‘Mission’ Replaces ‘Popess’ at LATC

“The American Popess,” Esther Vilar’s play about a woman Pope, has been replaced in Los Angeles Theatre Center’s schedule by Culture Clash’s “The Mission,” opening Aug. 16.

“The Mission” is already featured as an 84-seat rental production in LATC’s Theatre 4. It will close there Saturday and move downstairs to the 320-seat Theatre 3 for its slot in the regular season. Previews begin Wednesday and the show will play through Sept. 30. Subscribers who have already seen “The Mission” will be eligible for vouchers good for extra tickets to another production during the coming year.

Culture Clash plans to switch the action of the play from 1988 to the present, and other staging changes will be made for the larger space--including a live enactment of the play’s kidnaping of singer Julio Iglesias, which was presented on videotape in the smaller theater.

Regarding the departure of “The American Popess,” director Alan Mandell said through a spokeswoman that he had “some misgivings over a period of time” about the possibility of making the German play “stageworthy for American audiences,” and these doubts were confirmed after one day of rehearsal.

In other LATC news, Ed Cambridge has replaced Moses Gunn in “Viva Detroit,” which closes Sunday. Gunn left to shoot a TV movie, “Perfect Harmony.”

And beginning Saturday, Stephen Tobolowsky will replace David Morse in “The Wild Duck,” which plays through Aug. 12. Morse also exits to shoot a movie, “The Indian Runner.” His departure and Tobolowsky’s replacement were arranged before the show opened.