Why Things Burn
It’s the fall of 1952. A second-rate circus disbands on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Inside a trailer, the strong man makes love to the trick pony rider. Outside the fire-eater listens and waits. Nearby, a woman is unaware that she too will share their obsession. Ray, Albert, Vera, and Liz are chasing each other, looking for something that will be only for them. What they find out instead are Why Things Burn.
Narrator – Robert M. Duncan
Ray – Richard Vidan
Vera – Susan Rome
Albert – Dan Butler
Fritz – Karl David
Liz – Taylor Gilbert
Prince Randian, Guy, and Beat Cop – Warren Sweeney
Rudolph the Cat – Himself
Alternate
Fritz – Mark Bradley Phillips
Director – Ric Krause
Producer – Che-Rae Adams
Set Design – Susan Wells
Lighting Design – David Flad
Costume Design – Maria Selmark
Production Stage Manager – Michele Mischo
Stage Managers – Dena Cerino and Melissa McLean
Original Music by Jason Michael Alexander
“Deftly director by Jan Lewis and acted by a group of talented performers unafraid to indulge Krause’s lurid sense of humor, ‘Why Things Burn‘ plays like ‘Days of the Locust’ as envisioned by Hieronymous Bosch… Butler’s German-accented Albert heads the outstanding cast.” – Daily News
“Passions simmer and smolder; bodies, like sticks of firewood, pop into flame and burn up (literally). The acting is attuned to the edginess of the play and countered by the different harmonies of a smooth narrator (Robert M. Duncan) and a likable runaway youth (Karl David).” – LA Times
