COSTA MESA, CA - Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West will fill the last slot in South Coast Repertory's 2000-2001 schedule. Martin Benson directs the play in its West Coast premiere, the third on SCR's Second Stage this season. (SCR also produced three world premieres on its mainstage recently.)

The Lonesome West is the third play to be set in the fictional town of Leenane, in County Galway. The first in the trilogy, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, directed by Andrew Robinson, was a hit on Broadway and on SCR's Second Stage last season.

In The Lonesome West, brothers Coleman and Valene are now together in the hut that belonged to their father, recently murdered by a blast from a shotgun Coleman was holding. He claims the gun went off accidentally, and the one eyewitness — Valene — doesn't contest the story (although he might if provoked). A melancholy priest and a streetwise girl who sells moonshine complete the cast of offbeat characters.

One critic said that the two brothers "make Cain and Abel look like choir boys...they could kill each other for watering down the booze or filching the potato chips." Reviews for the show’s brief Broadway mounting were mixed.

Other upcoming shows in the SCR's 2001 season include John Guare's Bosoms and Neglect (Jan 26-Feb. 25); John Strand's Tom Walker (April 27-May 27); and Amy Freed's The Bard of Avon (June 1-July 1).South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive. For tickets and information call (714) 708-5555.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent