By Christopher Cappiello

Ian McKellen Solo Show Benefits Youth Theater

In what will surely be one of the summer’s hottest stage tickets, Sir Ian McKellen performs his unique, autobiographical solo show, A Knight Out, for two nights only (July 22-23) at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse to benefit the Los Angeles Young Actors Company.

I saw Sir Ian do A Knight Out in its first incarnation in New York during the 1994 celebration of Stonewall 25 and the Gay Games. Part autobiography, part celebration of literature, and part activist call to action, the show takes audiences through the famed actor’s life and career, with an emphasis on the importance of freedom of sexual expression. When I saw it 12 years ago, he included poetry and snippets from some of his favorite stage roles, as well as excellently spun tales from onstage and off, including an admission that he had a serious crush on Derek Jacobi when they were at Cambridge together. At the end of the show the star dashed down the aisle with a bucket to collect donations from audience members as they exited. It was all very down to earth, personal, and genuine.

Over the years, Sir Ian has adapted and updated his show and taken it around the world, from London to Johannesburg to Vancouver, always performing it to benefit a worthy cause. For the 2006 version, McKellen promises, “The show will present Gandolf onstage for the first time! My aim is that the audience enjoy themselves as much as I shall, all in aid of a good cause.”

Despite his busy film schedule, McKellen has regularly returned to the stage, including spending the last two Decembers performing in drag in a traditional English panto at Kevin Spacey’s Old Vic Theatre in London. Next spring, Sir Ian will tackle the Mt. Everest of classic roles, King Lear, with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Saturday, July 22 performance of A Knight Out is a gala benefit, with $250 tickets and a post-show reception hosted by Sir Ian. The Sunday, July 23 performance has tickets priced from $40-100. For more information, call the UCLA box office at (310) 825-2101, or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Summer Reading Festivals Abound

Summertime and the readings are easy. Several L.A. theater companies are using the dog days of summer to present a series of readings, giving audiences the chance to sample from a smorgasbord of theatrical possibilities at affordable prices.

Perhaps most ambitious, the Antaeus Company is presenting Classicsfest, with more than 20 plays in various stages of production, each performing for just a couple of days from now through Aug. 13. Antaeus has everything from Beckett to Shakespeare, and Pinter to Plautus on the bill. Tickets are $10 per show, or $100 for a pass to all 20 shows. All performances are at Antaeus Studio Theatre, 4900 Vineland Ave., NoHo. For a full schedule, visit www.antaeus.org.

The Classical Theatre Lab is celebrating classic American playwrights this summer, with a reading series of works by Edward Albee, Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill, and Tennessee Williams at Plummer Park’s Fiesta Hall in WeHo from July 22-Aug. 13. Tickets are $10, and a $30 pass gets you in to all four plays. For a full schedule, call (323) 960-5691 or visit www.classicaltheatrelab.org.

Unknown Theater (of which I am a member) presents its second Within the Unknown festival, with seven new plays presented at various stages of development in a jam-packed schedule from July 13-16. Individual tickets range from $5-12, but a $20 pass gets you into everything. All performances are at Unknown Theater, 1110 Seward St., in Hollywood. For a full schedule, visit www.unknowntheater.com.

GMC Celebrates Bacharach

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles winds up its 27th season with The Look of Love, a tribute to composer Burt Bacharach, whose deep catalog of eminently hummable tunes includes "Alfie," "What the World Needs Now," and "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." The Look of Love plays July 21-23 at Glendale’s Alex Theatre. For tickets and information, call 1-800-MEN-SING, or visit www.gmcla.org.