Tony Award-winner ‘Redhead’ on the Alex stage

JOYCE RUDOLPH

The Musical Theatre Guild’s next staged reading is the multiple Tony

Award-winning play, “Redhead,” at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Alex

Theatre in Glendale.

The guild continues its ninth season of its Broadway in Concert

series with a 45th anniversary production of “Redhead.”

It is billed as a sexy murder mystery musical with a score by

Albert Hague and the legendary Dorothy Fields and a book by Dorothy

and Herbert Fields, David Shaw, and Sidney Sheldon.

Part Agatha Christie mystery and part Keystone Kops comedy, the

show is rarely performed, yet ran 452 performances and swept the 1959

Tony Awards, not only for its two stars, Gwen Verdon and Richard

Kiley, but also for Best Musical, Best Director and Choreographer

(Bob Fosse) and Best Librettist and Best Composer.

Starring is Tony Award- nominee Jane Lanier (Jerome Robbins’

Broadway, Fosse) with Sam Zeller, Kevin McMahon, Carol Kline and

Kathryn Skatula. “Redhead” is directed by Michele Spears with musical

direction by Ed Martel, choreography by Steve Nielsen, and is being

produced for the theater guild by Marsha Kramer and Randy Kravis.

Tickets are $35 and can be reserved by calling the Alex Theatre

Box Office at 243-2539. For season tickets, call 848-6844. The Alex

Theatre is at 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

SPECIAL EVENTS

ROAD’ERS PLAN FOOD

DRIVE AT CAR SHOW

The Road’ers Car Club is having a car show from 5 to 8 tonight

at Bob’s Big Boy Restaurant, 1407 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale.

Members will be collecting canned goods for the needy.

For more information, call 415-3802.

GCC JAZZ BAND

GIVES CONCERT

The Glendale Community College Jazz Band will perform a concert,

“Last Leaves of Autumn,” at 4 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium.

The concert premieres works by Raymond Burkhart, director of the

band, and John Given.

Tickets are $7, $5 for students and seniors. Children 12 and

younger get in free. Tickets may be purchased at the door. For more

information, call 240-1000, ext. 5621.

SHOW CELEBRATES

ARMENIAN POETRY

“They Were Poets,” a theatrical rendition of Armenian Poetry

spanning throughout the centuries translated into English, will be

performed at 8 tonight at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood.

The event is produced by Arena Productions, a Glendale-based

nonprofit organization. The poems are compiled, edited and directed

by 25-year Glendale resident Anahid Aramouni Keshishian.

This production offers an evening of verse dipped in an eclectic

array of music and imagery, fused with the human body and voice. The

perfor- mance will feature poetry by authors such as Grigor

Narekatsi, Daniel Varoujan, Yeghishe Charents, Parouyr Sevak, Vahe

Oshakan and Violet Grigorian.

The show is at 8 tonight at the theater, 4800 Hollywood Blvd.,

Hollywood. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by calling 240-7080.

RESIDENTS APPEAR

IN DOO DAH PARADE

Several residents are appearing in the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade

beginning at 11:30 a.m. Sunday,

Those participating from our area are Christina Turek, Jacque

Lawson, Cindi Nowak, Danny Schneider and Cherry Capri.

For more information, call (626) 440-7379.

ON STAGE

‘DON’T DRINK THE

WATER’ ENDS RUN

Woody Allen’s “Don’t Drink the Water” ends its run today at

Glendale Centre Theatre.

This madcap comedy is set in 1966 behind the Iron Curtain. When a

vacationing family seeks refuge in a U.S. Embassy, the crazy cast of

characters they encounter forces them to reconsider their safe haven.

It is directed by Burbank resident George Strattan. Performances

are 2 and 8 p.m. today. Tickets range from $16 to $18 with student

and senior discounts available. There is a $1 transaction fee per

ticket. For reservations, call 244-8481.

The family theater’s 39th annual presentation of the musical “A

Christmas Carol!” opens Friday.

‘SPEC’ IN FINAL WEEKEND

Alliance Repertory Company’s “spec,” written by Tom Grimes, and

directed by Scott Campbell, ends its run Sunday at the Alliance

Theatre in Burbank.

Disillusioned by his choices in life, including his successful

career as a lawyer, Al is moving into the film business and stakes

his entire future on the dream of one day directing a great

Spielberg-ian epic.

He convinces his young writing protege, Mike, to write a “spec”

script, “VIRUS,” a can’t-miss formulaic horror/ thriller. But, Al

instead becomes positioned to direct something bigger -- a war epic

with major funding and logistical support beyond his wildest dreams.

Performances are 8 tonight and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20. For

reservations, call (800) 595-4849. The theater is at 3204 W. Magnolia

Blvd., Burbank.

A NOISE WITHIN

PERFORMING THE CLASSICS

A Noise Within’s production “A Flea in Her Ear” is continuing at

the theater company’s home in Glendale. Written by Georges Feydeau

(1862-1921), and translated by Barnett Shaw, this French farce is

about 1930s Paris and is filled with jealousies, misunderstandings

and catastrophe.

