Who Is In, Who Is Out

It starts at a party, just as all tragedies do. Charlie's an actor who hasn't had a job in years, but his wife, Stella, supports him nicely. Clea's a hot little naïf half his age, fresh from Ohio and looking to make "the scene" in Manhattan. You know the one: all the right parties attended by all the right people, with red carpets and paparazzi, all lit up by that warm corona of fame. Sure, Clea's not bright, and she babbles, and she seems to have no talent to speak of...but she's hot. And ambitious. And she still has a chance to achieve something with her life, or at least actually make The Scene. And that's more than enough to spur Charlie into risking his stagnant little home life. Theresa Rebeck's grimly comic play digs deeply into the tragedy that is a bored, middle-aged man whose only achievement is being a has-been. HotCity Theatre presents The Scene at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday (February 22 through March 8) at the ArtLoft Theatre (1529 Washington Avenue; 314-289-4063 or www.hotcitytheatre.org). Tickets are $15 to $20.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: Feb. 22. Continues through March 8, 2008