City Garage Theatre

Bonjour,

Make your plans now to join us for opening weekend of a the world premiere of Border Crisis by Charles Duncombe. Don’t miss this biting black comedy about a very serious subject. There will be a preview on Friday, November 7th at 8:00pm with complimentary Champagne, and an informal buffet on opening night, Saturday, November 8th. Tickets are on sale now. Be there!

You can buy tickets now!

Border Crisis
An absurdist comedy by Charles A. Duncombe
Based on The House on the Border by Sławomir Mrożek
As translated by Pavel Rybak-Rudzki

An average American family suddenly finds themselves at the center of an international border dispute. As the crisis unfolds, their home is invaded by a succession of government agents, diplomats, and border guards who quickly turn everything upside down. The family–good, loyal citizens who just want to get along and be left alone—try their best to comply. But with the ever-more complicated rules, regulations, and the demands of a new authoritarian order, they find it harder and harder to do the right thing. Based on Sławomir Mrożek’s absurdist classic The House on the Border, this zany black comedy takes a biting, satirical look at contemporary national politics and the questions we face from both right and left in a turbulent, uncertain time.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Fall Fundraising Off to a Great Start!

We’re happy to tell you that we’ve just received three new grants: two from the City of Santa Monica, and one from the County of Los Angeles for a total of $23,350. This is wonderful news indeed. In a time when funding for the arts is reduced or eliminated, we feel very grateful for this support. But they are matching grants, which means that to receive the full value of these awards, we need to match them from our own contributors.

Can you please help us match these grants with your contribution, large or small?

In a world where censorship and control can feel pervasive, supporting the arts is an act of resistance. Please help us continue our good work at a time when alternative voices are more important than ever. You can make a gift online. If you prefer, you can also send a check to:

City Garage
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Ave. T1
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Merci to these kind patrons who have already contributed. Thanks to them, we’ve raised our first $1,270 toward our goal!
Emyr Gravell
William Gray Jr.
Jay Bevin
Barbara Beyer
Lindsey Carlsen
Ralph Radebaugh

Merci,
Frederique, Charles, Archie, and everyone at City Garage

“compelling, thought-provoking….as timely and as it is relevant”

“TOP TEN! RECOMMENDED!”

“Dynamically staged…thought-provoking and topical”

“WOW!”

“...an uncanniness that feels friendly and welcoming, suggesting a place where we can all be mad together...”

“... sometimes scorching, sometimes hilarious, always intriguing exploration of human relations…what really grabs our attention and hearts are the performances.”

“Contemporary theater at its most informative and impactful … stunning, gut-punching”

“it hits like thunderclap…”

“Stellar performances from the cast under Frédérique Michel’s direction”

“Approaches the “hallelujah” level!”

“...startlingly compelling as well as rather surprisingly funny...”

“eerie, atmospheric ... well suited to the stylish City Garage aesthetic”

“... a Greek myth scaled down to human proportions ... It’s simple, it’s quiet, it’s deeply personal”

“THE BOURGEOIS GENTLEMAN had the audience laughing from start to finish.”

“Superb acting….Frederique Michel’s clockwork-like direction of Schimmelpfennig’s tricky, provocative play and Charles Duncombe’s atmospheric stage design also deserve the highest praise possible.”

“City Garage, known for daring, highly stylized sociopolitical theater, is the ideal local company to revive this infrequently done, disturbingly timely play.”

“Crowd-pleasing and consistently funny!”

“The piece is fascinating to watch... handsome and visually stunning production, stylized and ritualized.”

“The writing and the performances crackle...”

“A marvelous evening of theater... a distinctive, individual form of dance-theater, using a movement vocabulary that... communicates immediately with gestures sometimes like seductive cabaret performance... ”