Kirk Douglas Theatere | Presents “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” August 20 – September 17

By Alexis Scheer and directed by Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Lindsay Allbaugh

PHOTO: Provided by Center Theatre Group | San Marino Weekly | (Clockwise from L) Ashley Brooke, Coral Peña, Samantha Wynette Miller, Lilian Rebelo.

PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH IAMA THEATRE COMPANY
Tickets and information available at
CenterTheatreGroup.org

Named a New York Times Critics Pick, “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” by playwright Alexis Scheer, directed by Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Lindsay Allbaugh, and produced in association with IAMA Theatre Company, comes to the Kirk Douglas Theatre from August 20 to September 17, 2023 with the press opening on August 27.

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Hailed by Ben Brantley of The New York Times as “highly entertaining — equally funny and scary — the play starts off as a hoot and winds up a primal scream. They’re throwing quite a séance.” For its 2019 Off-Broadway WP Theater/Second Stage production, it was cited with the John Gassner Award, Kilroy’s List, LTC Carnaval of New Latinx Work, and was a Relentless Award semifinalist.

The cast is Ashley Brooke as Zoom, Samantha Wynette Miller as Squeeze, Coral Peña as Kit, and Lilian Rebelo as Pipe, with additional roles played by Aliyah Camacho and Juan Francisco Villa.

The creative team features Jordan Bass (Casting Director); Veronica Sofia Burt (Movement/Intimacy Coordinator); Marcedés Clanton (Production Stage Manager); François-Pierre Couture (Set Designer); Elena Flores (Costume Designer); Azra King-Abadi (Lighting Designer); Margaux Susi (Associate Director); Veronika Vorel (Sound Designer)

In this fierce and feverish comedy, a gang of teenage girls gather in an abandoned treehouse to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar. Are they messing with the actual spirit of the infamous cartel kingpin? Or are they really just messing with each other?

Intimate in nature yet universal in its ability to explore the need to connect, the play is an unflinching and powerful reminder of what it means to be human. As it races to its startling conclusion, audiences will be left catching their breath. A rollercoaster ride through the danger and damage of girlhood — the teenage wasteland has never been so much twisted fun. This group ends up being a pivotal way for these young women to cope with the grief and lack of control in their lives.

“As our country continues to demonstrate its disdain and desire for control over my body, this play feels more important now than ever,” said playwright Alexis Scheer. “I’m thrilled to bring it to Center Theatre Group and radically center the hearts, guts, and brains of teen girls who are in hilarious and horrifying pursuit of power and catharsis.”

“For my directorial debut at Center Theatre Group, I knew that I wanted to focus on a story that centered on young women, was written by a woman, and brought a diversity of voices to the stage. When I read this play, I was on pins and needles,” explained Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Lindsay Allbaugh.

“This was a story that spoke to me on so many levels; the theatricality, the danger, the stark truth- telling that Alexis captures in these young girls. There’s something inherently magical about the setting … that treehouse … and all the feelings of nostalgia and youthful possibilities it implies, combined with the way that they speak to each other. It takes me right back to my high school days with my best friend and all of the deep feelings, angst, rage and desire we were feeling. This play showcases a deep exploration of womanhood combined with complexities of power, control, grief, and coming of age.”

“We are so thrilled to once again get the chance to work with Center Theatre Group and Lindsay Allbaugh on a premiere play that pushes the boundaries of what storytelling can be,” said IAMA Theatre Company Artistic Director Stefanie Black. “We need more plays that center young women. Our future, our bodies, our stories; nothing is more important right now. Alexis has created a dangerous and exciting new play that will be a ‘must see’ for young L.A. theatregoers.”

“Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” is a play about many things, but, first and foremost, it is a play rooted in the struggles and experiences of adolescence. The protagonists of the play spend equal time talking about the ups and downs of life and their own shared traumas and fears. From unplanned pregnancies to domestic abuse to repressed sexuality, the four girls at the heart of our story hold back no punches.

But time is also dedicated to more trivial obsessions of the early 2000s teenage girl, such as hipsters, dial-up Internet, and the ubiquitous shopping mall store, Hot Topic. Set in the early 2000s, political and cultural moments also get their due; be it conversations surrounding 9/11, the London Bombings, or the impending 2008 presidential showdown between Barack Obama and John McCain. Scheer transports the audience vividly back to this time and showcases what it means to be an angsty teen coming of age smack dab in the middle of it all.

Tickets for “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” are currently on sale and start at $30. They are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 628-2772 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Offices (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012 or at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (open 2 hours prior to curtain) at 9820 Washington Blvd. in Culver City 90232.

CALENDAR LISTING

Venue:        
Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232

Dates: 
August 20 to September 17, 2023; press opening August 27

Schedule:
Tuesday through Friday evenings at 8:00PM;
Saturdays at 2:00PM and 8:00PM
Sundays at 1:00PM and 6:30PM

Tickets:
Prices—begin at $30
Website—CenterTheatreGroup.org
Phone—Audience Services at (213) 628-2772
In person—Center Theatre Group Box Office(at the Ahmanson Theatre) at
The Music Center,135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012
or at the Kirk Douglas Theatr (open 2 hours prior to curtain) at
9820 Washington Blvd. in Culver City 90232.

GroupsCenterTheatreGroup.org/Tickets/Groups-and-Corporate-Offers