Todd Andrew Ball

'Strangers on a Train' opens January 18 at Theatre 40, Beverly Hills, CA. Written by Craig Warner, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. Directed by Jules Aaron.

 It's Only a Play a comedy written by Terrence McNally, directed by Larry Eisenbergm and produced by David Hunt will be presented by Theatre Forty (241 S, Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212).

Up next for Theatre 40’s current season, Terrence McNally’s It’s Only a Play opening March 23, 2023. Larry Eisenberg directs the cast of Todd Andrew Ball, Peter Bussian, Fox Carney, Joe Clabby, Cheryl David, Mouchette van Helsdingen and Jeffrey Winner. Larry was most gracious in carving out time to give serious thoughts to answering my queries.

The Group Rep will present the first play in their 50th Anniversary Season, Agatha Christie’s timeless tale of “whodunnit” THE MOUSETRAP, directed by Jules Aaron, produced by Melissa Kaye Bontempt and Kathleen Delaney. 

In The Play's the Thing, a playwright named Sandor Turai comes up with a plan to save the engagement between his nephew Albert and an actress named Ilona after Albert overhears a flirtatious conversation between Ilona and Almady, an obnoxious actor (and Ilona's former lover).

The Group Rep presents Ken Ludwig's THE GAME'S AFOOT (or HOLMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS), a holiday mystery farce directed by Larry Eisenberg, produced by Lloyd Pedersen.

The Group Rep pulls the curtain back on UNHIDDEN FIGURES a virtual play festival of new short plays celebrating African-American women from all walks of life.

The Group Rep presents BARRYMORE by William Luce, with Robert Benedict as Barrymore, featuring Todd Andrew Ball, directed by Robert Benedict, produced by Todd Andrew Ball.

Loose Knit/by Theresa Rebeck/directed by L Flint Esquerra/Group Rep, NoHo/through September 8 Will the play be like Steel Magnolias? I queried. But...there are two male actors onboard. Well, as it turns out Loose Knit provides far more entertainment than I expected and presents a myriad of thought provoking ideas, not only about dating, but about the politics of America and how it works or does not. Currently onstage at Grou Rep, Loose Knit should be a great big winner, because of the astute writing, the dynamite seven member ensemble and superior direction from L Flint Esquerra. Five women meet regularly at Gina's (Lisa McGee Mann) apartment to knit...actually, some to knit, some to talk. Gina is a lawyer and professes to want to knit only, but is keeping a secret deep down that is about to rattle her nerves. Two sisters Lily

The Group Rep presents LOOSE KNIT, written by Theresa Rebeck, directed by L. Flint Esquerra, produced by Katelyn Ann Clark, a seductively smart, dark comedy about women who, once a week gather to knit. As the sweaters pile up, their lives fall apart. August 2 - September 8, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm, at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood.

Director L Flint Esquerra has directed two Tennessee Williams' plays A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Group Rep Theatre in NoHo in the last few years to great acclaim. He is currently directing their next production Loose Knit set to open August 2. In our conversation Esquerra talks about the play in detail. Did you direct Loose Knit before? I understand that this is a revival production. No, have never directed this show before. I think 'revival' may be a bit of a misnomer, in the sense that, yes, it was done somewhere else sometime before and now it's being done here, but no, none of our cast or crew has ever worked on it prior. Tell  our readers what the play is about.

Homeward LA is a 10-day citywide event from April 26 - May 5, where multiple productions of monologues based on stories from people who have experienced homelessness will be performed by actors all around the city. Join The Group Rep for one of over 50 productions happening throughout the Los Angeles area! Together we will experience stories from the lives of those who strive to find their way home, increase awareness around the homeless crisis facing Los Angeles, and raise funds for The Midnight Mission, an amazing nonprofit organization on Skid Row.  Some material contains adult themes and language.

The time is 1947. The place, England. Politics abound with the murder of an heir to a foreign throne, hunting a jewel thief. At the Chimneys Estate we find in residence Lord Caterham (Lloyd Pedersen), friend Lottie Lomax (Michelle Schultz), and visitor Virginia Revel (Stasha Surdyke), highly suspect...as is Cade (Lee Grober) who seems to be in love with Virginia. On the surface he's investigating a blackmail against her for scripting some mysterious letters.

From the very top of James McClure's one-act Laundry and Bourbon, best friends Elizabeth (Savannah Shoenecker) and Hattie (Kristin Towers-Rowles) gossip in heavy Texas accents and drink bourbon with such fierce intensity that you will end up either loving or hating them; there is no in-between. Midway Amy Lee (Sarah Zuk) makes her entrance. She is quieter but also creates trouble in her own irritating way.What is it about comedies set in the deep South? Steel Magnolias and Crimes of the Heart pull us in the same way. The women put their claws out yet support one another and have hearts of gold ... and their men?  We hear about them via their wives. They act like jerks, love to talk sex in raw detail and treat their cars with more love and respect than their spouses. Unlike the other plays, we actually see the men, apart from their wives, for there is a male companion piece to Laundry and Bourbon. It's entitled Lone Star, after the beer, and it presents Elizabeth's husband Roy (Nick Paonessa), maladjusted since his service in Viet Nam, his younger and weaker brother Ray (R.J. DeBard) and like his wife Amy Lee, the outsider in the group, her husband Skeeter (Todd Andrew Ball).

The Group Rep opens its 45th Season with two James McLure one-act comedies, LAUNDRY AND BOURBON and LONE STAR, directed by Barbara Brownell, produced by Lloyd Pedersen. Three young women who are neighbors and friends share drinks and hard truths about life, love, and marriage while doing laundry on a very hot day. In another part of town three men beat-the-heat in the backyard of a bar as the local high school hero, recently returned after a hitch in Vietnam, details his military and amorous exploits. Laughs are shared, souls are bared.

While a number of restaurants are offering up free meals for Federal workers on furlough due to the government shutdown, The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre is jumping in to offer a pair of free tickets to a show.

The Group Rep's well received production of Neil Simon's classic farce RUMORS, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York, has been extended due to critical acclaim and sold out houses. The play about five neurotic couples who gather for a dinner party celebrating one couple's 10th anniversary, goes wildly awry when guests arrive early only to discover their host has shot himself, the hostess and servants are missing, and dinner not ready. Confusions and miscommunications mount, as the evening spins off into farcical hilarity. The play, which opened June 15, will run through August 11th at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, at the edge of the NoHo Arts District.

The Group Rep's production of Neil Simon's classic farce RUMORS, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York for the Group Rep, was well received opening weekend. RUMORS centers around five neurotic couples who gather for a dinner party celebrating one couple's 10th anniversary. The best laid plans go wildly awry when guests arrive early only to discover their host has shot himself, the hostess and servants are missing, and dinner not ready. As confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into farcical hilarity. The play opened June 15 and runs through July 29 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, at the edge of the NoHo Theatre and Arts District.

North Hollywood's Lonny Chapman Theatre was packed Friday night for the opening of Neil Simon's RUMORS. This classic farce followed five couples that had all been invited to a dinner party to celebrate a sixth couple's 10th anniversary. However, everything changed when the couples discover the host (Charlie) had shot himself, his servants and hostess were missing, and dinner hadn't been prepared. What divulged was utter nonsense and hilarity.

The Group Rep presents Neil Simon's classic farce RUMORS, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York for the Group Rep. Five neurotic couples gather for a dinner party celebrating one couple's 10th anniversary. The best laid plans go wildly awry when guests arrive early only to discover their host has shot himself, the hostess and servants are missing, and dinner not ready. As confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spins off into farcical hilarity. The play runs June 15 through July 29 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood, at the edge of the NoHo Arts District.