Books published by publisher L.A. Theatre Works

Based on Ernest J. Gaines' National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novel, A Lesson Before Dying is set in a small Louisiana Cajun community in the late 1940s. Jefferson, a young illiterate black man, is falsely convicted of murder and is sentenced to death. Grant Wiggins, the plantation schoolteacher, agrees to talk with the condemned man. The disheartened Wiggins had once harbored dreams of escaping from his impoverished youth, yet he returned to his hometown after university, to teach children whose lives seemed as unpromising as Jefferson's. The two men forge a bond as they come to understand what it means to resist and defy one's fate.

The first in Neil Simon’s "Eugene Trilogy," followed by Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound Winner of a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play Meet Eugene Jerome and his family, fighting the hard times and sometimes each other—with laughter, tears, and love. It is 1937 in Brooklyn during the heart of the Depression. Fifteen-year-old Eugene Jerome lives in Brighton Beach with his family. He is witty, perceptive, obsessed with sex, and forever fantasizing his baseball-diamond triumphs as star pitcher for the New York Yankees. As our guide through his "memoirs," Eugene takes us through a series of trenchant observations and insights that show his family meeting life's challenges with pride, spirit, and a marvelous sense of humor. But as World War II looms ever closer, Eugene sees his own innocence slipping away as the first important era of his life ends—and a new one begins. This semiautobiographical classic was adapted into a film by Simon’s longterm professional partner, Gene Saks, who directed, among many others, Biloxi Blues, The Odd Couple, Broadway Bound, and Lost in Yonkers.

Devilishly attractive Lord Illingworth is notorious for his skill as a seducer. But he is still invited to all the "best" houses, while his female conquests must hide their shame in seclusion. In this devastating drawing-room comedy, Oscar Wilde uses his celebrated wit to expose English society's narrow view of everything from sexual mores to Americans.

In Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus discovers that he has been caught in his terrible destiny, unknowingly murdering his father and marrying his mother. This perfomance features a new translation from the original Greek by director Nicholas Rudall. Starring (in alphabetical order): Spencer Garrett as Shepard, Chorus Francis Guinan as Messenger, Chorus Gregory Itzin as Creon Charles Kimbrough as Priest of Zeus, Chorus Harry J. Lennis as Oedipus Rod McLachlan as Second Messenger, Chorus Carolyn Seymour as Jocasta W. Morgan Sheppard as Teiresias, Chorus

Academy Award-winner Athol Fugard, one of theatre's most acclaimed playwrights, finds humor and heartbreak in the friendship of Harold, a 17-year-old white boy in 1950s South Africa, and the two middle-aged black servants who raised him. Racism unexpectedly shatters Harold's childhood and friendships in this absorbing, affecting coming-of-age play. The play, initially banned from production in South Africa, is a Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding New Play. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Leon Addison Brown, Keith David, and Bobby Steggert.

Set in Yonkers in 1942, two boys, aged 13 and 16, must spend one year with their austere and demanding grandmother. While the war rages in Europe, Jay and Arty learn the ropes from Uncle Louis and assorted relatives, all peculiar characters. Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play is performed here by a full cast, featuring Barbara Bain, Dan Castellaneta, and more.

The skies over ancient Rome blaze with terrifying portents, and soothsayers warn Julius Caesar of approaching doom. As conspiracy swirls through the city, Shakespeare explores the deep repercussions of political murder on the human heart. A classic tale of duplicity, betrayal and murder, masterfully performed by an all-star, all-American cast in this BBC co-production.

Here is Neil Simon's acclaimed semi-autobiographical Eugene Trilogy. Brighton Beach Memoirs: In the first installment of the trilogy, 14-year-old Eugene is preoccupied by his passion for the Yankees and his lust for his beautiful cousin. Biloxi Blues: The second hilarious installment of the Eugene Trilogy follows our naïve hero and his sadistic drill sergeant through boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi. Broadway Bound: Having returned from World War II, Eugene and his brother Stanley joing forces to break into the world of professional comedy writing.

Brains are sizzling in the seventh grade.... The first day of seventh grade is probably the worst day of Duncan Dougal's life. He knows that things are really bad when he finds an alien's hand in a Dumpster and then gets plugged into an alien brain fryer! Can Duncan find out which of the four new teachers in his school is an alien before his brains get fried to a pulp - or before the aliens try to fry the whole planet? Starring Ayre Gross as Duncan Dougal Directed by Pam Fraser Solomon