Several characters, including a jealous Spaniard, a saucy maid and

a drunken Englishman, amid others, come together one fateful night in

this classic romp exposing the indiscreet charms of the Bourgeoisie.

The play runs in repertory through Dec. 1 with Harold Pinter’s

“The Homecoming” and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Sabin Epstein, resident director for A Noise Within, helms “The

Homecoming.” When the prodigal son returns to his birthplace, his new

wife in tow, language becomes the menacing weapon of choice. The

wife’s presence rekindles long dormant and deadly rivalries. Not just

words, but pauses, are deafening in this production. It continues

through Dec. 5.

Passionate lovers, ham- handed actors and discordant spirits of

the fairy world cross paths in a moon-drenched wood and discover the

transformative power of love in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It is

directed by artistic co-directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez

Elliott. It continues through Dec. 3.

Theater company officials are extending a Halloween special on

Sunday. Any adult in costume will receive a half-price ticket to the

evening’s performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and children in

costume will receive the discount price of $12.

Tickets for regular performances range from $20 to $40. For

reservations, call 240-0910, ext. 1. The company performs at the

former Masonic Temple, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

‘ANGRY’ COMPLETES

RUN AT COLLEGE

Glendale Community College Theatre Arts Department presents the

final performance of “What’s Wrong with Angry?” written by Patrick

Wilde, at 8 tonight. in the auditorium Studio Theatre.

The play is about a young gay man, Steven Carter, attending

English Martyrs School for Boys and harboring feelings for the

unattainable school soccer superstar John Westhead. His story is

filled with laughter and music, as well as anger.

Ken Gray is the director of the Theatre Arts Department

production.

Reservations are strongly recommended due to limited seating in

the college auditorium Studio Theatre. There is no late seating.

Tickets are $10, $6 students and seniors and $4 each for groups of 10

or more.

For reservations, call 240-1000, ext. 5618. This production

contains adult language and subject matter.

‘DANCE FOR BEGINNERS’

AT VICTORY

The VS. Theatre Company and the Victory Theatre Center in Burbank

are co-producing the American premiere of “Modern Dance for

Beginners” by Sarah Phelps.

Ross Kramer is the director of this play in which two actors play

eight characters in this frenetic study of the mores of the mattress.

It is called a cruelly comic play about love and sex.

Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays

through Dec. 12. Tickets are $20. The theater is at 3324 W. Victory

Blvd., Burbank. For reservations, call 841-5422.

ART EXHIBITS

INSTALLATION

CONTINUES AT BRAND

“Family Matters,” a three- dimensional installation by artist

Janice DeLoof, is continuing at Brand Galleries at the Brand Library

& Art Center in Glendale’s Brand Park.

The artist has incorporated theatrical installations with

assembled painted furniture and domestic objects and small mixed

media wall paintings that represent symbols and signs from her

memories.

The exhibit continues through Friday at Brand Library & Art

Center in Brand Park, 1601 W. Mountain St., Glendale. For more

information, call 548-2051. Gallery hours are 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and

Thursday, 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday and 1 to 5 p.m. Friday and

Saturday.

GLENDALE ART GROUP’S

WINNERS ON DISPLAY

The Best of Show Award was presented to Rowena Dohnel, for her

watercolor painting titled “The Race” in the Glendale Art Assn.’s

juried exhibition at the California National Bank.

The exhibited paintings were divided into four categories. The

first-place winners were Landscapes, first place, George Jung, for

“Hollywood Blvd.”; Portrait, first place, Mary Glez for “De la Serie

de Mujeres”; Animal, first place, Lisa August for “Mallard Duo”; and

Floral/Still Life, first place, Rowena Dohnel for “Magnolia.”

The exhibit continues through Nov. 27 at the bank, 600 N. Brand

Blvd., Glendale.

VERDUGO HILLS ART

GROUP HAS SHOW

Lorraine Ruby received the Best of Show for her watercolor

“Mission School” in the Verdugo Hills Art Assn.’s Juried Exhibition

of Member Works Fall 2004. The show is in the John L. Clarke Room of

the La Canada County Library, 4540 Oakwood, La Canada Flintridge.

Other winners are first place, Open Division: Albert Gmuer, “Bus

Trip, Guatemala,” watercolor; first place, Premier: John Parshall,

“Verdugo Adobe,” watercolor; first place, Honors: Gloria G. Clark,

“Colorado Autumn,” oil; first place, Abstract: Sandra Rooney, “Ajanta

Cave Secrets,” mixed media; and first place, Photography: Jana

Bitterman, “Shades of Purple,” photo.

Entries will be displayed through Nov. 27.

* If you have news releases for the 48 Hours column, please call

JOYCE RUDOLPH at 637-3241 or e-mail joyce.rudolph@latimes.com or fax

them to 241-1975.