LOS ANGELES -- A new play by veteran L.A. playwright James Metropole, Circle of Confusion, opened recently at the Metropole Theatre Works and will run indefinitely there.

The cast of the drama about an angry man who refuses to attend his mother's funeral includes James Burke, Jen Searle, Natassa Baron, Dawn Ann Billings, David Cravatts and Peggy Sweeney. In the alternate cast are Kevin Goulet, Brooke Edwards, Debra Azer, Morgain McGovern, Don McGovern and Camille James. Metropole directs his own work.

Metropole's previous plays include Crazy Eights, In Search of the Gorilla Girl; Act of Faith, Baloney, Grunzunkle, Hard Pillows, The Shiny Apple and Last Cappucino Before Freeway, among others.

Polly Warfield of Drama-Logue said this about Metropole's work: "He is talented, prolific, and facile. He writes good, literate dialogue with flashes of humor and gives rein to his active imagination...As director, he has clarity of vision and a good eye for physical characteristics."

Peformances of Circle of Confusion are Thurs.-Sat. at 8 PM; Sun. at 7 PM at 1277 N. Wilton Place. Call (213) 969-4677. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent