New Production of ‘Anna Christie’ Comes to Odyssey Theatre

The themes of theater often revolve around family, love, hate, parents, children, responsibility and independence.  It is not uncommon today to see a show that deals with the topic of domestic abuse, but in 1921 when the play “Anna Christie” premiered on Broadway it was a shot of grim reality. The play garnered instant praise and earned playwright Eugene O’Neil his second of four Pulitzer Prizes. “Christie,” along with O’Neil’s other plays, would go on to pave the way for the works of Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.

“Anne Christie” returns to the stage in a new production at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A. The play is to be directed by the company’s associate artistic director Kim Rubenstein recipient of the TCG/NEA Directing Fellowship. The play circles around a daughter and her relationship with her long estranged father as she finds herself falling in love with a sailor. The lead, Zoe Perry, recently came off a production on Broadway. Jeff Perry plays her father. Perry is a founding member of the world renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago and currently plays the White House chief of staff on the hit TV show “Scandal.” Rounding out the trio of leads is actor Kevin Kidd who recently performed in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of “Richard III.”

The play offers stark realism in the context of family drama. The talent involved in the show will no doubt make this a production worth seeing.

Anna Christie runs Jan. 24th – March 28th at the Odyssey Theatre.