Young Artists Ensemble to present 'City of Angels' at T.O. Civic Arts Plaza

The Young Artists Ensemble will present the Tony Award-winning play "City of Angels" from July 21 to 30 (no performances on July 24 or 25) in the Scherr Forum Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. with 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees on July 23 and 30.

Tickets are priced from $13 to $20. Information is available on www.YAEonline.com or by calling (805) 381-1246.

This rarely-produced play is the story of Stine, a detective novelist, who is having trouble adapting his book to the big screen. Juxtaposed are the adventures of Detective Stone, the protagonist in Stine's novel. Many of the characters in Stine's world have a counterpart in the film world. The show is staged with the "real-life" scenes in "color" and the movie scenes in "black and white."

To create the idea that the audience is watching "City of Angels" through film will be lighting designer Michael Tachco.

"All the fades, tracking shots, dissolves and split screens that they use with the camera, we will be using with lighting," Tachco said.

The show has music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel and book by Larry Gelbart. The production is directed by Robert Schneider, with musical direction by Diann Alexander and choreography by Heather Castillo.