“The Night Watcher” will play at the UCLA James Bridges Theater.
“Seminar” will play at the Ahmanson Theatre.
“Krapp’s Last Tape” will play at the Kirk Douglas Theater.
“Dirty Filthy Love Story” will play at Rogue Machine.
If there’s one thing to put on a Los Angeles bucket list, watching a live theater performance can definitely add a bit of refinement to the typical prerequisites of going to Diddy Riese and watching a football game. This fall offers a wide variety of plays and thespians ranging from a romance about a hoarder to a comedy featuring actor Jeff Goldblum as a merciless instructor. Here’s a preview for this fall on plays that could fill the intellectual quotient of a UCLA bucket list and make the pals back home all jealous about seeing the guy who gets crushed to death in “Jurassic Park” live and in the flesh.
Dirty Filthy Love Story
Rogue Machine
Oct. 6 – Nov. 17
Fans of “Hoarders” might find themselves attracted to this decidedly dark comedy by playwright Rob Mersola about a lonely hoarder who unexpectedly finds love amid the heaps of trash. Dealing with the issues of loneliness and the psychological traumas that surround this phenomenon, the protagonist’s underlying issues rise to the surface in this edgy comedy that captures the zeitgeist of reality television.
Seminar
Ahmanson Theatre
Oct. 10 – Nov. 18
At UCLA, it wouldn’t be out of turn to say that students have encountered a difficult professor or two. In playwright Theresa Rebeck’s “Seminar,” Jeff Goldblum plays a cruel renowned author turned teacher to a small writing class, only to have his dismissive ego render the class unable to defend themselves against his literary barbs. The self-proclaimed artists of the class spar over their work in a spectacle of literary dominance, which actually kind of sounds like the run-of-the-mill English discussion at UCLA.
The Night Watcher
UCLA James Bridges Theater
Oct. 18 – Oct. 21
Playwright and performer Charlayne Woodard’s one-woman show, “The Night Watcher,” channels Woodard’s life and her choice not to have her own children, and the stigma that surrounds that decision. In a society where parents are eager to marry off their progeny for means of grandchildren and procreation, Woodard tackles her decision to remain an “auntie” to a variety of children. Woodard’s version of motherhood becomes fraught with unwanted questions and disapproval, and it’s clear that her life reflects a slow change in culture and the times.
Krapp’s Last Tape
Kirk Douglas Theater
Oct. 9 – Nov. 4
Two-time Academy Award-nominee John Hurt, known for his roles in “The Elephant Man” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” plays a man filled with regret in playwright Samuel Beckett’s one-act play “Krapp’s Last Tape.” This tragicomedy showcases Krapp listening to a recording of himself 30 years prior and reflecting on his joy de vivre in the past. A nuanced play for enthusiasts of quiet self-introspection, the ticket would be worth it alone to share the room with a storied thesp such as Hurt.
Build
Geffen Playhouse
Oct. 9 – Nov. 18
Playwright Michael Golamco’s “Build” makes the cold world of tech fraught with emotion as two Silicon Valley geniuses team up again after their successful video game launches their careers. However, the success becomes a plague as one friend becomes an emotionless dealmaker and the other turns into a recluse, spending his time building an artificial replica of his late wife to deal with his grief. The play explores the concepts of reality and artificiality, and whether those worlds can coalesce in order to deal with the complex relationships between the two men.