A-LISTS theatre by tony reverditto
International City Theatre Celebrates a Milestone
The International City Theatre (ICT) goes silver with a landmark 25th anniversary. Keeping with tradition of quality theatre, they are present-
ing one of the most exciting seasons in their history. Rewind to 1985, Shashin Desai was chairman of the drama department of Long Beach City College and decided to open a 99-seat black box theater on campus. Since its inception the innovative, tenacious acting company has gone on to garner critical acclaim and a multitude of awards; including the Los Angeles Drama Circle’s prestigious Margaret Harford Award for “Sustained Excellence in Theater.” Determined to build an even higher-quality theater company in Long Beach, Desai persuaded the City Council to give him space in the Center Theater at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. By 1996, ICT was extremely ambitious and was producing simultaneous seasons on the college campus and at the Performing Arts Center. In 1999, the Long Beach City Council proclaimed the International City Theater the “professional resident theater company” at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. In 2000, ICT made the decision to focus entirely on only the downtown, mid-sized theater in which they have been producing annual five-play seasons ever since.
ICT is in an intriguing 2010 season; the second installment is the farcical classic pro-
duction with a multi-dimensional point-of-view; How the Other Half Loves (through May 23). The action takes place simultaneously on stage in two separate living rooms that are miles apart. The audience gets to double dip when they see and hear both of the ludicrous situations unfold; sort of a “left brain, right brain” kind of thing. The action takes a hilarious twist when the ill-fated, unsuspecting third couple is dinner guests in each of the homes, one on Thursday and the other on Friday night. The next production will be a tale that takes place in 1946; about a Polish immigrant
living in New York who is finally reunited with her sister who remained in Poland and survived the Holocaust. A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow, (June 11 through July 11) is a powerful and emotionally charged play and addresses the question: from a broken and bitter past, can a better future be born? Next on the bill will be The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl (August 27 through September 19) which follows four distinctly different, yet intimately connected women who grapple with order, cleanliness and the messy
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RAGE monthly | MAY 2010
ambiguities of life. A quirky and moving comedy about love, loss and the power of a good laugh. Closing the season (October 15 through November 14) is a nostalgic world premiere musical. When Garbo Talks! by Buddy Kaye looks at the events leading to the discovery of Greta Garbo and her rise to stardom during the dawn of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The memorable score features 20 finely crafted songs creating a comic and moving Broadway score. The ICT theatre company has survived and thrived through countless challenging
economical times. It takes a lot of time and passion from a lot of people to pull together just one production, let alone a season, to say nothing of 25 seasons. Their staying power is commendable and if you haven’t been there, you owe it to yourself to enjoy a production while supporting the arts at the same time.
International City Theatre located in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Tickets: 562.436.4610 or
InternationalCityTheatre.org.
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