A nod to age

There is barely a ticket to be had to see Ian McKellen's turn in "King Lear" coming to UCLA's Royce Hall in October. That figures: we're talking about one of the greatest living stage performers of all time. Heck, one of the greatest ever. McKellen was born in in may of 1939, making him 68. Yeah, it's probably about time he played Lear.

I suspect that seats to "Trying" at the Colony Theater -- opening Aug. 8 -- will be considerably easier to come by. The play, by Joanna McClelland Glass, is based on the playwright's experience clerking for former Roosevelt Attorney General Francis Biddle. It's a two character play which, at the Colony, stars Rebecca Mozo and Alan Mandell.

Mr Mandell is kind of a fixture around these parts. He was consulting director for both the Los Angeles Actors' Theatre and the Los Angeles Theatre Center. He's been on and off Broadway and all over the southland. He was in the original productions of "Waiting for Godot and "Endgame" directed by Samuel Beckett himself. Founded the San Quentin Drama Workshop. The list goes on.

These days, he's often the elder statesman among large casts (such as "12 Angry Men" at the Ahmanson, The Annette Bening Cherry Orchard," etc. )

"Trying" is a two character play in which Mr Mandell, sprung from the ensemble, will be allowed to display the full range of his cantankerosity. He should be quite good. As I noted in an earlier entry,a couple years back, I saw "Trying" in Washington D.C. with James Whitmore, then age 85, in the role.

It would be, trying, indeed to have to go through 7 or 8 performances of a per week of a two hander at age 85. Mandell's schedule calls for four shows per week. Still a feat.

For tix to "Trying," call (818) 558-7000 ext. 15 or visit www.colonytheatre.org.