Culver City Observer -

Rehearsals have begun for Samuel Beckett's classic "Endgame," directed by one of Beckett's most renowned interpreters Alan Mandell at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, April 24 through May 22. The opening is scheduled for May 1.

Mandell ("Waiting for Godot," "The Price" and "The Cherry Orchard" all at the Mark Taper Forum) will also perform in this production at the Douglas alongside Barry McGovern ("I'll Go On" at the Douglas; "Waiting for Godot" at the Mark Taper Forum), Anne Gee Byrd ("The Wood Demon" and "The First Picture Show" at the Taper), James Greene ("The Iceman Cometh" and over 20 other plays on Broadway) and Charlotte Rae ("Happy Days" at the Taper). Rae and Byrd will alternate in the role of Nell.

Scenic design is by John Iacovelli, costume design is by Maggie Morgan, lighting design is by Jared A. Sayeg and sound design is by Cricket S. Myers. The production stage manager is Susie Walsh.

In the absurdist world of "Endgame," somewhere between existence and death, four characters, Hamm (played by Mandell), Clov (McGovern), Nagg (Greene) and Nell (Rae and Byrd), cling to sanity while performing daily rituals, sometimes comically, as they wrestle some sort of order from the cyclical, repetitious, seeming nothingness of life.

Tickets are available online at http://www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, by calling CTG Audience

Services at (213) 628-2772, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office (at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles) or at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office two hours prior to performances.