Description
The Theatre 40 Season Subscriber package includes tickets to all 7 of our regular season plays.

Play 1
Balancing Act
Written by Frank Salisbury
Directed by David Datz
In this hilarious 1970s comedy, Eugene Ormsby, accounting manager at a small New York company, has reached the end of his rope. So, he’s planned a get-away trip—maybe literally… if he can “get away with it”. But his plans are soon foiled by snooping bookkeeper Beth Washburn, who might have more than inconsistencies in the company ledgers on her mind.
Play 2
Jane Austen in 89 Minutes
Written by Syrie James
Directed by Syrie James
In this world premiere comedy, a madcap cast of ladies and gents bring all six of Jane Austen’s
beloved novels to comic life, including music and dancing and modern-day zingers about
Austen’s fame, fandom, movies, and TV series. Austen fans will be delighted, though no
knowledge of her work is necessary to enjoy the show. Come join the fun and be prepared to
laugh your head off!
Play 3
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
West Coast Premiere
Adapted by Mark Shanahan
Directed by Jules Aaron
A thrilling tale of greed, blackmail and murder most foul. This ingenious 1926 novel cemented Christie’s reputation as the greatest mystery novelist of all time. The story’s shocking twist ending has thrilled readers for generations and has been called “the best and most cunning solution devised in her storied career.” Now, the landmark novel comes to the stage in a new and fast-moving adaptation. Filled with colorful characters, outrageous laughter and nail-biting suspense, this Christie classic is sure to leave audiences guessing, gasping and delighting in the case long after the curtain has come down.
Play 4
Listing
World Premiere
Written by Russell Brown
Directed by Tom Lazarus
Raymond is a real estate agent with a passion for historic preservation. HIs dream listing arrives when the owner of one of Los Angeles’ architecturally significant homes asks him to represent her modernist masterpiece. Open houses bring bumbling buyers and development speculators. When catastrophe strikes and the terms of the sale are hijacked, Raymond’s well-intentioned hopes and plans are thrown into chaos. Even the house itself seems to have its own nefarious agenda. Tragedy, societal tension, and ghosts of the home’s past all simmer to the surface, and the home’s good bones can’t hide the bad blood.
Play 5
Beatnik Girl
World Premiere
Written by Leda Siskind
Directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky
This world premiere play by one of Theatre 40’s most accomplished playwrights tells the story of a young woman of vision and principle, Edi Gordon, as she struggles with misogyny, antisemitism, and an unwanted pregnancy while trying to be a Beat poet. Set in New York’s lower east side in 1957, this sweet and touching new play is filled with lyrical original poetry, poignant humor and insight into the human condition that will stir the heart and take you back to the time of the Beat Generation – Kerouac, Ginsberg, Miles … and women too! Get in the groove!
Play 6
Communicating Doors
Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Melanie MacQueen
This intricate time traveling comic thriller by the British master of farcical comedy delighted London and New York audiences. A London sex specialist from the future stumbles into a murder plot that sends her, compliments of a unique set of hotel doors, traveling back in time. She and two women who were murdered in 1998 and 1978 race back and forth in time trying to rewrite history and prevent their own violent ends. The frantic race begins when Poopay is hired for an evening at the Regal Hotel by an old man who eschews a fling in favor of confessing his role in the demise of his wives. Now a target, Poopay flees into the vestibule and somehow triggers the time machine.
Play 7
Becky’s New Car
Written by Steven Dietz
Directed by Cate Caplin
Have you ever been tempted to flee your own life? Becky Foster is caught in middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage – with no prospects for change on the horizon. Then one night a socially inept and grief-struck millionaire stumbles into the car dealership where Becky works. Becky is offered nothing short of a new life … and the audience is offered a chance to ride shotgun in a way that most play wouldn’t dare. This is a thoroughly original comedy with serious overtones, a devious and delightful romp down the road not taken.