Last Chance to catch the Open Fist Theatre's West Coast premiere of Ariel Dorfman's Widows, written in collaboration with Tony Kushner. Performances began April 23 for the show, which ends May 29. Brian Newberg (Model Behavior) directs.

Set in a war-torn country transitioning from totalitarianism to democracy, Widows is the story of elderly Sofia Fuentes who lays claim to two unrecognizable male corpses that appear in the river outside of her village, a place where every man has disappeared during the reign of the former dictator. Her love leads her, and the other women of the village, to defy her nation's military.

Dorfman is best known for his play Death and the Maiden. Kushner, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Angels in America, is also the author of Slavs!, an adaptation of The Dybbuk, and Hydriotaphia.

The Open Fist cast includes Rachel Andersen (Cecilia), Eleanor Comegys (Yanina), Amy Edlin (Katherina), Carolyn Fields (Teresa), Martin George (Emmanuel), Amy C. Grant (Mariluz, Beatrice Kastoria), Joe Hulser (Captain), Alex Markaryan (Alexis), Alan Natale (Alonso et. al), Trevor H. Olsen (Father Gabriel), Ron Raymer (Philip Kastoria), Amy Raymond (Fidelia), Ana Rey (Rosa), Paulene Smith (Alexandra), Adrian Sparks (Writer in Exile), Don Tieri (Lieutenant) and Jeanie Van Dam (Sofia).

Tickets ($15) can be reserved by calling (323) 882-6912. The Open Fist Theatre is located at 1625 N. La Brea Avenue. -- By Christine Ehren