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Of disability and dreams

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The Falcon Theatre reaps the fruits of seeds planted more than five years ago with the Los Angeles premiere Saturday of John Belluso’s “Gretty Good Time,” a play workshopped at the Falcon in 1997 through the Mark Taper Forum’s Writer’s Lab program.

“Gretty” centers on a paralyzed and suicidal woman, played at the Falcon by Pamela Gordon, who escapes her frustration in a world of fantasy.

Belluso has a rare bone disorder that limits muscle strength but is not paralyzing or life-threatening. He has often explored issues of disability.

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“Disabled people understand the world in a different way,” Belluso told The Times last year. “You understand what it’s like to be stared at .... I feel ... this impulse to write for the theater [is] ... about shifting from people staring at me to, in a way, staring back at them.”

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“Gretty Good Time,” Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. Opens Sat. Weds.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; ends May 4. $25 to $37.50. (818) 955-8101.

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