COSTA MESA, CA -- Last Chance to catch Frederick Durrenmatt's black comedy Play Strindberg at South Coast Rep as part of its Second Stage's 1998-99 season.

Play Strindberg was first done by the SCR in 1973, with Hal Landon, Jr. and Don Took starring. Landon and Took reprise their roles in the current production, with Martha McFarland in the third role. Play Strindberg started previews March 9, opened March 12, and runs through April 11.

Durrenmatt, author of The Visit, wrote Play Strindberg in the 1960s. Based on August Strindberg's Dance of Death, Play Strindberg is constructed as a twelve-round match between a husband and wife whose marriage is described as "twenty-five seasons in hell." But when a gentleman visitor arrives at their military outpost home, the three of them embark on "a ridiculous dance that finds fun in the absurdity of human relations," said a company spokesperson.

Hope Alexander directs. In January, she had a role in SCR's Tartuffe.

SCR is located at 655 Town Center Drive. Call (714) 708-5555. Next up on the Second Stage will be Nilo Cruz's Two Sisters And A Piano, starting previews April 27 for an April 30 opening and a run through May 30.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent
and David Lefkowitz