The world premiere of Pamela Aster & Cecil Warren's black comedy Millenium's Eve continues through Sept. 8 at the Hudson Avenue Theatre in Hollywood. Bill Cusack is the director.
Described as "an offbeat Y2K adventure that follows the casual and degenerate sex lives of three dysfunctional couples," the play opens at 11:30 PM on Dec. 31, 1999 as a crazed bible-thumper takes to the internet to describe the murder of a famed supermodel. Three thousand miles away movie star Mark Winters gets caught by his ex-wife while wandering in a hotel corridor in women's panties. Across town from him, two internet lovers, Buddy and Alicia, are about to meet for the first time.
Alster and Warren weave these separate tales into a whole, using the countdown to the millennium (which does not actually begin until Jan. 1, 2001) as the unifying narrative hook. The featured players are Alster, Warren, Fred Auriemmo, Cusack, Xavier DeClie and Christy McBrayer.
Cusack recently directed Ugly's First World at Actor's Gang, and, like his brother John and sister Joan, is an actor, writer and director. Alster wrote and performed the 1998 solo show Motherless Daughter. She is also a popular performer at L.A.'s comedy clubs, where she performs stand-up. Warren is also a writer and comedian.
The Hudson Avenue Theatre is located at 1110 N. Hudson Ave. For tickets and information call (310) 859-4641. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent