Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz's The Madman and the Nun, an hallucinogenic tale about a decadent poet sent to an asylum for rehabilitation under the care of a seemingly sympathetic nun, would appear an unlikely candidate for a "hot ticket." But L.A.'s Buffalo Nights company has just extended its mounting of the show to May 16, two weeks past its originally scheduled May 2 closing date. The show opened March 26 at the Powerhouse Theater.

The Madman and the Nun, or There is Nothing Bad Which Could Not Turn Into Something Worse was written in 1927 by Polish artist Witkiewicz. While advancing his own theories of drama, fiction, aesthetics, philosophy and paintings - his own physical boundaries where routinely tested by various drug addictions. Witkiewicz committed suicide shortly after the outbreak of war in September 1939.

Ron Campbell will direct the Buffalo Nights Theatre Company's new adaptation of the pre-absurdist play, complete with original music and innovative ensemble work.

Campbell, a founding member of Los Angeles' Actors Gang Theater, recently performed in the Gang's Mummified Monkey and completed a tour of his one man show, The Thousandth Night which toured the world with Stephen Berkoff's theater festival.

For tickets or more information, call (310) 289-2999. -- By Sean McGrath