The Long Beach Shakespeare Company does not accept play, original, or adaptations of works at this time.
April 2- May 2 Radio Double Feature: Gunsmoke & World Premier An Inch and a Half of Glory
Dashiell Hammett’s An Inch and a Half of Glory, adapted by LBSC’s Artistic Director Brando Cutts and directed by Joe Montanari, will have its premier at LBSC. Although written circa 1927, the short story was unavailable to readers until 2013, when it appeared in The Hunter and Other Stories, a collection of unpublished and rarely published Hammett fiction. Unlike Hammett’s best-known works—including The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man—there is no crime at the heart of the conflict. Instead, the tale features Earl Parish as a working man whose life is upended after he rescues a small child from a burning building. Parish is celebrated as a hero but struggles to reconcile himself to his newfound identity. As Cutts explains, “A selfless act has thrust him into the spotlight, but fate will soon bring him back to reality.” Hammett’s tale is accompanied by an episode of Gunsmoke, the classic American western radio series. Originally broadcast in August of 1952, the “Shakespeare” episode brings the Immortal Bard (or, rather, his disturbed representative) to Dodge City. A body is found, shots are fired, a widow and children are taken hostage. It’s up to Marshall Matt Dillon and his deputies to rescue the family and protect their frontier homeland from a thespian gone awry.
May 02
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The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax - Radio Style Streaming April 2- May 2
There’s something funny about the CIA’s newest spy. When the lonely widow Mrs. Pollifax applies for a position at the CIA, she is mistaken for a full-fledged spy and whisked off to Mexico for an adventure that will put her good nature to the test and reveal a will to live she never knew she had.
May 02
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Encore: A Woman of No Importance May 7-16, 2021
The real hero is always right beside you. All Gerald knows is he just landed his dream job with the lothario, Lord Illingworth. What he doesn’t know is why his mother is so opposed to him taking it. She hasn’t told him that Illingworth is his father who abandoned her while she was pregnant and wants to steal Gerald away. Oscar Wilde lends us his sharp wit for this perfect addition to Mother’s Day.
May 16
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The Importance of Being Earnest Streaming May 28-June 27
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. In his country estate, Jack is the responsible guardian of Cecily, but when he needs time away, he lies by saying her he must go and visit his wayward brother Ernest, which is the name he takes when partying. He falls in love with Gwendolyn who agrees to marry him because she loves the name, Ernest. Then when Gwendolyn’s cousin Algernon pretends to be Ernest and meets Cecily, she falls in love with this “Ernest.” It looks like everyone is in love with Ernest...if only he were real.