Taper Puts Havel’s ‘Temptation’ on Schedule; Odyssey Ensemble Finds a Temporary Theater

Los Angeles won’t be able to forget imprisoned Czech writer Vaclav Havel any time soon.

The Mark Taper Forum will present the West Coast premiere of his most recently produced play as the final production of the 1988-89 season.

Havel’s “Temptation” will replace the 17th-Century classic “The Mayor of Zalamea” on the Taper schedule, playing July 13-Aug. 27. Previews will begin July 2.

The Taper also has confirmed that Bill Cain’s “Stand-Up Tragedy” will move from the Taper, Too to the main stage, replacing Manuel Puig’s “The Mystery of the Rose Bouquet” in the June 1-25 slot, with previews beginning May 21. The Puig play will be rescheduled for next fall.

In a Taper statement, artistic director Gordon Davidson cited “the immediacy of Havel’s situation and the importance of focusing on artistic freedom” as the reason for giving “Temptation” precedence over “Zalamea.”

Havel has been in prison since February on charges stemming from his participation in a demonstration. His detainment has evoked an outcry from human-rights activists and literary and theater professionals. On Feb. 13 the Taper hosted a special program protesting Havel’s arrest.

“Temptation” is a variation on the Faust theme set in a scientific institute. The play was written in 1985 and first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987. Its American premiere will occur at the New York Shakespeare Festival on April 9.

Richard Jordan will direct the Taper production of “Temptation.” Jordan won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for directing Havel’s “Largo Desolato” at Taper, Too in 1987, and he acted in the Taper, Too’s production of Havel’s “A Private View” in 1984.

Davidson said he wants to see “Zalamea” performed by “our repertory company”--which currently doesn’t exist--”and therefore I need to re-schedule it.”

The postponement of “The Mystery of the Rose Bouquet” was attributed to a scheduling conflict on the part of director Robert Allan Ackerman. Besides, said Davidson, “it’s the right moment for ‘Stand-Up Tragedy’ to take the next step.” “Stand-Up” was first developed in the Taper Lab ’88 Festival last fall before moving to Taper, Too, where it plays through April 13.

“While we don’t like to change the programming for our subscribers,” said Davidson, “these plays will definitely not disappoint.”

MAKING MOVES I: The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble has found a temporary harbor in its quest for a new theater. The group will move into a city-owned warehouse at 2055 Sepulveda Blvd. It’s about a mile east of the Odyssey’s current West Los Angeles home, which must be vacated by June 30 at the behest of its new owner.

The Odyssey hopes to begin programming at the new space by July 1 or as soon as possible thereafter, said artistic director Ron Sossi. “We cannot afford to take dark time, because we have to support a staff.”

Conversion of the warehouse into three 99-seat theaters will cost between $60,000 and $80,000--roughly equal to the company’s current annual rent--estimated Sossi, and that’s with the use of as many volunteers and donations as can be found. “We’ve got to do some hustling,” he said.

The 10,000-square-foot structure most recently housed the West Los Angeles Parking Enforcement headquarters, which is moving to a larger site farther south. It includes 45 parking spaces in front and a parking lot in back described as “huge” by Sossi.

The city plans to sell the building eventually, but “that process takes at least a year,” said Sossi, and it might otherwise have gone vacant.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the drafting of an agreement that will lease the building to the Odyssey for the token rent of $1 a year. Following the end of that year, the Odyssey may lease month to month, if the property still isn’t sold. “But (city officials) are emphatic we shouldn’t count on being there more than a year,” Sossi said.

So the Odyssey’s odyssey in search of a larger, Equity contract home will continue.

Sossi plans to open three more shows at the old theater. If they become hits, he may transfer them or the current “Idioglossia”--as well as the long-running “Kvetch” and “Personality”--to the new theater. A musical, “Symmes Hole,” will open April 29, to be followed by “Disability” on May 20 and either Steven Berkoff’s long-awaited “Acapulco” or a revival of Albert Innaurato’s “The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie” (depending on Berkoff’s schedule).

Meanwhile, the Odyssey has begun a “Kvetchathon” to mark the third anniversary of the opening of Berkoff’s “Kvetch.” Audience members at all “Kvetch” performances through April 30 are invited to perform their own “kvetch” (maximum length: one minute) “on any topic that inspires anxiety, worry or concern.”

The cast will select a best kvetcher each night, and those winners will enter a “Grand Kvetch-Off” to be held in early May. Information: (213) 826-1626.

Perhaps Sossi would like to deliver a kvetch on the subject of raising $80,000. . . .

MAKING MOVES II: The Society for the Preservation of Variety Arts is moving its library and museum to a space under the western wing of Hollywood’s Magic Castle, which is operated by the Academy of Magical Arts, the Society’s sister institution.

A 5,000-square-foot underground garage will be converted into permanent quarters for the collection of vaudeville artifacts. The new quarters will be open to the public by appointment only, perhaps as early as July. While the $70,000 renovation is taking place, magician and television star Harry Anderson is paying for storage of the bulk of the collection.

The Society recently vacated the downtown Variety Arts Center in a move to stave off foreclosure proceedings.

LATE CUES: La Jolla Playhouse has added Moliere’s “The Misanthrope” to its 1989 season. Robert Falls, artistic director of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, will stage the comedy for both La Jolla (Aug. 20-Sept. 24) and the Goodman (opening Oct. 9). . . .

Chazz Palminteri’s “A Bronx Tale” will move from the West Coast Ensemble to an engagement with an Equity contract at Theatre West, opening April 28. Unlike the non-contract productions at Theatre West, “A Bronx Tale” will be able to sell tickets for all 185 seats in the house.