I got to go to the press preview of Beautiful Morning, a two-act play showing at the Egyptian Arena Theatre through September 16th, written by Julien Schwab and directed by Nicholas Cotz. I haven’t gone to a ton of theater - a handful of Broadway shows and a few plays - but I’ll give you my two cents on this one.
Very basically, the play is about two college girlfriends and the divergent paths they take as adults, that in the end, collide. Onstage, the story unfurls via time-lapse: the two college friends - a young Brenda and Ellen - are on one side of the stage; a grown Ellen and her distant husband are center stage; and a grown Brenda and her young lover are on the opposite side. The two actresses shown above, Chelsey Dailey (left), who plays young Brenda, and Nicole DuPort (right), who plays young Ellen, are the stand-outs of the play and really capture the dual strength and tenuousness of female relationships and friendships in your early-20s.
There are moments when the writing feels a bit heavy handed, but overall, I enjoyed the play and found Dailey and DuPort to be particularly touching, funny, and moving. Tickets are $20-$25, cash only at the box office or via theatermania.com, you can pay with credit.
Side note: Dailey has a small part in Superbad, which is definitely worth checking out.
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1 Sally M. Duncan // Aug 28, 2007 at 11:21 am
I saw the show its second week open and was so happy to be able to experience original theatre in L.A. on such an intimate level. The production value exceeds any expectations to the point that i want to go back and experience the rain again…yes it rains. The superb casts performance brings to life the intricate dialogue written by Schwab who seems to capture life experience well beyond his years. This is certainly a gem in current L.A. theatre that everyone from all age groups should enjoy.
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