Andrew Cooper Wasser's The Return of Saint Vincent will open Jan. 14, 2000 at Metropole Theatre Works for a limited three-week run. Wasser also directs.

This absurdist dark tells of Vincent Darro, a one-legged convict trying to embark on a normal life on his first day out of prison. The plot hinges on the whereabouts of Vincent's cut of the bank job he and his brother pulled off -- the job that landed him in jail and cost him his leg. As the show's production notes put it, "How can Vincent lead a clean life when his parole officer is blackmailing him, friends keep showing up with "hot" TVs, his wife may be cheating on him, and his neighbor hyperventilates herself into catatonia on his couch?"

Wasser's play is produced by Theatre Royale, a new company committed "to providing avenues and opportunities in every area of the performing arts." The cast includes Royale founding company members Sienna Mauve Gregan, Rosemary Lotus Boyce, Marcie Rich and Krishna Shell LeFan. Rounding out the cast are Tony Cioe, Timothy Redmond and Anthony Roman.

Metropole Theatre Works is located at 1277 N. Wilton Place in Hollywood. For tickets and information call (310) 837-8964.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent