Nadia Lustman's comedy-drama Graduation Day will have its world premiere at Hudson Mainstage Theatre Dec. 2 and will run through Jan. 22, 2000. Jeff Smith is the director.

Lustman's play explores the relationship between two sisters who differ widely in age and temperament. Yvette (played by Lustman) is a 30-year-old workaholic advertising executive; Shannon (Carolyn Palmer) is a difficult "at risk" teenager who Yvette has had to raise in their parents' absence. Both sisters' lives are changed when Shannon is kicked out of school and into the arms of a charismatic guidance counselor whose impact on the older sister turns out to be just as traumatic as his impact on the younger.

Others in the cast include: Tobias Ellison (as the counselor), Gary Dubin, Dallas Munroe and Karen Kim.

Lustman has appeared in many local productions, including Justice at the American Renegade Theatre for which she won a Drama-Logue award for best actress.

Hudson Mainstage is located at 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. For tickets and information call (323) 653-9998. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent