Nicky Silver

There ought to be a warning on Nicky Silver's plays: "Not for the faint of heart." But any survivor of a vicious emotional family war should appreciate the bizarre and funny world of Nicky Silver's "Fat Men in Skirts," a tale of cannibalism, incest and murder at Sledgehammer Theatre. San Diego's Fritz Theatre staged the Southern California premiere of Silver's work before South Coast Repertory produced Silver's "Pterodactyls" in March.

A new play by Nicky Silver, who has made his mark with absurdist social satire, has opened in Santa Ana because a young director from Cal State Fullerton had an inside line on it--and because of Silver's soft spot for young learners. Todd Kulczyk got to know Silver and the play, "The Altruists," two years ago while working as a student intern for the annual Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

A new play by Nicky Silver, who has made his mark with absurdist social satire, has opened in Santa Ana because a young director from Cal State Fullerton had an inside line on it--and because of Silver's soft spot for young learners. Todd Kulczyk got to know Silver and the play, "The Altruists," two years ago while working as a student intern for the annual Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

Playwright Nicky Silver may be too clever for his own good. Early in Sledgehammer Theatre's Southern California premiere production of his "Free Will and Wanton Lust," it becomes apparent that this family drama is no "Thanksgiving on Waltons' Mountain." When a sex-hungry married mother tells her eager young lover not to worry about the couch because she can reupholster it in the morning, it's clear that the writer is a funny guy but one who's clearly working from the dark side.

Nicky Silver sits on a bench in New York City's Union Square Park not far from the Vineyard Theatre, the site of last season's acclaimed production of his play, "Pterodactyls," and where his new work, "Raised in Captivity," opened to excellent reviews last week. A photographer snaps away, capturing the 34-year-old playwright in his usual sartorial splendor--penny loafers, white socks, khakis, vest, tie, shirt and overcoat.

Some of them you know. Some you don't. But the following artists, entertainers and executives have one thing in common: We're counting on each to mae a significant impact or difference in their respective fields this year. Sure, there will be thers who make a splash, but after we talked with dozens of people who work in entertainment and the arts, these were the names mentioned most often. You might say that Jim Carrey was a face to watch in '94, and you would be right.

Many a playwright has written about his family. Some revisit childhood scenes with a probing sense of guilt and remorse. Others reinvent happier times; still others go back to settle scores. Eugene O'Neill managed all three. But Nicky Silver goes a step further than even O'Neill could have imagined.

Nicky Silver, whose talent for titles and one-liners has catapulted him to the head of the class and earned him more unintentionally backhanded praise in the past couple of years than most playwrights earn in a lifetime, returns to his favorite subject of universal suburban Angst with "Raised in Captivity."

As theater teams go, they're an odd couple. Nicky Silver is the savagely funny playwright whose recent hits include "Pterodactyls" and "Raised in Captivity." David Warren is the soft-spoken man who has directed the New York stagings of these dark comedies. Silver is a rapid-fire font of self-deprecating one-liners, able to elevate angst to an art form in a single phone call.

Playwright Nicky Silver may be too clever for his own good. Early in Sledgehammer Theatre's Southern California premiere production of his "Free Will and Wanton Lust," it becomes apparent that this family drama is no "Thanksgiving on Waltons' Mountain." When a sex-hungry married mother tells her eager young lover not to worry about the couch because she can reupholster it in the morning, it's clear that the writer is a funny guy but one who's clearly working from the dark side.

Nicky Silver, whose talent for titles and one-liners has catapulted him to the head of the class and earned him more unintentionally backhanded praise in the past couple of years than most playwrights earn in a lifetime, returns to his favorite subject of universal suburban Angst with "Raised in Captivity."

As theater teams go, they're an odd couple. Nicky Silver is the savagely funny playwright whose recent hits include "Pterodactyls" and "Raised in Captivity." David Warren is the soft-spoken man who has directed the New York stagings of these dark comedies. Silver is a rapid-fire font of self-deprecating one-liners, able to elevate angst to an art form in a single phone call.

There ought to be a warning on Nicky Silver's plays: "Not for the faint of heart." But any survivor of a vicious emotional family war should appreciate the bizarre and funny world of Nicky Silver's "Fat Men in Skirts," a tale of cannibalism, incest and murder at Sledgehammer Theatre. San Diego's Fritz Theatre staged the Southern California premiere of Silver's work before South Coast Repertory produced Silver's "Pterodactyls" in March.

Many a playwright has written about his family. Some revisit childhood scenes with a probing sense of guilt and remorse. Others reinvent happier times; still others go back to settle scores. Eugene O'Neill managed all three. But Nicky Silver goes a step further than even O'Neill could have imagined.

Nicky Silver sits on a bench in New York City's Union Square Park not far from the Vineyard Theatre, the site of last season's acclaimed production of his play, "Pterodactyls," and where his new work, "Raised in Captivity," opened to excellent reviews last week. A photographer snaps away, capturing the 34-year-old playwright in his usual sartorial splendor--penny loafers, white socks, khakis, vest, tie, shirt and overcoat.

Some of them you know. Some you don't. But the following artists, entertainers and executives have one thing in common: We're counting on each to mae a significant impact or difference in their respective fields this year. Sure, there will be thers who make a splash, but after we talked with dozens of people who work in entertainment and the arts, these were the names mentioned most often. You might say that Jim Carrey was a face to watch in '94, and you would be right.

Tom Hanks is one lucky guy. Maura Tierney -- a.k.a. Dr. Abby Lockhart from NBC's "ER" -- will make her Broadway debut this spring in Nora Ephron's final play, "Lucky Guy. " Tierney will play the wife of Hanks, who will star in the drama about Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist Mike McAlary, the play's producers said on Monday.   Tierney, 47, may be new to Broadway, but the Emmy Award-nominated actress has logged many hours acting onstage. She appeared in the Wooster Group's revival of the satire “North Atlantic” in 2010 (which played at Los Angeles' REDCAT)

* Theater. Second annual "Pacific Playwrights' Festival," workshop productions and staged readings of works by Rogelio Martinez, Jose Rivera, Jonathan Ceniceroz, Eduardo Andino, Richard Greenberg, Marlane Meyer, Donald Margulies, Nicky Silver and Tom Donaghy, plus mainstage premiere of John Glore's "On the Jump," opens June 10 at 8 p.m. at South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Call for schedules. $8 for readings, $12 to $18 for workshop productions; "On the Jump," $28 to $43.