NewsWatch Video from Provocative, Startling L.A. Bent, Featuring Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, Andy Mientus, Patrick HeusingerA teaser reel from The Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper production of Bent, Martin Sherman's seminal drama about gays trying to stay alive in Nazi Germany where homosexuality is a crime, has been released. The limited engagement officially opened July 26 following previews that began July 15.
Shears, lead singer for the pop band Scissor Sisters, has been cast in the role of Greta; he has also written the music for Greta’s song “Streets of Berlin” (lyrics by Sherman) for the production.
Watch Shears sing this song:
Set in Germany in the 1930s, Bent, according to press notes, "follows the struggles of gay men trying to survive in Nazi Germany, in particular two men who, in the midst of the darkest moments of mankind, manage to give and receive love and find strength in each other."
The Taper production is billed as the first major U.S. revival of Bent since the Broadway premiere in 1979, when it was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Play.
The production also has set and costume design by Beowulf Boritt, lighting by Justin Townsend, sound by Cricket S. Myers, wigs and hair design by Carol F. Doran, fight direction by Steve Rankin, choreography by Ken Roht and casting by Heidi Levitt, CSA. The production stage manager is David S. Franklin.
Tickets are available by calling (213) 628-2772 or visiting CenterTheatreGroup.org. Tickets range from $25 - $85 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Mark Taper Forum is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue.
Next year, Carnegie Hall's house band will perform Bernstein’s “Kaddish” Symphony, unfinished works by Schubert, and the final concert of Conductor Bernard Labadie.