Theater Listings

ALL THIS, & HEAVEN TOO Aging gay men celebrate a deceased pal; book and lyrics by Bill Dyer, music by Dick DeBenedictis. MACHA THEATRE (FORMERLY THE GLOBE PLAYHOUSE), 1107 N. Kings Road, W. Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Dec. 30. (323) 960-7776 or www.plays411.com/heaventoo.

GO ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE See New Reviews.

BILOXI BLUES Basic-training story by Neil Simon. FLIGHT THEATER AT THE COMPLEX, 6472 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; thru Dec. 9. (323) 960-1056.

THE BLUEMOON BASTARD Shane Kearns’ Halloween-night dramedy. GARDNER STAGES, 1501 N. Gardner St., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Dec. 2. (323) 960-7738 or www.plays411.com/bluemoon.

BURY THE DEAD See New Reviews.

CINDERELLA New take on the classic tale, music and lyrics by Lloyd J. Schwartz. THEATRE WEST, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Hlywd.; Sat., 1 p.m.; thru March 29. (818) 761-2203.

GO CITY KID, THE MUSICAL A gang of exuberant teens, once occupied by stoops, basketball and stolen beers, now follows their charismatic leader Slick (Thomas Hobson) as he tries to conquer the Jefferson Street drug market currently dominated by a rapper thug (Senyo “DNA-1” Amoaku). The songs that Peter Bunetta and Rick Chudacoff have composed for Adrienne Anderson’s formulaic but rousing musical have the layered discordance of a busy street corner; the impressive 18-person ensemble whoops and croons over a very ’70s funk and groove sound that director Steve Tomkins updates with Groovaloo choreographer Bradley Rapier’s athletic combinations of strutting, backflipping, breakdancing and getting krunk. HUDSON BACKSTAGE THEATRE, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Nov. 25. (323) 960-7863. (AN)

DEAD BRIDE RUNNING Nothing seems quite right about this comedy, from the title’s untopical film reference to its desperate attempt to find a theme, or even a story. Written by Rick Sparks and Alice Vaughn, it’s about John Jr. (Craig Anton) and Jennifer (Tamara Zook), a Florida couple who, after a year’s chaste courtship, approach their wedding day — only to have Jennifer get cold feet and vanish. The plot’s underlying assumptions are so over-the-top that the story scores no points for either political satire or simple laughter. Theater Mambo at the UNDERGROUND THEATER, 1312 Wilton Pl., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru Dec. 2. (323) 960-5773. (SM)

THE COMMON AIR Six characters in search of an airport departure, by Alex Lyras and Robert McCaskill. LILLIAN THEATRE, 1076 Lillian Way, Hlywd.; Tues., 8 p.m.; thru Nov. 27. www.thecommonair.com.

GO THE COMPLICATIONS OF PURCHASING A POODLE PILLOW The brilliance of Mary Lynn Rajskub’s standup act stems from a kind of bewildered, inarticulate persona who goes off on digressions and deliberately neglects to finish stories. The disarray is a con; by show’s end, it all adds up. Because of Chloe — her character on Fox’s 24 — she says she was invited to a counter-terrorism panel hosted by Rush Limbaugh, who, in a moment of introduction, accidentally kissed her on the lips. After rumors of their affair spread around the country, she e-mailed Limbaugh, asking for a date — the response was blistering. If none of this is actually true, it’s even more impish and delightful. Steve Allen Theater at the CENTER FOR INQUIRY–WEST, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd.; Sun., 8 p.m.; indef. (no perfs first Sunday of every month). (800) 595-4TIX. (SLM)

EAVESDROPPER In Andrew Libby’s slightly funny, messy comedy, the mise en scène is an apartment where a large, clamant group of young people have gathered for some good times. Unbeknownst to the revelers, an uninvited guest (Pedro Shanahan) slips in and hides behind the shower curtain, his sinister presence embellished by a Mohawk hairdo, Goth makeup and drug-addled stare. The scenario is redolent of a wild frat party, with plenty of sex, drugs, booze and hell-raising. The rotating cast of 50-plus can’t do much good with this moribund material. No director is credited, and the reason is obvious. UNDERGROUND ANNEX THEATER, 1308 N. Wilton Pl., Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru Dec. 2. (323) 365-8305. (LE3)

EENIE MEANIE Growing up in racially segregated Valley Station, Kentucky, writer-performer Teresa Willis never saw a black person till her family’s all-beige living room was entered by an intriguing African-American piano tuner. Sent to a “Jigaboo High School” in the days of school busing, she was attracted by black men, partially because it scandalized her parents. In her solo show, so long as Willis views her autobiography through the prism of race, she is fresh, provocative and funny, and the piece has structural unity. Toward the end, she abruptly reveals her own lesbianism, and though the connection between gay rights and civil rights may have been her point, the narrative focus splits disconcertingly nonetheless. Say Tiger Productions and THE OPEN FIST THEATRE COMPANY, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Mon.-Tues., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru Nov. 23. (323) 882-6912. (NW).

FRANCISCO’S FIRE Adapter-director Keith Watabayashi has adapted Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck from Germany to contemporary Los Angeles, building his script around a tormented hotel worker (Eli Hernandez) who is driven to commit murder. As a paradigm of working-class woes and man’s exinstential plight, the play lends itself to stylized performances that, in this production, are sometimes sufficient and other times not. Dorie Theater at THE COMPLEX, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Dec. 16. (323) 960-4420. (DK)