The Cosmonaut's Last Message will come down to earth via the La Jolla Playhouse Sept. 3, as David Greig's play ends its American premiere. The fully titled The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union began performances Aug. 1. La Jolla's associate artistic director Neel [sic] Keller directs.

In Cosmonaut's Last Message, two Russian astronauts circle the globe. They're separated from the ones they love with only each other for comfort. Too bad all they do is argue. Below them on earth, things are no better, however, as a random group of friends and lovers fight and make up in a London airport cafe, on a beach in Scotland and in a nightclub in Oslo. Greig's other plays include Victoria, The Speculator, Caledonia Dreaming, The Architect and Stalinland.

Kurt Fuller and Jan Triska are the cosmonauts, Casimir and Oleg, respectively. A movie character actor, Fuller is recognizable for his comic parts in "Wayne's World," "Ghostbusters II," "Stuart Saves His Family" and "Scary Movie." Triska, a La Jolla vet who performed in their The Hairy Ape and Arms and the Man in 1993, appeared in "Ronin," "The People vs. Larry Flynt" and 1992 Best Foreign Film nominee, "Elementary School."

Also in the cast are Mark Nelson (Picasso at the Lapin Agile, As Bees in Honey Drown, A Few Good Men) as Keith and Bernard and Irina Bjoklund as Nastassja and Claire.

The design team features Mark Wendland (sets), Christal Weatherly (costumes), Geoff Korf (lighting) and Darron L. West (sound). Tickets are $39-$19. La Jolla Playhouse is located on the corner of La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road. For reservations, call (858) 550-1010. La Jolla Playhouse is on the web at http://www.lajollaplayhouse.com.

-- By Christine Ehren