Los Angeles is known as the home of motion pictures, but as of late it has also been a home to Adventures in Motion Pictures, Matthew Bourne's Tony and Olivier-winning dance company. The Ahmanson Theatre hosted both Swan Lake and Cinderella and now, The Car Man, Bourne's interpretation of Georges Bizet's great opera, Carmen.

The Car Man plays the Ahmanson Sept. 6-Oct. 28. Bourne, a Tony winner for Swan Lake, directs and choreographs the piece, opening Sept. 12.

Subtitled "an auto-erotic thriller," The Car Man moves Bizet's Spanish story to a small 1960's Midwestern town called Harmony where a blossoming love triangle proves quite disharmonious. As sexy and mysterious drifter Luca arrives and takes a job as a mechanic, he begins to seduce the populace starting with his boss' wife, Lana. Caught up in their web of betrayal and lust is Angelo, a shy young man whose involvement leads the story to its ultimate tragic conclusion.

Terry Davis and Rodion Schedrin adapted Carmen's original score. Olivier and Tony Award-winning designer Lez Brotherston created the sets with lighting by Chris Davis.

Tickets are $15-$70. For reservations, call (213) 628-2772. The Ahmanson Theatre is on the web at http://www.taperahmanson.com. *

The Car Man premiered at Minnesota's Ordway Center Aug. 22-Sept. 2. Following the Los Angeles dates, The Car Man will travel on in the Unites States. The stops follow:

Oct. 30-Nov. 3: Berkeley, CA, University of California, Berkeley
Nov. 6-10: Seattle, Paramount Theatre
Nov. 14-18: Chicago, Auditorium Theatre
Nov. 20-25: Toronto, Hummingbird Centre
Nov. 27-Dec. 9: Boston, Wang Center

— By Christine Ehren