Theater Listings

SERIAL KILLERS Late-night serialized stories, voted on by the audience to determine which ones continue. Sacred Fools Theater, 660 N. Heliotrope Dr., L.A.; Sat., 11 p.m. (310) 281-8337.

GO 1776 Events of the American Continental Congress are laid out in Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards’ 1969 musical with droll wit. Firebrand John Adams (Bruce Ladd), wise reprobate Ben Franklin (Larry Lederman) and Thomas Jefferson (Ben Hensely) are the centerpieces for the saga of frustrated efforts to persuade the colonists to stop being British. You’d think that Jefferson was a reluctant slaveowner, while South Carolina’s Edward Rutledge’s (Stephen Van Dorn), a southern blowhard. In fact, it may have been the other way around, which would have been a more interesting musical. The ensemble is as grand as Richard Israel’s staging. (SLM). Crossley Theater, 1760 N. Gower St., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; Sat., 2:30 p.m.; thru March 16. (323) 462-8460.

GO SEXY LAUNDRY In the American premiere of Michele Rimi’s look at making love in middle age, Alice Lane (Frances Fisher) brings her reluctant husband, Henry (Paul Ben-Victor), along with a copy of Sex for Dummies, to a fabulously expensive hotel in hopes of rekindling their romance. Alice and Henry’s conversation quickly degenerates into sparring that provides much hilarity, between the barbs are painful and touching moments of a couple scraping the dark corners of their marriage. Gary Blumsack’s direction is equally nuanced and dynamic. (MK). Hayworth Theater, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru March 16. (213) 289-9860.

SHAME Stephen Morey and Paul Rebillot’s take on homosexuality from the Christian perspective. (Note: contains nudity.). Theatre Asylum, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 & 7 p.m.; thru March 23. (323) 962-0046.

GO SILVER FOR GOLD: THE ODYSSEY OF EDIE SEDGWICK The beatification of Andy Warhol protégée Edie Sedgwick began in the 1980s with the Stein-Plimpton biography, Edie, and took off with songs such as Adult Net’s “Edie” and films like the posthumously released Ciao! Manhattan. David J, formerly of the bands Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, attempts to sketch the terrible arc of Sedgwick’s Icaran flight and fall without resorting to the narrative slogging that typifies pop hagiography. He mostly succeeds, by writing and directing what is essentially a one-woman show starring Monique Jenkinson, whose manic, writhing Sedgwick crystallizes moments from her tormented childhood and a later fashion-frenzied life fueled by drugs and vodka. There’s no “I did this, then went there, and the next day I met Paul America.” Instead, it’s 75 minutes of choreography, live music, expressionistic silhouettes and lots of stage fog. Steven Oliver Price plays the show’s other character, Norich — a horse-headed invalid who rolls across the stage in a wheelchair to somber effect, representing Sedgwick’s dreamy adoration of horses. David J’s vocals lead a tight band whose songs tell a story that is funny and affecting without begging for sympathy for their subject. But did he really have to have Sedgwick say, “The biggest scars are the ones inside ... the kind you can’t see”? Lloyd Reece’s crepuscular lighting and Ego Plum’s clear sound design are especially effective. MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru March 16. (323) 960-7846. (Steven Mikulan)

STADIUM DEVILDARE: BATTLE FOR G*DZILLA X Playwright Ruth Margraff’s engrossing opus is an ungodly anime-style love child of Finnegans Wake and American Gladiators. Although the narrative imperfections and marginally impenetrable writing threaten to overburden the show, the creativity of co-directors Richard Werner and Karen Jean Martinson’s production makes for jaw-droppingly weird fun. Still, the hilarious ensemble work boasts exciting turns, while the romance is unexpectedly tender. (PB). Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru March 23. (323) 856-8611, www.theatreofnote.com.

GO STUPID KIDS Playwright John C. Russell might have been a fly on the wall in the school cafeteria when he wrote this endearing and insightful teen drama about sex and power in a suburban American high school. Jim (Michael Grant Terry) and Judy (Tessa Thomson) are two blessedly beautiful people, attracted to each other and with enough quirkiness to keep them from running with the herd. They get tested when the ruling school clan demands that Jim and Judy cut their ties to their loyal, “geeky”and gay friends. Directed by Michael Matthews, the four-person ensemble is spot-on from first moment to last. (DK). Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru April 6. (323) 957-1884, www.celebrationtheatre.com.

GO THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD & LOEB STORY Stephen Dolginoff’s 2003 musical strolls down murder’s memory lane to the case of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, the two precocious law students whose thrill-killing of 14-year-old Bobby Franks shocked Jazz Age America. Librettist and composer-lyricist Dolginoff compresses the 1924 crime into an 85-minute story populated only by the killers, drawing us into an erotically claustrophobic and believable relationship. Director Nick DeGruccio, knowing the difference between thrill and shock, steers the evening away from Grand Guignol. (SM)., www.plays411.com/thrillme. Hudson Backstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 & 7 p.m.; thru March 16. (323) 960-4429.