Trey Lyford

John Hurt performing Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" will be among the highlights of the Kirk Douglas Theatre's 2012-13 season, which will be announced Thursday by Center Theatre Group. The season will feature a total of five main productions, including the world premiere of the plays “The Royale” by Marco Ramirez and "The Nether" by Jennifer Haley.  Opening the season will be "Elephant Room" (Aug. 22 to Sept. 16), an ensemble piece that will make its West Coast premiere.

Don't let the retro styling fool you. Although they look like comic extra rejects from a '70s variety show with some heavy metal updating, the magician-trickster-funny-men of "Elephant Room" are goofy originals, very much of our makeshift moment. No point in trying to categorize the show, which opened Sunday at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Created by Trey Lyford, Geoff Sobelle and Steve Cuiffo, the entire production is a sleight of hand. With a smattering of magic, sketch comedy and cat-and-mouse with the audience, the trio of performers, working under the aliases Daryl Hannah, Dennis Diamond and Louie Magic, foster the illusion of a complete theatrical offering.

Geoff Sobelle runs stage left, pounding on the wall that prevents his escape. Trey Lyford pulls out a fake handgun, shooting a blank into the ceiling that reverberates through the nearly empty theater. An overhead lighting fixture crashes down onto the stage. Minutes later, the stage is clear, and Sobelle is doing an impromptu headstand, trying to scoop a felt hat from the floor onto his head. Lyford starts to blow eggs out of his mouth.

John Hurt performing Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" will be among the highlights of the Kirk Douglas Theatre's 2012-13 season, which will be announced Thursday by Center Theatre Group. The season will feature a total of five main productions, including the world premiere of the plays “The Royale” by Marco Ramirez and "The Nether" by Jennifer Haley.  Opening the season will be "Elephant Room" (Aug. 22 to Sept. 16), an ensemble piece that will make its West Coast premiere.

Don't let the retro styling fool you. Although they look like comic extra rejects from a '70s variety show with some heavy metal updating, the magician-trickster-funny-men of "Elephant Room" are goofy originals, very much of our makeshift moment. No point in trying to categorize the show, which opened Sunday at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Created by Trey Lyford, Geoff Sobelle and Steve Cuiffo, the entire production is a sleight of hand. With a smattering of magic, sketch comedy and cat-and-mouse with the audience, the trio of performers, working under the aliases Daryl Hannah, Dennis Diamond and Louie Magic, foster the illusion of a complete theatrical offering.

Plays about love and Big Pharma, magicians, a son's death in Iraq, and life at the post office are part of this fall's DouglasPlus series of new works, the Center Theatre Group announced Thursday. Artistic Director Michael Ritchie introduced the series at the Kirk Douglas Theatre last season in an attempt to break away from traditional programming and production constraints. The emphasis is on material in development at Center Theatre Group, with a nod to local artists. Shows are presented for limited runs at reduced prices.

The first season programmed by Center Theatre Group artistic director Michael Ritchie at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City will include a festival of works by four L.A.-based solo artists as well as a collaboration with another L.A. theater company. Unlike the recently concluded first season at the Douglas with six world premieres, this season will consist largely of work previously done elsewhere.

Dim lights reveal two bowler hats lying on the floor. As if moved by ghostly forces, the hats edge jerkily across the stage before zipping into the wings. It's a fittingly odd image to open "all wear bowlers," the weird, wacky, impressively innovative performance piece being presented by Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

Geoff Sobelle runs stage left, pounding on the wall that prevents his escape. Trey Lyford pulls out a fake handgun, shooting a blank into the ceiling that reverberates through the nearly empty theater. An overhead lighting fixture crashes down onto the stage. Minutes later, the stage is clear, and Sobelle is doing an impromptu headstand, trying to scoop a felt hat from the floor onto his head. Lyford starts to blow eggs out of his mouth.