GLENDALE, CA -- Unprecedented audience demand has led A Noise Within to add three regular and two student outreach performances to its production schedule of Sophocles' Oedipus the King.The West Coast premiere of the classic Greek drama (new translation by Kenneth Cavander) is directed by artistic director Art Manke.

The additional performances will be May 19 & 21 at 8 PM, with the student performances on May 4 & 6 at 10.30 AM.

A "Best Bet" in the Los Angeles Times, who called the production "majestic...with an articulate, intelligent staging," the play has been selling out at the box office.

As part of the Student Outreach program, students, their teachers, cast members and the creative team for A Noise Within will hold an in-depth post-play discussion. The program has been a hallmark of A Noise Within since the program's inception in 1991. More than 60,000 students from junior high through college level across the southland have attended these special performances.

In a related announcement, A Noise Within said that it would bring back its successful productions of Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest and The Little Foxes for a limited two-week run, June 3-13 only. The winners of 13 Back Stage West Garland Awards, the two Hellman plays were acclaimed by audiences and critics alike during their original run. The reprise run of the Hellman double bill features the original cast of both productions.

A Noise Within is at 234 S. Brand Blvd. in Glendale. Call (818) 546-1924.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent