A Noise Within, which recently returned to its original home in Glendale, starts its 2000-2001 season with A new production of The Skin of Our Teeth, kicking things off Nov. 18. Directed by Julia Rodriguez Elliott and Geoff Elliott. It will run through Dec. 14.

Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy drama tells of a “typical” family weathering the geological ice age, complete with woolly mammoths and a prodigal son. Wilder’s other plays include Our Town and The Matchmaker.

Last season's successful A Christmas Carol returns Dec. 7-23, playing in repertory with the Thornton Wilder classic. A Christmas Carol was adapted by Geoff Elliott, with both Elliotts sharing the direction. Geoff Elliott said, "We have gone back to the original story that Charles Dickens wrote more than a century and a half ago. Over the generations, this wonderful and powerful story has been blurred and buried under tons of special effects and unnecessary alterations. The tale is a celebration of life as Scrooge is forced to encounter three visions—his past, his present and his future–in order ro awaken his morbid heart to the true spirit of Christmas."

The Elliotts' production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a previous hit for the company, returns Jan. 17 for a one-week run prior to a state-wide tour. It will be followed March 16-May 26 by Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, directed by Danny Scheie, former artistic director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz. His version of Comedy has been a hit in Santa Cruz, Berkeley and Seattle.Noel Coward's Hay Fever plays in rep March 30-May 24, directed by Art Manke, with the world premiere of a new adaptation by Kenneth Cavandar of Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de la Barca debuting April 20-May 27. Calderon's 17th century drama represents the culmination of Spanish Golden Age theatre. Reality and illusion are blended in this tale of intrigue set at the highest levels of royalty.

A Noise Within is located at 234 S. Brand Ave. For tickets and information call (323) 953- 7795.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent