Theater Listings

THE DREAMER EXAMINES HIS PILLOW John Patrick Shanley’s exploration of art and women. McCADDEN PLACE THEATER, 1157 N. McCadden Pl., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Oct. 14. (818) 765-8732.

GO GIRL, 20 See New Reviews.

GO GROUNDLINGS YEARBOOK Director Deanna Oliver returns the Groundlings to the classic, irreverent content, creative élan and manic energy that put this house on the map. The sketches all yield laughs; even the customarily hit-and-miss improv segments deliver the goods. Complementing the material is a skilled cast of comics who are as funny as they are relaxed onstage. For example, “Yanni” features a befuddled and mustachioed Andrew Friedman as a flamboyant Greek composer struggling desperately to get it right for a PSA on behalf of victims of multiple sclerosis. GROUNDLINGS THEATRE, 7307 Melrose Ave., L.A.; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 8 & 10 p.m.; thru Sept. 22. (323) 934-9700. (LE3)

GO HAIR See New Reviews.

GO HAVANA BOURGEOIS Politics is “just a bunch of old rich white men fighting over money,” proclaims Manuel (Theodore Borders), the Afro-Cuban errand boy at an advertising agency in 1958 Havana. The statement portends the communist revolution, which slowly but surely transforms the life of each employee in the agency’s art department during the course of Carlos Lacámara’s play. Despite the at times heavy and political nature of the drama, humor undercuts the tension. Director Jon Lawrence Rivera brings to life the well-delineated characters of Lacámara. A Fixed Mark Production at THE HAYWORTH THEATRE, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Oct. 7. (213) 389-9680. (MK)

GO HEADS EM Lewis’ intense drama portrays the nightmare of four Western hostages in Iraq. American engineer Harold Wolfe (James Eckhouse) has been held in isolation for six months when Caroline (Beth Broderick), a British Embassy employee, is tossed into his tiny, dank holding cell, gagged and blindfolded. Meanwhile, in a neighboring cubicle, two journalists (Jeremy Gabriel and J. Richey Nash) clash over whether to attempt an escape. Under Darin Antony’s direction, the question of who we are beneath our posturing lands with such force, it jangles the nerves long after the play has ended. THE BLANK THEATRE, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Sept. 23. (323) 661-9827. (DK)

HENRY V All-female production of Shakespeare’s history play. THE NEXT STAGE, 1523 N. La Brea Ave., Second Floor, Hlywd.; Fri., 8 p.m.; thru Oct. 5. (323) 874-8630.

GO THE IDIOTS Somewhere between the insanity of Monty Python, the cynicism of Penn and Teller, and the stupidity of the Three Stooges exists this bizarre comedy by writer-performers Craig Anton and Ron Lynch. The conceit framing their wild physical and verbal antics is the reunion of two rivals — respectively the sons of Watson and Crick, who discovered DNA. With the appearance of a guest comic, the hour show flies by with humor and even some human insight and pathos beneath the Idiots’ smug stupidity, a sadness that stems from their emotional slavery to their much smarter and famous fathers. STEVE ALLEN THEATER at the Center for Inquiry–West, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz; last Thurs. of the month, 8 p.m.; indef. (800) 595-4TIX. (TP)

GO INVASION! THE MUSICAL After a mysterious light appears in the sky, the inhabitants of Tucker County, New Mexico, panic and demand answers from Sheriff Brewster (Will Harris), a potbellied mountain of a man who loves liquor and X-rated jokes. Things get stranger when old man Fletcher (Ben Giroux) turns up without genitals, walking like a zombie and chanting the names of menu items from a Mexican restaurant. Playwright-director Aaron Matijasic’s book and lyrics leave no ethnic group unskewered, and the fine ensemble’s physical comedy stays at just the right pitch. HUDSON BACKSTAGE THEATRE, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Sept. 23. (323) 960-7612. (LE3)

JIM MORRISON: Swimming to the Moon Gary Flaxman’s story of the rock star's life. ART/WORKS THEATRE, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Nov. 11. (323) 960-4412.

JOURNEY TO DOLLYWOOD Jessie McCormack’s play about a waitress who idolizes Dolly Parton. MATRIX THEATRE, 7657 Melrose Ave., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Oct. 27. (323) 960-4418.

JULIUS CAESAR KNIGHTSBRIDGE THEATER, 1944 Riverside Dr., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Oct. 14. (323) 667-0955.

GO JUNK: A ROCK OPERA Scandinavian band Brainpool’s decade-plus career ranges from sugary pop to this anticorporate musical that draws on influences as varied as ELO, Meatloaf, Madame Butterfly and Michael Moore. At the headquarters of Junk Inc. (a fascist conglomerate with a tabloid and nightclub), the office drones live in ecstatic fear of The Man, who struts around in Lucifer’s red suit and preys on their self-esteem. The winsome, fanciful music overwhelms the lyrics and plot, which seems to be that diva Martina has big ambitions, but her boyfriend Hanes keeps singing about quitting Junk to work with his hands. The large ensemble invests in the show’s simplistic, agreeable politics with passion, whirling around in neon brights to director Shakina Nayfack and co-choreographer Raime Becker’s mash of moves that recall capoeria, cheerleading and, of course, marionettes. LYRIC THEATRE, 520 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; Thurs.-Sun., 8 p.m.; thru Sept. 30. (AN)