Longtime Malibu theatre director Shoshana Kuttner has joined forces with bestselling horror author Steven-Elliot Altman to present the world premiere of Altman’s comedy “Massively Horrific Long-Island Geeks with Tremendous Ego-Problems” at the Malibu Stage Co. The play opens on Nov. 7.
Kuttner, the founder of Malibu’s Young Actors Project, the youth acting program at Malibu Stage, solicited Altman’s play after falling in love with the project. “It’s a very quirky, dark, absurd comedy set on Long Island during the late ’70s that I felt would not only appeal to our usual savvy theatre-goer, but also to a younger crowd,” she said. “We’ve got a hot, young, talented cast and we’re going to offer discounted tickets to students to get them more excited about going to the theatre. If any play will do that, this one’s it.”
Altman, best known for novels like “Deprivers” and “The Touch,” welcomed this production as a chance to step back to his New York theatre roots. He said, “Kuttner has done a tremendous job at distilling every ounce of comedy from the play. Now I remember what it was like to grow up as a geek on Lawn-Guy-Land, trying to meet girls at the roller rink while I was all pimply and still wearing braces. There are also a few horror elements in the show. I don’t want to spoil the twists, but it should please any classic horror film buffs as well. In a deadly funny way, of course!”
The cast of six boasts a wide range of credits from television, film and regional theatre
The play will run for three weekends, Nov. 7-9, 14-16 and 21-23. Showtime is 9 p.m. on Fridays, 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 7 p.m. on Sundays. Malibu Stage is located at 29243 Pacific Coast Highway. Tickets are $18 and $11 for students and seniors. To purchase them, call 310.582.9103.