L-R: Brea Tisdale, Bryan Cuprill, Lon Haber

 

LOS ANGELES/SHERMAN OAKS – Brea Tisdale and her creatively comical cast puts the fun in dysfunction in Beyond Therapy, Christopher Durang’s farcical comedy hit, Friday and Saturday, October 15 and 16 at 8pm at the Whitefire Theater in Sherman Oaks. Tickets are $15, all ages welcome (not recommended for young children). As there is only an opening and closing, there will be a party after each performance.

            “I love theatre, I love Christopher Durang, I think theatre is under-appreciated in Los Angeles and there’s something to be said for actual character development.” Said Brea Tisdale, Producer and Co-Star (Prudence). “I want people to come see a play and enjoy good live entertainment. There’s something magical about a performance happening right in front of your eyes. Independent theater in LA gets a bad rap, and there’s so much of it that’s wonderful.”

            The farcical comedy, although premiered in 1981, is perfectly timed for now, dealing with people wanting to fall in love, in all sorts of complicated relationships, have it all, and get the okay from their shrinks.

            In come Prudence and Bruce, two New Yorkers seeking stability while trying to reach out and touch someone via Craigslist posts, written by their psychiatrists who are severely in need of therapy themselves. Bruce is a highly emotional bisexual who was married to a woman, slept with the gas man, and now lives with a guy named Bob for a little over a year. Bob is a slightly dramatic, son of Auntie Mame, drama-queen who will try anything to get Bruce to stop this silly woman phase he’s going through. Prudence on the other hand is a somewhat closed-minded/homophobic journalist who just wants something traditional, and more than the two cats she’s been living with. She just may be desperate or exhausted enough to try it out.

            Beyond Therapy premiered off-Broadway on January 1, 1981 at the Marymount Manhattan, directed by Jerry Zaks. The cast included Signourney Weaver as Prudence, Stephen Collins as Bruce, Jim Borrelli as Stuart, Kate McGregor-Stewart as Charlotte, and Jack Gilpin as Bob.The Broadway production by John Madden opened on May 26, 1982 at the Brooks Atkinson. The cast included Dianne Wiest as Prudence, John Lithgow as Bruce, and Peter Michael Goetz as Stuart, with Mc-Gregor-Stewart and Gilpin reprising their off-Broadway roles. David Hyde Pierce made his Broadway debut in the small role of a waiter.

            In 1987, Durang adapted the play into a screenplay that was rewritten substantially by director Robert Altman, that included Julie Hagerty as Prudence, Jeff Goldblum as Bruce, Glenda Jackson as Charlotte, Tom Conti as Stuart and Christopher Guest as Bob.

            “We intend to keep the integrity of the show in tact,” said Director, Sean Delgado. “The cast has made it their own, done a marvelous job, and it just keeps getting better and better. They’ve come a long way and they’re gonna go far.”

            The cast take their talents to the stage and go old-school with their two-night revival of Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy. Bruce is played by Brian Cuprill, Prudence is played by Brea Tisdale, Lon Haber, Ria Bellafiore, and introducing Jon Weselcouch and Mark Underhill (to be seen in a new Trident TV ad). The show is directed by Sean Delgado.

            Beyond Therapy runs for two nights only, Friday and Saturday, October 15-16, 2010 at the Whitefire Theatre, address: 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, Tickets are $15. As there is only an opening and closing, there will be a party after each performance. For more information and tickets: http://www.beyondtherapyplay.info.Tel: 323-215-1597.

 

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