Off-Broadway's the New Bozena make their West Coast debut Jan. 29, 1999 at L.A.'s Hudson Main Stage. The "slacker vaudeville" began previews Jan. 22 and runs through Mar. 14, 1999.

Caught in the misadventures of every day life, post-modern clowns Ramon, Spiv Westenberg and Revhanavaan Sahaanahanadaan struggle to get through breakfast, work and an audition for a community theatre production of the Estonian masterpiece, Winter is the Coldest Season, being performed in the original Estonian.

The New Bozena are David Costabile (Ramon), Michael Dahlen (Spiv Westenberg) and Kevin Isola (Revhanavaan Sahaanahanadaan). Costabile most recently originated the role of First Officer William Murdoch in the Broadway production of Titanic, after making his Broadway debut in The Tempest with Patrick Stewart. Dahlen has been a member of the Off-Broadway company of Blue Man Group and has performed with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in several productions including Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Richard III, The Tempest and King Lear. Isola recently appeared Off Broadway in Playwrights Horizon's production of Wendy McLeod's The Water Children as well as Steve Martin's WASP and Richard Foreman's Venus.

Actor Rainn Wilson (London Assurance, the tour of Six Degrees of Seperation) made his directorial debut with Bozena and stages the L.A. production. The design team includes Chris Muller (sets), Melissa Toth (costumes) and Adam Silverman (lighting).

The New Bozena (then subtitled "Winter is the Coldest Season") originally ran Oct. 31, 1996-Jan. 5, 1997 Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The troupe formed in 1995 while its members were attending graduate school at NYU. Tickets for the New Bozena ($20) are available by calling the (323) 856 4200.

-- By Christine Ehren