Great Escape: 'Superior Donuts' at the Geffen

If you’ve got a sweet tooth for dynamic theater, don’t miss Superior Donuts now playing at The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood.  The acting, directing, writing, and production values are all of the highest quality.

Written by Pulitzer Prize Winner Tracy Letts, the play stars Gary Cole as Arthur Przybyszewski, a Vietnam draft dodger and owner of a seedy Chicago donut shop whose life dramatically changes when he hires an energetic new employee.  Mixing elements of drama and comedy, the story tracks Alex’s troubled back-story and his transformation from loner to hero when he confronts local thugs.  Edi Gathegi, as Franco Wicks, almost steals the show as the high-strung, enthusiastic worker with big dreams for himself and the run down shop. The colorful characters frequenting the Windy City neighborhood where the play is set are played by an exemplary ensemble of actors, most notably Ron Bottitta as a loud-mouthed Russian wheeler-dealer trying to buy Arthur’s shop, and Paul Dillon as a bookie with a nagging ulcer. When the play culminates in a grittily choreographed knockdown, drag-out brawl, Cole, Bottitta, and Dillon outdo themselves.

Letts, Cole and Director Randall Avery are members of Chicago’s esteemed Steppenwolf Theater Company.  Letts most famous work, August: Osage County, won both a Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2008.

“Tracy does such a great job of capturing a microcosm of America in this tiny donut shop,” said Director Arney in a statement. “While this play is quintessentially Chicago, it could be any street corner in America.  It resonates so strongly with who we all are as a nation right now – as we slowly morph toward the most perfect version of ourselves and how every friendship, every relationship, brings us a little closer to that.” 

In Superior Donuts, we find a moving, often humorous slice-of-life tale of courage, friendship, and coming to grips with one’s past that should garner several local theater nominations during awards time.  The play has also won critical acclaim from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

The Geffen provides a stylish venue with a comfortable seating arrangement that implies both intimacy and grandeur, similar to The Pasadena Playhouse.  Audiences seeking an engaging, star-filled, first-rate theater experience without venturing downtown (or heading to New York), should check out the Geffen and its latest offering, Superior Donuts.

The Geffen Playhouse is located at 10886 Le Conte Ave., L.A. and the play runs through July 10. Tue.–Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m. (310) 208-5454. www.geffenplayhouse.com.