.
$20

Come Back, Little Sheba
Lola (played by S. Epatha Merkerson) is a woman lost in her memories and caught in a stale, hapless 25-year marriage with Doc (Alan Rosenberg), a man who has his own struggles with the past. Lola opens their home to a fresh-faced young boarder, and soon the precarious balance of the couple's relationship is shaken by Marie's youthful sexuality and vivaciousness. (And we love Merkerson in Law & Order!)

Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre
9820 Washington Blvd.
Culver City
(213) 628-2772
Starts Sunday at 4 pm.
Check here for the performance schedule.
$20

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