By Christopher Cappiello

Ludlam's Artificial Jungle Gets L.A. Premiere

The late off-Broadway legend Charles Ludlam founded the Ridiculous Theatre with both a capital "R" and a small "r." His raucous blend of sight gags and ludicrously larger-than-life characters -- usually with some serious cross-dressing going onÐresulted in many outrageously funny comedies, most famously the long-running hit, The Mystery of Irma Vep. Los Angeles audiences get a look at a lesser-known Ludlam classic this spring when The Artificial Jungle receives its Southland premiere 20 years after its original run.

Billed as a comic thriller by the Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre, The Artificial Jungle centers on a nebishy pet shop owner and his sex-starved wife. When the mismatched couple hires a drifter to work in their store, libidos are reborn, murderous plots are hatched, and typical Ludlam bedlam ensues. Ludlam's high comedy adapts the old adage about introducing a gun in a play: Never bring a tank of hungry piranhas onstage unless you intend to use them.

"I was in New York years and years ago and saw [Ludlam] do several plays," says director Bill Arrigon, a 20-year veteran of the Chapman Group who speaks with obvious passion for Ludlam's work. "This is one his most approachable plays, a satire on film noir like The Postman Always Rings Twice. It's also the last play. He died less than six months after, so it's the 20th anniversary of his death and the 20th anniversary of the play, really. And it's never been done in L.A.!"

The Artificial Jungle runs May 12-July 2 at the Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., N. Hollywood. For information and tickets, call (866) 811-4111 or visit www.lcgrt.com.

Little Egypt Gets Musical Makeover at Matrix

In the mid-1980s playwright Lynn Siefert wrote a play about small-town life in southern Illinois that was premiered at the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. With Siefert providing the book, the Matrix Theatre presents the world premiere musical adaptation of her play, with a cast of familiar television faces and a bluesy score by Gregg Lee Henry (a composer/actor whose songs include Dwight Yoakam's hit "The Back of Your Hand").

Set in a part of Illinois where three rivers meet -- the Wabash, the Ohio and the Mississippi -- and many of the towns bear Egyptian names (Cairo, Karnak, Thebes), Little Egypt focuses on the romantic entanglements of three couples. Among the cast are television stars Sara Rue (Popular, Less Than Perfect) and French Stewart (Third Rock from the Sun), and stage vets John Apicella (co-artistic director of the Antaeus Company) and Misty Cotton (Broadway's Miss Saigon).

Little Egypt opens May 6 and runs through June 11 at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. For tickets and more information, call (323) 852-1445 or visit www.matrixtheatre.com.

Broadway Stars Align for Zorba

If the sight of sweaty Mediterranean men dancing in a bouzouki circle sounds appealing, you'll want to catch Zorba, the final show in the REPRISE! Broadway's Best season. The Greek-flavored Kander and Ebb score is brought to life by a cast headed by two of Broadway's busiest performers, Marc Kudisch (Assassins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Bells Are Ringing) and Judy Kaye (Mamma Mia, Ragtime, and a Tony winner from the original cast of Phantom of the Opera).

Zorba runs May 2-14 at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. For tickets and information, call (310) 825-2101 or visit www.reprise.org.